Sony on Wednesday announced two in-car AV centre head units, the XAV-612BT and XAV-712BT, which are meant to provide drivers with access to music, navigation and Android smartphone apps while they're on the road. The XAV-612BT (Rs. 30,990) and XAV-712BT (Rs. 33,990) will be available from January 20. The XAV-602BT (without HDMI / MHL) is priced at Rs. 27,990.
The two in-car AV centre head units from
Sony come with 'Double-DIN' multimedia centre, which according to the company, can be easily connected to a number of compatible smartphones. Another feature is MirrorLink technology, which enables two-way connection of the smartphone's screen with the AV centre head units. Sony's two MirrorLink-enabled head units are compatible with the
Xperia Z1,
Xperia Z Ultra,
ZL and
ZR - in addition to select Samsung smartphones.
With MirrorLink, selected mobile functions on compatible smartphones can directly be controlled on the XAV-612BT and XAV-712BT, which come in 6.1-inch and 7-inch coloured touchscreens, respectively.
The Sony XAV-612BT and XAV-712BT in-car AV centre head units are supported by App Remote Version 2.0, which lets users utilise voice-control functions to interface with their smartphones, directly from the AV centre head unit, by pressing the 'voice' key. Users can adjust functions such as music fader/balance, listening position, EQ and other sound settings directly from the touchscreen.
Notably, the Sony XAV-612BT and XAV-712BT are also capable of reading out incoming text messages, tweets and calendar reminders while the user is driving. Furthermore, the head units also feature MHL / HDMI technology, letting users enjoy all their audio and video content on their compatible smartphones via the head unit display. Using MHL/HDMI technology though (as opposed to MirrorLink) means only the display is brought to the head-unit, and to access smartphone functions, users will have to directly use them on the device. The MHL/HDMI cable is a part of standard accessories.
The XAV-612BT and XAV-712BT feature 4.1 multi-channel surround sound and a virtual centre speaker. Sony is also touting the Advanced Sound Engine on the units, apart from the Dynamic Reality Amp which provides a 4 x 52W output. A Digital Clarity Tuner is also onboard, to supposedly ensures clear radio reception even in weak FM signal coverage areas.
The new Sony XAV-612BT and XAV-712BT in-car AV centre head units come with a two year warranty.