Mobile electronics is a high-end, specialized industry, and so it can sometimes be difficult to find the same networking and business opportunities that are available in other sectors. However, organizations exist that bring together mobile electronics companies to provide resources and information that can improve both business practices and performance.

Membership organizations for car audio video and vehicle security manufacturers, vendors, and installers provide crucial services to these mobile electronics businesses. Unlike other industries that have long-established industry structures, businesses specializing in mobile electronics have been in a somewhat isolated position because the industry is fairly new and serves a niche market. With the advent of unifying groups, though, these specialist companies are able to engage in the same networking and business opportunities as their counterparts in other fields. If your company is part of the aftermarket car audio, video, or security customization scene, it is well worth your while to research what membership organizations are out there and to take advantage of the many services offered through joining them.

First and foremost, a membership organization for mobile electronics specialists is an indispensable networking tool. From giving you a way to simply know who else is out there in your industry, to providing opportunities to share knowledge, experiences, and stories, these organizations facilitate the networking process in a way that’s simply impossible without their help. Networking is a specific term for building relationships, and that’s exactly what these groups encourage. Through in-person events, online forums, and regular conference calls, they allow manufacturers, vendors, retailers, and installers to all connect to each other, often for the first time. At minimum, these practices generate excitement about the industry and create a sense of solidarity among the different members. And, in the best cases, new business opportunities can grow out of such connections, which strengthen the individual companies and also the industry as a whole.

In addition to the networking angle, membership groups in the mobile audio, visual, and security field offer specific business tools and opportunities to participating members. These include professional development programs, such as the training of new members in sales and marketing tactics, and business analysis of past and current company performance. Because these membership organizations have a vision of the field as a whole, they’re able to synthesize the best business practices, choices, and models, out there and share the resulting knowledge and information with their members. Individual companies have neither the resources nor the perspective to do this, so it is up to the membership organization to make these training and informational services available to the respective mobile electronics companies in the group.

Businesses that are in the same industry need to know each other and to have a place to pool their common knowledge. Mobile electronics membership organizations provide the framework in which to do both of these things, and thus serve to strengthen and advance this sector as a whole. If your business is involved in car audio, video, or security systems, joining a membership organization can help make your business more visible, more informed, and more connected.

Vehicle customization can help increase the safety and security of both passengers and drivers, especially during long trips. To help prevent theft, discomfort, and getting lost, call your local mobile electronics shop today for car GPS, car starters, car alarms, and more.

You’ve been looking forward to this cross-country trip for years. You and your friends are planning to hit all of the major road trip must-sees, from Mount Rushmore to Niagara Falls to the Grand Canyon, and you’re secretly excited to check out some of the more offbeat attractions, like Wall Drug Store and the World’s Largest Non-Stick Frying Pan. It’s going to be a great trip, but a visit to your local vehicle customization and car electronics shop can make it even better by keeping you safe and on track mile after mile, stop after stop.

With the help of an in-dash navigation system installed by your local car electronics shop, you can enjoy turn-by-turn voice commands, visual cues, and route recalculating features to ensure that you always reach your destination without wasting time or gas thanks to a wrong turn. The old days when travelers had to rely on coffee-stained maps and cryptic directions from locals are over. When you know where you’re going, you not only save time and money, but you also steer clear of dangerous areas. Many onboard navigation systems also direct travelers to local points of interest, so you will always be able to find the nearest restaurant, hotel, or gas station–another major safety and convenience feature! Never be hungry, stranded, or forced to sleep in your car while driving across this large nation–keep yourself and your vehicle in tip-top shape to make your trip the best it can be.

In the desert, the sun is going to heat up your car like an oven before you’ve even tasted your free motel continental breakfast. Don’t climb into a car that’s so sweltering and hot that the seat belt metal burns your skin! Before your trip, make a call to your local vehicle customization shop to learn more about remote car starters. These little devices allow you to turn on your car while you’re still inside, kicking on your car’s air conditioning so your vehicle will be nice and cool by the time you’re ready to hit the road. Warming up the engine and cooling down the deserted-baked car is great for your car, your passengers, and for you!

Another way to ensure that you have a safe, fun trip is to equip your car with a car alarm. Don’t let thieves take your car or your belongings, leaving you stranded or helpless while you’re thousands of miles away from home! Invest in your security and safety, and call your local car electronics and vehicle customization shop to learn more about these amazing upgrades for your car or truck.

Whether you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift idea or you need an unbeatable birthday present, why not get on down to your local car audio video store. With a huge range of car customization options for just about any budget, you can give the gift of an improved driving experience!

Don’t know what to get your father, husband, or best friend this year? Make their day with the gift of car customization! Perfect for Christmas, Hanukah, birthdays, and even Father’s Day, car customization is a lasting gift that your loved one will adore. And with a humongous range of options in car and truck enhancement, you can find a great present that fits within your price range. So whether you want to upgrade your husband’s car audio system as an awesome anniversary present or are thinking about giving your brother a satellite radio for Christmas, your local car audio shop has what you need.

Car Customization: It’s the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Unlike clothing, books, or games, car customization isn’t something that will get shoved to the back of the closet or put away and forgotten about. When you help upgrade someone’s vehicle, you enhance their daily life. Their new mobile electronics will go with them on their commute, road trips, and to the grocery store. From eliminating driving hassles with in dash navigation to taking the bitter chill of wintery mornings with a remote car starter, the gift of car customization just keeps on giving!

“Borrowing” your giftee’s car and dropping it off at the car electronics shop is a simple way to get your car enhancement present installed on the sly, but you can also purchase components for installation at a later date. And don’t forget, if you aren’t sure what kind of mobile video or car stereo upgrade your loved one would want, many car electronics shops offer gift certificates. So visit your car audio video store today to get the perfect present for the audiophile or car lover on your list. Your present is sure to be this year’s absolute favorite!

A GPS navigation system makes a great graduation, birthday, retirement, or holiday gift. By giving your friend or family a car gps (global positioning system), you will save them the frustration and humiliation of being lost. Moreover, with a handy mobile navigation system or reliable in dash navigation, you will being giving the gift of saved time for your loved one–by keeping them on their way with easy directions! Putting this convenience at the fingertips of someone in your life is a truly useful and lasting present.  

In addition to the benefit of saving time and frustration, there are safety benefits to visiting your local car audio professionals for a navigation system.   An in dash navigation system or portable navigation system keeps your loved ones’ eyes on the road while they are driving, rather than on paper directions, or even worse an unwieldy folding map or gigantic atlas.  GPS navigation systems allow drivers to easily and safely arrive at their destination without ever having their eyes leave the road. The spoken directions are easy to follow, and the car gps system will even automatically recalculate the route in the event that a wrong turn is made.  For added safety, talk to your car audio experts about GPS tracking systems to find stolen vehicles or just know where the car is. GPS tracking features can be invaluable for anyone from business owners with a fleet of vehicles to parents of teens who are new drivers.

Now that you are convinced of the value of a navigation system, you just need to get into your car audio specialist to get this tool installed.   Contact your local mobile electronics pros today!

With 150 million iPods sold (as of April 2008), it’s no wonder that iPod integration is one of the biggest trends in car audio today. These millions of iPod users simply want a way to easily listen to their music collection while in the driver’s seat. But until recently, there hasn’t been a truly good solution to the problem “How do I get my mp3s from my music player to my car stereo.” FM transmission systems have been tried (and are still available for those who don’t mind mediocre sound), but offered only so-so performance. So when iPod integration systems became readily available in the last several years, sales have gone through the roof! If you’re ready to enjoy quality sound and easy operation of your mp3 device while on the road, iPod integration is probably the solution you need.

iPod integration is the best way to connect your mp3 player with your car stereo for top-notch sound quality. Unlike the FM transmitter iPod connection systems of the past, new iPod integration technology directly interfaces your music player with your stereo: you get easy operation right on your deck as well as high-quality sound from your vehicle’s speakers. Enjoying your music collection in your car or truck shouldn’t have to be a hassle: tangled connection wires, knotted headphones, and staticky transmission are all things of the past with the new iPod integration technology. Some integration systems even allow you to access video stored on your iPod and play it on your in car video screens!

While some newer model vehicles are available with factory mp3 integration systems, your local mobile electronics shop can retrofit your car or truck with an iPod integration system. Call or visit their showroom to learn more about the various models and brands of iPod integration systems and which is right for your vehicle. Some drivers find the music management interface of several iPod integration systems unwieldy, so be sure to demo available systems at your car electronics dealer, if possible. This will help you get an idea of which systems are most convenient to operate and best suited for your listening style.

Whether you need to entertain the kids on a long drive, want to impress your business clients, or are looking to add safety features to your vehicle, mobile video is the answer!

One of the hottest trends in mobile electronics today is in-car DVD players: a few years ago it was practically beyond the realm of imagination, but now car video is readily available as both a factory and aftermarket option. Many states are now regulating car video installation for safety by limiting it to backseat passengers, but there are legal options for front seat monitors, including GPS navigation and back-up cameras. In car video has a number of unique applications, including entertainment, safety, and display; keep reading to learn what mobile video can do for you!

Mobile Video for Entertainment

The most common use for in car video is entertainment. With fold-down ceiling screens or headrest mounted monitors, backseat passengers can watch movies en route to their destination. These car DVD systems are frequently part of AM/FM/CD/DVD decks, so you get the hassle-free simplicity of an integrated unit. With infrared headphones and dual zone listening, the kids can watch cartoons in the back while you listen to the radio up front. Video game inputs are also an option with mobile video, meaning the kids can play games as well as watch movies all from the comfort of your car! In some states, sun visor monitors are allowed, so front seat passengers aren’t necessarily excluded from mobile video entertainment either!

Mobile Video for Safety

Many people don’t realize that car video actually has a number of practical applications beyond entertainment. However, the catch-all of “mobile video” also includes GPS navigation and back-up cameras. Displayed on video screens on the dashboard or in the center console (also available in a pop-up version), back-up video is supplied from a camera in the rear of the vehicle. Especially important in larger vehicles and trucks with limited visibility, this specialized form of mobile video allows you to see behind you. With the increasing number of vehicle-child collisions (and fatalities) in recent years, back-up cameras are a great way to avoid accidents! GPS navigation is also sometimes considered in car video because of the LCD display. These systems offer mapping and directional guidance, meaning no more fumbling with maps while driving and fewer wrong turns.

Mobile Video for Display

Car video systems are also frequently used for display, that is a nice way to say “showing off.” In trunk monitors don’t have much practical use, but they sure look awesome at car shows. And they’re a great way to make everyone envious of your vehicle! This type of mobile video installation has a huge number of options: bigger screens, more flexible legal parameters (since the system isn’t necessarily designed to be used while the car is moving), and flashy custom installations. If you’re looking for a fun, creative way to impress friends, family, or business clients, consider installing an in-trunk mobile video system. It’s sure to get their attention!

For entertainment, safety, and display, in car video is your number one vehicle customization option. Even if you’ve never previously considered mobile video before, with all of the great reasons to upgrade to this exciting, dynamic feature, now is the time to install video in your car!

When most people think of custom car audio installation, they usually envision the flashiest vehicle they’ve ever seen-you know, one with speakers, subwoofers, and a 30-inch video screen artfully arranged in the trunk and highlighted with neon. Custom audio electronics installers are great at creating exceptional showpieces like that, but they also specialize in discreet installation. Many shops are so good that, at a glance, you’d never know a vehicle had a custom audio system installed! If you want to upgrade your car audio system but showy isn’t your style, let your local mobile electronics specialist bring you the best in custom, discreet installation.

In fact, many mobile audio installers particularly enjoy the challenge of putting in a complete audio component system without the modifications to the vehicle being obvious. You would be amazed at how creative they can get when trying to find space for all of your car audio components. The options really are endless, depending on the vehicle model, but pieces of your stereo really can go anywhere there’s space.

Amps are frequently tucked under the seats, but I’ve also seen a particularly innovative solution where a hinged shelf was installed over the spare tire to hold the amps: it was a great space for these slim components and the owners still had easy access to their spare.

Speakers, depending on size and quantity, are usually the easiest part of your car stereo sound system to hide. In many cases, they can simply be installed in the OEM speaker slots and covered with the factory grilles. Speakers can also be secreted behind seats or in specially built compartments in the cargo area.

Subwoofers are probably the trickiest part of a car audio system to conceal, simply because of their size. Especially if you’re opting for a large subwoofer, it will need to go in the trunk, although sometimes smaller woofers can be installed behind the seats. If you don’t want to sacrifice cargo space to your sound system, your sub can be sunken in the trunk, usually in the spare tire well. In fact, I know of a mobile audio shop that made a custom subwoofer enclosure shaped like a spare tire for a customer who wanted to maintain a truly stock appearance!

Decks usually aren’t hidden at all, but rather installed in the factory radio slot. If you’re trying to maintain the stock appearance of your vehicle, your mobile audio specialist can help you select a high-performance deck that is compatible with the space available. They can even install pop-up video screens for vehicles not originally equipped with monitors.

Of course, if you do want to turn your cargo space into a mobile dance club, your local car audio specialist would also love to help. Most mobile audio video dealers are experts in both discreet and showpiece installations, so no matter what your preference they can create your ideal audio system. Contact your local car audio shop today to learn more about upgrading your vehicle’s sound system and getting the custom installation of your dreams-be it flashy or completely inconspicuous!