[Q] Most reliable Android car Head Unit? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi all,
Been reading a lot of the excellent information from the various threads on the Android head units. Thoroughly excited then quite disappointed when errors seem to be commonplace after a short time.
So which in your esteemed knowledge is currently the best of the Chinese Android Head Units, for reliability and functionality?
Personally, I've had units in the past from Eonon and Chinavasion, and they both developed errors after a while (the Chinavasion unit was much better though, it's only issue's were the GPS failing (just died), and some intermittant errors which a power recycle (turn off/on) sorted out.
I have a Pioneer touch-screen unit in the car at the moment, and although it's been super reliable, having to convert video's to specific Divx resolutions is a major pita.
So I've been researching for a touch-screen unit which can handle multiple video formats without having to convert too many on my pc beforehand. Not bothered about GPS, bluetooth, or DVD. Just want video, usb port on the front (proper usb connection, not micro/mini), and radio. And obviously the ability to customise to my own tastes. This will be for a Nissan Cubic we just bought, and will be connected to a rear flip-down monitor and reverse camera.
Btw, which is better for reliability: Pure Android, or Android with WinCE? According to the Wiki, Android is just the pretty face of the MCU, so what's the point of pure Android?

Omarko is a forum member who I also have chatted to on Whirlpool. He had a bit of a nightmare with one unit (from AliBaba), which is based on this build:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2528349
He then ordered the following unit, which he says has been very reliable so far:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=331089665694&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:AU:1123
Would you suggest this as one of the better built units?

If this is in the wrong thread could the mods please move it to the correct one, and notify me?

OK, I'm going to talk insanely to myself.....
others: Well, good question, and the answer is that really none are reliable at all, so you're better off spending big on a name brand which does half the things.
me: Surely there is a particular unit which is better built than the others?
Others: Well, actually there is the ......... , which many forum members recommend, but as you probably read on the Wiki, it has these particular peculiarities: .....
me: Hey thanks, I really appreciate your opinion and information. What a great forum!

Hi _StormZ_
I guess you won't be reading a reply to your posts 9 months later, but someone might.
As you have discovered (me too, and many others), if you are looking for a reliable car head unit, stay away from these non-branded (even "branded") units from China. They are good for developers because there is always something to fix (until they die prematurely). If you want Android and reliable, wait until some of brand names (Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood...) start making them (maybe they do already).

Related

Falcon a letdown?

HTC have recently been give FCC approval for their latest innovation, the Falcon, but will it live up to expectations? So far very little information has reached the public domain regarding the features of this little gem, but there does seem to be a drizzle comming from somewhere. Whether it be just rumours, or journalists making assumptions remains to be seen, but the feeling I'm getting is that there will be a mixture of excitement and disappointment when this device finally reaches the market.
In my opinion the manufacturer of both devices, the XDA and the Falcon, made a bad judgement call when putting together the spec. Ok, I'm not going to bad mouth the phone that we all love, but I know that a lot of people believe it could have been so much more. You see, they made the assumption that because the XDA intgrates a phone with a PDA it should be a compromise of the two. The problem is, that someone who has bought an XDA would have probably (eventually) bought a PDA anyway, but they'd have got a really good one - or when they buy a phone, it's a really top notch one.
So what do we know about the Falcon? So far very little. We know it uses CDMA networks (3G) and has a built in GPS reciever - these should certainly be well recieved by the XDA community. We also know that it has a voice memo button - so no need to scramble though the menus when you remember the name of that CD you wanted to buy. That's about it.
Many sites are publishing a limited spec sheet for the falcon, and while incomplete, they seem to be suggesting a lack of further improvements. A disappointing 32Mb of RAM, lack of SDIO, a 4096 colour screen, and none of the really useful extras like consumer IR or a built in camera. The biggest kick in the balls, still, is the lack of any WLAN device - they really want you to use those expensive data networks even from your own armchair.
At last we are getting a PDA phone with 3G functionality, although without the video phone. This is something that has been long awaited and will be welcomed. Unfortunately, the customer waiting for the serious PDA combined with a serious phone may have a long time to wait. Perhaps they just can't fit it all in the box yet.
My two pence...
Isn't it so that the iPaq is also build by HTC? In that case I can imagine that Compaq never would allow HTC to create a superior device next to their iPaq. HTC would be crazy to put the deal with Compaq at risk so the XDA is just HTC's leftover technologie, the real goodies are developed for the iPaq.
What is called for then is an Ipaq, with in built GPS, GSM, GPRS, and CDMA!!

Would I buy a Tablet S again.....

....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO, I was willing to be patience and wait for upgrades etc to fix probs but having just upgraded to ICS Im very disappointed.
No fixes for various bugs (for me primarily wifi connection), and now I find my gps is not working for some reason, the device nearly went out of the car window yesterday when i was stuck on the A13 with no gps, but then I thought about littering .
Together with the car charging problems (had To buy an Inverter, more money), no hdmi socket no perifials, Car bracket etc, battery life, its not adding up to a good deal.
I originally bought a Ipad on the recomodations of a salesman and assurances that flash would work with it (yea right), so that went back in favour of the 'S', but what next, do I leave it at home and cut my losses (wad of dough).
Its seems that despite advances in technology we are always being used as guinepigs for devices that eventually end up on the scrap heap and never seem to last until the device is broken beyond repair but are dumped by the manufactorer in favour of another useless device, witness my Ipaq stopped supporting Windows, My Dell Streak mini 5 cant even get spares for them anymore, I could go on.
And we seem to accept it without protest almost as if its expected that we lay out loads of dosh for a inferior product, imaging the outcry if we bought cars (or other products) on the same basis, 'oh bear with us, sir, you will be able to drive from A to B as soon as we have sorted out the engin bugs'.
anyway sorry about the rant, Im still simmering from the A13 incident,
Well..
there is a reason why the most tablets still not 100% work like they should be,
Because the tablets like they are now are just still too new,
Better tabs are coming and more abillities are coming too, and then our
problems maby be fixed, Except then there are other problems because there are new things to do with a tablet and ofcourse a higher change to get problems.
I'm sorry to learn that you're upset with your tablet, maybe a tablet is not for you?
Would I buy the s again? Yes. I replaced a Windows Vista Laptop which finally died with my tablet S.
I took a long hard think about what I actually used my laptop for before purchase. Mainly sofa surfing, emails Facebook etc.More importantly it was to have this ability on the move. The small amount of application work could be relegated to my old desktop. I help run another website which has some flash parts so I that meant could not get an i-pad, besides I hate i-tunes.
With the S I'm now able to control my hifi with one device, manage DNLA media on my server, check up on emails and social networking and sofa surf all from one little lightweight and highly portable device. Chuck in free SatNav with Navfree also.
Most android devices could do all this to a certain extent however the IR and playstation integration made the Sony the only choice for me. I also find the screen a higher quality and the shape nicer to use.
Minor bugbears:
Direct communication with SD card socket - ICS fixes this
Lack of Sky go / MS Silverlight - will probably happen in the end
Missing MS Excel - some partial success with apps but would really like a proper MS version.
Would like it to be a bit nippier
Nice said!
Now thats what you call a nice short review. +1
To be honest, it seems like most of those problems could have been avoided with just a little research before you bought. Obviously, different tablets suit different people and if you wanted HDMI-out, lots of weird peripherals and a car bracket, you should've bought a Toshiba Thrive or a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
The Sony's features and advertised purpose are well-known and it is obviously meant to be a media device, and it excels at that. I'm not sure why your battery is not good, but mine far outlasts my iPad's. As for peripherals, as far as I'm concerned, if it'
s got mini-USB which can be turned into full-size USB with a short cable, thats all the peripherals I'm ever going to need.
I respect your opinion and your choice and for the record I don't have any WiFi problems and haven't upgraded to ICS (waiting for official) so I can't comment on that.
However, it seems as if many of your criticisms (including those of other disappointed Tablet S owners) could've been solved by a tiny bit of Internet research and some forethought about your buying choices.
In short, it seems harsh to blame the tool, if you're using the wrong tool for the job that you wanted
Sorry for the rant, but I love mine and am often mystified by these disappointed stories.
I have to agree with the above! I love mine because I did a lot of research before I bought it and realised the sony was the one for me. Does the iPad have hdmi out? I don't know I don't buy into all the apple crap. But if it doesn't then why bring it up. Like said earlier, if that's what you were after there's plenty of devices on the market that could have fulfilled your needs.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z using Tapatalk 2.0
-GPS problem is more of an Android problem, the SGS Tab and most phones have crappy GPS as well.
-The wifi issue is hardly a bother, come on. The tablet S literally takes a second to reconnect when you open up the display. It's really quick. How much do you really NEED wifi when the screen is off? Would it be great? Yes, but is it a dealbreaker? hardly not.
-I have no idea what you are talking about about peripherals. The tablet has a full sized SD card slot. I cant think of any other tablet which does. The MicroUSB does the job for connecting as well.
-Battery life has been good for me, even better than the iPad 2.
People can whine and complain all they want, but at the end of the day it is your fault for not researching more about a tablet that would suit your needs. You can't whine about the tablet not having an HDMI slot if you had a choice to choose one that did. Sony never lied and never stated that there was an HDMI slot. Battery life has never been a problem for most people, even the reviewers say the battery life is great. I agree, though, that the charger is retarded.
That said, it seems that those who complain about the Tablet S are expecting too much from the tablet. Sony have been very upfront about what it can and cannot do, and reviews have put this in the top 5 tablets for a reason. It's easy to criticize what something doesn't have, but people forget the good things about a device (SD card slot, great screen, universal remote, playstation etc.)
I am very happy for my table S and would definitely bye it again.
I have actually thought of buing a second as this one is so heavily in use.
I hated mine for the first couple months. Never had any probs with the hardware (nor any wifi/battery issues). For me it was just a crappy slow as firmware. I said on here once that it would all be fixable with root access.
Fast forward to present with me strappin' a rooted ICS loaded Sony Tab and you're looking at one happy camper . I've even adjusted to the fact I stuffed the screen a little when it slid off my car bonnet.
Does everything I want it too and the only time I turn on a laptop anymore is use the all in one tool on it .
Yes. Yes I would.
henly said:
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, well. Yes I would, and yes I did.
I have several tablets, a couple of Sony Tablet S's (16 & 32gb) a Samsung Galaxy 10.1, an ASUS TF101, and a couple of Kindle Fires (rooted and totally recreated as fine little tablets in their own right.) I've also had two iPads in the past, a v1, then v2 (those both went to the niece & nephew for Xmas, total kiddie ware going no-where.)
So, guess which one goes with me in the car and on the plane? Easy, the 32gb Sony. I throw the poor thing around like a paperback book, and it definitely takes a licking. Never complains a bit and still looks new. (Think airport check-ins, X-ray bins, getting banged around on plane tray tables & overhead compartments, etc.) Battery life is xlnt, the display is bright, saturated & Sony sharp, reading Kindle books is hand-natural specific, and... I can load my 64gb SDXC card with just about anything and everything.
Other than the Kindle Fires, (Kinder Panzers?) all of the other tablets I have either had (or have now,) are FRAGILE.
OK: The universal remote. I use the Sony S for everything in the house, especially the WD Lives... this thing is a godsend compared to the little piece of crap they give you for a remote! That Sony Tablet S remote feature sets up easy and remembers forever.
Also, I use either my HTC Desire or Desire HD to connect to the Internet, apply the wifi hotspot, then connect the Sony S to that. Skype calls for free. Wait, somebody say free? Internet and hands free International calls. Easy.
I could go on here, but there's plenty more.
Again, yes I would buy it again, and yes, I already did.
henly said:
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO, I was willing to be patience and wait for upgrades etc to fix probs but having just upgraded to ICS Im very disappointed.
No fixes for various bugs (for me primarily wifi connection), and now I find my gps is not working for some reason, the device nearly went out of the car window yesterday when i was stuck on the A13 with no gps, but then I thought about littering .
Together with the car charging problems (had To buy an Inverter, more money), no hdmi socket no perifials, Car bracket etc, battery life, its not adding up to a good deal.
I originally bought a Ipad on the recomodations of a salesman and assurances that flash would work with it (yea right), so that went back in favour of the 'S', but what next, do I leave it at home and cut my losses (wad of dough).
Its seems that despite advances in technology we are always being used as guinepigs for devices that eventually end up on the scrap heap and never seem to last until the device is broken beyond repair but are dumped by the manufactorer in favour of another useless device, witness my Ipaq stopped supporting Windows, My Dell Streak mini 5 cant even get spares for them anymore, I could go on.
And we seem to accept it without protest almost as if its expected that we lay out loads of dosh for a inferior product, imaging the outcry if we bought cars (or other products) on the same basis, 'oh bear with us, sir, you will be able to drive from A to B as soon as we have sorted out the engin bugs'.
anyway sorry about the rant, Im still simmering from the A13 incident,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with you. I mean, I like my tablet s, but I think I'm pretty tired of crappy problems/errors. I have an xperia x10i, and also there, other problems. This mainly happen because we have many different models and hw to be adapted to the operative system (this doesn't happen for ipad, just because they have a few hw models and just one corporate workin on sw). Sony produces beautiful machines and great hardware, but they always lack on software, don't know why.

[Q] Absolute barebones GPS - Like a Garmin

Hi Everybody
Looking for ideas, help and suggestions for a little Project I have given myself called Project Barebones....Shall I explain a little further said Mr Holmes to Watson...
Iv got a little experience with Custom ROMs from playing around with them on my other phone's and decided to challenge myself the of creating a basic little GPS and ANT+ bike computer , the main reason being. I’m a cheapskate and don't want to fork out over £250 for a Garmin 800 GPS and ANT+ bike computer as I don’t really need it but like the idea of it as keep on getting lost…..plus I like to have a dabble with phones, ROM and gadgets in general. That’s the reason you are probably reading this post as well.
I have bought myself a Sony Ericsson X10 Pro U20i and two spare batteries off Ebay. This is due to the relatively small size and it was only £20. It’s not in great shape but is fully functional and the point of this project was to make a home made GPS that is cheap, reliable and will actually work at its sole purpose of being a GPS. My initial idea is to use a Custom ROM should it be out there or with the Permission from an owner, to strip it apart and leave the bare essential required to function as a little stand-alone unit hence the Barebones reference. I don’t really want o go into the land of creating a ROM as don’t have the time these day plus I have a feeling id be inventing the wheel again.
Parameters for the unit are simple:
One Android operating system no lower than 2
One GPS software package
GPS & Wi-Fi capability only
Bluetooth capability for the ANT +
Keyboard functionality
Simplest launcher possible
Access to the Playstore as some apps will not work without the it being installed. IE Strava
Simplest web browser
The unit will not need to be able to make calls, text or even be able to work of a mobile network as Wi-Fi will be the only comms required.
I think my main obstacle will be the ANT+ as the phone is capable of it, as defined in the original OS of the phone as publicised over the net
Any help would be great appreciated as I’m a novice in the understanding of ROM and Android at this level and to anybody who’s reading this thinking oh I’ve seen this before, just point me in the right direction as I can’t find it after searching for a few days.

Android Head Units for cars

Hi all,
I've been thinking about replacing the headunit in my car and have seen a few Android-based headunits on the market. Searching here, I've found basically no discussion of them, so I'm curious what people's experiences are.
I'm looking for Double-DIN, Navigation, Cap Touch, and HD Radio support. The CA-FI DashLinq4 would be almost perfect, except it has no HD Radio.
Does anyone have a unit? Love it? Hate it? Have a suggestion for one that meets my desired features?
Anyone?
After searching extensively I ended up going with the Dashlinq4. AN-21 is a fragmented cluster. Hue-fie 2 isn't much better and generally has low build quality. Parrot asteroid is ancient now, android 2.3 only. Kenwood is too proprietary, not rooted, no sideloading, no point. WD8800 was a bust. Ca-Fi seems to be the only legitimate company standing behind their product. It seems to be quite stable and build quality is top-notch.
I haven't seen any android units with HDradio. I used to like HDRadio until i got used to having the internet in my dash. I wouldn't listen to it now if I had it. Just about any content you could get over HDradio can be found streaming. Quality is just as good, if not better and it doesn't use up a whole lot of data to stream audio.
If you HAVE to have HDradio, get one of these a mount it next to your Dashlinq
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/301238604071?lpid=82

Teclast m89 and other devices (I'm here to start studying I don't know from where)

Hi all, I'm Rafael and I'm a noob.
Some weeks ago I've started to look at devices in a different way, and discovered a big world inside it; I've seen a lot of useful things that you can learn and do with an old device or with the device that unfortunately I bought:
a teclast m89.
This last is the reason because I want to study and learn what can I do with a device sold and reviewed like the best of the best and after a month of conscious use I've discovered that i want to destroy it.
Why?
Minimum brightness of the screen is the maximum brightness of a standard device;
80% of the ? drain go to the screen;
Battery autonomy, 3/4 videos on Amazon video, little web surfing and that's all. connect the cable.
Amazon video? you have a 2k display but you can't see a video in HD.
You want to read a book? don't worry you can't relax in your bedroom with the lights off because the screen is a navy seal torch!
You want security patches? Don't worry we sell you a new tablet instead! (Who cares about customers and pollution).
You want gestures? Android 7 and no mayor updates it's enought for the price you paid!
Native Dark mode?
Random shutdown? Yes we offer it, specially if you're working on something of unsaved and important from several hours.
What teclast m89 is good for? Anything outside of the box except using like a cutting board.
But looking on custom ROMs, modding, and a lot of things I thought that this device have a potential. Yes, I think that is not possible to solve all the problems I mentioned above but I hope for the best possible result.
So I've looked tons of videos and red a lot of webpages but I'm continuing to feel ignorant and unsure about Android things, I saw a lot of videos where people saying how fantastic the root is but at the end of the video I don't understood what a root is (maybe is my fault).
Something about me:
I have a Windows background, ms-dos and commodore 64 (experience at 4 years old), I'm able to Use a Bios and change settings without do a disaster or install Ubuntu without destroy the PC, able to fix a broken display in simple devices, upgrade a laptop or build a rig...but I'm a completely noob
So the question to the community is this:
How can improve my knowledge regarding android and move the first steps into install custom ROMs? how can i become aN aware user? From where you start?
Thank you very much
Cheers
Rafael
Other devices LG G3, Samsung S3, Honor 9 lite.
P.S. I hope it's all right with rules and section, sorry in advance.

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