. . . and in a related story, there is a prediction that the auto makers will make in-car CD players "dead" by 2015
We're Calling It: The In-Dash CD Player Dies in 2015
http://www.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1048928_were-calling-it-the-in-dash-cd-player-dies-in-2015
(I guess with everything going to computers, we'll have it all on a little bitty chip-thing and "won't need radio" any more? BAH! Give me not only radio, but tubes, too! Bud S.)
I'm holding out for 8-track decks, built-in 23-channel CB rigs and the GM in-windshield antenna to make triumphant returns!
ReplyDeleteJokes aside, I envision CD decks sticking around a bit longer in luxury makes and, ummmmm, "cars that appeal to the older demographic." :-) My parents (in their late 60s) come quickly to mind. They've embraced the CD, but I do not see many of 'em taking the plunge to mobile digital devices the way most of us already have. My Dad will be 70 in 2013, and life expectancies being what they are, they still have a good 10+ years to go (knock on wood!!!).
General statements, of course; there will always be exceptions.
On the other side of the coin, we have my son's generation - he's 19, college freshman. To his group, CDs are nearly as dead as radio. (I think about those last words, and I can feel my blood starting to ice up!) My son's music revolves around his iPod and smartphone. And the source of most all his in-car entertainment is found in that 1/8" jack.
I'm rambling, I know. Yes, I can see many car audio systems in the very near future consisting of a radio, an auxiliary jack and/or USB port for flash drives and direct iPod control. Nothing else.
I once said to my wife that satellite radio or CDs couldn't harm broadcast radio as we know it. But the letters "AUX" might be what brings this business I love to its knees. :-/
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