Parrot Asteroid Car Receiver Has Android, Numerous USB Ports

This year, Parrot is going back to their music-transmitting roots with their aftermarket Asteroid car receiver. Based on Android, the Asteroid runs a heavily modified version that’s optimized for in-car use. In other words, there’s no touchscreen here. Instead, there’s a jog-dial for navigating through menus and plenty of real buttons. However, we think the Asteroid’s coolest feature is on the back– a part you’ll rarely see.

In addition to the standard RCA audio jacks for hooking up your car’s stereo system and a 3.5 mm jack for connecting your MP3 player, there are 3 high speed USB ports and 1 full speed USB port specifically for iPhone, iPod, and iPad. One of those USB ports can be used for the included GPS dongle for navigating via Parrot Maps. The other USB ports can be used for just about anything you want and Parrot tells us that the connections will be easily accessible through the glove compartment. Hook up a USB broadband stick and you’ve got Internet access in your car. Plug in your phone to charge it. Connect an external hard drive and you’ve got access to your entire music collection via Parrot’s voice command.

Parrot’s voice command is truly the killer part of this device. Want to play Pearl Jam from your external hard drive? Just say, “Play Pearl Jam.” The voice recognition in the receiver will understand what you’re saying and play the specified band or song.

While the Asteroid isn’t directly connected to the Internet and doesn’t have a specific broadband plan connected to it, you can attach your own USB broadband card, then take it out later to use in your laptop.

Another interesting feature of the Asteroid is that despite its Android roots, it doesn’t have a touchscreen. Instead, all navigation takes place using buttons, a jog wheel, and voice commands. All in all, we really like what we’ve seen with the Asteroid and can’t wait to see it arrive in the U.S. this summer.