Directed Electronics will donate a portion of the purchase to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® for each Viper Responder LE Special Edition sold, with a $25,000 minimum donation.

Viper's elegant new Responder LE transceivers mark a giant leap forward in 21st century vehicle security and remote start, and an evolutionary milestone for the keychain remote.

These slender & sophisticated 2-Way remote controls feature a clean sleek ergonomic industrial design, made to fit the user's hand comfortably, enabling effortless and intuitive single-handed operation as hidden GhostLight™ LEDs confirm your commands. You will love the way the Responder LE remote feels in your hand, and the many state-of-the-art system features you can access with ease, starting with the new paging-only Silent Mode2™ feature, which allows users to turn off the siren and receive notification on the remote only. With Silent Mode2, the vehicle silently alerts the user that the alarm has triggered.

Here are some other features we've added to make Responder LE a milestone in 2-Way hybrids:

• Extreme 2,000 feet FCC legal 2-Way range
• Simple new universal icons
• Longer battery life – 3 to 6 months
• TempCheck using GhostLights – check the vehicle temperature using the hidden LEDs on the remote
• Soft Touch surfaces for comfortable tactile sensation
• Manual Transmission remote start enabled
• Responder LE will protect your vehicle and its contents, start the engine with the push of a button from the comfort of either home or office, and confirm all commands with GhostLight™ LEDs. And it will do it all with unparalleled elegance, style and intuitive one-handed operation.

..

..

• MOS-FET 50W x 4 (20W RMS x 4)
• TI/Burr-Brown 24-bit DAC
• Built-in Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
• USB Audio for iPod etc.
• USB Port (MP3/WMA/AAC**/WAV/WMA-DRM/iPod Audio)

• Simple Phone Pairing
  Simply tilt, turn and push the Rotary Commander* to register and use up to three Bluetooth® -compatible cell phones.
• Transfer All Your Phonebook* Information and Numbers
  Use with Phone Pairing to transfer your entire phonebook at a single time to the headunit, which can memorize up to 3600 different numbers: 400 persons x 3 contacts x 3 phone types (cell phone, home, office, etc.).
  * Compatible Phone with PBAP profile required.
• New Echo Cancellation
  Advanced Echo Cancellation has three levels of adjustment to keep phone calls sounding sufficiently loud and clear.

Note: Not all Bluetooth® phones may be compatible, and some features may not be available with all phones.

Bluetooth® Wireless Technology for "Wireless Audio" Control and Streaming
When you're not utilizing hands-free calling, the DEH-P7000BT can use Bluetooth® Wireless Technology to feed your appetite for entertainment. Using "wireless audio" control and streaming (AVRCP, A2DP), you can control  and listen to a compatible audio player or music phone on your headunit.

Advanced Sound Retriever
Hear the detail, warmth and clarity, the way the artist intended it, from all of your highly compressed MP3, WMA and AAC files stored on USB memory device, iPod® and portable digital players. By restoring data (especially higher frequencies) that tend to get lost in the digital compression process, Pioneer's Advanced Sound Retriever technology enhances audio reproduction nearly all the way up to 20 kHz frequencies.

USB Direct Control for iPod®  and more
Pioneer's DEH-P7000BT is ready to roll with capability for direct connection to your iPod® . USB 2.0's speed and capability allow an elevated iPod® experience in the car, and nearly limitless expandability for portable media players and USB memory devices.

File search and access are extra-quick. The headunit keeps song, artist, time and album information displays very clear and user-friendly, and control is intuitive through the 7-Way Rotary Commander. The system's wired USB connection provides direct digital signal transfer from the iPod® for clean, clear sound.  In addition, Pioneer has developed the following new features to make using your iPod® in the car extremely easy and convenient:

• Alphabetical Speed Search
  When searching for artist/album, you can initiate alphabet search by pressing "List" button.
• Link Search
  While listening to a specific artist you can hold "List" button down and it will pop up folders containing that specific artist.
• Passenger Control Mode
  Allows passenger to use the iPod® directly to browse and select music, while connected to the headunit for playback.
• Random (Shuffle) Key
  Physical Random Button on faceplate (Shuffle) makes it easy to hear something fresh.

Full Featured and High Performance
The DEH-P7000BT is smartly designed to expand your system, customize your experience, provide superior sound quality and easy operation.

• 3 RCA Hi-Volt preouts for adding on external amps and speakers simplify system expansion.
• Two-Way Crossover with separate High and Low Pass settings.
• Built-in MOSFET 50 W x 4 amplifier for excellent sound quality, minimal distortion and efficient power handling.
• Supertuner® IIID advanced analog and digital processing assure superior imaging, less distortion and noise, and stronger, smoother broadcast signal reception.
• Display Off Mode

Pioneer Advances Beyond Navigation with Launch of AVIC-F Series

New Pioneer Products Offer Consumers Enhanced Navigation and Entertainment Features

San Diego 4/19/2008

Pioneer's commitment to providing consumers with the ultimate in-car entertainment experience has led to three new product offerings that go beyond the typical navigation system. The Pioneer AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and Premier branded AVIC-F90BT combine a multitude of functional entertainment capabilities with advanced navigation features that fit the lifestyle of today's on-the-go consumers. The on-dash AVIC-F500BT, recently unveiled at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, joins the same elite family of in-dash AVIC-F series navigation systems.

Each of the highly sophisticated in-dash navigation systems enable users to link and control their personal devices. Apple iPod® connectivity, Bluetooth®, MSN® Direct, HD® radio, XM® and SIRIUS® Satellite Radio, single CD, DVD video playback and compressed audio and video playback through USB and SD memory devices are among the players' numerous capabilities. Additionally, each unit offers an advanced conversational voice recognition system for hands-free dialing of compatible Bluetooth enabled cell phones and control of an entire music collection on iPod players.

"Pioneer's AVIC-F series navigation systems are the ideal solution for millions of drivers who want an in-car product that can be easily integrated with other mobile personal devices, whether it is an iPod or Bluetooth enabled cell phone," said Larry Rougas, vice president of marketing and product planning for the mobile business group at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "These offerings create a higher level in-car experience with navigation, entertainment and voice recognition capabilities - beyond what anyone will find on almost all current standard navigation systems in the market."

Beyond Voice Control
A focal feature of all three systems is the highly sophisticated voice recognition feature collaborated with VoiceBox Technologies, allowing users to control connected iPod players and compatible Bluetooth enabled cell phones by voice. In addition, the systems differentiate from others on the market with features including conversational commands and intent recognition.

The navigation systems analyze every day conversational commands to initiate music playback and phone calling functions. Users can simply say, "Let's hear artist Usher" or "I want to listen to artist Chris Brown," to play back songs from specified artists in their iPods. Users can request music using the artist name, album name, playlist name and music genre.

The AVIC-F Series systems also allow conversational elements from the user's speech such as stumbles and pauses without failing the command. For example, when the user says, "I want to, ah, play artist, um, Black Eyed Peas," the system distinguishes the command phrase from the extra unwanted words to perform the desired function.

In the hands-free phone mode with a compatible Bluetooth enabled cell phone, the system utilizes intent recognition. From a command such as, "Call Robert Smith," the AVIC-F systems can identify the contact without specifying the category it is stored in the phone. These units will prompt users with additional information by responding, "I have three numbers for Robert Smith – home, mobile and office. Which would you like to call?" The user can then provide the additional information without restating the command.

Beyond Entertainment
The AVIC-F navigation systems simultaneously operate as high-end audio and video entertainment sources. Each unit feature a 5.8-inch high resolution WVGA touch panel display which users can easily access various forms of entertainment. The AVIC-F700BT starts with a single CD/CD-R/RW playback mechanism while the AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT are further equipped with CD/CD-R/RW/DVD/DVD-R/RW video playback, capable of reading MP3, WMA, iTunes AAC, Wave, DivX* and MPEG4* files.

Each unit also includes a USB interface for quick connection to iPod music players, portable media players and USB memory device. For extra convenience, SD memory filled with additional Points of Interest information or compressed audio and video, slides directly into the SD card slot located in front of each unit. When any external device is plugged in, the systems will instantly recognize the source allowing users access and control through the touch panel display and/or voice control (iPod only). Pioneer also added a mini-jack A/V input on the face of each unit for immediate connection to other portable devices, such as camcorders and video players.

As high-end source units, each system is equipped with its Pioneer's unprecedented Supertuner IIID AM/FM tuner, XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio and HD Radio connectivity, three sets of RCA outputs and 50 Watts X 4 high power amplifier.

Beyond Navigation
Each system utilizes flash memory to obtain quicker mapping information and allow an "always on" navigation state. The comprehensive map database from Tele Atlas® covers the entire United States, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii enabling users to route to millions of destinations. The database includes more than 12-million points of interest (POI), for destinations such as gas stations, ATMs, hotels and restaurants which can be easily searched either near a current location, or close to a specified destination. Categories of POIs can be overlaid onto the map for quick identification further enhancing the navigation experience. On the AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT model, specific landmarks are illustrated using 3-dimentional icons.

As an added benefit, each system employs a Text-to-Speech (TTS) function to further improve its assistance capabilities. Unlike some navigation systems, the AVIC-F models will announce street names in addition to turning instructions ensuring users are warned ahead of time. Drivers will hear, "turn right on Broadway," instead of simply prompting, "Turn right ahead."

The AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT products also feature MSN® Direct connectivity. With a paid MSN subscription*, users will receive updated traffic, weather forecasts, gas prices and movie time information for more than 100 cities across the United States and Canada. At a glance, traffic incidents and traffic flow are displayed directly on the map indicated by different colored lines and traffic icons. The navigation systems automatically integrates with the MSN Direct data allowing users to route to gas stations and movie theaters of choice with a simple touch of the screen.

As an added benefit of the integrated SD card slot, Pioneer's systems are ready for updates and additional POI information. Using a PC application from Pioneer, users with compatible PCs can create and store new points of interests onto an SD memory card for the navigation system to reference. This is especially helpful when users want to add their personalized POIs.

Beyond Integration
The Pioneer AVIC-F navigation systems can be fully integrated into nearly any car with a double DIN dash opening. With up to 32,768 customizable illumination colors, users can establish a refined factory OEM look and feel.

For safety and convenience, each unit is equipped with a camera input and back-up trigger. These systems will automatically display images from a separately purchased camera when the vehicle is shifted into reverse. The feature is extremely useful in large automobiles where it can be difficult to see behind the vehicle.

The Pioneer AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and Premier AVIC-F90BT will be available in June 2008 for a suggested price of $850, $1,100 and $1,200 respectively.

Pioneer's Mobile Entertainment Division is known for offering the kind of in-car products that make driving more enjoyable by offering high quality audio and video, advanced connectivity and ease-of-use. Its focus is on the development of new digital technologies including audio video, navigation and satellite radio, while maintaining its strong heritage in products for car audio enthusiasts and sound competitors. The company markets its products under the Pioneer and Premier brand names. When purchased from an authorized dealer, consumers receive a limited warranty for one year with Pioneer products and two years for Premier electronic products.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and its U.S. Web address is www.pioneerelectronics.com. Its parent company, Pioneer Corporation, is a leader in optical disc technology and a preeminent manufacturer of high-performance audio, video and computer equipment for the home, car and business markets. The company focuses on four core business domains including Blu-ray Disc and DVD, display technologies, navigation and Digital Network Entertainment.™

 

..TR> ..TR>

Images

Pioneer Premier AVIC-F90BT

In-dash Navigation System

Pioneer AVIC-F900BT

In-dash Navigation System

Pioneer AVIC-F700BT

..DIV>

..DIV>

8:39 AM 

0 Comments

(User has disabled new comments) |

0 Kudos

Translate

Features	AVIC-F700BT	AVIC-F900BT	Premier AVIC-F90BT
3D Landmark Icon	-		Yes
Built-in MSN Direct Tuner	-	Yes	Yes
5.8-inch WVGA LCD Touch Panel	Yes	Yes	Yes
Built-in Bluetooth Technology	Yes	Yes	Yes
Conversational Voice Recognition for Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audio/Video Direct Control for Ipod	CD-IU230V required	CD-IU230V required	Cable Included
Conversational Voice Recognition for iPod	Yes	Yes	Yes
DVD Video Playback	-	Yes	Yes
iTunes AAC/MP3/WMA Playback on DVD	-	Yes	Yes
iTunes AAC/MP3/WMA Playback on CD	Yes	Yes	Yes
iTunes AAC/MP3/WMA Playback from USB Memory Devices or SD Memory Card	Yes	Yes	Yes
Back-Up Camera Ready	Yes	Yes	Yes
XM and Satellite Radio Capability	Yes	Yes	Yes
HD Radio Capability	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hi-Voltage Preouts	-	-	Yes
50W x 4 High Power Amplifier	Yes	Yes	Yes
Availability	June 08	June 08	June 08
Suggested Price	$850	$1100	$1200

Powered by

English

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Catalan

Chinese

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Latvian

Lithuanian

Maltese

Norwegian

Polish

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Serbian

Slovak

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Thai

Turkish

Ukrainian

Vietnamese

Pioneer Advances Beyond Navigation with Launch of AVIC-F Series

New Pioneer Products Offer Consumers Enhanced Navigation and Entertainment Features

San Diego 4/19/2008

Pioneer's commitment to providing consumers with the ultimate in-car entertainment experience has led to three new product offerings that go beyond the typical navigation system. The Pioneer AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and Premier branded AVIC-F90BT combine a multitude of functional entertainment capabilities with advanced navigation features that fit the lifestyle of today's on-the-go consumers. The on-dash AVIC-F500BT, recently unveiled at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, joins the same elite family of in-dash AVIC-F series navigation systems.

Each of the highly sophisticated in-dash navigation systems enable users to link and control their personal devices. Apple iPod® connectivity, Bluetooth®, MSN® Direct, HD® radio, XM® and SIRIUS® Satellite Radio, single CD, DVD video playback and compressed audio and video playback through USB and SD memory devices are among the players' numerous capabilities. Additionally, each unit offers an advanced conversational voice recognition system for hands-free dialing of compatible Bluetooth enabled cell phones and control of an entire music collection on iPod players.

"Pioneer's AVIC-F series navigation systems are the ideal solution for millions of drivers who want an in-car product that can be easily integrated with other mobile personal devices, whether it is an iPod or Bluetooth enabled cell phone," said Larry Rougas, vice president of marketing and product planning for the mobile business group at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "These offerings create a higher level in-car experience with navigation, entertainment and voice recognition capabilities - beyond what anyone will find on almost all current standard navigation systems in the market."

Beyond Voice Control
A focal feature of all three systems is the highly sophisticated voice recognition feature collaborated with VoiceBox Technologies, allowing users to control connected iPod players and compatible Bluetooth enabled cell phones by voice. In addition, the systems differentiate from others on the market with features including conversational commands and intent recognition.

The navigation systems analyze every day conversational commands to initiate music playback and phone calling functions. Users can simply say, "Let's hear artist Usher" or "I want to listen to artist Chris Brown," to play back songs from specified artists in their iPods. Users can request music using the artist name, album name, playlist name and music genre.

The AVIC-F Series systems also allow conversational elements from the user's speech such as stumbles and pauses without failing the command. For example, when the user says, "I want to, ah, play artist, um, Black Eyed Peas," the system distinguishes the command phrase from the extra unwanted words to perform the desired function.

In the hands-free phone mode with a compatible Bluetooth enabled cell phone, the system utilizes intent recognition. From a command such as, "Call Robert Smith," the AVIC-F systems can identify the contact without specifying the category it is stored in the phone. These units will prompt users with additional information by responding, "I have three numbers for Robert Smith – home, mobile and office. Which would you like to call?" The user can then provide the additional information without restating the command.

Beyond Entertainment
The AVIC-F navigation systems simultaneously operate as high-end audio and video entertainment sources. Each unit feature a 5.8-inch high resolution WVGA touch panel display which users can easily access various forms of entertainment. The AVIC-F700BT starts with a single CD/CD-R/RW playback mechanism while the AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT are further equipped with CD/CD-R/RW/DVD/DVD-R/RW video playback, capable of reading MP3, WMA, iTunes AAC, Wave, DivX* and MPEG4* files.

Each unit also includes a USB interface for quick connection to iPod music players, portable media players and USB memory device. For extra convenience, SD memory filled with additional Points of Interest information or compressed audio and video, slides directly into the SD card slot located in front of each unit. When any external device is plugged in, the systems will instantly recognize the source allowing users access and control through the touch panel display and/or voice control (iPod only). Pioneer also added a mini-jack A/V input on the face of each unit for immediate connection to other portable devices, such as camcorders and video players.

As high-end source units, each system is equipped with its Pioneer's unprecedented Supertuner IIID AM/FM tuner, XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio and HD Radio connectivity, three sets of RCA outputs and 50 Watts X 4 high power amplifier.

Beyond Navigation
Each system utilizes flash memory to obtain quicker mapping information and allow an "always on" navigation state. The comprehensive map database from Tele Atlas® covers the entire United States, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii enabling users to route to millions of destinations. The database includes more than 12-million points of interest (POI), for destinations such as gas stations, ATMs, hotels and restaurants which can be easily searched either near a current location, or close to a specified destination. Categories of POIs can be overlaid onto the map for quick identification further enhancing the navigation experience. On the AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT model, specific landmarks are illustrated using 3-dimentional icons.

As an added benefit, each system employs a Text-to-Speech (TTS) function to further improve its assistance capabilities. Unlike some navigation systems, the AVIC-F models will announce street names in addition to turning instructions ensuring users are warned ahead of time. Drivers will hear, "turn right on Broadway," instead of simply prompting, "Turn right ahead."

The AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT products also feature MSN® Direct connectivity. With a paid MSN subscription*, users will receive updated traffic, weather forecasts, gas prices and movie time information for more than 100 cities across the United States and Canada. At a glance, traffic incidents and traffic flow are displayed directly on the map indicated by different colored lines and traffic icons. The navigation systems automatically integrates with the MSN Direct data allowing users to route to gas stations and movie theaters of choice with a simple touch of the screen.

As an added benefit of the integrated SD card slot, Pioneer's systems are ready for updates and additional POI information. Using a PC application from Pioneer, users with compatible PCs can create and store new points of interests onto an SD memory card for the navigation system to reference. This is especially helpful when users want to add their personalized POIs.

Beyond Integration
The Pioneer AVIC-F navigation systems can be fully integrated into nearly any car with a double DIN dash opening. With up to 32,768 customizable illumination colors, users can establish a refined factory OEM look and feel.

For safety and convenience, each unit is equipped with a camera input and back-up trigger. These systems will automatically display images from a separately purchased camera when the vehicle is shifted into reverse. The feature is extremely useful in large automobiles where it can be difficult to see behind the vehicle.

The Pioneer AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and Premier AVIC-F90BT will be available in June 2008 for a suggested price of $850, $1,100 and $1,200 respectively.

Pioneer's Mobile Entertainment Division is known for offering the kind of in-car products that make driving more enjoyable by offering high quality audio and video, advanced connectivity and ease-of-use. Its focus is on the development of new digital technologies including audio video, navigation and satellite radio, while maintaining its strong heritage in products for car audio enthusiasts and sound competitors. The company markets its products under the Pioneer and Premier brand names. When purchased from an authorized dealer, consumers receive a limited warranty for one year with Pioneer products and two years for Premier electronic products.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and its U.S. Web address is www.pioneerelectronics.com. Its parent company, Pioneer Corporation, is a leader in optical disc technology and a preeminent manufacturer of high-performance audio, video and computer equipment for the home, car and business markets. The company focuses on four core business domains including Blu-ray Disc and DVD, display technologies, navigation and Digital Network Entertainment.™

 

..TR>

Images

Pioneer Premier AVIC-F90BT

In-dash Navigation System

Pioneer AVIC-F900BT

In-dash Navigation System

Pioneer AVIC-F700BT

..DIV>

8:39 AM 

0 Comments

(Add Comment) |

0 Kudos

Translate

Features	AVIC-F700BT	AVIC-F900BT	Premier AVIC-F90BT
3D Landmark Icon	-		Yes
Built-in MSN Direct Tuner	-	Yes	Yes
5.8-inch WVGA LCD Touch Panel	Yes	Yes	Yes
Built-in Bluetooth Technology	Yes	Yes	Yes
Conversational Voice Recognition for Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audio/Video Direct Control for Ipod	CD-IU230V required	CD-IU230V required	Cable Included
Conversational Voice Recognition for iPod	Yes	Yes	Yes
DVD Video Playback	-	Yes	Yes
iTunes AAC/MP3/WMA Playback on DVD	-	Yes	Yes
iTunes AAC/MP3/WMA Playback on CD	Yes	Yes	Yes
iTunes AAC/MP3/WMA Playback from USB Memory Devices or SD Memory Card	Yes	Yes	Yes
Back-Up Camera Ready	Yes	Yes	Yes
XM and Satellite Radio Capability	Yes	Yes	Yes
HD Radio Capability	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hi-Voltage Preouts	-	-	Yes
50W x 4 High Power Amplifier	Yes	Yes	Yes
Availability	June 08	June 08	June 08
Suggested Price	$850	$1100	$1200

Powered by

English

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Catalan

Chinese

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Latvian

Lithuanian

Maltese

Norwegian

Polish

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Serbian

Slovak

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Thai

Turkish

Ukrainian

Vietnamese

Bryan "Whitey" Littlefield, mover, shaker, arts patron and businessman friend of Frank Sinatra’s, an abrasive figure, to some, but a warm-hearted, soft touch of a guy to many others, died early Friday at his beachfront home in Seal Beach.

He was 75.

Death was attributed to prostate cancer, which friends say returned after Littlefield had conquered it earlier.

"The cancer is all gone, every bit of it," he had told me triumphantly during a breakfast we shared last year, the last time we were together.

With him when he died were Meg Littlefield, his wife of 20 years, several relatives, and friends, including, restaurateur John Morris, perhaps his closest friend.

"We talked every day, sometimes several times a day, for 35 years," Morris noted. "I don’t know how you replace a relationship like that. He was one of a kind."

Said Meg Littlefield, "I just want to thank Whitey for loving me so much."

Death came at 4:15 a.m., after an evening in which Littlefield watched a last sunset from his beachfront home.

Defending his life-style, he conceded in a 2002 interview that he was sometimes abrasive, but tied it to his practice of being painfully honest. "I’m very truthful," he would say. "If I don’t like someone, they’ll never hear it from someone else. They’ll hear it from me. A lot of people can’t handle that."

Meg Littlefield often defended her husband with a touch of humor.

"I would marry him all over again," she

Littlefield fell in love with Meg, a real estate broker, after she tried to set him up with her mother. On their seventh wedding anniversary, he professed his devotion to her by having a giant billboard posted on Second Street in Belmont Shore: "Meg. You have my endless love. Whitey."

Later, he explained to a reporter, "If men did more romantic things for their wives, the world would be a

Whitey Littlefield, at right, is pictured with Meg Shey and Frank Sinatra in 1983. Littlefield worked with Sinatra on many fundraising projects. (Press-Telegram file photo)

Before retiring in 2002, Littlefield spent 35 years as general manager of Somerset Distributors, the Budweiser agency owned by singer-actor Frank Sinatra. He had been running a beer distributorship in the San Fernando Valley when he took a job working for Sinatra.

"Actually, I was hired by Frank Sinatra’s attorney," Littlefield said. "I didn’t even know Sinatra was the owner until we applied for a liquor license. "

Littlefield doted on Sinatra, saying, "He did more for the human race than the next 20 entertainers combined. People will never know all the things he did because he did them from his heart, not for publicity."

Littlefield adopted Sinatra’s charity style, often working behind the scenes on charitable events, upward of 200, many of them to honor members of the Armed Forces, police officers and firefighters.

In 1991, he and Meg co-chaired a parade for veterans returning from the Gulf War, plus a picnic attended by an estimated 70,000 people, military members and civilians. Four years later, they spearheaded a parade and program to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Christmas baby

Littlefield was born on Christmas Day, 1933, in Salt Lake City. "Does that scare you?" he liked to ask people after relating that fact.

Raised in Los Angeles, where he was a newspaper delivery boy, he told of being turned away from his paper route by police officers on the day mobster Bugsy Siegel had

Whitey Littlefield, left, is congratulated by party guests Laura and Ed Killingsworth on his receipt of the Long Beach Lung Association 1982 Humanitarian Award. The award was one of many Littlefield received throughout four decades of public service in Long Beach. (Roger Coar/Staff Photographer)

"I had no idea who Bugsy Siegel was," Littlefield admitted.

As a school student, he exhibited the feistiness that would later mark some of his business and political relationships.

"I was even thrown out of kindergarten," he liked to recall. "My mother came home one day and found me waiting for her. They said I wasn’t ready and told her to bring me back for the first grade. I wasn’t ready for the first grade either. And I went to five different high schools."

An incurable story-teller, one of his favorites was an account of how Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific was almost named for Sinatra.

"I received a call one day from (former Long Beach city manager) Jim Hankla, who asked if Frank would be interested in building an aquarium. Sinatra’s attorney and accountant came down and looked at the proposal. Frank said yes, he would help raise money. He was to be the front man. They would have used his name around the world and were going to name it the Frank Sinatra Aquarium."

Ultimately, other plans prevailed. Littlefield never asked Sinatra if he was disappointed, but assumed he was. Later, Littlefield would serve on the aquarium board for eight years.

Police help

In 1973, Littlefield and others established the Widows Trust Fund for wives of police officers killed on the job. A kick-off golf tournament brought in $8,000.

"The night we had the first meeting of our trust-fund board, a police officer was killed. I soon realized my $8,000 was a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed to take care of the widow and her children."

A month after that, a second officer was killed; a month later, a third. "We were overdrawn at the bank by $40,000," Littlefield recalled.

So desperate was he that he did something which, he said, terrified him. He went on television to make a public service announcement.

"I was shaking so much, I couldn’t read the postal box number on the air."

Nevertheless, his appeal brought in $28,000. But it was not enough.

At lunch one day, Sinatra asked how the fundraising was going, then offered to come to Long Beach and do a 10-minute performance for the police widows’ charity. Littlefield, in his own brassy style, told Sinatra he would have to do a whole show.

The singer did just that, bringing with him Milton Berle, Cloris Leachman and Redd Foxx for a show that brought in $140,000. At the time Littlefield told me this story in 2002, the Widows Trust Fund had an estimated $1 million.

Whitey’s wars

His ongoing feud with Grand Prix founder Chris Pook captured the city’s attention. It was sparked by Pook’s decision not to sell Budweiser at the race. During the 2002 interview, Littlefield told me, "Chris has since apologized to me and said there would have been no race if I hadn’t helped him."

With a retirement dinner for Littlefield then scheduled in three weeks, he told me he appreciated Pook’s apology, but added, "He won’t be attending my dinner because I didn’t send him an invitation."

My own introduction to Littlefield came in 1980, soon after I arrived in Long Beach and before I had any idea who he was. He was in the middle of a monologue against the "P-T," with whom he was also feuding. I was new enough in town not to even grasp the fact that "P-T" stood for Press-Telegram. When that was made clear to me, I said, "Hey, I only work there."

Said Littlefield, "Well, that’s your problem."

After what he thought was a particularly tough P-T story, Littlefield phoned his attorney, wanting to sue. But he quoted the lawyer as saying, "Call me back when you find a paragraph that says Whitey Littlefield did this or that. Don’t call me about innuendo."

Involved in numerous events and with numerous charities, including a stint as chairman of the California Arts Council, he once told me, tongue in cheek, "I enjoy calling people up and threatening them if they don’t give me money."

I quoted that in a column, and added, "He was kidding. I think."

Littlefield was not afraid to attach his name to projects and ideas that others only talked about. In 1992, when the local economy was not doing well, he told P-T sports columnist Doug Krikorian, "We sorely need to do something dramatic to bolster the city’s self-image and business well-being. We need to do something we should have done here years ago.

"We should build a major league football stadium near where the Queen Mary is. There are at least 200 acres around there that can be turned into landfill. Why not? An NFL team here probably would mean an extra $50 million a year to the community. And there is a team available right up the Harbor Freeway called the Los Angeles Raiders."

Who have since become the Oakland Raiders.

It was Krikorian, by the way, who called Littlefield "a banty rooster of a guy with a mouth so pervasive he can whisper in his own ear."

CSULB connection

In 1991, Whitey joined the board of directors of Pacific Public Radio and served until he resigned in 2005. He was chairman from 2002 to 2004, and presided during the period when KKJZ was the highest rated 24-hour jazz/blues radio station in the country with over 23,000 listeners contributing to its member-supported budget. He was also chair when KLON’s name was changed to KKJZ.

He resigned in indignation when Cal State Long Beach moved to eliminate the station’s community-based board and local (alumni) management. Given a model of the CSULB pyramid as a memento/award, he mailed it back to the college president with a note saying that if the latter could not find a place for it, Littlefield would come and "show him where to put it."

Littlefield also served on the boards of the Long Beach Symphony and the Fine Arts Affiliates of Cal State Long Beach. He was a booster of the Boys and Girls Club of Long Beach, Cedar House, the Long Beach City College Foundation, Convention and Visitors Council, and the Lung Association. He is also credited with founding the Long Beach Police Officer’s Honorary Association.

In addition to his wife, Meg, Littlefield is survived by a son, Bryan Littlefield, of Long Beach; three daughters, Linda Kliener, of San Diego, Lori Walker and Shari Littlefield, both of Alisa Viejo; a sister, Gloria Khort, of Los Alamitos; and two brothers, Ray, of Long Beach, and Gary, of Springfield, Mo.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. in the First Congregational Church, 241 Cedar Ave. in Long Beach. It will be followed by a celebration of Littlefield’s life to take place at Smooth’s Sports Grille.

"This will be a fun event," says Smooth’s owner John Morris. "Whitey wanted a party. He didn’t want any of that graveside stuff."

For the most part, it's hard to come up with a new idea in car audio. Sometimes to create new opportunities, you just have to look at the stuff you already sell and look a little differently at it. When I first saw these in the Bazooka booth, I had to snicker (not in a good way). Then I talked to John, the owner of Bazooka, and he told me how the guys who have ATVs want speakers for their pride and joys as well. So they took their great marine products, already designed for harsh conditions and covered them camo to ensure they are heard, but not seen. Bazooka dubbed these tough tubes "Outdoor Tubbies" and they will be available starting in March this year.