INRETE Ships Automatica In-Vehicle Smart USB Device

So this is interesting but you’ll need a USB port in your car apparently. The Automatica is a smart USB audio device that syncs your audio over wi-fi with the cloud services like Dropbox, or Skydrive and let’s you bring your audio with you in your car. it stores up to 24 hours of music, but you can expand that with a microSD card if you need to. It’s controlled right from your audio system, but I’m guessing you’d need a compatible car stereo. Personally I don’t quite understand it myself, but then I’m more than happy with my ZuneHD for my car rides. Read on to learn more..

INRETE announces the Automatica smart USB device is now shipping to consumers in the United States and Canada.  Automatica is a smart USB device that plugs into a car’s built-in USB port for access to the user’s latest music, podcasts, and audiobooks.  It easily syncs with cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and Microsoft SkyDrive through a Wi-Fi connection, updating with any audio files users download or subscribe to so that the content is available through the vehicle’s audio interface.
This isn’t your typical car audio device. It’s a new way to listen to your favorite audio in your vehicle by bringing you fresh, up-to-date content.  Automatica creates a local cache of your audio and stores up to 24 hours in the internal flash memory (expandable with microSD card slot).  The set-up is user friendly and personalized to allow the user to choose the podcasts and cloud services they want to sync to the device.  Automatica also incorporates a web service to help you manage the audio files you store.  Through the Automatica website, users can change or add new podcasts and music from anywhere using any PC, tablet or smartphone.
Using a Wi-Fi connection, the Automatica device will automatically download the files from the selected cloud storage right to the USB device without the need to unplug and replace content. The device will update itself with the latest content when you pull in to the garage, office parking lot, or use your smartphone’s Wi-Fi.
“So many car audio solutions require car modifications, include subscription costs, or drain your phone’s battery and data,” states Giorgio Bernardi, President of INRETE. “Automatica offers a simple plug and play solution that, once it is set up, never has to be updated because it automatically grabs your new content and makes it available in your vehicle.”
Since announcing the product in December, the company has upgraded the device with a new firmware and released a new web engine.  Key features added to Automatica include: subfolder support with all cloud storage services, maintenance for external microSD cards that provides more space for your media content, and speed improvement for downloads.  In addition, since most cars do not provide power on the USB connector when parked, a specific car power supply kit is now available. The car power supply kit allows the device to draw power from the car’s battery so Automatica is constantly syncing and ensures the device stays on even when the car is not running.
INRETE’s Automatica is available now for $99 USD at www.automaticaweb.com.