The hard-wired control panel can be mounted within arms reach, although a small infrared remote is supplied

he MP3 format is becoming a big thing in in-car entertainment because of the combination of good quality and huge storage potential.  Although MP3 files can be stored on many media, the mStation maximizes that potential by using the largest format available - the hard drive.
    The system comprises three main parts, the central unit containing the hard drive, the in-car docking platform with the wired control panel, and the 5.25 drive bay for your PC.  The PC hardware consists of a tray with mounting brackets and an IDE cable that connects the drive bay to the PCs motherboard.  Technophobes fear not, the whole process only takes 20 minutes and is fairly easy.  When we'd done and re-booted, the mStation appears as an extra drive, simple.  The car kit is just as easy.  Mount the tray in a convenient place under a seat or in the boot and run positive and negative power, plus a switched live from

your head unit.
    There are three options for getting the signal into your system.  The preferred way is via the RCA outputs on the mStation if your head unit had RCA inputs.  If not, the mStation comes supplied with an FM modulator, allowing the signal to be picked up by your head units FM tuner.  Or, if you don't want a radio, you could run it through an amp and have a complete hideaway system, with just the small control panel on show.  This is an option because the control panel covers volume, balance, bass and treble as well as four preset and one user definable EQ settings.  Once you have the hardware installed in the PC and the car, the rest is easy.
    The mStation is supplied with RealJukebox software for converting your CDs to MP3 files.  You simply insert a CD you want recorded into your  CD ROM drive and 

RealJukebox converts it to an MP3 that can be stored directly onto the mStation.  Because it appears as an extra drive on your PC, you can use Windows to copy any MP3 files from elsewhere on your computers system to it.  You can also move the files into any order and make playlists.  You can even have separate playlists for different people if you share a car.  The mStations capacity (128kbps MP3 files equate to roughly 1MB per 1 minute) is a huge 160+ hours worth of music.  Converting a CD takes only about seven minutes, so you won't spend all your free time porting your sounds across.  When you've finished, slide the unit into the car mounted cradle, plug in the control panel (the only fiddly thing about the whole set-up) and you're away.  How easy it is to use depends on how you arrange the tracks.
    With so many available it could be a nightmare, but as you arrange them in a format

that suits you, it's not.

InCars says
Every now and then a product comes along that really makes sense.
Brilliant.

Car kit tray
mounts simply under
the seat or in
the boot