Android Car Stereo

[Lenny HB]

I'm thinking about changing my Clarion head unit for an Android unit.

All the leading brands Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer, JVC, Sony etc., only appear to do units with Android Auto, which means to get full Android functionality you have to have the unit linked to your phone.

Full Android units only appear to be available on the Chinese unit such as Pumpkin, ATATO, Xtrons etc., (I've ignored the cheapo Chinese ones) none of them have DAB built in so you have to buy a separate unit and they are almost as dear as the branded products.

I would rather have a full Andriod unit but not keen on spending £300 on a brand I've never heard of.

Your thoughts welcome.

 

[StephDeLux]

I think you'd be better served by putting an Android tablet in the nice tablet holder the Ducato has and afix somewhere one or 2 JBL Xtreme (or smaller) bluetooth speakers. They are designed to be wirelessly coupled and work together to produce a better sound than a single speaker. Unless you've already upgraded the Fiat speakers, you'll have a massively better sound and a supported, better Android device that you can change at will. With a Samsung OLED screen, you'll have a massively better screen too.

The Android tablet + JBL speakers in the Ducato was my own plan had I gone with a Carthago. I still have the JBL speakers in mind in the Merc because I fully expect the sound of their MBUX system to be dreadful.

Of course the tablet with its large screen will display all the Satnav apps you want.

 

[LesW]

I use a radio app on my Android phone, then plug it into the auxiliary socket on the radio.

Works fine, even on mainland Europe as long as there's a phone signal, pretty much all of the time.

 

[Bustup15]

I think you'd be better served by putting an Android tablet in the nice tablet holder the Ducato has and afix somewhere one or 2 JBL Xtreme (or smaller) bluetooth speakers. They are designed to be wirelessly coupled and work together to produce a better sound than a single speaker. Unless you've already upgraded the Fiat speakers, you'll have a massively better sound and a supported, better Android device that you can change at will. With a Samsung OLED screen, you'll have a massively better screen too.

The Android tablet + JBL speakers in the Ducato was my own plan had I gone with a Carthago. I still have the JBL speakers in mind in the Merc because I fully expect the sound of their MBUX system to be dreadful.

Of course the tablet with its large screen will display all the Satnav apps you want.

I thought I had read somewhere that if you use the tablet holder with vehicle in motion the passenger air bag is disabled?

 

[Lenny HB]

I thought I had read somewhere that if you use the tablet holder with vehicle in motion the passenger air bag is disabled?

On the X250 with a passenger air bag the rising tablet/phone holder was not fitted. All change on the X290 you get the tablet/phone holder with a passenger airbag.

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[barsteward]

I have recently fitted the xtron 10" android head unit it is fast and responsive and has all the apps you could wish for, the downside is the usual screen reflection in sunlight which renders the navigation whichever app you use almost useless.
I don't know for sure but suspect this will be the same with any price point unit.

Oh, and by the way it has built in DAB at least mine works off the DAB antenna.

 

[Bustup15]

On the X250 with a passenger air bag the rising tablet/phone holder was not fitted. All change on the X290 you get the tablet/phone holder with a passenger airbag.

On the X250 with a passenger air bag the rising tablet/phone holder was not fitted. All change on the X290 you get the tablet/phone holder with a passenger airbag.

Lenny HB
Just found the relevant part in my manual. It says the reading rest must be in the closed position when driving and if a passenger airbag is fitted it is locked closed?

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny HB
Just found the relevant part in my manual. It says the reading rest must be in the closed position when driving and if a passenger airbag is fitted it is locked closed?

You read the handbook, is that allowed?

 

[Ditcha]

Hi Lenny HB I fitted one of these a couple of years ago been great so far. I tend to just stream the radio now uses very little data and you can listen to any channel you wish.

Eonon GA2171S | Built-in DSP Android 8.0 Oreo 4G RAM Octa-core & 32G ROM Double Din Universal Head Unit GPS Navigation System Split Screen PIP Multitasking Fully Digital Processing Chip

Built-in DSP Android 8.0 Oreo 4G RAM Octa-core & 32G ROM Double Din Universal Head Unit GPS Navigation System Split Screen PIP Multitasking Fully Digital Processing Chip

www.eonon.com

 

[Bustup15]

You read the handbook, is that allowed?

Well, it was either that or potentially snap the damn thing as I thought it had jammed ??

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[StephDeLux]

Why on earth would that disable the passenger airbag?!

 

[Gellyneck]

We replaced the fixed dash cover with the rising one on our X250.
We also replaced the ELE unit in our Auto-Trail with an XTrons head and it is significantly better. Having said that we still get some radio drop outs however sure that's due to the aerial issue.
It's not a DAB unit though.
If you do go down the route of this type of unit be aware you also may to get an associated surround to fit the "hole". We did.

 

[barsteward]

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=264438689162

This is the one I bought, has DAB built in, it seems to do what it says on the tin so far.