IPOD on-screen control with navigation: your experience

[pro101]

We plugged our IPOD last night in the new IV 2010 model we got, which has navigation panel. Good thing is it recognized it and the sound is good. One challenge we found however is that given the number of albums on the ipod, scrolling down from A to Z was quite difficult. Has anyone figured a way to go from say, artists A to R quickly and accurately? When using the ipod itself, the scrolling accelerates automatically when moving fast. But that is not accessible when the MP3 player is connected to the Nav. Right now it would take a good 3 minutes to scroll all the way down, the way we are doing it. So we just listened to artists starting with A and B.

Experiences and tips from you all using ipods with the Nav system on the 2010 model would be highly appreciated.

[cpatch]

The iPod integration with the navigation system is a joke, plain and simple, and has been discussed in a couple of other threads. It's only useful for listening to a limited number of playlists (or, as you point out, songs/artists/albums starting with a letter early in the alphabet). The fastest way to scroll is using the right dial on the nav system, but it's not that much of an improvement. (You'll also find yourself frustrated by the fact that the songs in your playlists aren't necessarily in the same order they are on your iPod.) My only other tip is to unplug your iPod from the USB connector and use the aux connector instead. Better yet, replace the entire navigation system with something from a company that knows how to design one.

[someToast]

When the iPod is connected, is the display and controls on the iPod locked out? I was hoping to still be able to do track ratings while it's plugged in.

[ad2001]

Originally Posted by someToast

When the iPod is connected, is the display and controls on the iPod locked out? I was hoping to still be able to do track ratings while it's plugged in.

Yep, it's locked out >_< ... I just got my new Prius IV 2 days ago ... and also fighting this iPod / Nav issue >_< .... Worse is that I'm a Chinese and I'm tons of songs with Chinese characters, and they are shown as BLANK in the Nav screen. I like the iPod dock integration for controlling next / previous songs using the Wheel controls / Nav controls, but I also like to know what songs I'm actually listening to. So I'm struggling to either use the bluetooth or the usb cable ...

[cpatch]

Originally Posted by ad2001

So I'm struggling to either use the bluetooth or the usb cable ...

Do you mean the bluetooth or the aux cable? The aux cable is going to be your best bet, especially if you use a product that combines a charger with a true aux out (instead of headphone out). For example:

Amazon.com: Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G: Electronics

Amazon.com: Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G: Electronics
Amazon.com: Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G: Electronics

[ad2001]

Thanks cpatch for the recommendation, I ordered the Kensington LiquidAUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G: Electronics and it's coming Tuesday .

[hptsang]

I wish they can come out a multiple language to fix the Chinese or which ever other language problem. I have a lot of Chinese mp3 and podcast and I guess I will face the same problem when I get my IV

[ad2001]

Just a side note, if you have a lot of songs / podcast, it's not very usable with the Nav system anyways. I went with the Kensington solution because I can pause / skip songs with the remote control, and I (or the passengers) can change songs / playlist quickly on the iPhone. Of course you can see all the Chinese characters as well on the phone ...

Originally Posted by hptsang

I wish they can come out a multiple language to fix the Chinese or which ever other language problem. I have a lot of Chinese mp3 and podcast and I guess I will face the same problem when I get my IV

[dogllama]

Originally Posted by cpatch

better yet, replace the entire navigation system with something from a company that knows how to design one.

Ha! So true!

[scotty321]

Yeah, I've given up using the on-screen navigation system for the iPod, which is a shame because seeing the name of the currently playing song on the screen is very cool.

But it's basically unusable for a bunch of reasons:

- The amount of time it takes to scroll through songs/artists/playlists is so unbelievably time-consuming. I have 800 artists, and I think it would take 10 minutes to get to the bottom of my artist list.
- While you're scrolling through songs/artists/playlists, the audio system interrupts your currently playing song to try to play whatever you're currently scrolling through -- even though you haven't made a selection yet.
- The only way to shuffle "all songs" on your ipod is to choose the playlist that the Prius creates with the name of your iPod, but then it always starts with the same song. Weird.
- No way to assign star ratings to your iPod songs through the navigation system.
- If you're using an iPod touch, you're used to being able to jump to the currently playing album. Can't do that through the navigation system.

I have a few more complaints about it too, but I can't remember what they were right now!

So now, I have resorted to having my iPod plugged into the auxiliary jack, and I have it sitting in a mount that I got from proclipusa.com, and I control the iPod directly from the iPod itself.