Pioneer AppRadio system draws on Apple operating-system interface

The touch screen, that increasingly ubiquitous piece of technology. Its mission to simplify our driving experience has to be good, right? Case in point: the new Pioneer AppRadio that showed up on the FCC database this week and will see the light of production in the very near future.

So, what is it? It's essentially a radio/audio system that centers on a graphical user interface (GUI) very much like Apple's iOS made famous on the iPhone. The iOS was its visual inspiration, and the Pioneer gadget enables connectivity to iOS 4.1 devices via a USB dock connector.

This means contacts and music from your iPhone can feed to the deck via a standard USB-dock connector cable, so Creedence Clearwater Revival sounds like it was recorded yesterday instead of before you were born.

Sadly, that also means you Android and Windows Mobile users are left out in the cold.

Beneath the 6.1-inch glossy multitouch screen reside a host of audio treats, including streaming audio apps, Pandora and iHeartRadio. But there also are additional delights such as social-media access, so you can keep up with your friend streams while you whack the autobahn.

Finally, even though there's no optical drive there are S-video and RCA jacks, a micro-SD card slot, Bluetooth connectivity, AM/FM, GPS, an optional rearview camera hookup and steering-wheel-mounted controls if you want them.

Migration to the touch-screen iOS-style interface could be an audio-market savior; it could also tee off Apple. But we'll bet the risk might be worth it.

Amos Kwon is a correspondent at Gear Patrol

By Amos Kwon- Gear Patrol