Pioneer Gulf FZE, a leading consumer and industrial Audio and video products and car electronics, has unveiled a new range of car entertainment products as it seeks to increase its market share in Kenya.
Since the launch of Pioneer in Kenya over six years ago, the company has seen its growth as a result of strengthening their activities and promoting more market oriented products.
Much of their business growth has been attributed to the robust car entertainment product line which is very popular in Kenya, especially with our unique presence of matatus. The stereo technology present in these vehicles and that in personal cars as well, has made Pioneer the go-to partners in vehicle entertainment products.
General Manager Mr. Muralidhar said that the company has always been committed to creating the best driving experiences for their customers.
From the first glance of the products, you can immediately tell that they’re going to sell-out in the first weeks. They have a carbon fiber finish that makes them look not only sleek and elegant, but smooth to the touch; meaning Pioneer really listened to their customers and what they need. I mean, who doesn’t want their car purchased with their hard-earned money to be sleek and sexy both inside and outside?
In order to learn more about the firm’s products targeted at this market, I got to engage with Prasanna Kumara, Pioneer Gulf’s assistant marketing manager, Muralidhar Masal, the Pioneer Gulf GM; Prasanna Kumara, Pioneer Gulf’s assistant marketing manager and Rachael Wambua, Pioneer Gulf’s Assistant Manager explain to me their functionality and how exactly Pioneer tends to make their name the only one we sing when we get into our cars and matatus.
The in-car receivers enable more advanced features and enhanced audio reproduction which boast the following new standout features:
- DEH -X1952UB– A fine carbon fibre finish.
According to Prassana, this is the new design was as a result of a lot of research conducted in Kenya and the East African market, that brought out the fact that we love our fine finish.
He said that a lot of customers, both individual and installers, prefer this kind of design and finish. The product comes in shades of blue and red depending on one’s preference.
- TS – S20C – Tweeter (treble) speaker
The previous version of the tweeter speaker TS-S20 is already popular with PSVs but the current model, TS-S20C can also be installed and used in private personal vehicles, not just matatus and other PSVs.
This model however is a super tweeter.
The difference with this model is that it delivers better sound output and the TS-S20C model is ideal for people with their personal cars and aren’t afraid to go bold on their music.
The super tweeter can control the frequency, has its own external network, can be connected to an amplifier and can accommodate up to 270watts of power. It is also super easy to install, so don’t shy away ladies. Go bold and express yourself with your music!
- EQ 6500V2 – Advanced car equalizer
There is always an increased demand for original equalizers. Fake ones produce bad quality music and they have a very short shelf life.
Prasanna explained that as Pioneer, originality is key in their products. He further explained some of the features of the EQ 6500V2 that include a 9-band equalizer; dual illumination and sub-woofer control. It also comes in orange and green varieties.
Some other notable features that I noticed from the new products include:
- Bluetooth® Wireless Connectivity
The AVH-295BT feature Built-in Bluetooth wireless capability is very convenient for hands-free calling as well as music streaming with compatible Bluetooth enabled devices.
The Bluetooth models also features Bluetooth Dual Device Connection for connection of two smartphone devices at the same time – making it a very attractive feature for people like me who always carry more than one device around. The feature also enables one to pick up calls by either of the paired phones, eliminating the need to pair and unpair devices.
- USB Audio/Video Connectivity
When connected to an iPhone, iPod®, portable USB drive or compatible Android device via the USB port, users can use basic controls (Play/Pause/FF/Rev/Random/Repeat) and display track, artist and album information for music playback. Android devices must run OS 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or newer with Android Media Transfer Protocol, which can easily be obtained through updating your software.
- HFP 1.6 Wideband Speech
The HFP Wideband Speech has been specifically designed to produce clearer and more distinct sound that doesn’t leave that annoying ring in your ear; making both the caller and call recipient experience clearer and more distinct sound.
The Hands Free Profile (HFP) 1.6 significantly increases the frequency bandwidth dedicated to voice calling (now 50Hz – 7kHz) and doubles the sampling frequency (now 16kHz) to produce significantly better sound quality for wireless conversations.
- Music Library Browsing over Bluetooth (AVRCP 1.5)
Imagine the ability to search through your album content over a wireless connection!
The AVRCP allows iPhone devices to use Bluetooth to search through playlists, artists, songs and genres. For Android users, their smartphones are enabled with Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), which can allow you to browse through media folders via folder type. The smartphone device must be compatible with AVRCP 1.4 profile or newer to access Bluetooth Audio Browsing.
- Clear Resistive Touchscreen
The touchscreen provides brighter clarity, has more vibrant colours and increased touch sensitivity, making it more responsive than traditional resistive touch panels.
As a lady, I also noticed that from these new products are very easy to use, are easy to access meaning that I won’t have to dig around the car to install the products and the car size doesn’t matter; so if you own a Range Rover or a Vitz, Pioneer has something suited for your car size and lifestyle.
Pioneer’s multimedia A/V and digital media receivers are now available at all major countries across the world.
For more information on all of the new products visit their website here.
