Auto Infotainment Breakthroughs On View at AAITF 2012

The Eighth China International Automotive Aftermarket Industry and Tuning Trade Fair was held on Feb. 10 to Feb. 12 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

A total of 3,500 exhibitors and about 300,000 visitors from all over the world participated in the three-day trade fair. More than 10,300 new products were on display under one roof, and the amount of space used approximated 220,000 square meters (12,000 standard booths), all of which has made this year's event the largest so far, according to Jiuzhou Media & Exhibition International Group, which organized the show.

Exhibits at this year's trade fair included automotive infotainment, decorative accessories, performance-tuning 4S (sales, spare parts, service and survey) store experiencing, repair and maintenance, car beautification, protection film, coating, new energy, and chain stores.

The role of 3G in the automotive mobile infotainment market was clear at this year's show. Several automotive intelligent products and services were showcased at AAITF 2012, making the intelligent vehicle a major focus of the trade fair. A large group of exhibitors displayed their Android platform-based infotainment and navigation items, which compared to traditional Windows CE provides more practical functions and makes onboard infotainment systems with advanced operating systems comparable to a high-level smartphone.

Since its debut in 2006, AAITF has grown rapidly, becoming one of the industry's leading fairs, and has accompanied China during the rapid development of its automotive aftermarket and tuning industry. In its first year the trade fair occupied 3,000 square meters of space, in 2011 the total space was 150,000 square meters, a record for auto aftermarket trade shows worldwide, and in 2012 a new record has been set.

Prominent Exhibitors
Shenzhen Kovan Sound Electronic Co., Ltd. was one of several prominent Chinese companies that showcased their latest and innovative products at AAITF 2012. Kovan specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing vehicle infotainment system products.

Kovan's R&D team has been pivotal in the company maintaining its leading position in technology level and product quality. It has obtained ISO 9001:2000 approval, has developed a comprehensive range of multimedia systems for vehicles, and provides high quality after-sales services, all of which contribute to making it one of the top 10 auto infotainment system brands in China.

At this year's trade fair, Kovan showcased its latest products featuring connectivity through the Internet and interactivity involving humans and machines and set up an experiencing room where visitors could experience the company's top-end A/V products with special sound effects processed by SRS technology. The company also displayed its dual-module infotainment system models for the first time, which provide consumers with beautiful sound and navigation functions simultaneously.

Founded in 1986, Foryou Group manufactures automotive-electronics parts that international automakers such as Mitsubishi, Toyota, Ford and Hyundai have used in their products. The company has been the first one in China to control the key server decoding technology for auto-application DVD and CD broadcast.

Foryou uses top-end machines in manufacturing its products, including surface-mounting technology (SMT) production lines and a range of high-level development, assembly and testing equipment. The company has several design patents, it has DVD-related technology authorizations such as CSS, Dolby, AC-3, 3C and 6C, and its products have been certified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Foryou has also obtained ISO 9001-, ISO 14001- and QS 9000 approval.

Two of the company's new products at AAITF 2012 were MG4906, powered by an Intel processor and featuring voice and gesture control and voice input, and another high-level navigation model with comprehensive location, navigation, reporting and communication functions. The MG4906 should have a significant impact on the future development of the vehicle-infotainment system market and lead the industry toward more technological advancements.

Han Ji-jun, Foryou's vice general manager, said the MG4906 is the first model of a new flagship product. The company has been working to strengthen its R&D and branding efforts to improve its position in the global market.

Large Exhibits and Special Experiencing Zones
The Guangzhou-based car-audio product maker Flyaudio Co., Ltd. showcased its latest products at this year's trade fair in a 640 square meter space. And its R&D team has been designing core multimedia integrated circuit (IC) chips using the most advanced core technologies, the company said. Flyaudio has branches and service centers in Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and the United States.

The company's latest third generation 7500 series infotainment and navigation systems were unveiled at the trade fair where visitors could see the advanced functions of the company's Galaxy Android-platform models, such as the one-second start, three-camera design, built-in gyro, and handset-monitoring.

Wang Xiang-ming, Flyaudio's market director, said the Galaxy models are based on Android OS, powered by a A8 1.2G central processor, and supported by a multi-point touchscreen that allows a 1080P high-resolution video broadcast and 3G/WiFi connection.

Kaizhen Electronics Co., Ltd. specializes in developing and manufacturing advanced automotive infotainment and navigation systems and has been marketing its products globally with its own brands Kaizhen, Earl and Kaian. This year the company has been showcasing its three brand product lines in different market areas.

In 2011 Kaizhen started mass production at a new factory of more than 40,000 square meters in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, which has improved both its manufacturing capacity and R&D capabilities.

At this year's trade fair the company unveiled its new models based on Android and ARM11 that can be installed in the most popular car makes in China and which feature improved response speed and eye-catching visual effects.

Shenzhen Soling Industrial Co., Ltd. was founded in 1997 and had an initial capitalization of 137 million renminbi (RMB, or Chinese yuan). The company produces in-car infotainment systems, security systems, intelligent parking-aid systems etc. products, which are globally marketed under "Soling", "Solight" and "DHD" own-brands in China and more than 30 other nations and regions.

This year, the firm launched models featuring simplified stylish designs in blue-white tones, and showcased these high-level models on Mercedes-Benz GLK300, Audi A4L, Lexus CT200, and Lexus ES240 cars.

The company claimed that its new models are powered by self-developed ST8900 processor, providing higher response speed and supporting 1080P high-definition video broadcasting, as well as 360-degree full-view parking rear-view image display.