If you were with us during the Pioneer press conference, then their new AVIC LINC system is old news to you tough guy. However, the details are new. Designed to integrate with any factory car audio installation, Pioneer's new AVIC-F500BT system offers the ability to add in-car navigation and extended entertainment without modifying your existing car stereo. The primary feature is the VoiceBox Conversational Voice Search Platform -- an advanced voice technology for control over Apple's ubiquitous iPod and Bluetooth enabled devices. It's sophisticated enough to analyze and then execute on commands as varied as "I want to hear the artist U2" or "play U2" or even a Foghorned, "Why I say, why I say boy, um, play U2." It also features a 5.8-inch, WVGA touch screen, text to speech, and the ability to accept media via a USB bunged device or SD cards for MP3 or WMA playback. New POI's can be added via SD cards and a rechargeable battery lets you take it on the go. Look for it this Spring for an undisclosed price.

Although XM's supererogatory features that compliment the actual music transmissions have been available for awhile, the company is apparently going all out to demonstrate its latest inclusions at CES. Dubbed the "infotainment" concept vehicle, this mysterious whip will reportedly feature the "first personal weather tracking system for GPS navigation," which is intended to compliment XM's real-time traffic service (NavTraffic). The system is designed to focus on weather patterns for your specific route, and also provides short-term forecasts to help you decide whether the scenic route would suit you better. Partnering with Baron Services, XM plans to bring the WxWorx technology already used in "airplanes, boats, and emergency responders" to the comforts of your ride. Additionally, the company is set to showcase "in-car video systems" co-developed by On2 Technologies that can not only receive audio, but even video (sound familiar?) from the same satellites and ground repeaters that XM already delivers tunes by. Of course, we can expect to see a fleshed-out demonstration of the parking locator technology (dubbed ParkingLink) that has been in the works, and XM even plans to demonstrate a voice-recognition control scheme developed by VoiceBox Technologies. Notably, XM suggested that its weather-tracking system should be officially available "this summer," while the other introductions might just hold off until this whole "sorta maybe merger" thing gets ironed out.