Sony’s got some new marine CD receivers (slow news day…) which it says are its first to connect directly to digital music players via a USB connection. The marine head units (models CDX-H910UI and CDX-M60UI) are priced at around $350 and $200 respectively.

These new marine receivers include include a 4.9-foot cable with a USB cable, which allows it to connect to iPod and other USB media players. Both sport sound enhancement technology and play MP3, non-DRM WMA and non-DRM AAC music files.

The SR50 SIRIUS Satellite Weather and Audio Receiver from Raymarine gives mariners access to a wide range of advanced weather forecast information from SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

The satellite weather service was introduced last year for Raymarine’s line of E-Series of displays and is now available to C-Series and E-Series lines of multifunction displays. The receiver will give you access to WSI NOWRad weather radar, storm tracks, sea surface temperature, wind, surface pressure, wave heights, lightning and much more.

Captains can view SIRIUS weather forecasts in a full screen or in a window alongside radar, chartplotter and fishfinder functions. In addition to weather you can access over 130 channels of SIRIUS Satellite Radio directly from your C-Series display and connect the SR50 to onboard stereo systems.

The service will be available in the continental U.S. starting in April 2007. With the recent merger of …

The GPSMAP 5212 is the flagship model in Garmin’s new GPSMAP 5000 Series of multifunction displays designed for marine use.

The 5212 features a large, waterproof 12.1-inch diagonal XGA touchscreen display (1024 x 768 pixels). Navigating the 5212 is accomplished through “virtual buttons” that change depending on the function and therefore eliminates the need for “hard” buttons, a valuable space saver on smaller helms.

The GPSMAP 5212 comes pre-loaded with detailed U.S. coastal charts – including Alaska, Hawaii and the Bahamas. The optional BlueChart g2 Vision SD data card provides high-resolution aerial reference photos to aid you in navigating harbors and channels or locating marinas, fuel stops or restaurants.

All of the 5000 series units employ the capabilities of the Garmin Marine Network, a system that combines GPS, radar, sonar, XM WX Satellite Weather, and other data.

The GPSMAP 5212 has a suggested …