LittleWyvern.com

My sexy new HTC Droid Incredible finally arrived last week and I have been understandably obsessed with it since. I never got into the iPhone; in equal parts due to the AT&T restrictions and the faux-cool actually-lame counter-counter-culture movement for which the iPhone is a glorious emblem. Honestly, I don’t particularly care how many G’s the next one has… I don’t want it.

I did want a smart-phone though, and it turns out that the newly released Droid Incredible is a pretty damn good one. The Droid Market is not currently as deep as iTunes’ App Store, but there are a surprising number of incredibly good apps (widgets) that I am quickly beginning to love.

While on a bit of a mobile tech binge, and newly flush with discretionary cash thanks to a new job (more on that later), I spent the afternoon researching aftermarket car stereo kits. My 2004 TSX is indisputably badass in nearly every way, but the one place it comes up noticeably short is in the stereo department. Specifically, I have no way of directly connecting an mp3 player to my car’s system. That wasn’t a big deal back in the days (read: years) when I hardly ever left my house, let alone drove long distances. But now that I commute about 20 miles to get to work I’m getting sick of my cds… and let’s not get into the nightmare of morning zoo radio.

Finding a cheap aftermarket stereo is generally simple and straightforward, but (sorta) unfortunately for me my car has a built-in nav system which is all integrated into a single sound system. I can’t just replace the CD player with a better model, I need some custom hardware. Well, after a few hours of forum scouring I finally sucked it up and placed an order for a DICE Media Bridge.

I ended up spending an extra $50 for the Media Bridge as opposed to a more standard iPod kit. For one thing I want to be able to plug my Droid into my car; it uses a standard USB connection vs the proprietary (and stupid) iPod connector. Also, different iPods use different cables (particularly old models) and I don’t want to invest in a device that may not even work with some of my devices. Finally, the Media Bridge should give me a lot more flexibility for the future… who knows what I may end up wanting to plug into my car?

The biggest downside to the Media Bridge is that it is a Do It Yourself install. I am completely helpless when it comes to cars, so hopefully I can find a good set of instructions on how to take my car’s dash apart. I suppose I could find and pay somebody else to do it for me, but from what I’ve read the install is actually pretty easy.

I am pretty pumped to get this bad boy installed, jack in my new Droid, and be able to just stream Pandora Radio whenever I drive. This IS the future after all… I don’t think this is too much to ask.