A Media Hub For The Car

From FMQB.com:  "The demand for multi-media access in cars is rising as nearly 12 percent of vehicles currently have screens for viewing DVDs or other data. Alpine Electronics estimates that this number will rise to 50 percent in just five years, and the company is responding with a new device called the Vehicle Hub, according to Business 2.0. The Hub will be released this month, and the device not only links up with satellite radios and iPods, but it also allows passengers to simultaneously watch two different movies, and in the near future, different television channels. The Vehicle Hub will retail for $299."

"But Alpine is not the only company getting involved in the car entertainment game. Comcast, Microsoft, Sirius and XM are all banking on cars becoming multi-media hubs. XM’s NavTraffic service, which will become widely available this spring, feeds real-time traffic data into a driver’s Global Positioning System and offers alternate routes. Sirius has promised a similar product, and in January it partnered with Microsoft to license Windows Media software, which will allow Sirius technology to deliver satellite video to cars. Comcast also is on the same track, as the company is working with mobile electronics firm Delphi on a video service. One idea is that Comcast programming could be sent to a subscriber’s home computer, and then downloaded to a Delphi in-car hard drive. And later this year, RaySat will release an antenna capable of delivering both Internet access and satellite TV to cars."

"Business 2.0 says that by 2020, roughly 9 million cars are expected to be sold each year with broadband access. By then, consumers could spend an estimated $7 billion annually for satellite navigation hardware, rear-seat entertainment systems, and other multi-media products."