Yesterday, October 17, 2011, I posted a question on Handy Toyota of St. Albans, Vermont's Facebook page that asked "what do you think of the new Entune?"  Though only three of the 800 plus of you out there answered the question, the results, lacking scientific merit or not, were disturbing to say the least.  Here were the available answers:

1. It's great!
2. Meh...
3. Not a fan
4. What's that, a new planet?

Obviously sounding like Neptune, the furthest planet from the sun (or a Greek god, after whom the planet was named, if you prefer) I added that last bit as a comical way of asking what the heck Toyota's Entune system was, but I didn't think 100% of you would choose that answer!  Again, I realize this isn't a viable study since only three out of over 800 folks answered, but 100% is a complete answer pool regardless of the sheer quantity of submissions.

In other words, someone (yours truly) hasn't done his job properly.

So what is Entune?  Simply put, Toyota's Entune is the next evolution of the Toyota vehicle radio.  What was once a simple AM tuner grew to include the various fluctuations one finds in FM radio, which gave way to 8-track cassettes, which shrunk in size and became "tapes," which lead to the huge information and clarity increases found in compact discs, and now finally we can plug in a 3.5 mm cord into our head units and listen to hours and gigabytes worth of digital audio.  As you know that was soon followed by SiriusXM satellite radio, beaming unedited, commercial free radio from orbit into your car (and your pocket providing you have a mobile version of some sort), and the satellite radio was heightened by the touchscreen audio controls.  Once again, Entune is the next evolution thereof.

However keep in mind that I keep saying it's related to the audio - that's really just a part of the puzzle.  The Entune system, now equipped on the 2012 Toyota Camry, the upcoming 2012 Prius v, the 2012 4Runner, and soon every Toyota vehicle in VT and beyond, is actually a central hub on the up to 7-inch LCD touchscreen that connects your smartphone with your car.  The obvious attractions include easier syncing between phone contacts and your hands free calling controls located on many new Toyota vehicles, but beyond that you can use the Entune application to find restaurants, directions, internet radio channels, and so much more to come!

To summarize once more, Toyota's Entune system ports a variety of once smartphone-only applications onto a centrally located, easy to view, and perhaps most importantly safer location in your car:  the head unit.

For more on Toyota Entune, send our sales team an email today and ask them why you should consider buying a new Toyota with the new system.  Cars that come with Entune right now come with a free three-year trial subscription, which is quite an amount of time to see what it can do and to see how it expands.  If you'd like to see a demonstration, check out the Handy Channel YouTube page which has a video as compiled by Toyota Prius experts "The Prius Chat Show."

Chris Dugan
Handy Toyota
St. Albans, VT  05478