WIRED Staff

Alpine Gives Good Head (Unit)

Peter Cohen at MacCentral has details of Alpine’s forthcoming iPod auto interface, the memorably named KCA-420i. “The KCA-420i is a new interface box designed to work with Alpine car stereos that include ‘Ai-Net’ command capabilities, and the solution actually offers more functionality than BMW’s offering, including the ability to view artist, album and track information. […]

Peter Cohen at MacCentral has details of Alpine's forthcoming iPod auto interface, the memorably named KCA-420i.

"The KCA-420i is a new interface box designed to work with Alpine car stereos that include 'Ai-Net' command capabilities, and the solution actually offers more functionality than BMW's offering, including the ability to view artist, album and track information.

A 'black box' of sorts, the US$99 KCA-420i serves as a bridge between the Alpine car stereo and the iPod. Command protocols sent by the head unit are translated into something the iPod can understand, and the data and music from the iPod is in turn sent to the head unit. Also, the KCA-420i charges your iPod's battery when it's connected."