[Macworld]

Post your comments for Hands on with the Fusion iPod car stereo here

[deemery]

Dan needs a better shave next time he goes on TV :-)
I have an original H-K iPod Drive-n-Play unit, that is a great concept poorly executed. Furthermore, mine overheats after about an hour of play and shuts down.
I think I'm going to take a real serious look at this to replace that H.K. unit I use whenever I drive to NJ.
The H.K Drive-n-Play's dongly control thing is a better idea than the much smaller joystick button on this unit.
Thanks for a most interesting video review. I usually don't bother watching the videos, the "signal to noise ratio" is usually too poor. This one was the right length with good content.

[Jason Snell]

I really don't understand the aftermarket head-unit manufacturers' obsession with cheesy, gratuitous animations. I'm very tempted to buy this product, but waiting for those animations to finish in order to use the device would drive me crazy.
Also, I question the intelligence of any designer who is creating a product for people WHO ARE DRIVING that requires navigating a menu for something as simple as switching between radio stations. Physical buttons are good...

[tony_d]

Does it come with a remote? That would be a welcome addition instead of turning the dial.

[garo211]

Dan, could you tell us what type of wiring adapters, if any, we would need to complete the installation? Thanks

[promdresscheap]

Thanks for sharing! The video rocks=)

[nightshrill]

the fact that it has no percentage scrolling like feature is a total killer for me. I think Alpine has really nailed the iPod interface design well, rather than having the joystick like tuner button (which is terrible when driving as its extremely easy to move it the wrong way) you press the search button, scroll to select artist/podcast, etc but then it uses the radio preset buttons (1,2,3,4,5,6) to skip 16.667% through your artists, etc giving you more control over where you are. For me, who has over 12k songs (i forget how many artists) that feature is a godsend. I don't think they make my exact alpine model any longer however there are still comparable ones out there, and you're still able to use cd's which after a new purchase after per se a concert, has good use.

[hillstones]

garo211 said:

Dan, could you tell us what type of wiring adapters, if any, we would need to complete the installation? Thanks

Go to Crutchfield.com and buy the appropriate wiring harness adapter for your vehicle.

[hillstones]

Hey Dan,

Adam Ant...good choice of music!

[hillstones]

Jason Snell said:

I really don't understand the aftermarket head-unit manufacturers' obsession with cheesy, gratuitous animations. I'm very tempted to buy this product, but waiting for those animations to finish in order to use the device would drive me crazy.

Also, I question the intelligence of any designer who is creating a product for people WHO ARE DRIVING that requires navigating a menu for something as simple as switching between radio stations. Physical buttons are good...

Jason,

I agree. Most car stereos are ugly these days, and the cheesy animation really makes them look stupid. It would be very annoying if you had to wait for the animation to finish before you could control the stereo. The radio tuning is especially pointless. Press the dial, then scroll to the preset, then press again? Physical buttons along the bottom would have been beneficial. Also, is the headunit satellite ready? Is it HD Radio ready? Pretty limited if it is only AM/FM/iPod. I would much rather have a full featured CD Receiver with Satellite option, and add an iPod connection kit. Current headunits are very good these days, making aftermarket headunits pretty much worthless. My OEM Navigation System in my Honda Accord is made by Alpine, and new Accords use Pioneer headunits. The satellite tuners in the Accord are also made by Pioneer.

[George76]

I really love the Sony unit I installed last summer, the CDX-GT820IP. It is HD Radio ready, Satellite Ready and of course iPod-ready. It handles the iPod's potentially long menus really well via it's jump mode. When in a list if you push the next (>>>>) button, it goes in to jump mode and will scroll through the list in 10% increments. Just push in the main control knob button and you're back to regular scrolling at that point. I kind of wish the iPod itself had such a feature (I know there's the letter scrolling but it just feels too quirky, activating when I don't want it and not activating when I do want it).

[Dan Frakes]

Jason Snell said:

Also, I question the intelligence of any designer who is creating a product for people WHO ARE DRIVING that requires navigating a menu for something as simple as switching between radio stations. Physical buttons are good...

I didn't get into it too much in the video?in fact, I may have given the opposite impression, unfortunately?but I completely agree. The Fusion system isn't too bad for a radio without onscreen presets (I know that 97.7 here in the Bay Area is the third preset, so I could press, turn three clicks, and press), but physical preset buttons are far superior.

[Dan Frakes]

garo211 said:

Dan, could you tell us what type of wiring adapters, if any, we would need to complete the installation? Thanks

Every car has different wiring and a different dash configuration; you'll need to either have the system installed or get a kit for your particular car. I believe the Fusion system is a standard DIN head unit; as Hillstones noted, Crutchfield.com sells mounting and wiring harness kits for pretty much any car.

[Showman]

I'm waiting for a car company to integrate an iPhone into it's entertainment system. Instead of paying thousands of dollars for a gps, integrated phone, etc... most of which are poorly done, an am/fm radio with a large screen that mirrors the iPhone screen would be outstanding! Oh, and let's make it connect wirelessly via bluetooth.