Parrot Asteroid Mini Picks Up FCC Approval

Would you like to work at the FCC? After all, that seems to be the place to be when it comes to picking up the latest and greatest gizmos for you to play around with. Well, the Parrot Asteroid Mini multimedia system for vehicles which was unveiled to the masses in October might be well on its way to the general public soon. Of course, this being a system that offers GPS mapping functionality, we do tend to ask ourselves whether there is still a market among the public for a standalone automotive GPS device, considering how our smartphones and tablets have turned out to be pretty powerful devices in their own right that can also help you find your way around unfamiliar territory.

Back to the Parrot Asteroid Mini, this bad boy will come withGPS mapping functionality at its core, while letting you manage calls and music at the same time. It will play nice with both iOS- and Android-powered devices, hooking up to them via Bluetooth connectivity, where it is also accompanied by a single USB port for you to slip in a 3G dongle. A 3.2-inch TFT color display is there, although touching it isn’t going to yield any response since this is no touchscreen device. At least there is a wireless remote control for you to play with. The Parrot Asteroid Mini will ship sometime in February next year Stateside for $300 a pop.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Electric Bigfoot Sounds Like An Oxymoron, SleekSpeak Wireless Speaker for Your Bike,

Parrot unveils Asteroid Smart, Tablet and Mini car infotainment systems, we go hands-on

Parrot unveils Asteroid Smart, Tablet and Mini car infotainment systems, we go handson

We first laid eyes on Parrot’s first Android-based Asteroid car infotainment system a couple years ago at CES. Then, at this past year’s show, we got a sneak peek at a trio of successor Asteroid devices. Now, a mere 10 months later, the Asteroid Smart, Tablet and Mini have finally arrived in consumer-ready garb. First, there’s a flagship in-dash system, the double-DIN Asteroid Smart. It features a 6.2-inch 800 x 480 capacitive display, a Texas Instruments 800MHz processor and runs a heavily skinned version of Android 2.3. The Smart also has four USB 2.0 ports (one which pushes 5V to charge an iPod) for connecting external devices like the included GPS antenna or a dongle for cellular data. Plus, there are 3.5mm line-in and microphone jacks to go with a host of RCA connections and a micro-USB port round the back. Bluetooth 3.0 is baked in, and an SD card slot sits behind the detachable security strip to the left of the screen.

The Smart’s siblings, the Asteroid Mini and Asteroid Tablet are also coming to North America this month. The Tablet packs similar specs as the Smart, only it’s got a 5-inch capacitive screen and is portable, as opposed to an in-dash solution. It runs the same skinned version of Gingerbread, has GPS and Bluetooth radios, and packs 512MB of RAM and 1GB of on-board storage, plus an SD slot. It also comes with a wireless touchpad remote so you can control the system straight from your steering wheel. Meanwhile, the Mini, with its 3.2-inch, non-touch screen has a similar form factor to the Tablet and comes with a wireless remote as well. However, its OS is built on Android 1.5 and it relies upon an external GPS antenna like its bigger, double-DIN cousin. The Asteroid Tablet will retail for $399, and the Mini will cost a hundred bucks less when they go on sale in a few weeks.

We got to swipe our way around the Parrot Smart, so join us after the break to see it in action.

Continue reading Parrot unveils Asteroid Smart, Tablet and Mini car infotainment systems, we go hands-on

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