Sony Monday introduced the first smartphone-cradle/car radio that lets many brands of smartphone become the in-dash screen for a car radio.
The phone snuggles between sliders that can accommodate many kinds of phones, and some with the cases on (if it’s a thin case).
The cradle/radio includes a full double DIN CD player that is also the first with a tap-to-pair feature for Bluetooth that uses Near Field Communications (NFC) to allow one-button pairing for Android phones. You just tap your phone on the radio for pairing. See story here.
The XSP-N1BT cradle/radio also includes AM/FM radio and USB port and one-line display. It can work independently of the phone through buttons on the radio.
Sony also adds advanced voice control over the radio through its App Remote new version 2. The app on the phone lets you receive texts and email by voice command. The phone then also becomes a sound processor control for adjusting acoustics and a volume and subwoofer level control.
App Remote version 2 also reads aloud RSS feeds, and calendar notifications.
The cradle also charges the phone. A Sony Xperia Android phone will charge via a magnetic connector without the need for a cable.
Source: Sony
This feels like we’re back in the day of when car audio was trying to figure out what to do with the iPod….