Best 1 Din Head Unit with GPS, iPhone, Bluetooth and Reverse Camera

[Gav110]

Guys,

Am looking to replace the Puma standard head unit with something which can control iPhone (for ipod music and phone functions), a decent road GPS (have separate offroad unit) and can take a feed from a reversing camera.

Have been advised to look at the current offerings from both Clarion and Kenwood.

Looking for real world feedback from owners of both in terms of ease of use and reliability of the GPS, and same for the bluetooth/iPhone connectivity. Audio quality for me is actually a second priority - as long as it's better than standard should be fine, but I need all the connectivity.

Thanks.

[patclan]

Sorry no advise on this, but I am very interested in the response, I have been thinking about one of those Chinese 7" screen jobs that have all the bells and whistles on them, my worry is the mapping systems they use and how easy it would be to get updates, I think some off them even use a windows version so may be other uses for them.

cheers.

[Doodey]

Hey Gavster, i guess you have 2 roads to take.

Top dollar Kenwood or Clarion or a China Import

Lots of people i know have those Chinese units... some are better than others.
Look for CPU speed and onboard RAM.
As for connectivity, the China units let you do almost anything, have better codec support for file types, but have basic OSD and sometimes flakey menu systems.

I will add an external link that talks all about them.
Maps are no worries at all, they take all formats of maps.... As for updates, just go to GPS underground or what ever its called now.

As with most things Chinese, you have to do a bit of work yourself... basically you are buying the hardware, then you configure it as you wish.
So loading some files and editing some config lines.
All the How Too's are on the net if you look.

I see the biggest issue with those Chinese all-in-one units is they die and warranty is back to base.... Alas, that is the risk everyone takes when you buy Chinese clones.

From memory Chinavasion was one of the better brands out of the bunch.

Single Din from Chinavasion
Car DVD Players 1 DIN - Motorized Screen Single DIN In-Dash Car DVD (http://www.chinavasion.com/index.php/cName/car-dvd-players-1-din-large-screen/)

GPS Apps and Mapping
GPS Apps & Tutorials for Windows Mobile, CE, PNA/PDA & iPhone - Austech (http://www.austech.info/gps/30474-gps-apps-tutorials-windows-mobile-ce-pna-pda-iphone.html)

Of the 2DIN units... the Roadking seemed most popular
Roadking from Chinavasion CVGX-C39 KING4LYF123 - Austech (http://www.austech.info/gps/33296-roadking-chinavasion-cvgx-c39-king4lyf123.html)

[land864]

So , is one available with a Digital radio tuner inbuilt?

[Doodey]

So , is one available with a Digital radio tuner inbuilt?

7-Inch in-dash TFT LCD Monitor (16:9) with DVD Player (http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/7inch-indash-tft-lcd-monitor-169-with-dvd-player/)

^^^^ This one has TV, whether it is DVB-T or Analogue doesn't seem to say. From what i remember when researching the 2DIN Roadking, they are only analogue tuners
I know Jaycar used to sell a DTV tuner for the car.

The Streetking has DVB-T and is HD too.... although you have to watch, as what they quote as screen res and what you actually get can differ, friends have found this in the past.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/622.jpg

Street King X3 Super Car DVD Player (GPS + DVB-T) (http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/street-king-x3-super-car-dvd-player-gps-dvbt/)

[alittlebitconcerned]

I have just been down the same path, and after reading all the reviews and looking at all the known brand units (approx $1300 - $1800), I ended up getting a unit from Jaycar that was substantially cheaper but of equal quality. The unit I chose had won several awards through those hot four type magazines and got the nod of approval by my audio installer guy who himself has more trophys and awards than an overachieving boyscout.
When I considered the cost to add a GPS receiver and maps to any of the brand units (approx $1000) I figured for me it was wiser to spend the money on a stand alone GPS unit that also had off road maps, and a good quality camera and some orther bits.
In the end I have a good quality touch screen head unit that does it all, a steel mate camera and steel mate audio reverse sensors, a gps with street maps and off road maps for roughly the same price as a single din touch screen head unit with gps.

[Gav110]

I have just been down the same path, and after reading all the reviews and looking at all the known brand units (approx $1300 - $1800), I ended up getting a unit from Jaycar that was substantially cheaper but of equal quality. The unit I chose had won several awards through those hot four type magazines and got the nod of approval by my audio installer guy who himself has more trophys and awards than an overachieving boyscout.
When I considered the cost to add a GPS receiver and maps to any of the brand units (approx $1000) I figured for me it was wiser to spend the money on a stand alone GPS unit that also had off road maps, and a good quality camera and some orther bits.
In the end I have a good quality touch screen head unit that does it all, a steel mate camera and steel mate audio reverse sensors, a gps with street maps and off road maps for roughly the same price as a single din touch screen head unit with gps.

Great advice mate - I just went down to Jaycar and checked it out. It is a fantastic unit, and can take 1 reverse camera plus 2 other audio/visual inputs. I bought the unit and 3 cameras (1 for trailer, 1 for roof rack and 1 for reversing/hitching trailer) for well under a grand.

I have an iPhone 3GS with Tom Tom on-road mapping and a separate Magellan unit - I reckon like you this combo will work great.

Thanks again for your advice... Gav

[bsperka]

Guys,

Which Jaycar unit are you talking about - the 7" motorised unit (QM3789) or the smaller screened unit (QM 3788)? Both seem to be good.

[Gav110]

QM3789

Touchscreen Car Multimedia Player - Jaycar Electronics (http://jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=QM3789&CATID=24&form=CAT&SUBCATID=909)

Incidentally the online spec is wrong - it actually has 2 x video inputs, plus the reverse camera; and bluetooth supports both phone and music mode.

[Hamish71]

Sorry no advise on this, but I am very interested in the response, I have been thinking about one of those Chinese 7" screen jobs that have all the bells and whistles on them, my worry is the mapping systems they use and how easy it would be to get updates, I think some off them even use a windows version so may be other uses for them.

cheers.

CHinese one in a RRC with some offrad use lasted about 6 months.

[bsperka]

Guys,

JayCar has dropped the price on these units by $80, they are now around $420.
Has anyone had success in using an adapter so that the steering wheel controls still work with another unit? I'm researching some generic adapters, that are effectively a general purpose learning infrared unit. $US46 + freight.

[Gav110]

Guys I have to issue a follow up on this - after having the Jaycar unit for 3+ months and trying 2 separate units I am finding that it has an annoying intermittent fault in displaying the rear view camera.

About half the time it just doesn't switch to it automatically, and while you can engage it manually, it is dangerous and annoying.

I went past Strathfield Tempe today and found a great Philips 1-Din unit (CED370) which has a smaller but sharper screen, and which does not need to flip-out and hence should be more reliable in the long run esp. with rutted roads.

It also has bluetooth and the software is more intuitive to use. It also has an AUX video in for my second camera and takes SD and USB. The Bluetooth works perfectly on iPhone 3GS with both audio and phone - great results.

The only downside I have seen (maybe there is a fix) is the rear cam image appears to be mirrored horizontally - maybe there's a 'flip/reverse' setting I haven't found.

$600 installed ! The guys there are v good to deal with.

Here's a link to the Philips site - but the attached PDF is more useful: CED370/00 Philips Car audio video system CED370 3.5" touch screen Bluetooth DVD - Philips Support (http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl'slg=EN&scy=AR&ctn=CED370/00)

Incidentally, Mulgo reports at least one of his other customers having the same issues. I will be hopefully returning it to Jaycar - so far they have been good in issuing exchanges.

Also for those wondering, yes, we have had a qualified auto electrician check the wiring - and re-do it - twice. The new Philips unit works fine every time.

[peter5111]

Great advice mate - I just went down to Jaycar and checked it out. It is a fantastic unit, and can take 1 reverse camera plus 2 other audio/visual inputs. I bought the unit and 3 cameras (1 for trailer, 1 for roof rack and 1 for reversing/hitching trailer) for well under a grand.

I have an iPhone 3GS with Tom Tom on-road mapping and a separate Magellan unit - I reckon like you this combo will work great.

Thanks again for your advice... Gav

Does the unit have any functionality when the display is not extended ?

I really want to be able to leave the display stowed and still listen to CD , iPod, FM. Is this possible ?

Does the unit continue to operate as a music device even when using the GPS or reversing camera?

Cheers,
Pete

[Gav110]

Does the unit have any functionality when the display is not extended ?

I really want to be able to leave the display stowed and still listen to CD , iPod, FM. Is this possible ?

Does the unit continue to operate as a music device even when using the GPS or reversing camera?

Cheers,
Pete

Yes, it can play anything bar DVDs while closed up and has controls on the front edge (play, FF, REW etc). Check it out at JayCar - I have moved on to the Philips unit above (and very happy).

[peter5111]

How well does / did the Phillips / Jaycar integrate with an iPod? Does it just give a list of files or can you navigate through playlists etc. ?

Cheers,
Pete

[Rustydog]

HI,

Just my two cents worth. I installed a Kenwood 1Din system which has the capability on connecting aything you can imagine.
Gavin came a had a look at mine a year or so ago when I lived in Sydney.
I was lucky and got mine on ebay off someone who did not realise what all the extra add ons were worth.
The Iphone connection has USB power so charges as well as plays your Ipod which has touch screen controls.
Garmin GPS is awesome. Have loaded shonky maps for when we go off road and find its gets us on all small dirt roads.
Blue tooth with handsfree and auto dialing is great.
DVD is also capable of connecting to rear screens if you have them whilst still playing whatever you want in the front.
The reverse camera is also great with one touch you can scroll between camera/gps/tuner/dvd etc.
I thought initially the screen may not like being out while off road but since doing cape york it worked fine on the rocky stuff.
RD

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Does the jaycar have 3 preouts?

[alittlebitconcerned]

I have just been down the same path, and after reading all the reviews and looking at all the known brand units (approx $1300 - $1800), I ended up getting a unit from Jaycar that was substantially cheaper but of equal quality. The unit I chose had won several awards through those hot four type magazines and got the nod of approval by my audio installer guy who himself has more trophys and awards than an overachieving boyscout.
When I considered the cost to add a GPS receiver and maps to any of the brand units (approx $1000) I figured for me it was wiser to spend the money on a stand alone GPS unit that also had off road maps, and a good quality camera and some orther bits.
In the end I have a good quality touch screen head unit that does it all, a steel mate camera and steel mate audio reverse sensors, a gps with street maps and off road maps for roughly the same price as a single din touch screen head unit with gps.

Update. the all in one jaycar unit failed after a few months and was replaced with another which also promptly failed. The steel mate combo camera/ reverse sensor also failed, was replaced and that too failed straight away. I had a hell of a time getting a refund from Jaycar as they were only willing to replace it with another unit which was no good for me after having two of each product already fail.

The jaycar touchscreen has design faults and without any support (phone or online) or troubleshooting available from jaycar or the manufacturer, you are stuck on your own trying to sort it out if it stuffs up, each time paying for installation costs if you are paying to get it done (which you kind of should. If jaycar think that you installed it yourself they will not honour any warranty claims).
As for the steelmate camera/sensor combo, it failed each time because they will not work if installed surrounded by metal, instead of plastic as they were designed for. Jaycar are unaware of this and there is no mention of this on the steelmate website or packaging. I have found an alternate reverse sensor (not camera/sensor combo) that works in steel but cannot find it at the moment. Pm me if you want to know and I'll dig it up.

After my failed installation attempt I did MUCH more research on other single din touchscreen units. I came to the conclusion that there is a good chance that all these units will fail in time. The weak point on all these units is the motoriaed drawer mechanism. Unless kept well lubricated (which is not possible without pulling them apart) they gum up and overstrain the little motor which eventually burns out. I imagine this is only made worse if where dust and vibration is present ie not so good for a defender.
I then considered a manual pullout single din touch screen (no drawer mech to fail) which would connect to a carputer containing music, maps etc. By the time I added up the costs of the touch screen, carputer, bluetooth unit and installation, it was waaay cheaper to buy an ipad 2. Carputers also have to boot up and down which is a pain when you want to jump in and have it all going straight away.

The ipad 2 has a built in gps (with accelerometer making it more accurate and responsive than my touring 500s gps), bluetooth, wifi and works on the 3gs network. It has a better and bigger touch screen for navigation, makes phone calls, surfs the web, holds all my music, I can tune into pretty much any radio station on the planet, I can connect a bluetooth webcams to it for a reverse camera and I can remove it all at will when I want to lie in my hammock and watch a movie. I will use a ram mount with a swing away arm that will position the iPad in the centre of my dash. When I want to get to the dash buttons I just swing it out of the way and back again, simple.

If you have an iphone you can wirelessly (via the built in wifi) route its 3gs connection to the ipad allowing you to use gps with maps, surf the web etc on your ipad. This is called a 'personal hotspot' which every ipad and iphone have built in and sets up instantly and automatically when the phone gets within range of the ipad. This is a major plus when you consider you can now get a first generation ipad that is wifi enabled for a few hundred dollars second hand. I cannot see how any other headunit or carputer can come close to competing with an in car ipad in terms of quality, price or functions and flexibility.

All a bit of a mouthful but I thought it might save someone the time if they share my goal, and they were heading down the same path that i've just been. That and I feel pretty bad for recommending a jaycar product that turned out to be crap. I'm sorry if you went out and bought one on my recommendation and it has turned out the same :(

[peter5111]

My turn for an update :)

I ended up getting an Eonon G1301A (http://www.eonon.com/Car-GPS/1-Din-Car-GPS-DVD/G1301A.html) direct. Paid on Friday evening and had the box in my hands around lunchtime Monday. :eek:

Installation in a D2 was a doddle (once I finally got the old one out) since the D2 uses ISO plugs.

First impressions is the software interface is REALLY clunky but I guess that is pretty much a given when you start trying to use a WinCE (I think it is) based computer in a role that ought to use a dedicated chip. It can be quite slow flicking between different sound sources (radio, cd, ipod etc).

The radio module holds 8 presets per page and has 3 pages for FM. Problem is the rotary scan knob does NOT let you flick between presets, all it does is step tune up or dawn. WTF? :mad:
Otherwise the FM audio is nice and clear. I thought the radio was supposed to decode the digital text that is transmitted with the audio signal but either I misunderstood or I haven't figured out how to display it yet.

iPod connectivity does NOT charge v4 Nano's, but does charge a v2. Time for an upgrade :). The audio does play nicely though. I am not really an iPod geek, it is a repository of 'stuff' and as long as it plays and shuffles music and plays audiobooks properly then it is all good.

With an SD card reader in the unit, the only reason for using the iPod is to play audiobooks bought from iTunes now. I haven't had a good play with the SD reader but it does not like .m4b audio books. mp3's seem ok. The slot is underneath the keypad... stupid.

Haven't played with the bluetooth properly yet.

GPS seems to be running it's own computer (WinCE again I think) and the two computers share the display and audio hardware. This means that when you go to use the GPS you loose whatever you were listening to..... :eek:(again)
There is a picture in picture function where you can set the GPS as the small window with a little bit of mucking around but every time the GPS says something you loose the other audio source for about 5 seconds after the GPS shuts up. grrrrr. At least if you mute the GPS it stops interrupting the radio.

There is _some_ _limited_ functionality with the screen left stowed. The single line LCD display on the top edge of the screen is totally unreadable from the drivers position due to size and lack of contrast. Even at night.
Whatever was the last audio source before closing the display is the source you are left with while the display is closed. At least it remembers this when you turn ignition off and back on.
The volume knob always works. The skip / search knob is useful when playing CD's, SD, iPod. But is useless when using the radio.

Screen stays where it was last left at powerdown

My main reasons for getting this particular unit include; I intend to fit two reversing cameras later. One for the Disco and the other (probably wireless) to the back of a glider trailer. So sooner or later I was going to be looking for real estate for a screen anyway.
No mechanical cooling fan. Most of the units I looked at have a fan in them. I can guess what sort of quality the bushings will be like and I didn't want to be pulling a head unit for a stuffed fan.
Internal GPS. Many of the Eonon's have an extra box for the GPS.

Would I get another one ? Tough question. There is a lot of functionality in here that I haven't played with properly yet. I am unimpressed with the interface but the audio quality is fine and it does not do anything stupid software wise. Well, nothing stupid that wasn't programmed by the designers anyway. GPS seems reasonable but I want to see if I can get OZi to run since I use a TomTom anyway.

Well there's my first impressions. Will see how it fares on my Tassie trip over Easter...

[Awest]

Update. the all in one jaycar unit failed after a few months and was replaced with another which also promptly failed. The steel mate combo camera/ reverse sensor also failed, was replaced and that too failed straight away. I had a hell of a time getting a refund from Jaycar as they were only willing to replace it with another unit which was no good for me after having two of each product already fail.

The jaycar touchscreen has design faults and without any support (phone or online) or troubleshooting available from jaycar or the manufacturer, you are stuck on your own trying to sort it out if it stuffs up, each time paying for installation costs if you are paying to get it done (which you kind of should. If jaycar think that you installed it yourself they will not honour any warranty claims).
As for the steelmate camera/sensor combo, it failed each time because they will not work if installed surrounded by metal, instead of plastic as they were designed for. Jaycar are unaware of this and there is no mention of this on the steelmate website or packaging. I have found an alternate reverse sensor (not camera/sensor combo) that works in steel but cannot find it at the moment. Pm me if you want to know and I'll dig it up.

After my failed installation attempt I did MUCH more research on other single din touchscreen units. I came to the conclusion that there is a good chance that all these units will fail in time. The weak point on all these units is the motoriaed drawer mechanism. Unless kept well lubricated (which is not possible without pulling them apart) they gum up and overstrain the little motor which eventually burns out. I imagine this is only made worse if where dust and vibration is present ie not so good for a defender.
I then considered a manual pullout single din touch screen (no drawer mech to fail) which would connect to a carputer containing music, maps etc. By the time I added up the costs of the touch screen, carputer, bluetooth unit and installation, it was waaay cheaper to buy an ipad 2. Carputers also have to boot up and down which is a pain when you want to jump in and have it all going straight away.

The ipad 2 has a built in gps (with accelerometer making it more accurate and responsive than my touring 500s gps), bluetooth, wifi and works on the 3gs network. It has a better and bigger touch screen for navigation, makes phone calls, surfs the web, holds all my music, I can tune into pretty much any radio station on the planet, I can connect a bluetooth webcams to it for a reverse camera and I can remove it all at will when I want to lie in my hammock and watch a movie. I will use a ram mount with a swing away arm that will position the iPad in the centre of my dash. When I want to get to the dash buttons I just swing it out of the way and back again, simple.

If you have an iphone you can wirelessly (via the built in wifi) route its 3gs connection to the ipad allowing you to use gps with maps, surf the web etc on your ipad. This is called a 'personal hotspot' which every ipad and iphone have built in and sets up instantly and automatically when the phone gets within range of the ipad. This is a major plus when you consider you can now get a first generation ipad that is wifi enabled for a few hundred dollars second hand. I cannot see how any other headunit or carputer can come close to competing with an in car ipad in terms of quality, price or functions and flexibility.

All a bit of a mouthful but I thought it might save someone the time if they share my goal, and they were heading down the same path that i've just been. That and I feel pretty bad for recommending a jaycar product that turned out to be crap. I'm sorry if you went out and bought one on my recommendation and it has turned out the same :(

So what head unit do you use in conjunction with your ipad2?

Cheers Awest