The iceLink Plus iPod/Car Interface

　　I've also been looking for an iPod interface to the car radio, having been disappointed with the FM/cassette options out there. When I visited the Denison booth at MacWorld SF they had a Kenwood head unit hooked up to an iPod via the new iceLink plus interface, and it appeared to be the answer. I placed my order the following Monday, and had the unit in my hands before the end of the week. I also chose to purchase a Kenwood head unit (KDC-MP625) to go along with the iceLink plus, as the factory radio didn't have a CD changer port, and that's what the iceLink interfaces to. Installation was very straight forward: remove the factory radio, push the iceLink connector into the CD changer port on the Kenwood, install the Kenwood in the dash, fish the iceLink cable into the glove box, connect it to the iceLink unit (a small, 1" x 3" circuit board covered in shrink tubing, with a connector at each end), and connect the other end of the iceLink to the iPod cradle. All the cables and connectors were supplied, and there's only one way to connect things.

iceLink 加上iPod/Car 接口

　我并且尋找一個(gè)iPod 接口對(duì)汽車收音機(jī), 對(duì)FM/cassette 選擇失望那里。 當(dāng)我參觀了 Denison 攤在MacWorld SF 他們安排一個(gè)Kenwood 頂頭單位被鉤由一iPod 決定通過新iceLink 加上接口, 并且看起來是答復(fù)。 我以下星期一發(fā)出了我的訂單, 和有單位在我的手里在星期之前的結(jié)尾。 我并且選擇購買Kenwood 頂頭單位(KDC-MP625) 去與iceLink 一起加上, 因?yàn)楣�廠收音機(jī)沒有光盤更換者口岸, 并且那是什么iceLink 連接。 設(shè)施是非常平直向前: 去除工廠收音機(jī), 推擠iceLink 連接器入光盤更換者口岸在Kenwood, 安裝Kenwood 在破折號(hào), 釣魚iceLink 纜繩入手套盒, 解救它到iceLink 單位(小, 1 "x 3" 電路板報(bào)道在抽縮管材里, 用連接器在各個(gè)末端), 和連接iceLink 的另一末端到iPod 搖籃。 所有纜繩和連接器被供應(yīng)了, 并且有只單程連接事。
            

　　The Kenwood head unit is pretty nice, offering better radio reception than the Toyota radio it replaced, and better sound, too. Flipping to the CD changer mode brought up a dialog on the very bright florescent display that indicated that the iceLink was reading a playlist on the iPod, and a few seconds later music started playing. At the same time, the letters changed, and the track name and artist were scrolling on the Kenwood's display. Neat! The right knob on the Kenwood acts as a joy stick, with left/right jogs acting to change tracks, and up changing the playlist.

　　Kenwood 頂頭單位比豐田收音機(jī)是相當(dāng)它替換的好, 提供的更好的無線電招待會(huì), 和改善聲音, 也是。 翻轉(zhuǎn)對(duì)光盤更換者方式提出了關(guān)于表明的非常明亮的繁榮昌盛的顯示的對(duì)話iceLink 讀一個(gè)播放表在iPod, 并且?guī)酌腌姾笠魳烽_始演奏。 同時(shí), 信件被改變, 和軌道名字和藝術(shù)家是卷動(dòng)在Kenwood 的顯示。 整潔! 正確的瘤在Kenwood 作為喜悅棍子, 用left/right 凹凸部行動(dòng)改變軌道, 和上升改變播放表。

　　The iceLink does work: it does play music from the iPod through the Kenwood that sounds just great, and it does allow changing tracks and playlists from the Kenwood controls. But there are limitations that folks need to be aware of. Playlist names are not displayed on the Kenwood head unit, instead all you see is D01, D02, etc. up to D06. And these designations are assigned automatically to the first six playlists on your iPod, alphabetically.

　　To access the remaining playlists, you'll need to select playlist 6, then work some fancy mojo motion on the Kenwood joystick to kick the iPod in a menu mode that shows up on the iPod screen. That means you have to be able to see the iPod screen for this mode to be useful, but if you'd rather just have the iPod hidden away in a glove compartment, you'll have access to only six playlists, and you'll have to memorize what those lists are. But even if you have the iPod out where you can see it, it responds very sluggishly to the joystick jogs, taking anywhere between 1 and 4 seconds for a change to register on the iPod display. Selecting the menu options is difficult, and the head unit still seems to send commands to the iPod that change the tracks instead of changing the menu options. This bumps the iPod out of menu mode, and you get to start the mojo all over again. And the characters on the iPod display are very small, crude and jagged, making them difficult to read. This isn't something you want to try while driving. The menu mode is so cumbersom, slow, and error prone, it's basically unusable. The iceLink does support a "classic" mode which disables head unit control of the iPod, but does allow control from the iPod clickwheel. This preserves the superior audio interface (which also charges the iPod battery and shuts it off when you turn off the car's ignition), and for those that choose to mount the iPod in an easy to see location, this might be a viable option. I haven't tried it, and can't vouch for how well it works.

　　I've also found that the iceLink will take a very long time to start up when it is set to a playlist that contains a lot of songs. My first playlist contains every song on the 40Gb iPod, and it can take several minutes before I hear any music when this list is selected. OK if you're heading out on a long trip, but not at all useful when you're just running a short errand.

　　I've had trouble with the Kenwood losing track of the iceLink, and the only solution is to power everything off, disconnect the iPod and both ends of the iceLink, wait several minutes, then put everything back together. I contacted Dension tech support by phone, and was told that the unit needed an update, which could be applied via files downloaded to the iPod. I found instructions for doing this on the company's web site, but they are very poorly written, and apparently the Kenwood/iceLink pair is a special case that takes special procedures which are alluded to, but not clearly defined. As a result I have lots of update files on the iPod, but have yet to successfully update the iceLink. An additional call to tech support toward the end of the day (I work during Dension's usual tech support hours) had the first level techie promising a call back from a higher level person. That call never came.

　　The bottom line for me is that I'm barely satisfied with the iceLink plus, and if a better alternative were available, I'd dump it and change right now. I looked over the Alpine KCA-420i but found it also to be slow and lacking complete head unit information display. Pioneer and others have announced iPod interfaces, but it's likely to be several months before they reach the market. Dension also supports Sony head units, and maybe those interfaces are more robust than those for the Kenwood. Unfortunately I chose the Kenwood based on this MacWorld display, and the short conversation I had there with the Dension rep. My hope is that Dension will work out the bugs and perhaps expand the feature list, and issue updates in a way that I can figure out how to apply them. Until then, I'll have to be content with shuffle playing tracks from my smaller, first six, playlists, which satisfies 80% of my music listening needs in the car anyway.

　　The ultimate iPod interface, also demoed at MacWorld, comes from Mercedes, and features steering wheel push button control with dash board display of all iPod info. I'm tempted, but just don't have an extra $50K laying round for a new car!

　　iceLink 運(yùn)作: 它演奏音樂從iPod 通過Kenwood 那聽起來正義偉大, 并且它準(zhǔn)許改變軌道和播放表從Kenwood 控制。 但有伙計(jì)需要知道的局限。 播放表名字不被顯示在Kenwood 頂頭單位, 反而所有您看見是D01 、D02, 等。 由D06 決定。 并且這些指定自動(dòng)地被分配到第一六個(gè)播放表在您的iPod, 按字母順序。

　　訪問殘余的播放表, 您將需要選擇播放表6, 然后工作一些花梢mojo 行動(dòng)在Kenwood 控制桿踢iPod 在出現(xiàn)在iPod 屏幕的菜單方式下。 那意味您必須能看iPod 屏幕為這個(gè)方式是有用的, 但如果您寧可會(huì)安排iPod 掩藏在手套隔間, 您將得以進(jìn)入對(duì)只六個(gè)播放表的, 并且您將必須記住是什么那些名單。 但既使您有iPod 您能看它的地方, 它非常慢吞吞地反應(yīng)控制桿凹凸部, 采取任何地方在1 和4 秒之間為對(duì)記數(shù)器的變動(dòng)在iPod 顯示。 選擇菜單選擇是困難的, 并且頂頭單位仍然似乎寄發(fā)改變軌道而不是改變菜單選擇的命令到iPod 。

　　這碰撞iPod 在菜單方式外面, 并且您得到重新開始mojo 。并且字符在iPod 顯示是非常小, 粗暴和接合, 使他們難讀。 這不是某事您想要嘗試當(dāng)駕駛。 菜單方式是因此cumbersom, 慢, 和錯(cuò)誤有傾向, 它是基本上不能再用的。 iceLink 支持使iPod 的頂頭單位控制失去能力的"經(jīng)典" 方式, 但允許控制從iPod clickwheel 。 這保存充電iPod 電池和并且關(guān)閉它的優(yōu)越音像接口(當(dāng)您關(guān)閉汽車的燃燒), 并且為那些選擇登上iPod 在容易看地點(diǎn), 這也許是一個(gè)可行選擇。 我未嘗試它, 和無法擔(dān)保為多么恰當(dāng)這有效。

　　我并且發(fā)現(xiàn)iceLink 將需要非常久時(shí)間開始當(dāng)它被設(shè)置對(duì)包含很多歌曲的播放表。 我的第一個(gè)播放表包含每首歌曲在40Gb iPod, 并且它可能需要幾分鐘在我聽見任一音樂之前當(dāng)這張名單被選擇。 好如果您朝向在一次長的旅行, 僅有用當(dāng)您是正義賽跑每短的差事。

　　我有困難與iceLink 的Kenwood 丟失的軌道, 并且唯一的解答將供給一切動(dòng)力, 分開iPod 和兩個(gè)iceLink 的末端, 等待幾分鐘, 那么匯集一切后面。 我與Dension 技術(shù)支持聯(lián)系由電話, 和告訴, 單位需要更新, 能是應(yīng)用的通過文件被下載對(duì)iPod 。 我找到了指示為做這在公司的網(wǎng)站, 但他們非常窮地被寫, 并且Kenwood/iceLink 對(duì)明顯地是采取特別規(guī)程被暗示, 但不清楚定義的一種特殊情況。 結(jié)果我有許多更新文件在iPod, 但有成功地更新iceLink 。 一個(gè)另外的電話對(duì)技術(shù)支持往天(我的結(jié)尾服務(wù)在Dension 的通常技術(shù)支持小時(shí)期間) 有第一水平techie 許諾電話從一個(gè)更高的水平人。 那個(gè)電話從未來了。

底線為我是, 我?guī)缀鯖]有滿意對(duì)iceLink 加上, 并且如果一個(gè)更好的選擇是可利用的, 我會(huì)傾銷它和現(xiàn)在會(huì)改變。 我看了在高山KCA-420i 但并且發(fā)現(xiàn)它是慢和缺乏完全頂頭單位信息顯示。 先驅(qū)和其他人宣布了iPod 接口, 但它可能是幾個(gè)月在他們到達(dá)市場之前。 Dension 并且支持索尼頂頭單位, 并且那些接口比那些可能健壯為Kenwood 。 我不幸地選擇了Kenwood 根據(jù)這MacWorld 顯示, 和我有那里與Dension rep 的短的交談。 我的希望是, Dension 將制定出臭蟲和或許擴(kuò)展特點(diǎn)名單, 并且問題更新用我能推測怎么應(yīng)用他們的方法。 到那時(shí), 我將必須是滿意對(duì)拖曳演奏軌道從我更小, 第一六, 播放表, 滿足80% 我的音樂聽的需要在汽車無論如何。

　　最后iPod 接口, demoed 在MacWorld, 并且來自Mercedes, 和特點(diǎn)方向盤按鈕控制以破折號(hào)所有iPod 板顯示信息。 我被誘惑, 但沒有額外$50K 放置在周圍為一輛新汽車! 

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