Also, Kenwood will integrate Aha into its products joining Pioneer in the automotive aftermarket head unit category. Aha’s content selection on the Aha platform will soon expand to tens of thousands of stations thanks to partnerships we just announced with with CBS Radio, MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker, AOL Shoutcast and many others. We’ll also launch new apps for iPhone and Android soon.

We’ve come a long way since last year’s CES show, and are excited to be able to share all this news. There is lots of great stuff underway that we can’t talk about yet, so look forward to more news this spring. This week, we’ll be here in Vegas hanging out in a cool new BRZ and showing everyone what the future of connected infotainment looks like.

Robert Acker
General Manager, Aha

Santa is rocking out

It seems amazing, but it’s been a full year since we Harman snapped us up and moved us to our new digs in downtown Palo Alto.

With all the dust settling last year (and since we were without furniture) we didn’t even have a chance to deck the halls.

Fortunately we had plenty of time this year, and our efforts have compelled an early visit from jolly old St. Nick.

After stopping by the Starbucks downstairs, the old guy swung through to show us the headphones he’s been rocking in his sleigh.

We’re still waiting to see if we get any visitors for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Soyal, Winter Solstice, or Yule.

At the very least I’m hoping we can scare up a Festivus Pole by Friday (fingers crossed).

Happy holidays from the Aha Team!

-Ryan

The most important update is for anyone out there who is connecting to a compatible Pioneer system.  Some of you out there have reported repeated pause issues when playing Aha content on Pioneer, and as it turns out it stems from a Pioneer bug with iOS5.

We were able to work with Pioneer to find a workaround and incorporate a tweak to our code that prevented them from having to release a full fledged head unit update … and that tweak went out with today’s update.  That won’t fix the Pioneer bug for all interaction with Apple apps, but it should fix it for Aha.

The other changes won’t be as noticeable, as they involve optimization for a variety of iOS5 things.  So for big whizbang excitement you will need to wait for the massive overhaul that is “coming soon”.

So get that phone out and make sure you check for updates!  And of course enjoy the holiday weekend!

-Ryan

If you’ve been looking for a chance to WORK IT on something new, different, and exciting, you should take a look at our jobs page.  We’ve been growing, but still have some positions to fill.

And if you need a reminder on some of the reasons you might want to work here (besides the whole reinventing the way people consume media), here’s a list:

• Employees get a PHAT discount on a wide variety of Harman products (that includes JBL, Infinity, & AKG)
• We run a Mac shop, so your computer won’t be lame
• Every employee gets to program a mix station for the Aha Community
• Competitive salaries
• 401K matching
• Well stocked kitchen with breakfast, snacks, and drinks
• Health, vision, dental, and life insurance
• Generous PTO and Vacation days

While in town for the event, Robert (our Aha GM, and the fearless leader mentioned above) also participated in a digital town meeting focused on the the emerging Connected Lifestyle.

There are a lot of interesting things covered during the session.  Definitely worth a look!

-Ryan

Find that video, and all of our other recent videos, on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/aharadio.

-Ryan

Aha for Android

Since we first launched for iOS devices there have been Android users asking when they were going to be shown some love.

We acknowledged that we have been hard at work on an Android version as well, but with all of the work on the automotive front it has taken a while.

Then many of you noticed in the recent Slacker announcement that the screenshot of our app not only showed a massive redesign … but it was on an Android device!

So now I can happily say that while there is no official release date for our Android version (yet) we are looking for some enthusiastic Android users to round out our upcoming beta.

If you are interested, please send an email to beta@aharadio.com with the following details:

• Name
• Handset model
• Carrier
• Software version
• Location
• Approximate total daily drive time

Max explaining his strategy for serving in Ping-Pong

And the timing couldn’t have been better.  Not only had I recently finished setting up the SoundBar and PS3, but our design guru was able to put some additional touches on some of the office decor that he had put up over the last few months.

Not only that, but the blu-ray set of Star Wars came in a couple weeks ago, and my LEGO Hoth Playset arrived with just enough time to assemble.

All in all it was quite a successful day.

-Ryan

This week we’ve been demoing Aha in Harman’s booth at the biannual Frankfurt Auto Show. We’ve been showing some of our upcoming content, including Slacker, radio stations, hundreds of new podcasts, and audio books, accessing them through a new Ferrari radio.

Harman, Aha (background), and Ferrari look good together

The show itself is amazing, dwarfing all other auto shows in size. BMW has one entire hall to itself with an elevated roadway built around the top of their booth with cars driving on it. Most car companies are showing at least one all electric or hybrid concept car and there are lots of very cool designs.

The first two days on Tuesday and Wednesday were only open to the press and exhibitors and Tuesday especially seemed to be the day that senior executives from the auto industry made the rounds. If was an amazing opportunity to demonstrate Aha to chairmen, heads of purchasing, top infotainment execs, and other senior people from major car companies world-wide.

I also learned that I’ve been buying inferior cars my entire life since they weren’t painted with squirrel hair brushes. (See the photo below.) I can’t figure out if they have squirrel shavers, find the squirrels on the road (in the English countryside of course), or raise them to make brushes…

Many squirrels died to bring us this car... (see sign above car)

Back on a serious note, we have come a long way in our first full year as part of Harman, and are very much looking forward to building on this momentum in year two.

Thanks to everyone who is joining us for the ride.

Robert
GM, Aha Radio – Harman

Later this year, Aha users will be able to access Slacker content from within Aha, and in doing so connect that content to a variety of different stereo interfaces.

So if you are keeping score at home, that’s Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Inrix Traffic, podcasts, and now Slacker Internet Radio.  We are getting dangerously close to something for everyone.

There has been a flood of coverage over the last day, and if you are interested in reviewing any of them I urge you to check out our Twitter feed (where we’ve been on quite a tweet spree).

-Ryan