Every Car Owner Deserves the Cool Technologies Packed in Pioneer's New Car Stereos

Business Wire, Jan 5, 2005

LAS VEGAS -- Heated seats, 20-inch rims, and brushed aluminum trim interior may be all the rage, but the hot ticket for today's car owners is an aftermarket car stereo with cool new technologies like compressed audio playback, satellite radio, iTunes(R) AAC and iPod(R) capability. The 11 new car stereos introduced today by Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. (NYSE:PIO) have the cool new technologies that consumers seek. They also have some hot new features that are not widely known about yet, but will "wow" consumers when they get behind the wheel.

The new line of Pioneer and Pioneer Premier car stereos will not only make a vehicle sound better, they will make it look better as well. Their sleek design, aluminum finish, 3-D graphics, personalization and motorized faceplates improve the look of any dashboard. Stereo faceplates utilize either a multicolor or a deep blue organic electroluminescent (OEL) display for easy reading. Unique rotary knobs make the players effortless to operate.

"When you're stuck in traffic and feeling bored or frustrated, there's nothing like some great music to cheer you up. And a high-performance car stereo can give you the sound quality that will brighten even the gloomiest of days," said Michael Townsen, director of marketing for mobile entertainment at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "Pioneer adds just about every audio feature possible to our car stereos to make the drive easier and more entertaining."

Based on previous consumer research with Gen Y, Pioneer is offering three new car stereos designed specifically for the youth market. Pioneer's DEH-P80MP, DEH-P7700MP and the Premier DEH-P770 all use a similar design with silver cosmetics, deep blue OEL display and the easy-to-use 7-way rotary commander.

Featured technologies in Pioneer and Pioneer Premier in-car CD players include:

--iTunes(R) AAC/MP3/WMA playback - The popularity of compressed audio has exploded in recent years allowing consumers to store an abundant amount of music in one CD-R disc. Fourteen CD players support playback of .mp3 and WMA files using a highly improved digital speed-read mechanism, which provides faster loading and track-to-track access times. Three players (DEH-P7700MP, DEH-P770MP, FH-P4200MP) are the first models that support iTunes(R) AAC files.

--Rotary Commanders - Two additional models have adopted the extremely easy to use 7-way rotary commander to control "audio" and "function" menus, bringing the total to six. Retrieval of files is fast and easy with a push and rotation of the rotary control. (Available with DEH-P8600MP, DEH-P80MP, Premier, DEH-P860MP, DEH-P8MP, DEH-P7700MP and DEH-P770MP.)

--iPod(R) Ready - Through Pioneer's IP-Bus system, head units with changer controls will be able to operate iPods(R) with the use of Pioneer's CD-IB100 adapter. Pioneer head units will display up to eight characters of text including album, artist and song names, with the ability to scroll additional information.

--Satellite Radio Ready - All of Pioneer's new in-car CD players are SIRIUS and XM Satellite Radio ready, giving consumers a choice in service. Access to more than 120 channels of music, sports and news is available with both services.

--Multi-Color and Deep Blue Organic EL Technology - Six CD players boast Pioneer's deep blue OEL technology and an additional four models offer the multi-color OEL screen. The 192 x 48 pixel, passive matrix multi-color display provides a very bright, easy to read screen. The vivid three-dimensional screen enables users to control the functions of the radio at a glance. Consumers also can add their own digital images to the screen via a CD-R, allowing them to personalize their radio and to change the image at any time.

--Bit Media Expander (BMX) - Pioneer's Bit Media Expander restores some of the critical sound lost during recording of compressed audio CDs. Pioneer integrates BMX in all of its car stereos that offer playback of .mp3 and WMA to restore lost harmonics, giving the listener more warmth and richness.

--Supertuner IIID+ - Pioneer's newest tuner circuitry provides excellent sensitivity and further reduces low multi-path noise from previous Supertuner technology. It also provides resistance to interference and exceptional stereo imaging, and maintains the stereo signal of a radio station much longer than conventional tuners with less FM noise and increased dynamic range.

--Detachable Face Technology - Originally designed by Pioneer, this security feature is now a standard throughout the industry. It is incorporated in all of Pioneer's car stereos including standard detachable face, flap down detachable face and motorized detachable face.

--MOSFET50 - MOSFET 50 (50 Watts X 4) amplification gives consumers the power they desire in an aftermarket car stereo.

--MOSFET60 - MOSFET 60 provides uncompromising power to deliver more musical impact. The MOSFET 60 supplies 60 Watts X 4 amplification with extremely low distortion.

--Easy EQ - Pioneer makes it easy to contour the sound for any consumer taste. With five different factory settings (vocal, natural, powerful, super bass and flat) and the ability to make changes with the 3-band parametric equalizer, Easy EQ dials in optimal sound for every type of music.