Navigation

Jam packed: In cities even the 7-inch screen sometimes seems overloaded.
Tucked away: The Blackbird PMD B200P sat nav transforms the Alpine IVA-W505R Moniceiver into a fully fitted system.
A plug-&-play sat nav that you can also use as a fitted system how does that work? Its quite simple. Take the Alpine IVA-W505R Moniceiver and add the portable Blackbird PMD B200P sat nav. Just like with good old VCRs, you slot it into the main unit and youre done fixed installation la Alpine. Is this NAVI-K2/W505R package worth the relatively high price of 1,399? pine you can quickly switch through the playlists without having to put up with tedious delays. However, you first need to get used to operating the iPod via the IVA-W505R, as this is rather more complicated than when using Apples music box on its own. This is firstly due to the buttons ending up too small and secondly to the fact that the menu is not uite q as clear as on the iPod itself. Videos and podcasts can also be played on the 7-inch display. All who are not iPod fans will also be delighted: there is no irritating searching of nested directory struc ures on t USB storage devices, as the Alpine IVA-W505R can read ID3 tags. The Blackbird also has a practical Bluetooth hands-free facility. We used this a lot during our test drives. Unfortunately in plug-&play mode its a bit quiet due to the smaller speakers.
Alpine IVA-W505R/PMD B200P
Short-cut wanted: You use two buttons to get to the main menu (top right) and back to the navigation view (bottom right).
Slip it in: The Alpine Moniceiver swallows up the Blackbird sat nav unit just like VCRs used to with video cassettes.
Fully fitted plug-&-play
The unusual combination of fully fitted and plug-&-play navigation has one major benefit to start with: owners of more than one car can use the fitted solution in one vehicle while sticking the Blackbird quickly to the windscreen with a suction holder in the other. They are thus saved from having to buy a second sat nav. Another practical feature: any one already owning an IVA-W505R (priced 999 on its own) or an IVAW205R (899) can buy the Blackbird as an add-on. However, that costs a mighty 499. Steep in the days of 99 sat navs! The IVAW505R/PMD B200P bundle is yours for 1,199. It has, for example, a full-speed port for connecting an iPod. This connection is justifiably called full-speed, for in contrast to many conventional iPod integration solutions, with the Al-
can be enjoyed only on the Blackbird. By way of compensation, operation is a doddle. As on the Zenec and Xzent the menu structure is quickly understood.

Talkative directions

In terms of leading you to your d estination the system provides impressively precise spoken directions, even if these have ended up a bit wordy. That can do no harm on unfamiliar routes, but is irritating in everyday use. The systems talkative nature does, however, also have a benefit: turns to be taken at the end of tunnels are pleasingly announced in good time even without a GPS signal. The friendly male voice also prompts us with the direction and the distance to the next junction. Compared to the Zenec and the Xzent, the Alpine is a bit more pre-
Just another iGo sat nav?
In sat nav mode we are greeted by the familiar iGo interface. Alpine, however, have done a bit of fine tuning, as the menu interfaces are somewhat more colourful and nicer to look at than on the iGo systems from Zenec and Xzent. Our testers would neverthelss have liked the IVA-W505Rs 7-inch screen to have a rather higher resolution as the pin-sharp picture, for example,
cise and natural. On hearing the slioghlty lisping female voice you soon feel yourself reminded of German television personality Katja Burkard. Nevertheless, orientation at major junctions or crossroads, on motorways or country roads, works really easily thanks to the use of signposts. In city centres, however, the exceptionally large number of signs sometimes akes things a little m cluttered. The TMC traffic jam report function is solved in an interesting way: if traffic has come to a standstill on your planned route, the colour changes in a little window on the edge of the map.

PRODUCT INFORMATION
The brand new IVA-W505R a multi-talent CD, DVD, iPod, MP3 player, USB stick, rear view camera, Bluetooth sound from the mobile? With the new IVAW505R mobile media station from Alpine, hifi and video aficionados are guaranteed not only total media diversity but also brilliant output quality. Just one of the numerous highlights is the generously proportioned 7" WVGA screen, which extends across almost the complete front of the double DIN unit. Not only its sheer size is impressive: its striking feature is the innovative LLC brightness adjustment, providing even more luscious colors and improved contrast. This has the advantage of optimizing film sequences that are particularly dark or light. The touch display is designed for intuitive operation and is further proof that diversity need not mean complexity: sophisticated menus ensure speedy and straightforward user prompting. The sound quality of the Alpine IVA-W505R is likewise second to none, whatever the medium used, thanks to the 4x50W internal amplifier power, the 24-bit d/a converter, and the IMPRINT upgrade capability. Alpine IVA-D106R the latest 1-DIN unit in the world of mobile media stations First, second and third course: order the full menu in a posh restaurant and you will hardly be surprised to be handed a tidy bill! But, as Alpine proves with the new IVA-D106R mobile media station, this does not automatically apply to in-car entertainment. The 1-DIN unit provides a broad range of multimedia specialities. It plays DVDs and CDs in MP3, AAC, WMA and DivX formats and additionally enables the straightforward connection of an iPod Video via the Alpine Fullspeed interface. But the IVA-D106R not only looks good it sounds good as well, with its 24-bit d/a converter and 4x50W (RMS) output power. Thanks to the three preamplifier outputs and the innovative Alpine Ai-Net bus, the system can easily be networked with other components, with the end result a full-scale mobile media system.

IVA-D106R IVA-W505R

Alpine Electronics GmbH Product Information 2008