Three Clarion products win a Good Design Award*

The Good Design Award* 2012 has been given to the Next Gate, FZ502 and M502, three models sold on the American market.

Next Gate, a multimedia system designed for the iPhone

Next Gate is a new system that allows you to stay connected, from your vehicle, to your iPhone 4/4S. This device is very easily to install on the dashboard or front windscreen, and offers new functionalities for all vehicles. Once the SmartAccess app is installed on the iPhone 4/4S, Next Gate offers reliable use of its maps, online radio, social networks and much more. Especially developed for in-car use, Next Gate is operated by voice control and uses Bluetooth to help the driver to switch calls to hands-free mode and listen to music stored on the iPhone in complete safety.

Clarion's aim in developing the Next Gate was to create a new type of in-car electronic device based in the cloud. The final design was intended to appeal to smartphone users. The fluid interface was designed to be highly intuitive, for ease of use in the car. The Good Design Awards jury particularly appreciated this intelligent platform, which anticipates the use of cloud-based services while driving. Considering it very avant-garde, the jury also described the Next Gate as an efficient all-in-one product, giving car drivers much more than a navigation system that allows you to listen to music.

FZ502 and M502, focusing on digital audio

The FZ502 car radio, and its marine version the M502, are designed for digital audio, via USB, Bluetooth or an AUX (auxiliary) connection. The differences between the car version and the marine version are the colour of the product and the positioning of the USB and AUX ports (front for the FZ502, rear for the M502). This is due to the different ways they are used. In developing these products, Clarion's designers based their designs on unconventional thinking, while respecting a few basic principles. In this way, they hope to inspire consumers to share their own design ideas.

The jury considered this product a bold interpretation of modern times, when it is common for people to have media libraries close at hand on MP3 players or smartphones. Almost all the actions can be carried out from the central button. Users quickly get used to the way these products function, and this familiarity encourages stable and reliable use while driving/navigating. Finally, the aesthetics also improve the visual environment in the car's interior, without making it seem cluttered.

* The Good Design Award is a Japanese system for the evaluation and commendation of industrial design, which is overseen by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO). The origins of this system go back to the Good Design Selection System (known as the G-Mark System) established by the Japanese Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 1957.
(http://www.g-mark.org/?locale=en).


Links to the award-winning products:

http://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/39036

http://www.g-mark.org/award/describe/39044

The Next Gate, FZ502 and M502 are on sale in North America only.

NextGATE

NextGATE

FZ502

FZ502

M502

M502

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