[January 08, 2013]

Pioneer Fully Embraces the Consumer's Smartphone Connected Lifestyle

CES (News - Alert) BOOTH #1101 - Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. continues to embrace the consumer's smartphone connected lifestyle with the broadest range of car, home and DJ electronic products that offer multiple wired and wireless options with today's iOS and the Android^™ OS smartphone devices. With 97% of smartphone owners in the U.S. using smartphones at home¹, 83% while on the go, and 88% for entertainment purposes, Pioneer is committed to the integration of smartphone connectivity with its line of consumer electronics products to bring consumers that personal smartphone experience, whenever and wherever.

Showcased at this year's 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show, Pioneer is demonstrating interoperability with its smartphone integrated products, including car electronics products such as the AppRadio^™ 2, in-dash multimedia navigation and in-dash DVD receivers; home electronics products such as wireless speakers and home audio video receivers; and professional and "prosumer" products such as DJ controllers. This broad range of products enables users to connect their Apple^® iOS or Google (News - Alert)^® Android OS smartphone devices with ease and provide access and control of stored multimedia content and/or smartphone applications.

"The smartphone has become the source for consumer entertainment. They want to share content from their device(s) and we're making that happen, whether it's at home, in the car, or on the go," said Russ Johnston, executive vice president of Corporate Communications for Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "We're the most smartphone-friendly brand and we are using the latest technologies, including iPhone^® 5 connectivity, AppRadio^™ Mode, AirPlay^™, HTC (News - Alert) Connect^™, DLNA^®, Wireless Direct and Bluetooth^®, to give consumers the freedom to enjoy stored audio video entertainment, the latest compatible apps and online content."

Pioneer Car Electronics Division

Pioneer's Car Electronics Division is transforming any car into a "connected car," bringing products designed to meet the consumer's desire for enhanced integration of entertainment and smartphone connectivity in the car. Pioneer's in-dash car receivers offer the most smartphone connectivity options for the iPhone 5 and several Android smartphones.

• Multimedia Navigation and DVD Receivers - New connected in-dash products introduced at CES include three navigation receivers and three DVD receivers. As a part of the AppRadio platform, which now consists of a total of thirteen in-dash receivers starting at only $300 suggested retail price, all six systems incorporate Pioneer's AppRadio Mode (previously known as Advanced App Mode) to provide users the ability to access and control dozens of compatible smartphone apps* through the units' built-in touchscreen displays.
• iPhone 5 Connectivity - In less than four months, Pioneer was able to develop three different solutions to provide enhanced connectivity between iPhone 5 and a total of thirteen Pioneer in-dash receivers (nine 2013 models and five 2012 models²). Available in the spring, the CD-IH202, CD-IV202AV and CD-IV202NAVI connectivity kits³, in conjunction with an appropriate Apple (News - Alert) Lightning adapter from Apple, will give iPhone 5 users the ability to access and control select iPhone 5 apps via the in-dash touchscreen display; to play and control music and videos stored on the iPhone 5; and to play and control the Pandora (News - Alert)^® internet radio app running on their iPhone 5 via the revolutionary AppRadio and AppRadio Mode interfaces.
• AppRadio Development Center - Pioneer continues to work with many of the most popular services and app developers to deliver the latest and most in demand in-vehicle content from the user's smartphone to the car. Pioneer's AppRadio Development Center (www.appradiodev.com) will help grow the library of AppRadio apps*, expediting the development process between Pioneer and third-party app developers by providing the tools necessary for integrating appropriate apps with the AppRadio platform. These tools include the software development kit, technical support, and additional resources to find all of the information necessary from a single central resource portal.
• Latest Apps - Adding to the long list of compatible apps available on the AppRadio platform, new apps have been officially added including those announced at the CES show: iHeartAuto^™, Rdio^®, Beej!^™, Parkopedia^®, Glympse^®, and Maxthon^® Cloud Web Browser, available for the iOS and Android operating systems. The number of applications compatible with the AppRadio platform now totals more than three dozen, ranging from entertainment to navigation apps. A special section of the Pioneer booth has been dedicated to demonstrating the new apps. For a full list of compatible apps on the AppRadio platform, log on to http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/appradio.

Pioneer's Home Electronics Division recognizes that the smartphone has become the preferred source for streaming audio and video entertainment and offers the most connectivity options in the home for today's smartphone users. Pioneer's home electronics products integrate the latest and most convenient wireless technology options for sharing smartphone content in the home through AirPlay, DLNA 1.5, Wireless Direct, HTC Connect, and Bluetooth, as well as exclusive apps such as ControlApp and iControlAV2012.

• Wireless Speakers - Pioneer adds to its lineup of whole home audio products by entering the wireless speaker category with its line of SMA series of Wi-Fi^® speakers, the XW-SMA1, XW-SMA3 and XW-SMA4. Designed and sound tuned by renowned speaker engineer Andrew Jones, all three models offer AirPlay and DLNA connectivity, as well as an alternative wireless connection called Wireless Direct that allows the speaker to act as its own wireless access point when a network connection is unavailable.
• Networked Home Audio Video Receivers - The full line of networked Pioneer^® and Elite^® branded audio video receivers will be on display demonstrating support of streaming audio through AirPlay and HTC Connect as well as Pioneer's proprietary control apps such as ControlApp and iControlAV2012, which allow the user to control and push content from the phone to the audio video receiver via network connection.
• Latest Connectivity - Pioneer is committed to staying at the forefront of technology and continues to offer the latest in connectivity options with the most popular smartphone platforms in the market. Pioneer home products are compatible with the newest iPhone 5 and iPhones running iOS6.

Additionally, Pioneer is the first consumer electronics manufacturer to receive HTC Connect certification and provide a unified connectivity solution for Android smartphone users via HTC Connect technology incorporated in Pioneer's wireless speakers and AV receivers.

Pioneer DJ Division

Pioneer DJ brings the connected lifestyle into the DJ world with the XDJ-AERO controller, the industry's first Wi-Fi^® DJ system that can wirelessly play music tracks from smart devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptop computers⁴. The XDJ-AERO allows users to mix and arrange their favorite music tracks stored on their smart devices via Wi-Fi, as well as on USB memory devices and computers via compatible DJ software by way of MIDI. For additional benefits and convenience, the XDJ-AERO also features Wireless Direct, creating its own access point when Wi-Fi isn't available or not in range, further enabling quick and convenient connectivity with portable smart devices.

More Pioneer Technologies

• Additional products at the booth demonstrating connectivity include Zypr™, Pioneer's Web API (Application Programming Interface) that aggregates Internet content and integrates it into mobile devices.
• Pioneer continues to incorporate features from popular music listening trends into its products. Pioneer's MIXTRAX™ music technology brings today's DJ-centric lifestyle into the car and home settings. To showcase the revolutionary MIXTRAX technology, Pioneer will be featuring Travis Barker's classic '51 Chevy Truck equipped with the DEH-X9500BHS CD receiver at its CES booth.
• Continuing its history of innovation in new business categories, Pioneer will display its future cycling technology, the SGX-CA900 high-performance cyclocomputer and the SGY-PM900 wireless water resistant pedaling monitor sensor, designed to improve pedaling technique for serious riders. The cycling technology builds on Pioneer's heritage in analysis software and provides riders with detailed analysis of their rides to evaluate their performance.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and its U.S. Web address is www.pioneerelectronics.com. Its parent company, Pioneer Corporation, is a preeminent manufacturer of high-performance audio, video and computer equipment for the home, car and business markets and is celebrating 75 years of innovation in the consumer electronics industry.

* Read the operation manual as well as all instructions and cautions provided with compatible smartphone apps before use. Become familiar with any applicable state and local laws. Pay attention to the road, limit glances to the device, and do not use any feature if it cannot be operated safely in your location and environment. Distracted driving may result in serious injury, including death.

¹ Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT survey - Our Mobile Planet: United States, Understanding the Mobile Consumer (May 2012)

² Firmware updates and optional cables required.

³ Connectivity kits and Apple Lightning adapter requirements vary by model. For more information, visit www.pioneerelectronics.com/appradio.

⁴ Requires computer with wireless LAN functions or wireless LAN network.

PIONEER, ELITE, AppRadio and MIXTRAX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pioneer Corporation.
ANDROID is a trademark of Google Inc.
iPhone and AirPlay are trademarks of Apple Inc.
iHeartAuto is a trademark of Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc.
Parkopedia is a registered trademark of Parkopedia Limited.
Beej! is a trademark of ILS Technologies LLC.
Glympse is a registered trademark of Glympse Inc.
Rdio is a registered trademark of Rdio, Inc.
Maxthon is a registered trademark of Maxthon USA Inc.
DLNA, the DLNA Logo and DLNA Certified are trademarks, service marks, or certification marks of the Digital Living Network Alliance.
Blu-ray Disc and Blu-ray are trademarks owned by the Blu-ray Disc Association.
The Bluetooth word mark is registered trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Pioneer is under license.
HTC and HTC Connect are trademarks of HTC Corporation.
Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]