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At the Paris Motor Show, Honda showed off its new Honda Connect head unit, an Android OS infotainment system that will roll out in the European versions of the CR-V and Civic.
The new Honda Connect system is built on the Android OS, and runs on an Nvidia Tegra3 chip. Wayne Cunningham/CNET
PARIS -- Along with a new CR-V model, Honda showed off its new Honda Connect infotainment system for the European market at the Paris Motor Show. The new system uses Nvidia's Tegra3 processor and runs on Google's Android software.
Demo units in the Honda booth space showed off the system with two different interfaces, one a traditional icon-based homescreen and the other a tile-based screen with a multi-colored background. Owners will be able to load whichever homescreen appeals to them, or potentially download new themes.
For navigation, the new Honda Connect comes with the Garmin Navigator app, with its familiar "Where to?" and Map icons front and center. Maps can appear in top-down or perspective views, while routing can take into account traffic.
Taking advantage of the underlying Android OS, the system lets owners download apps from the Honda App Store. The demo units included Aha and Aupeo Internet radio apps, and offered unbranded parking and fuel-price apps for download. Honda will approve which apps are available for download based on safety considerations. In addition, some apps will not operate if the car is moving, such as the Web browser built into the system.
The new Honda Connect system also comes with a Bluetooth hands-free phone system and typical audio sources. Tied into the car's own diagnostics, Honda Connect can show trip information.
This new version of Honda Connect is initially rolling out in the European versions of the CR-V and Civic, with information on rolling out the system to other regions as yet unannounced.
Click here for more CNET coverage of the 2014 Paris Motor Show
Wayne Cunningham Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET. Prior to the Car Tech beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine. He's also the author of "Vaporware," a novel that's available as a Nook e-book. See full bio 
