DCRL

"Apple today announced it has teamed up with Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to deliver iPod integration with their car stereos for 2006 model lines....The Honda and Acura Music Link iPod integrations will be the first to include text-to-speech capabilities or VoiceID, which is used to search for playlists, artist and album names or genre information. Acura and Honda will feature iPod integration in the majority of their lineup beginning later this year."

Does anyone know if this includes the RL? And if so, will it be available when the 2006 models arrive in showrooms? And can it be retrofitted to 2005 RLs?

Questions, questions....

Rob L

I want to know if this integration means that the stereo will finally have an RCA input or if it will ahve like a docking station simply for the ipod.

I would hope it is includes the rca input because not everyone is a hype whore and buys ipods when much better products are on the market. I have the iriver HDD player and it is superior to the ipod in every logical way (meaing oh i don't know, SOUND QUALITY) and I have used both to know.

I cant stand the ipod shit. It is like people think only apple sells HDD based mp3 players so when they talk about things like rca inputs they refer to it as ipod ready or as an ipod connection, etc. Man it pisses me off.

DCRL

You may hate iPods, but I have three of them and plan to get the newest, the nano. They are far superior in every way to other units and are widely recognized as such. But this is not the place to discuss the superiority of various mp3 players. OK? This is an Acura forum and I'm simply trying to find out what type of connection allows me to verbalize commands to an iPod and if that connection will exist on the 2006 RL (and by retrofit, on the 2005). If you prefer iRiver, start your own thread.

snowbound

I see on the HondaNews site that the iPod integration is a $250 dealer installed option. I wonder if our 05's can be retrofitted for the physical connection.

More importantly, I wonder if car manufacturer's will clue into the the fact that consumers today expect to be able to upgrade all of our software based systems (cell phones, laptops, PSP's etc.) on a regular basis. I hope that the concept of a s/w upgrade is not lost on Acura and others.

Consumers will be ticked off if the auto industry takes the tact that the increasingly sophisticated software based system on today's cars are deemed to be "one-offs", effectively limited to the s/w load associated with a specific model year.

my two cents

vp911

Agreed. I hope it is available for us to install in the 05' RL.

Steve C

The guys on the M forum have posted & are discussing a DVD hack "how too" enabling you to view Video while car is in motion.

Someone has an Ipod dock station in an M that plugs in via the RCA input jacks.

Digital camera pics can be plugged in & viewed on the M screen as well, if camera has RCA jack/adaptor output.

All the above is fun stuff I'd love to see the RL be capable of!

vp911

This is all easily done - just not with the stock equipment. You would have to get a navi converter. It is a small device which plugs in the back of the navi that will then give you rca inputs. You would have to run an fm modulator to the headunit in order to have sound. visit www.avelectronic.com. you can even add a rear view camera without too much trouble.

Visit the 3rd generation TL forums in their audio/video subforum and you will find a wealth of information on this. What they do in the TL is very similar to what would be done to the RL.

Bitium

recognized by who, they only good thing about ipods is that they sound cute. Like Rob L siad there plenty of better players.

DCRL

This is so pathetic. It's an Acura forum, we're discussing a new Acura feature and a feature exclusive to Acura (i.e. voice commanding an iPod), and you want to slam the iPod instead. Pathetic is even a weak word.

But for your information, virtually every independent tech forum and magazine has ranked the various iPods over their competition, and after two or more years on the market, continues to do so. (Please don't expect me to do your research for you.) And that is probably one of the many reasons iPods command 74% of the mp3 player market. Of course part of the equation is also that the iTunes stores (with software for both Macs and PCs), is now in 20 countries and commands 82% of the legal download market as well.

But most important, regarding this forum, Acura has not just joined Audi, Volkswagen, BMW and a host of others automobile manufacturers in offering iPod connections, Acura has gone ALL of them one better. Acura has realized that iPod or iRiver or whatever mp3 player the driver has in his/her car, taking a driver's eyes off the road to pick songs is dangerous. Acura (not the other manufacturers thus far) is the one offering an option that allows control over the iPod by VOICE. This is way bigger than just an RCA connector or a line in.

Maybe this option offers at least a way to connect whatever mp3 player you prefer to your RL. It may not offer voice control over that player, but for you, it will at least be an easier way to get higher fidelity out of your Acura system when using your player of choice. And for the nearly 3/4's of us with mp3 players that are iPods, it may offer voice command as well. I'm just trying to get the specifics of this option and find out if it will work with 2005 RLs too.

Don't blame me (the messenger) if the iPod is the mp3 player that's preferred by so many people. I've never even owned Apple stock. (Though after it went up nearly four times its worth last year and then split and went up again, oh how I wish I had!)

2005BlackRL

iPod connectivity is one of most important things I would like to see on my 2005 RL. If we can retro-fit (even without voice) that would be a big step forward. Let us know if you discover a definitive answer to the retro-fit question for 2005 owners.

jeffster

I agree. iPod connectivity is one of the must-haves for my next car in 1-3 months (that and bluetooth). Looking closely at the 2006 RL... (Have an 03 MDX turning over by December)

Nocturnal

Just a plain 2.5mm jack with a button to select it as input for the radio would be enough. Heck, my '95 Eclipse GSX had that! On my S I wired it myself. I don't care for ipods but as long as the connectivity solution is generic enough that it provides a simple way to plug in your own audio I'm interested. Voice control is nice but djeez, we did fine without it for decades. I can find the 'next' button just fine without looking at the player