If you’ve never been to CES before you should know its a vast sea of unfound treasures. Many of those treasures we probably missed but the Alpine iLX-F309 was one we didn’t. The Alpine iLX-F309 is a unique oversized screen design which floats in front of your dashboard. This design makes it ideal for installing in almost any vehicle without a custom install. This means no special adaptive dashboard pieces and extra costs. The unit also features Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. One thing of note, it lacks a CD/DVD slot for those who may still need that.
“Alpine blazed the trail with the first vehicle-specific 9-inch systems back in 2014, targeted to trucks and SUVs, but consumers have continued to request a model that will fit into a variety of vehicles,” said Mike Anderson, vice president and general manager, aftermarket business unit, Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. “The iLX-F309 represents a new step as it brings the 9-inch screen into a number of vehicles without the need for custom installation.”
The iLX-F309 is an AM/FM/audio/video receiver with a 9-inch WVGA touchscreen and mech-less design (no CD/DVD slot). It uses a 1-DIN chassis for installation but the screen “hovers” in front of the vehicle’s dash, allowing the oversize screen to be added to a variety of vehicles without the need for custom installation. The iLX-F309’s “HALO9” nickname is descriptive for the screen’s unique hovering position and its 9-inch size.
While it doesn’t have a CD/DVD slot it does have Bluetooth, HD Radio, supports SiriusXM, a USB port, and an HDMI port. Here’s a rundown of more of the features on this in-car unit:
- 9-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen
- Audio, video and Bluetooth® feature set
- Works with Apple CarPlay®
- Android Auto™ now with the Google Assistant
- HD Radio™ tuner built-in
- Made for iPod® and iPhone®
- SiriusXM-Ready™ (SXV300 Connect Vehicle Tuner Kit sold separately, SiriusXM subscription required)
- Pandora control from iPhone® and Android™ smartphones
- FLAC/MP3/WMA/AAC/HE-AAC music playback via USB
- Alpine TuneIt® App integration
- BT Plus Bluetooth® wireless technology with audio streaming
- My Favorites feature provides custom shortcuts to favorite audio sources, places and phone numbers
- Touch screen control of electrical accessories via KAC-001 External Accessory Control Module (sold separately)
- 4-way swipe action graphical interface control
- Touch screen control of multiple camera systems via KCX-C250MC Multi-Camera Selector Interface (sold separately
- One HDMI input or expand via KCX-630HD HDMI Selector Interface (sold separately)
- Available February, SRI: $1,100USD
What do you think of the iLX-F309? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
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