Windows PCs Find a Place in the Car

Japan's Clarion has taken the wraps off a new in-car computer at World PC Expo in Tokyo this week and said it plans to put the device on domestic sale in December.

The computer, which is based on Microsoft's Windows CE for Automotive operating system, is one of the most feature packed in-car electronics systems yet seen in Japan--a country where dashboard navigation, television, and DVD Video functions can be found in many cars.

Clarion's Cadias, the company says it stands for Car Digital Assistant, offers all of these functions and other basic systems such as an AM/FM radio, a CD player, MP3 and WMA digital audio players, and adds communications options into the mix.

E-mail and Internet access are both possible through the system once a network connection is present. This can be done in several ways: either through a cable to a cellular telephone, via a USB connection to advanced handsets such as those for NTT DoCoMo's third-generation mobile service or via a communications card or modem plugged into a PC Card slot on the front of the Cadias.

Remote Control

Other features on the main menu include a scheduler and address book and system has a 7-inch thin film transistor LCD panel which includes a touch panel for operation. A remote control is also included allowing the system to be navigated from the back seat.

Technical specifications include a RISC microprocessor running at 166 MHz and 64MB of memory. An addition 8MB of video memory is also built in.

Future versions of the Cadias could be more advanced. The company has plans to add support for entertainment-related features like support for digital TV and direct-to-car satellite broadcasting.

The Cadias will go on sale in Japan on December 1 and carries a price tag of $2,730. At that price, it is around twice as expensive as many mass-market car navigation systems and around the same price as Pioneer's hard drive-equipped Cyber Navi system.