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Our Take
If you've always got to have the latest piece of consumer electronics, the automotive world is just catching up to you. Model cycles used to span several years, but now cars are getting infotainment hardware upgrades year-to-year—and sometimes even software enhancements in between.
While navigation systems and Bluetooth audio streaming have become commonplace over the past five years or so, the most ambitious automakers have just started adding apps to their systems, piggybacking on smartphone data plans and even replacing embedded navigation systems with LCD screens that simply mirror smartphone apps.
Many of these solutions are far from perfect. Some can be downright buggy, and others hide their best features within labyrinthine menus. But they're the first steps on a long journey toward ideal automotive connectivity. These are some of our favorite picks for people who only want the latest technology on their dashboards.