News

IPO at Macworld - Alpine iDA-X001 Takes In-Car iPod Integration to Next Level

Friday, January 12th, 2007 at 4:00 PM - by

Alpine Electronics is showing off its new iDA-X001 head unit at Macworld Expo San Francisco this week.

Designed for those who seldom travel without their iPod, the iDA-X001 is a standard-size head unit with an AM/FM tuner and extensive iPod integration; there's no CD/DVD slot nor an auxiliary input jack. Instead, the iDA-X001 features extensive iPod integration, with a 320x240 pixel TFT display and large dial for controlling the iPod.

The iDA-X001 features a dedicated USB iPod dock connector cable in the rear of the unit, designed with the glove compartment in mind so that users can keep their iPod tucked away and charged while also enjoying an all-digital audio connection. The iDA-X001's display duplicates the iPod's menu system (Artists, Albums, Podcasts, Genres, Composers, etc.) and can display the currently playing track's information or just the artwork.

The iDA-X001 provides full digital audio using a 24-bit Burr Brown DAC and has a built-in 18 Watt x 4 amplifier (at CEA-2006 power ratings) and 3 pre-outs.

At present, only the fifth-generation iPod is fully supported with the USB connection, but Alpine expects the iPod nano to be supported in the near future with a firmware update from Apple. Other iPods will be supported with Alpine's Full Seed iPod cable, sold separately for about $30, although that connection is not digital.

The iDA-X001 will be available this spring for around $450. Alpine has yet to post information on its Web site regarding the device.


Alpine Electronics iDA-X001


2 comments from the community.

You can post your own below.

+ show options

Your current settings, click to change: Sort Oldest First, Show Guest Posts, Hide Community Stats

Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 999 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:44 pm

That is super sweet. I have had an Alpine system in my Blazer for two years, including iPod integration. I rarely use the CD player, so it's nice to see them ditch the moving parts. This new one has a phone button too, so expect it to work with Bluetooth phones for hands free use. I wonder if it works with XM/Sirius... probably through AI-NET.

Sign me up to do the first review when it ships!

Oh, I just found a URL... Available in February. SWEET!!!!

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=iDA-X001

Quote this post ↓

A guest said: (hide)

Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:45 pm

Who made this again, Alpine… or Apple?

I’m surprised it isn’t Wi-Fi, with a firewall blocking everything but iTunes connections (i-Fi?).

But seriously…

The missing CD drive is not "nice" to most people, maybe if you cut the price in half and give it a aux jack in front.

At this price (suggested $450 US) it should not only have a cd drive that plays mp3/wma/etc but be able to rip to the iPod.

What kind of "media receiver" (for the car) doesn’t have an AUX jack and at least a CD player; or by buying this can I only be friends with people in the “iPod network”, which brings me to… will it work with the Apple iPhone?

Want CD, Bluetooth, Sat Radio, HD Radio, or something else, well fork out $200+ extra for each item!

5th Gen iPods’ ONLY unless apple updates firmware for other iPods’; sorry ipod nano majority, you will need to use the analog cable, no fancy screen or album art for you… hold your breath and think about the iPod FM Radio integration.

Then to top it off, although the speed has been improved with digital music transfers, the Alpine controls are still non-intuitive to ipod users (so I read from other CES go’ers reviews), so it seems no improvements in the navigation area either; I guess Alpine R&D doesn’t own an iPod.

Wait for next years iPod/MP3 Player compatible stereos, or at least wait for the price to drop, a lot.

Quote this post ↓

Post Your Comments

  Remember Me

Not a member? Register now. You can post comments without logging in, but they'll show up as a "guest" post.


Please enter the word exactly as you see it in the image above. Registered users aren't prompted for this. Having trouble reading the image get a new one.