Alpine ICS-X7HD Digital Media Receiver iPhone Features
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We’ve long recommended Alpine receivers to anyone looking for great sound and solid performance. Now, with their ICS-X7HD digital media receiver, Alpine has given you smartphone junkies and digital-media aficionados a receiver that speaks your language. Not only will it connect to your iPhone® or Android™ phone to take advantage of apps you’ve loaded, it also comes with built-in Bluetooth® that lets you make hands-free calls and stream music wirelessly. To top it off, its built-in HD Radio™ tuner allows you to enjoy vastly-improved sound quality from participating local AM and FM stations.
[Learn more about the ICS-X7HD]
Read video transcript
Zak: I'm at the Alpine booth at CES 2013 with Steve — and tell us about the ICS-X7HD.
Steve: Well, what we've noticed.and actually we're now in the "Play Smart" zone. So this area of the booth is dedicated to smartphone integration in the car. And what we've found is, a lot of consumers are really looking to get some of the features that they enjoy so much on their phones into the dash of their vehicles.
An ICS-X7HD is one of our premier products that's designed to do that. So what we're showing is this particular product is really compatible with both major phone platforms. This, what you're seeing here, is the actual iPhone integration features and then next we're gonna show you some of the features that if offers with Android.
Now as far as iPhone goes, one of the greatest technologies that iPhone has developed is Siri because it allows you to control things using your voice. And this is great for the car application, because now instead of looking at your dashboard or your phone you're looking at the road, and you're focusing on driving. So by applying Siri to the car, now we can do things like change sources, we can send an email or a text, and have a text read back to us while we're driving — without having to look at or operate the phone.
So the way Siri works on this model is by pushing and holding the Siri button. That actually activates the Siri function. So now I get all the features and functions that I would be used to with my phone with Siri, but now done through the radio of the car and it allows easier, safer operation in driving.
Now in addition, we've partnered with Aha radio, so now Aha is an integrated feature into this when you're using an iPhone. So now I've got access to all the content Aha has to offer — thousands of different channels of internet radio content, both music, news, sports, those types of things. So it's really, really handy for people who want to have all of their content on the go.
Zak: Thanks Steve.
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Meet Zak Billmeier
I'll do my best to make videos that are helpful and interesting.
I've been a camera nut since I was a kid. I got really into it around age 12, when I got hold of a Pentax K1000 35mm camera. My father is a photo nut also, and we had access to a darkroom. Ever since then I have delighted in trying out new cameras, lenses, and photo techniques. Working here at Crutchfield, I get to handle all the new and cool camera gear I can get my hands on.
I'm also into audio, from car audio to home audio to headphones. I'm a music lover, and an eye-opening moment for me was discovering just how much more there is to musical recordings when you listen using high-quality gear. It's an experience I try to pass along to others as often as possible. I truly believe that having good quality gear in your car or home can really enrich your life.
I started getting into the video side of things early on in my Crutchfield career while I was a copywriter for car audio products. In those days our video program was just getting started, and many of us pitched in when our writing and editing duties allowed. Today, we have a dedicated team that makes hundreds of videos a year, including spotlights on products and product lines, how-to videos, videos that shine a light on our company, end everything in between. I am proud to be a part of that team and of the work we do.
My job is a lot of fun because I get to play around with all the cool stuff you see on our website while I'm making videos. Getting hands-on with the gear helps me see what I should show you about a product, and I look at our videos as a way of having a conversation with you when you are considering a purchase. If I do my job well, you should come away from a Crutchfield video understanding why you do — or don't — want that product. In the end, it's gotta be something you enjoy.
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