car accessories

The TomTom car kit has appeared once again on the online Apple Store for $119.95, this time in the US store. The kit not only puts your iPhone within easy view and of the driver, but also enhances its GPS capabilities. It also provides hands-free calling and an audio-out connector to plug it into your car's audio system, though the cable is not included.

You can get the TomTom car kit in the US Online Apple Store for $119.95.

For those of you hankering for an iPhone GPS system in your car, GPS outfit TomTom has announced that its car kit for the iPhone will ship in October for $120 (or €99 if you live on the other side of the Atlantic from me). Per Macworld, the kit will include a powerful GPS chip, built-in speaker, power cable, and more.

TomTom's highly anticipated hardware accessory for the iPhone and iPod touch with an external GPS receiver recently became available in several European Apple online stores. They are priced at £99.95 (US$164.10) in the UK and 99.95 Euro (US$147.90) in other European countries, and includes the companion iPhone application.

Griffin has introduced the iTrip FM Transmitter for the iPhone and iPod touch. Some of you might be wondering what's so special about this little gadget, and it's not just that it will let you listen to the music on your iPod or iPhone on your car's FM. The really cool thing is that this is one of the first hardware accessories you can plug into your handheld and control it with a companion app in the App Store.

Kensington has just released a new cradle for your iPhone that passively amplifies the sound from the device by two fold using only acoustic amplification. The device is intended to make it easier to hear spoken driving directions from navigation apps or speaker calls.

Tech site NaviGadget is reporting that UK retailer Handtec is currently listing the TomTom GPS car mount kit for pre-order at a price of £99 plus tax. Although Handtec's product page seems to claim that that the TomTom iPhone application is included in the price, it remains to be seen how the software will be accessed from the App Store after purchase.

Swiss design company Rinspeed is said to be unveiling a new electric concept car at next week's Geneva Motor Show that is controlled in part by the driver's iPhone. Instead of using keys to start the ignition, the car, called the iChange, uses the driver's iPhone. in one of the built-in iPhone holders on the left and right of the wheel. When locked in place in one of the holders on either side of the wheel, a green "Start" button will light up on the iPhone's screen that starts the car when pressed. When driving, the iPhone also controls a number of other things like the headlights.

Kensington is showing a new hands-free car set for making calls while driving without breaking any cellphone laws that might be in your area. The Kensington Hands-Free Visor Car Kit syncs up with your iPhone and has 3 buttons you can program with 3 different phone numbers you can call without even touching your phone, letting you make calls at the push of a button without diverting your attention from the road.

Mercedez-Benz has introduced a new iPhone cradle kit that integrates the iPhone into the vehicle's system, allowing the driver to control the device using the controls on the steering wheel, COMAND controller and the main nav screen on the dashboard to let the driver view and control the device, letting the driver send and receive calls and listen to music. It also charges the device while plugged in, as well as increasing reception by giving it use of the car's built-in antennae. They're available in Germany for €249 ($385).
[via Engadget]