How Auto Industry Troubles Could Affect CE

Research firm iSuppli Corp. reports that sales of vehicles in the U.S. will drop by 17.7% this year compared to last, making it the worst year for the industry since 1980. We all know of the troubles plaguing Canadian auto companies. But how might this affect the consumer electronics industry? Greatly, is the answer. But it could go both ways.

While people aren't slotting tricked out audio systems into their cars as often as they used to, there's a multitude of technology that has been built around the auto industry: satellite radio receivers, iPod FM transmitters and car docks, portable navigation devices, Bluetooth speakerphones...the list goes on. While it's the iPod itself that is central to gadgets like the FM transmitter, it's the small, accessory purchases that garner the most profit for the retailer. As fewer and fewer cars are being sold, people will be buying fewer and fewer accessories for them. So it isn't just the car guys that will suffer.

But...on the flip side, if people are stuck driving around in their old vehicles, things could effectively work the opposite way. Many of the latest model cars (not even just the high end ones) come with things like built-in access to satellite radio (and free, 3-month subscriptions!), built-in GPS navigation, and pretty darned good audio systems. Needless to say, if your car is 10 years old, it won't have any of those niceties. Granted, manufacturers have to provide these OEM products to the car makers. But anything built in certainly does cut into profits from the portable accessory side.

Also consider that even if people are buying new cars during these trying times, they'll likely scale down to more affordable models; the kinds that don't come with all the frilly add-ons. Again, this bodes well for the aftermarket accessory makers.

I'm not trying to say, however, that built-in gadgetry is bad; nor that falling auto sales is good. But maintaining a healthy balance between built-in technology and third-party accessories is a good thing for the technology industry. We all want the auto industry to rise above the current situation. Until then, enjoy the vehicle you have, and make the best of the technology that you can use around it.

Accessory Incompatibility: My Old Accessories Won't Charge My New iPod!

Have you ever bought a consumer electronics gadget, purchased a bunch of accessories for it, and then discovered that once you upgraded to the latest model of your main device, the accessories no longer worked? I recall a few years ago, a colleague of mine complained of this very issue with his Sony Ericsson mobile phone: he had a proprietary 12-volt charger, a second AC charger, and even a desktop dock. But as soon as he upgraded to the latest Sony Ericsson model, he realized the company had changed its proprietary connector. All of his previously-purchased accessories were now useless.

The other day, we received an e-mail from a frustrated consumer with a similar problem. He had just invested in the latest, fourth-generation iPod nano. The connector itself hadn't changed. But he discovered that while his old Belkin FM transmitter and a speaker system from another manufacturer worked with the player, they wouldn't simultaneously charge it as they had with his old iPod. Angry and upset at the fact that he didn't know this prior to buying the new player, he came to us.

"I read an article that it was due a change in hardware but said nothing more," he wrote. "Maybe with the larger screen (smaller unit), more juice is being used and it cannot support the charge. But wouldn't it help it to hold a charge longer? And bottom line is that this issue does not seem to be addressed by Apple anywhere online."

Apple could not be reached in time for comment, but Greg Milkovich, Country Manager for Belkin Canada, confirmed to us that Apple did indeed change to 5-volt USB charging internally in October. Manufacturers were notified that Apple would be making this change so they had ample time to devise new, compatible accessories.

Milkovich says that all of Belkin's current power and FM transmitters use the 5-volt USB charging, but yes, some of the company's legacy products (and obviously legacy products from other manufacturers) will not charge the new models.

"This is the same for all manufacturers as we were all complying with the previous 12-volt firewire standard," Milkovich explains. "This is similar to the video change that Apple made last year where you used to have video out of the 3.5mm but is now out of the 30 pin."

So why the change? Sure, it works out well for third-party accessory makers (not to mention Apple itself) because they can market and sell a whole slew of fancy, new accessories (something they arguably would have been doing anyway). But it also leaves consumers who might have eaten up docks, transmitters, and other gadgetry like hotcakes frantically setting up eBay accounts to salvage some bucks from these now obselete items.

A third-party source (who asked not to be named) predicts two main reasons for the spec change: one being cost improvements, and the other being size. "The smaller size of the USB 5-volt allows for sleeker/smaller design," the source tells me.

So while dealing with incompatibility from one iteration of a product to the next can be frustrating, keep in mind that sometimes the changes made are essential for the manufacturer to make improvements to other aspects of the device. And with technology being so prolific these days, early adopters are bound to find someone who still has the previous generation product, and would welcome your now obselete accessory with open arms.