Clarion NX501E Double DIN with Parrot BT and Customisable GUI
Just had a first look at the brand new Clarion NX501E double DIN head unit in the car of Alan Smith from Clarion. It has the most superbly detailed and crispy touch screen LCD display which can be pushed around and customised, much like the stuff on an Apple ‘˜Pod/’Pad screen. There’s one screenful that comprises a series of smaller-yet-still-grooving-around versions of all the major control screens, such as TV tuner, DVD, iPod, iPod video (handled separately on your iPod and usually via an extra control lead from electronics manufacturers as otherwise everyone would have to pay for the video-connectivity they don’t all need.) and of course all the other stuff, like the 44-country mapped navigation.
The Clarion NX501E has a single-DIN little brother called the NZ501E that has a seven inch retractable screen and has all the same functions for the same price as the fixed screen 6.2in job we see in the video below.
The maps are pan-European and the navigation has a slew of features that prove superior to the stick-on-the-screen products, simply because of processing power available. I plugged my own iPod Touch into Alan’s car and we watched ‘For the Birds’ – a Pixar short animation.
Here’s what Clarion have to say about it:
Built-in navigation with 8 GB microSD card provides splendid high-quality visual guidance in 44 countries and easy software updates.
Interactive GUI with Flick Operation lets you scroll through menu pages and access functions simply by touching on their animated icons.
Built-in Parrot Bluetooth® Module to provide hands-free telephone communication and audio streaming, with wide-ranging compatibility.
iPod® and iPhone® connectivity for seamless enjoyment of your favourite audio and video content. For video playback, an optional CCA748 cable is required.
It is easy to keep the navigation system up to date. Simply download new map data from Clarion’s portal site, store them on a microSD card and insert it into the NX501E via the front card slot. Unpleasant surprises are now avoided as navigation maps will match the real world.
The NX501E’s touch sensor GUI (Graphical User Interface) supports Flick Operation, so you can quickly scroll to another menu page. Feature icons are animated for an enhanced appearance, and they can be dragged and dropped into different positions to customise the screen
Parrot Bluetooth offers extremely comprehensive compatibility with a variety of mobile phones. Enjoy hands-free communication using the built-in microphone and Phonebook access. Play music stored on your mobile phone with Bluetooth audio streaming. A wide range of protocols are supported: HFP/HSP/A2DP/AVRCP/PBAP/OPP. Firmware updates are possible via USB connection.
Made for iPod and Made for iPhone certified so you can enjoy the convenience of iPod/iPhone ABC Search to quickly access tunes, and Simple Control Mode to allow operation using the iPod/iPhone controls. Album Artwork is displayed to visually enhance the interactivity.
* For audio playback, please use the USB cable provided with your iPod / iPhone.
* For video playback, an optional CCA748 cable is required.
* Please see our website link for details of compatible iPod / iPhone models
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES
RCB199 Optional external microphone
CCA748 iPod / iPhone video connecting cable
CC4001E CMOS colour camera
DTX501E DVB-T digital TV tuner
Selling Price £899.00 available through all Clarion dealers now. (Talk Audio’s ‘˜Known Good’ Internet E-Tailer will also be able to supply the unit, although this news is so fresh, it isn’t yet listed here: link
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