Kenwood features smartphone “mirroring” on eight new receiver models shipping to retailers now.
With a high-definition multimedia interface and mobile high-definition link smartphone connectivity, both Android and Apple phones can port their phone screen to the Kenwood receivers.
That means if you see an image on your smartphone, you can see it on the receiver, according to Kenwood Senior Marketing Manager Scott Caswell. “In many cases the Kenwood touchscreen will control the phone just as you would from the phone itself. For safety reasons most touchscreen control functions require the parking brake to be engaged to work,” Caswell says.
The eight models have improved sound quality because of the direct digital transfer of the user’s music to the improved D/A converter built into the receivers via the HDMI input, according to Kenwood. The HDMI/MHL connectivity that transfers audio and video from iPhone4/5 and Android phones is featured on these Kenwood multimedia receivers: DNN991HD, DNX891HD, DDX8901HD, DNX771HD, DDX7701HD, DNX691HD, DDX5901HD and DNX571HD.
Kenwood’s connection capabilities for iPhone and Android smartphones make it possible through what the manufacturer calls “AppMode” to access iTunes, Pandora, iHeartRadio, HD Radio, as well as Garmin and Kenwood’s Route Collector, in addition to accessing other apps on the user’s smartphone.
According to Kenwood the audio/video signal is fed to the Kenwood receiver using the HDMI connection. Control over the smartphone is done over Bluetooth. The two technologies work together.
Explanatory videos of smartphone connectivity can be found here for iPhone and Android.
