Car multimedia players

	Multimedia players, GPS navigators, and in-car security and safety systems dominated the In-Car Electronics Pavilion floor of Global Sources’ Fall 2008 China Sourcing Fair.

A preview of new products sees suppliers looking in tune with coming attractions in vehicle and navigational electronics.

In-car electronics makers continually strive to churn out products that are content-rich and affordable at the same time.

Integration and connectivity remain the key drivers of product development for the industry, and multimedia features have become the key trend. Makers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, along with other markets, showcased such products at the In-Car Electronics Pavilion of the Electronics & Components China Sourcing Fair held in Hong Kong on October 12 to 15, 2008.

GPS navigators, touchscreen devices and in-car security and safety systems were also a standout in the show held at the Asia World Expo.

	Shenzhen Mocar's DVD7189-PAKG 7in headrest monitor has A/V support for DVD and other file formats. The unit has built-in speakers, SD and USB ports, a game jack, and optional TV tuner and game controllers.

Among the exhibitors was Shenzhen Mocar Multimedia Co. Ltd, which develops OEM/ODM grade in-car DVD monitors for customers worldwide. Included in the company’s offerings is the DVD7189-PAKG, a 7in headrest DVD player that has support for multimedia content.

The rear-seat entertainment unit’s 16:9 display has 480x234 resolution and 350cd/m² brightness. There is A/V support for DVD/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVCD as well as for VCDs, music CDs, MP4s and MP3s, CD-Rs and CD-RWs. The unit uses a MediaTek chipset solution, a Foryou loader and a Hitachi lens. It has built-in speakers, SD and USB ports, a game jack, and optional TV tuner and game controllers.

The company’s production lines also manufacture sun visor monitors with DVD player and USD/SD/MMC ports, flip down roof mount monitors with DVD/USB/SD/MMC/TV/FM transmitter and rearview mirrors with GPS system.

Shenzhen Hantong Technology Electronic Co. Ltd also showcased a 7in headrest monitor in the HT-700A. The unit has a TFT-LCD screen with 16:9 display mode and adjustable image brightness, color and contrast. It supports NTSC, PAL and SECAM formats, has one A/V input and one A/V output, and features USB and SD slots. It plays MP4, MP3 and JPEG files and has a built-in speaker.

Another multimedia player displayed at the show was Shenzhen Hantong’s HT-320, which has an AM/FM radio tuner and RDS function. It has USB and SD slots, and DVD/MP4/MP3/CD playback. The unit with LCD clock display has a built-in amplifier, is compatible with up to 40GB HDD, has one video output and two audio output. Power consumption is 4x25W and operating temperature is up to 50C. The model ships with a card-style remote control.

Shenzhen Hantong sources screen panels from Toshiba and Panasonic, and other mechanisms from Tohei. Its products have CE, FCC and UL approvals.

Also at the show floor was one of Simon Trading Co. Ltd’s rear-seat entertainment offerings, the Nextbase Click 7 Duo Deluxe, a 7in dual screen portable DVD player with on-top control buttons and a top-loading DVD player. It also features USB and 3-in-1 memory card ports, built-in speakers, multilanguage OSD, an infrared transmitter for two channels and optional DVB-T and FM transmitter modules. The model supports S-Video input/output, CVBS input/output, earphone output and 12V DC output.

Simon Trading employs more than 100 engineers and technical specialists in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It manufactures, develops and distributes not only DVD players but also digital photo frames, electronic toys, A/V systems, computers and computer peripherals.

	Coagent dedicated one wall of its booth at the AsiaWorld-Expo to products specializing in multimedia content and navigation.

Touchscreen-based solutions will inevitably flood the aftermarket, if the technology’s rapid adoption rate is any indicator. Helped by the popularity of the iPhone, there are few consumer electronic devices left that cannot be controlled by tapping, sliding or dragging a finger.

According to an iSuppli forecast, global touchscreen module revenue will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 percent from 2008.

Sound Technology (SZ) Co. Ltd nabbed fall 2008’s Global Sources Electronics Design Award with its D4.3M01R in-dash DVD player featuring a detachable slide-down 4.3in touchscreen TFT LCD.

The unit boasts Dolby Digital support and input connections for USB, SD card and iPod. It has motorized viewing angle adjustment, last angle memory, GUI, and optional GPS, Bluetooth, RDS and analog/DVB-T tuner. General manager Mae Sung said the company is currently working on a version with a built-in HD radio receiver.

The company’s S4361 in-dash touchscreen AM/FM receiver and DVD player was also exhibited at the Hong Kong show. The 1-DIN unit has a 4.3in digital touch panel with 432x240 resolution, 400cd/m² brightness and 400:1 contrast ratio. It has broad A/V support and slots for an SD card and USB connectivity, and has a detachable face.

Sound Technology has a manufacturing capacity of 700,000 units and six assembly lines at its 9,000sqm factory in Shenzhen, mainland China. It supplies car DVD players to Japan, the US and Europe.

While personal navigation devices continue to outsell in-car navigation devices, the latter is expected to retain its hold in certain markets. In-car electronics suppliers are therefore aiming for products that are feature-rich and affordable at the same time.

According to market researcher IDC, navigation devices will continue to grow as GPS technology and other geoservices become integrated into more and more product offerings. Mapping and driving directions offer car owners the best value.

Motevo Mobile Media Inc.’s 6.2in touchscreen TFT-LCD multimedia navigation system for the Skoda Octavia is a DVD player that supports VCD, CD, CD-RW, MP3 and MP4. The all-in-one in-dash double-DIN system has GPS navigation, Bluetooth mobile handsfree and iPod interfaces, a USB port, an SD slot and AM/FM radio. The item ships with a remote control.

Motevo offers both universal-fit and factory-fit mobile entertainment units. The company was founded in California, serving international distributors in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, South America, Russia and Europe.

Skypine Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd, which delivers fully integrated car navigation systems to manufacturers such as Clarion and JVC, recently sealed a deal to carry u-blox 5 GPS receiver modules on its in-car GPS multimedia navigation systems.

“The demand for high-performance and accurate GPS-enabled devices continues to rise throughout the automotive and consumer market,” Skypine CEO Alex Shi said in a press release. “The partnership we have with u-blox reinforces our ability to provide innovative navigation systems to the automotive market at record speed.”

Coagent Electronic S&T Co. Ltd dedicated one wall of its booth at the show to products specializing in multimedia content and navigation. Among the standouts was its CA3038 car multimedia player, which can have tire pressure monitoring and on-board diagnostic systems, as well as NAVI, CDC, rearview sensor, handbrake control and camera as optional features.

The car multimedia player, which carries the Caska brand, is designed for the Opel Astra. It is compatible with the iPod and supports various other interfaces including USB. It has DVD, VCD, CD, MPEG-4 and MP3 playback; an EQ mode display; steering wheel control smart match; and support for Bluetooth A2DP and PAL/NTSC/SECAM.

Security systems provider Goscam/Gospell Smarthome Electronics Co. Ltd lined up a host of feature-packed rearview cameras at the fair. Model 8909PC has a 4.3in TFT-LCD touchscreen, GPS navigator, 2.4GHz wireless rearview camera and night vision with a range of 4m. It has support for MP3 and MP4 players, and SD cards with a maximum 4GB capacity.

Goscam/Gospell has a monthly capacity of 10,000 wireless security camera kits, wireless surveillance systems, underwater detection systems and wireless DVB-T boxes.

The financial crisis besetting global markets is likely to lower exporter expectations for 2009 as makers in the Greater China region deal with falling global demand and rising costs.

“The export figures do not seem to be very discouraging at the moment, but the country’s exporters are in a very difficult situation right now,” said Zhang Yansheng, director of the International Economic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission in China.

The influx of all products multimedia and touchscreen into the consumer market will lower prices and give a boost to otherwise downbeat projections for semiconductors and electronics markets amid a credit crunch in the US.

Mainland makers expect the global market share of car safety and security products in particular to continue increasing in the coming years. They are focusing on exports to enhance their competitiveness and avoiding the tight competition in the domestic market.

Other makers have started looking in—getting orders from the burgeoning local automotive market—or beyond the usual regions to tap alternative sources of export revenue. To buck the volatile US dollar-yuan valuation, more makers are now revising their strategies to reduce the risks associated with currency conversion. Others are shifting to contracts with shorter validity or shorter renewal periods for price quotations.