The Smartest Car Radio for Aftermarket Debuts

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ONICS

The first head unit that taps into the brain of just about any car is heading for the aftermarket, and it’s not from the top Japanese suppliers, but from a couple of ex-Best Buy managers.

A company called ONICS made a big splash Tuesday night on Bloomberg TV with a double DIN deck that uses a patented circuit board designed with Texas Instruments that connects to the OBD2 port in a car via a ribbon cable.  No other head unit to our knowledge does this.

The deck can grab data from the engine control unit (ECU) from any car built after 1996.  Plus ONICS uses ANY smartphone as its screen and brain.  You buy a $30 adapter for your particular phone and then it snaps into the face of the $300 head unit.  Then you download an app.

The head unit will be aimed at car audio retailers and big box stores.

It is designed to work with voice control, which is “Google Now quality or better,” says ONICS COO Chad Sherwood.  The unit also has steering wheel control capability and uses Near Field Communications (NFC) and Bluetooth to automatically pair with any phone.

The company is already talking to “big box” retailers about selling the deck, which it says takes about an hour to install.  And while it wouldn’t name the target retailers, it should be noted that both Sherwood and CEO Aaron Speach are ex-Best Buy managers.

Sherwood claims, “We have some of the highest quality components on our circuit board…some of the highest quality pre-amps and DA converters..”

Users can ask to hear music from Spotify or other apps.  They can ask to have text messages read aloud and then answer them.  Users get plenty of other car-connected features without service fees.

You can get an alert when gas is low and see  the price of a nearby gas station.   You are told why a check engine light is on, and can access info on tire pressure, or track your mileage.  You get  teen controls and alerts, and alerts for speed traps and DUI check points.

As you approach the car, it unlocks the doors for you automatically.

If you want to update your radio, you just upgrade your phone, said Sherwood, who calls the radio “a smart car for everyone.”

The product is now on Indiegogo raising funds and expects to launch by spring of next year.

Source: CEoutlook

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2 Comments

  1. This is not a new concept, large aftermarket companies like Kenwood, Pioneer, and Alpine, just to name a few, have already put out head units capable of communicating with the vehicles data system through CAN and obd systems using a device manufactured by iDatalink (Audiovox). Directed Electronics also has a device that uses your phones Bluetooth to lock and unlock your car doors by proximity. Just saying, this isn’t some kind of huge breakthrough, it’s been around.

  2. interesting concept…..would like to play with one to see how good the function really is.

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