In car Android head unit

[GuyJD]

I'm thinking of getting a new head unit for the car, at the moment I have some dodgy after market thing that came with the car when I bought it but being that I spend almost 3 hours a day in the car I want something a bit nicer.

 

At the moment I plug my phone in to the AUX socket and have Satnav, music/podcasts and phone calls all coming through the speakers with the info on the phone screen mounted in a windscreen mount but I want a head unit that can do all that for me so I haven't got all the faf of plugging it all in in the mornings, I've been looking about and found these Android headunits, they seem to have all the built in functionality of and Android device with radio and DVD players included.

 

Has anyone got anything similar? what are your thoughts?

 

Eonon UK -1-DIN Android 4.4.4 Quad-Core 7” Multimedia Car DVD GPS with Mutual Control MirrorLinkGA1312

[Disaster]

I was looking at these also. I'd have to actually have a go one to make sure they're not as flimsy as they look. I can imagine pushing the flip out screen off in about 45 seconds..

EdIt: But if you do end up getting one, let us know if it's worth it. The alternative for my car as almost £400! (replaces a whole chunk of centre console)

Edited November 19, 2015 by Disaster

[NB9457]

To be honest they look a bit cheap and nasty.

 

I opted for the Pioneer SPH-DA120 App Radio, fair enough, you may have to plug your phone in, but it's only one port and dependent whether it's an iPhone or Android phone, you get full user interfaces, calls, maps and so on. The unit is very responsive and the display bright and clear, also makes OEM speakers sound a shed load better!

[3s-gtech]

I can't speak for those units as I haven't tried one, but my experience with non-brand car audio (over mnay years) has been negative. You get a lot of features, but the build quality is often poor. The interface should be decent because it's not proprietary. The screen resolution of that unit is poor for a 7" device but that's fairly normal in-car.

 

TBH I'd quite like to see one in action and get hands on with it. I certainly wouldn't buy one without being able to do so. Branded units like Pioneer AVH-X7700BT 7" fold-out touchscreen multimedia player | Car Audio Direct will be solid performers, but the price jump isn't insignificant.

[GuyJD]

I was looking at the Pioneer units but Appradio just doesn't seem to be what I want just yet, you don't get the full catalog of apps available in either play store or app store and from watching videos of it in action it doesn't seem to work too well with the ones that are available. The Android option just seems to give more benefits.

[synaesthesia]

I say stay WELL clear of all the chinese crap. I have one in my car (an Xtrons) which I had to do a LOT of work to for it to work properly, including replacing the GPS module, hacking the USB system to work properly and flashing a firmware good enough to actually be usable (winCE unit). Android ones are better however they are little more than a tablet with a chassis to accept DVDs and an amplifier you'd find in a pair of £5 desktop speakers - they'll typically be "4x45w" however that's a huge exagguration. Quality is generally awful, the 8 year old slave girls that build them obviously are not up to the job.

Frankly, spend your money wiser on something branded that won't involve returns to Shenzen.

[GuyJD]

I say stay WELL clear of all the chinese crap. I have one in my car (an Xtrons) which I had to do a LOT of work to for it to work properly, including replacing the GPS module, hacking the USB system to work properly and flashing a firmware good enough to actually be usable (winCE unit). Android ones are better however they are little more than a tablet with a chassis to accept DVDs and an amplifier you'd find in a pair of £5 desktop speakers - they'll typically be "4x45w" however that's a huge exagguration. Quality is generally awful, the 8 year old slave girls that build them obviously are not up to the job.

Frankly, spend your money wiser on something branded that won't involve returns to Shenzen.

The problem is no big name brands are making Android head units, I really like the idea of it but I'd really like to get some first hand experience myself or find someone who has one to get a review before I buy. I had a double din unit from Hong Kong before and the DVD drive gave up working after 6 months, so I've been bitten by this before so am apprehensive but that distributors website seems to have a fairly decent returns policy.

[NB9457]

How about a Pi?

 

iCarus - Raspberry Pi CarPC | Home

[GuyJD]

How about a Pi?

 

iCarus - Raspberry Pi CarPC | Home

That would be nice, especially the ability to replace a module if it developed a fault but I need single din

[hardtailstar]

what about this?

 

Pioneer Android Auto

 

best of both worlds, use it with phone or without