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Detachable Navigation Section Integrates into Double-DIN Unit as the AVN2210p, Poised for Sales to Start in North America as an ECLIPSE Product.

… point.

AVN2210p development was a collaborative effort with TomTom International BV (the Netherlands, Chairman/CEO Harold Goddijn), a leading portable navigation solution provider in the USA and Europe. FUJITSU TEN was responsible for the overall project and product development while TomTom provided the navigation system.

The AVN2210p is equipped with a 3.5[?] TFT display. Map database for Canada and the USA is contained in a compact SD memory card.

The detachable navigation section incorporates a GPS antenna, built-in speaker and rechargeable battery, making it fully operable independently when removed from the main unit. Users can also access TomTom PLUS services including weather and traffic reports. These can easily be managed using TomTom HOME, a proprietary software application that is provided at no charge.

FM/AM, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3 and WMA files can be enjoyed even when the navigation section is removed. Additional source options include USB memory devices with MP3 music, iPod[R], Bluetooth[R] enabled cellular phones for hands-free calls, and digital satellite radio tuners.

In North America, this product will be available this coming spring, and is scheduled to be available in European countries by the end of the year. 

 
Main features 
 
-- The portability of the navigation section 
   When the navigation system…
…strength is adequate and you won't have problems setting it up, although backlit display is small and dim.

Dock connector on outside means you can still hook up a charger, and radio reception is a bonus. Sadly, it does not fit second-generation Nanos

KENSINGTON PICO FM *****

[pounds sterling]28, podzone.co.uk Audio connectioniPod dock PowerFrom iPod FeaturesMinimal but very neat. No integral display as it sends radio frequency through dock to iPod's own screen.

Verdict Display via iPod is bright and jog dial is easy to use. Signal strength and sound quality excellent.

Currentdrain from iPod is low.

PROPORTA CARLINK ****

[pounds sterling]25,proporta.com Audio connection3.5mm jack Power 2 x AAA, lighter socket FeaturesLightweight with retractable stereo cable. Doubles as clock.

Verdict Extremely versatile. Sound and signal strength are good, it's easy to operate and the blue, backlit screen is sharp.

CYGNETT GROOVE TRAVELLER **

[pounds sterling]39, podzone.co.uk Audio connectioniPod dock, 3.5mm jack Power Lighter socket FeaturesCradle and charger as well as transmitter. Headphone-style input means it works for non-Apple players.

Verdict Plugs straight into lighter socket; adjustable grip holds most players.

…
…Kyle Dickherber, lead singer of the band Hillside Manor, and signed him to replace Dill.

They have a new single, "Jenny," and their sophomore disc, "Modern Minds and Pastimes," is due out June 26. Both feature Dickherber, now billed as Kyle Patrick.

Asked about the upcoming disc during a telephone call from his tour bus — driving in upstate New York — bassist Ethan Mentzer states the obvious. The group also includes guitarist Joe Guese, keyboardist Ben Romanshan and drummer Joey Zehr.

"I think that the drastic difference is gonna be the fact that Kyle is singing and Eric is not," Mentzer says. "They have very different voices. But ... stylistically, we still consider ourselves a rock-and-roll band or a power pop band playing pop songs. And our goals are still the same: We want people to enjoy these songs and understand the lyrics and have fun, too."

Dickherber's voice is so different, Mentzer says, that the band in recent shows has skipped songs from its first album.

"That's not so much deliberate as it is we have sort of been really, really short on rehearsal," says Mentzer, who expects to add the hits later.

"We literally finished our record and left for tour. ... We just haven't had time to figure out how we're going to approach the old stuff, because [Dickherber's] singing range is pretty different from Eric's. You know, if we're going to do old songs, we're going to have to sort of rework them."

Differences in approach to new music apparently are what…
…bag from ''Ugly Betty,'' Meredith Grey's JBrand jeans and Gabrielle's Aldo purse from ''Desperate Housewives.'' At StarBrand.tv, the top sellers include the Adriano Goldschmied jeans that Rory wears this season on ''Gilmore Girls'' and the Lucky Brand belts worn by Veronica on ''Veronica Mars.'' Not surprisingly, most shoppers on these sites are women, ages 18 to 34.Fans have long been doing for themselves what the new Web sites have made effortless. When Carrie Bradshaw wore stilettos on ''Sex and the City,'' viewers hungrily eyed her Manolo Blahniks and made the brand a household name.While none of the Web sites would disclose revenues, they said they made money through commissions on sales and profit-sharing with their network partners. SeenON! sometimes acts as a direct retailer, buying products wholesale from manufacturers, then selling them at retail and sharing the profit with the show or network. (SeenON! also runs about 40 stores for Web sites including ones for ABC, NBC and ET Online; it started its own site in December.)Bruce Gersh, senior vice president for business development for ABC Entertainment, said that for a few years, the network has been heading in this direction, placing, say, jewelry on characters in daytime dramas, then encouraging viewers to visit abc.com to buy copies. William Helmreich, a professor of the sociology of consumer behavior at the City University of New York's Graduate Center, said that shopping-enabled entertainment is par for the course in a celebrity-obsessed culture. ''It is called the game of realizing your fantasies to…