Harman Kardon, makers of quality home and car audio products, debuted sometime ago a robust in-car iPod audio solution known as the Drive + Play. Something apparently has gone well enough with this gadget that they are getting ready to put to market an even more feature laden iPod car system called the Drive + Play 2.
The Drive + Play 2 is designed to provide comprehensive access of your Apple iPod’s audio collection through your car entertainment system. This Harman Kardon offering includes several components, such as a color display, wireless control knob and power adapter.
The viewing interface of the Drive + Play 2 consists of a 3.5-inch full color display which sports changeable on-screen themes that give it a more personalized touch. This screen lets you view the contents of your iPod (as well as other supported players like the Microsoft Zune) so that you can make selections of songs by several criteria and also view album art as it is captured in your audio player. This display can be mounted in a variety of locations and has a built-in light sensor to help you better view on-screen content.
The Drive + Play2 Screen
Meanwhile, the wireless control knob is a 2.4Ghz frequency controller which can be mounted in easy reach of your hand and is designed to operate in a similar fashion to an iPod’s control wheel. This control device rotates in a full circle and can be twisted to scroll through menus. Buttons on the knob can also be selected to control features such as play and rewind music.
The Drive + Play 2 Control Knob
The third primary component is the power adapter, also known as the media hub. This device, which can be plugged into a car’s cigarette lighter socket, serves a number of functions. It has a built-in FM transmitter for playing your iPod’s music over a car stereo wirelessly. It also stores all of the connections for your iPod (which charges while connected), display screen and audio line-out if connecting the Drive + Play 2 to an auxiliary input in your car’s radio. The media hub sports a hard-wiring option if you want to install it someplace more fixed such as the console.
The Drive + Play 2 Hub Components
Among the many other features of the Drive + Play 2 are options like on-the-fly playlists developed by the system based upon your music listening habits, an alphabet search feature and support for all dockable iPods. Optional accessory kits integrate control of Sirius satellite radio, HD Radio and Bluetooth cell phones for hands-free calling.
More information on the Harman Kardon Drive + Play 2, which should be available this month for around $400 USD, can be found at Harman Kardon’s web site.
