Android OS car radios: who makes the best?

LiamMcKenna

Hey people!

Does anyone have experience with Android car radios? Is there a clear winner for best choice or is it just preference?

I've been some research into Android double-din touchscreen radios for my 06 Passat. I've found what looks like two decent Brands (Pumpkin, Xtrons) but there not really any reliable reviewers of either brands products to help decipher if either are legit.

Also their pricing on the sites dont seam to make sense, less spec'd machines are costing more then there high end stuff, i'm wondering what am i missing?

the only independent reviews i cant find are for products 6+ years old. If someone can help me i owe you a pint

I have the xtrons in my 08 golf,have it 4/5 months now.
Like yourself couldn't find any info so went in blind.

Have to say i can not fault it one bit.And im super picky .
Every thing works as it should.
Its also tied into the can bus so it can display things like fuel levels,rpm,open doors etc etc (without obd2 dongle)
Revering camera comes on with in reveres without any wiring hacks/relays, which is nice.

Finish wise it looks and fits like the stock unit.
Came with GPS antenna ,canbus adapter.
all easy to fit.

I use a launcher called Car Launcher Pro.
Also xtrons have their own fourm now and its quite good.Loads of support from them ,

I say go for it !
Serious bit of kit for 230 quid ,(I've had expensive pinoneer,kenwood units in the past and the software was always ****e)

Rowley Birkin QC

I have one of the Pumpkins in my E46, great piece of kit.

The only thing I haven't been able to get working is to have the OBD2 linked to it via bluetooth so that live info can be displayed via Torque Pro.

It's my second android unit in that car, first one was a no-brand Chinese unit that I swapped for an iPad I won at work. It was grand but FM reception was terrible, there was very little ram so I only used the SatNav side of it really. This one is much different, connects to the hotspot on my phone as soon as I get into the car, FM is perfect and I also have Spotify installed on it for streaming music. Use Google Maps for nav and Ulysses speedometer.

anthony4335

Apparently the are only a few actual manufactures of android head units and most are just a rebranded version. Look at at this site http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Hui_Fei_Type. That said I have one in my Prius, which runs lolipop 5.1, and it is not bad really, lots of features for very little money such as GPS, I use Here WEGO maps with it. but it still could be better I find the sound quality poor, no bass at all no matter what I try, the radio works well except the AF (alternative freqs) does not work, when it does loose the signal it just searches up the frequencies until it latches onto a signal, which most of the time is not the station you were on. Power up time is about 40 seconds from cold, but there is a feature to delay the full shutdown by up to 2 hours which is handy. Not sure really if I will keep it to be honest the lack of bass annoys me a little. Pumpkin are supposed to have a better sound quality using an added DSP to the unit so this may be worth looking into.

yannakis

Screen resolution is generally crap. Waiting (possibly eternaly) for the modular head units with swapable tablets for easy upgrades

YanisK

YanisK wrote: »

Screen resolution is generally crap. Waiting (possibly eternaly) for the modular head units with swapable tablets for easy upgrades

mine is 480p on a 7" screen,
enough for a car in fairness.
not that I'd use it for that anyways.

The swapable tablet is the dream but I dont see it happening,

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

I have the xtrons in my 08 golf,have it 4/5 months now.
Like yourself couldn't find any info so went in blind.

Have to say i can not fault it one bit.And im super picky .
Every thing works as it should.
Its also tied into the can bus so it can display things like fuel levels,rpm,open doors etc etc (without obd2 dongle)
Revering camera comes on with in reveres without any wiring hacks/relays, which is nice.

Finish wise it looks and fits like the stock unit.
Came with GPS antenna ,canbus adapter.
all easy to fit.

I use a launcher called Car Launcher Pro.
Also xtrons have their own fourm now and its quite good.Loads of support from them ,

I say go for it !
Serious bit of kit for 230 quid ,(I've had expensive pinoneer,kenwood units in the past and the software was always ****e)

You wouldn't mind posting a pic or two would you. I have a golf and am considering upgrading the radio. An android radio would be ideal as long as it blended in.

FrostyJim

FrostyJim wrote: »

You wouldn't mind posting a pic or two would you. I have a golf and am considering upgrading the radio. An android radio would be ideal as long as it blended in.

Yea I will do.
It looks 100% stock.

One thing I am finding is the radio reception is poor when traveling on long stretches .
I've ordered a booster and the DAB antenna for it.

Was out and about so took a short vid showing some of the functions.
Didnt show the reversing cam,canbus stuff or the steering wheel controls.
showed the torque app over bluetooth .

yannakis

Thanks for the video!!

Perfect product, but my goodness, their website is worse than mick's!!

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

Yea I will do.
It looks 100% stock.

One thing I am finding is the radio reception is poor when traveling on long stretches .
I've ordered a booster and the DAB antenna for it.

Was out and about so took a short vid showing some of the functions.
Didnt show the reversing cam,canbus stuff or the steering wheel controls.
showed the torque app over bluetooth .

Thanks for the video. It looks great. Which model is the headunit?

FrostyJim

FrostyJim wrote: »

Thanks for the video. It looks great. Which model is the headunit?

Not sure on the model name but here is where i bought it

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/XTRONS-Android-4-4-VW-Golf-MK5-Car-Radio-Stereo-DVD-CD-Sat-Nav-GPS-DAB-WiFi-3G-/252486555321?hash=item3ac95f16b9:g:NkUAAOSwbsBXoZTx

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

Not sure on the model name but here is where i bought it

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/XTRONS-Android-4-4-VW-Golf-MK5-Car-Radio-Stereo-DVD-CD-Sat-Nav-GPS-DAB-WiFi-3G-/252486555321?hash=item3ac95f16b9:g:NkUAAOSwbsBXoZTx

Thanks Brownfinger, ordered the same one from them on amazon. Works out at €250. Will be a nice xmas pressie to myself! :D

Nice!
you wont regret it.
might be worth ordering the radio booster.(mine is on order)
after i fitted mine i relised i needed an antenna adapter

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/5fn/Antenna-Adapter-double-Fakra-Audi-Seat-Skoda/B009E4D1RM)

It didnt improve the radio reception,

In the video I posted thats not the launcher that comes on it.
its a launcher called Car Launcher Pro. it was 3.50 and worth it.

yannakis

BrownFinger wrote: »

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/5fn/Antenna-Adapter-double-Fakra-Audi-Seat-Skoda/B009E4D1RM)

FTFY last parenthesis was in the url http://amzn.to/2hpJyKy

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

Nice!
you wont regret it.
might be worth ordering the radio booster.(mine is on order)
after i fitted mine i relised i needed an antenna adapter

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/5fn/Antenna-Adapter-double-Fakra-Audi-Seat-Skoda/B009E4D1RM)

It didnt improve the radio reception,

In the video I posted thats not the launcher that comes on it.
its a launcher called Car Launcher Pro. it was 3.50 and worth it.

Thanks, will order one once the headunit dispatches. Yeah I was thinking of using the android auto launcher but you need android 5.0 or higher. I'm sure I'll find one to my liking anyway. When I find out the model number I'm going to check out xda developers and see if it can be rooted. Few more options there if so.

ICE/HU/PC71MTVA

That's the model number they quote in the eBay listing.

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

ICE/HU/PC71MTVA

That's the model number they quote in the eBay listing.

Nothing online about rooting this model but I'll try kingroot and cross my fingers!

DopeTech

Got an email today from the seller on Amazon to say due to high demand they have to cancel my order as it's out of stock, they are getting more in from the warehouse but they have no idea when. Looks like this model is sold out everywhere atm.

FrostyJim

FrostyJim wrote: »

Got an email today from the seller on Amazon to say due to high demand they have to cancel my order as it's out of stock, they are getting more in from the warehouse but they have no idea when. Looks like this model is sold out everywhere atm.

Thats crazy considering how little info is out there about it.

I take it you checked out the ebay seller I got mine from?
I think it shipped from UK or Germany .

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

Thats crazy considering how little info is out there about it.

I take it you checked out the ebay seller I got mine from?
I think it shipped from UK or Germany .

Yeah sold out on eBay, Amazon and xtrons.co.uk, ah well I will keep an eye on it. If a android 5.1 version comes up at a reasonable price I'll try snap it up either. Android auto would be nice to have and is only available on 5.1 and above.

Rowley Birkin QC

Has anyone here managed to successfully set up Torque via a bluetooth OBDII device?

Mine will see but not connect to the ELM32 device named "CHX" but my phone sees it perfectly. Seems like the name of the device needs to be "OBD-2" or similar to work.

Rowley Birkin QC

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Has anyone here managed to successfully set up Torque via a bluetooth OBDII device?

Mine will see but not connect to the ELM32 device named "CHX" but my phone sees it perfectly. Seems like the name of the device needs to be "OBD-2" or similar to work.

Yea I have on mine,
Didnt need to do anything to be honest it all just worked
I think you are right about the name.
From what I've read some units wont connect to 2 bluetooth devices at once.

Been messing around with my own and there is a way to mirror your phones screen via the hotspot.
you can control your phone via the touchscreen .
but I couldn't find a way to get the phone to display in landscape (on the headunit),It must be possible.

DopeTech

BrownFinger wrote: »

Yea I have on mine,
Didnt need to do anything to be honest it all just worked
I think you are right about the name.
From what I've read some units wont connect to 2 bluetooth devices at once.

Been messing around with my own and there is a way to mirror your phones screen via the hotspot.
you can control your phone via the touchscreen .
but I couldn't find a way to get the phone to display in landscape (on the headunit),It must be possible.

Tasker should do the trick.

anthony4335

I have 2 of the adaptors, and one worked straight away but the other didn't, issue was with the bluetooth password code needed to be set to 1234 to work with the new adaptor.

DopeTech

Manufacturer Refurbished ones on sale now for €170 delivered to Parcel Wizard. Couldn't resist at that price and if anything goes wrong I can always open a claim with paypal.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201735583372

2 more available at time of posting from a trusted seller 99.5% positive feedback.

punisher5112

Anyone know which one would fit 2006 Octavia vRS. I want to change they put a bog standard stream no hope of even adding aux port.

DopeTech

punisher5112 wrote: »

Anyone know which one would fit 2006 Octavia vRS. I want to change they put a bog standard stream no hope of even adding aux port.

The one above does. Pretty much any one that does a golf/jetta will work in an Octavia. They may not have it in the headline but all the ads on eBay had a full list of what cars they are compatible with.

If you Google it you'll see the one I bought above installed in an octavia.

punisher5112

FrostyJim wrote: »

The one above does. Pretty much any one that does a golf/jetta will work in an Octavia. They may not have it in the headline but all the ads on eBay had a full list of what cars they are compatible with.

If you Google it you'll see the one I bought above installed in an octavia.

Just bought me an early Christmas present thanks.

Rowley Birkin QC

Has anyone fitted one of these in an E92 Coupe?

I'm looking at them at the moment and very few have iDrive. Moving from a fully connected E46 to a "dumb" E92 wouldn't be too appealing.

DopeTech

So mine arrived today. Same as one in the video posted here. Only problem is the bluetooth does not work at all. Its actually not even showing up in system settings as an option under wifi. Serves me right for buying manufacturer refurbished. Contacted seller but is going to be a pita getting it back to Leeds.

bmwguy

I got one last week for an e39. Big 7" screen. Pain in the ass to fit, removal.of the old radio and the cage that holds it was the difficult part. But now that I have it up and running, it's class. Great sound, much better than the old bmw business radio.

I have Google maps, spotify, YouTube, plays dvds, watch RTE player, kodi, showbox, sky go, downloads on usb or sd, anything really! I'll never do half of it but as a gadget it's great. Connects to phone lovely too.

There are other car related OBD apps I haven't used yet. It brings the car right up to date with connectivity and makes it look very modern.

I even have a lovely e39 Angel eyes wallpaper on the screen. That's great now, no longer interested in moving to a newer model now, I was really only going to because of the gadgets.

Being stock android I actually think it's more impressive what it can do than a system developed for a car which is constrained a bit. Listen to a lot of podcasts online. Have not lost signal.once around the Dublin area so far. Trip down the country early January so that will be a good test.

I use a mifi I have for work (25 gb monthly allowance which is loads) to get the internet, but if you have a big data plan on your phone it will work fine too, I have used this too but don't have a huge data allowance on the phone so wary enough of it

OldMrBrennan83

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bmwguy

Patww79 wrote: »

Not sure if it's been covered I the pages here, but what's the best option for a unit that just mirrors the phone screen (with the phone screen off as I want it to stop screen burn on my phone). I don't need it to have any other features, not even radio, just that it plugs into a mic and the car speakers.

My Eonon can do that. You can use the touchscreen in place of your phone touchscreen too. It's a good bit of kit. Hooks into car speakers too

OldMrBrennan83

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The xtrons can also do it ,
I tired it one but couldnt get the phone screen to show in landscape on the head unit.
it can do it via the phones wireless .

Any body else using Waze on there head unit?
I installed it over the weekend in place of google maps and have to say its a fantastic app!
Its a sat nav app that shares live info between users.
so traffic,speed traps etc etc

OldMrBrennan83

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punisher5112

Huge trouble with the xtrons one. Fitted it blank screen 20 tries nothing next day try again nothing. Drove for 30 minutes tried worked no problems. Tried out phone call and streamed music was pleased but screen would be blank again next day. Seems to me any way at all left for a while or cold and that causes issue.

Sent back and what do I get back only the exact same one which hand not even been opened as I sealed it a certain way and left a few markers I would know. Seems very strange so got money back in the end. Disappointed as was really looking forward to the little tech update to the car.

Thats a shame punisher,
did you get another one?

punisher5112

BrownFinger wrote: »

Thats a shame punisher,
did you get another one?

No as they sent same one back. But I do want one maybe pay extra and try another. I still have the faulty one. They don't want it.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Anyone any experience with the Ownice C500 unit? Tempted to get one of the current quad core models but wondering should I wait for the Octo-core model to be released (its on their website but cant see it for sale anywhere yet)

bmwguy

Patww79 wrote: »

Which model is it? Did you pick it up here?

Ga5166f, bought it from Eonon website

That's customised to fit my car only, there are the exact same ones technology wise for other cars, it's just the shape of the surround is different.

What car do you have I'll check if there is there is the same one for your car.

The Eonon ones looks very nice.

I see the xtrons one I have is now shipping with android 6.0,mine is 4.4 .

OldMrBrennan83

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bmwguy

Patww79 wrote: »

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I see ones there for focus/mondeo/s-max alright. I know my car, BMW E39, shares a lot with the X5 E53 model and the same unit fits both. There is a different one for e46 3 series but the differences are minimal.

I'd check if the Kuga shares sames components and fittings as the Fords listed above, I'd say there is a good chance it does but you defo have to check first

Its a great upgrade for the car so worth looking into for you

OldMrBrennan83

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I dont think you need to use mirroring at all with these units.
once they are set up all your apps are there.

I connect mine via a wifi hotspot and use the phones 4g .
Waze works a lot better than google maps on mine.

bmwguy

Patww79 wrote: »

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Yes, phone screen does go off when mirroring, but as someone has said, you shouldn't need to mirror as this can do everything your phone can, theres only a few apps suited to it really like music apps, podcasts and maps, although I was messing around and installed sky go on mine if I am ever stuck waiting for someone. Ran my car battery down one time though:) so dont use it anymore!

OldMrBrennan83

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No its a full Android system,
exactly like your phone so you can put anything on them.

bmwguy

BrownFinger wrote: »

No its a full Android system,
exactly like your phone so you can put anything on them.

Yeah that's correct, maybe I explained it wrong when I said only a few apps are suited, I meant only a few are useful in a car. No point having internet banking or twitter for example, but you could if you wanted!

OldMrBrennan83

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