January 2006 - Pimp my Prius - page 3
Using Satellite Radio and the iPod in My Prius
With Satellite radio, you need a clear view of the sky, so I had to back out of my garage and call Sirus to active the unit. This was a piece of cake and I was now able to hear everything from the soft sounds of Channel 4’s “Moving Easy” to the raw, uncensored news about Howard Stern on “Howard 100.” I was able to set up 18 different presets with all of my favorite stations and I could cycle through three sets of six presets with my thumb. A button called “seek type” that is accessible on the navigation screen cycles through different genres, including pop, rock, talk, news, humor and many more. The radio tuner knob then lets you move the channel up or down one station at a time. The response time was better than that of my outboard Kenwood unit that I had in my last car. My only gripe about the Sirius Prius kit is the fact that only nine characters can show for the name of the artist and nine characters for the name of the song. If you are listening to the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, you will be able to see the full artist’s name but you’ll be listening to “Bohemian R” according to Sirius Prius. It’s not too helpful for your rock and roll Name That Tune trivia skills, but it’s such a fantastic product that I can live with this one little quirk.
The iPod adapter proved to be a little tricky when I was first struggling to get the songs up on screen that I wanted. The typical iPod scroll wheel controls are not active when plugged into this cable, as the screen on the iPod only shows the VaisTech logo and the buttons on the iPod don’t function like they normally do. I learned that, for the VaisTech unit, it’s very important to group your songs into play lists. The unit reads up to 99 play lists and you use the steering wheel controls to cycle through them. I found that making an individual play list for each of my favorite artists was the easiest way to access the songs I wanted. This took a little extra time and planning in iTunes, but now that I have my iPod set up this way, I can’t imagine doing it any other way.
Conclusion
Aftermarket car accessories run the gamut from chrome spinning wheels to carbon fiber hoods that reduce the weight of the car. Often, car enthusiasts spend tens of thousands of dollars tricking out a $15,000 to $20,000 car, only to have it be less valuable to the general public than if they had left it completely stock. What I did with my car is put items that are sure to be standard fare in several years, so I’m confident that someday, when I sell my car, I will not turn away prospective buyers with the plethora of audio options available. iPods are becoming as common as cell phones and, if Apple has its way, there is going to be a day when virtually every car sold has on board or at least has the option of having an integrated iPod solution. Satellite Radio, lead by Howard Stern on Sirius, also has a good shot at becoming standard fare in every car made and, looking at the number of announcements from car manufacturers, this may be coming in the next two years. Some manufacturers are including a pre-paid period of satellite service with the purchase or lease of a car or truck that includes satellite radio. When cable TV was first announced, the idea of paying money for TV which was previously free seemed strange. However, I feel that if enough marquee talent can be wooed over to satellite radio, then the $13 a month fee for satellite radio will be as common as the $60 cell phone and $100 satellite TV or cable bill.
If you are a handy kind of person and feel confident in your ability to work with your hands, I highly recommend doing the research to find out what cool accessories you can add to your car. Do the research on Internet discussion groups and read reviews before plunking down the dough, as there are many aftermarket accessories that are complete garbage and others that are winners. For about $700, I was able to add two sources to my car, expanding on the amount of audio options in my car quite dramatically. The hours on the road are made just a little easier with all of my new audio options.
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