OK, so I just enthusiastically read all the info I have been able to find on the Mark 2. Sounds great (as I kick myself for just having purchased a competing product primarily because I had given up on the empeg ever including features that would make it work $1k to me, namely voice recognition and ethernet, Mac software would be a nice touch too), but I still have a few questions. Since the radio unit is a module is it also optional? I would be hooking up an empeg through AUX inputs on my Pioneer head unit so I don't need a second radio. Voice recognition is soooooooo cool, but does it really work with the radio blasting? Is there any pricing info out yet?

Thanks,
Mike

p.s. Trying to stop drooling....

"Empeg: play me a random ACDC song and bring up the GPS coordinates on the auxilary display" Yeah, that would rock :-)

Out of interest, what competing product did you buy? I don't know of anything else with voice recognition and ethernet that plays MP3 files, unless it's a PC-in-a-box-in-the-trunk system.

As far as I'm aware the radio module will be optional with the Mk.2.

The voice recognition system, based on technology licenced from a Japanese voice recognition specialist, is specifically designed to work in a high noise environment. It also helps to use a smart microphone designed for in-car use, which we'll be able to supply as an option.

No pricing has been announced yet. The basic player price is likely to be directly comparable with current players, although we'll be shifting the range to include 18Gb / 36Gb models. I hope to be able to announce firm pricing shortly after CES (i.e. late January).

Rob

Well, competing product may have been misleading. I purchased a product with somewhat similar features to the original Empeg, the Xeenon MP Shuttle2. At the time, the Empeg did not offer any features that I felt made it worth the $600 price difference. With voice recognition and ethernet you have changed my mind. Damn geek toy company ;-)

Thanks Rob,
-Mike

Mike, I'm sure that anyone reading this BBS would like to hear about that MP Shuttle. I know I tried to look up info on it while I was getting impatient for my Empeg.

Could you post something to the "I.C.E." forum here on this BBS? Something that describes the MP shuttle and your experiences with it? You know, like a review. Personally, I'd like to know everything, including what your ordering/payment/shipping experiences were like, etc.

> As far as I'm aware the radio module will be optional with the Mk.2.

Sorry to be stupid....(Bozo is my name)
What do you mean by "Optional". Will I need, if I ever decide to purchase one, another carplayer just to get the tuner working? I NEED radio in my car!
It would be a bummer...my dashboard is not made to keep more that 1 unit.

Is the module hardware or software?

Please, Rob.....more info

Bozo
(#10438.....don't laugh)

"Optional" means that there is no tuner inside the new unit. There is a tuner bus, with a flying lead & connector, in the mk2 wiring harness.

The tuner module isn't another head unit. It's a small box - around 4"x2"x2" - with no buttons, switches, or lights on it, just an antenna connector and a lead which connects to the wiring harness. The tuner is totally controlled by the empeg, which autodetects its presence. You just have to hide this little box somewhere behind the dash.

Hugo