By Andrew Liszewski
iPod-friendly car stereos are nothing new. In fact, you’d probably be hard-pressed to find a stereo these days that didn’t feature some kind of iPod connectivity. But most of the time it’s just a cable or a dock that leaves your MP3 player sitting out in the open, tempting those who walk by your vehicle. But not the CA-IP500 from Fusion Electronics Ltd. The face of the head unit flips down revealing a spot where you can safely stash your iPod while it’s connected. And the unit currently supports the iPod Touch Gen1 & Gen2, the iPod Classic Gen5, Gen6 & Gen7 and the iPod Nano Gen2, Gen3 & Gen4.
Once hidden away, the iPod can still be controlled via the CA-IP500’s joystick and rotary controls, which operate not unlike the iPod’s own click-wheel. Other features include a dot matrix OLED display, SRS Wos sound shaping, AM/FM tuner, 7-band equalizer, security code, aux-in port and it will even charge your player while it’s docked inside. At $349 it’s not the cheapest iPod-compatible car stereo on the market, but if it saves your vehicle from a break-in, it could be worth it in the long run.
[ Fusion CA-IP500 ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]
