Parrot is name most of us are very familiar with as a company that has always been innovative. It was born out of Paris, France 20 years ago with PDAs but most of us probably became aware of it as new hands free laws came into effect and we were all searching for that perfect Bluetooth device.
As someone who both loves gadgets and is on the road enough to long for the best hands free integration I can get for my phone, I was excited to see what Parrot have brought to CES this year, the very industrial sounding RNB6. Though as this is said to replace Parrot’s Asteroid I would expect that name to change by date of release.
This unit is meant to upgrade a dumb car into a smart one, a fresh take on the Asteroid Parrot has been selling for years. The company says the new system is compatible with 90 percent of the cars on the road today, anything that can fit a double DIN sized CD player. Its star feature however is it’s ability to switch effortlessly with both Google’s Android Auto and Apple’s Carplay. No matter what phone you have all you need to do is plug it in a push a button. Even my mother-in-law could work that one out.
Parrot also has its own apps and features including a dashcam that can provide time lapse video, lane assist, and braking alerts based on the video feed it also works in with your reversing camera to provide parking assist based on that video feed.
The Killer feature for car enthusiasts though is the units ability to interact with the OBD port in your car. You’ll have access to detailed readouts on your recent fuel mileage and driving habits and even let you know just what the check engine light means this time.
No details have emerged on when you can get your hand on the RNB6 yet but I know I’ll be lining up for one. Check out this video from The Verge, who are lucky enough to be in Vegas to get their hands on the device for a closer look.
Roger Baillie (@Rojn8r)