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Android Head Unit - Any one got one of these ones

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Ed Law, Oct 7, 2014.

  1. Ed Law

    Ed Law New Member

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    Hey guys,

    has anyone got one of these:

    8" Android 4 2 CAR Stereo DVD GPS Navi Unit 3G Wifi FOR Toyota Prius 2009 2013 | eBay

    i know there are other topics that talk about android head units but not this one specifically.

    i have never gone a chinese brand head unit before and just wanted to make sure i wasnt wasting my money and time.

    I just want to know if its worth the upgrade.

    Thanks for your help in advance guys.
     
  2. neez

    neez Member

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    2011 Prius
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    Two
    I'm actually eyeing that exact one myself. I like the rocketchip 1.6ghz chip and the built in wifi. Intel just invested in rocketchip, they'll be making tablet processors together next year, so rocketchip probably makes a decent processor.

    I might order one tomorrow, seriously considering it.
     
  3. thomasc

    thomasc Junior Member

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    Location:
    Singapore
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I replaced my 2011 HU in Jul 2014 with this China made android 4.2.2 model:

    (unable to show link because it is my 1st post)

    So far , the unit has performed well (after some initial tweaking... The problem lies with being a China product, and Google is banned in China, their QC was performed with proxy settings). Nevertheless, with some interesting instructions from the internet, this was bypassed and the unit worked well as an android player, sound is still crisp, but not fantastic, with the following features:

    - Radio
    - CD/DVD
    - Media player (using the 2nd built-in micro-SD slot, or via media bluetooth)
    - Phone Bluetooth (as this android unit is NOT a phone, built-in app is unable to access contact directly, but can sync with phone's contacts)
    - Sygic Navi (using the provided 4GB micro SD card-do specify yr region, with slightly outdated working map, can buy updated map via Google play)
    - Internet (via external 3G dongle, not that stable... Or via wifi to 3G/4G router, which is my current setup)
    - Google Map/Mail (via Internet above)
    - Google Calendar (need update from Google Play, with slight tweak stated above)
    - NO pinch/zoom function
    - works with apps designed for tablet, not phone alone (that is if you can find the app in Google Play in your phone and not in the Google Play in your HU). However, if you have the patience and want to force an install, download an apk extractor in your phone and extract the phone app, transfer to the HU memory and try to install... Some apps still can work using this method.

    The only qualm I have right now is to integrate the built-in car microphone for the bluetooth. According to the HU manufacturer, due to the many variations of PRIUS 2011 shipped around the world, each has a slightly different car wire harness depending on the accessories. I tried requesting the wiring diagram from Fujitsu-Ten and Toyota, but they both refused to disclose... If anyone knows the wiring diagram for the Fujitsu-Ten 86120-47311 123000_1671C101, I greatly appreciate your sharing...

    All in all, money well spent for a decent upgrade from the stock car HU.
     
    saminatlanta likes this.
  4. neez

    neez Member

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    I just ordered the star_dvd version from pumpkin car stereo. Should be here soon, i'll let you know how good it is.

    A few things i wanted to test out are :
    -the dual zone video playing function, video playback in general.
    -whether or not i can get spotify to run directly on it, and download music via wifi from my house 20 yards away.
    -Call quality.
    -Snappiness of android, speed of processor.
    -LCD Screen quality in sunlight
    -FM reception, factory radio sucks, will this be any better?
    -TomTom Nav software, how well will it work.
    -Volume of GPS voice while playing music.
     
  5. neez

    neez Member

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    A small update, i bought the unit and have been using it for about a month now. I freakin love it, but it does has a few flaws to consider. This is a short review, i'll give a more detailed one with pics later when i have time.

    1. For the most part, i have to sideload nearly all the apps i wanted on it (TomTom NAV, Spotify, GPS Test, Torque, Netflix, Xfinity Go). This wasn't hard, just download them on your android phone. Download an app directly on the PLAY store called "APK extract", and select the programs you want. It will place them on the microSD card of your phone. Then just insert the microSD into the unit and install from the file explorer. Super Easy.

    2. Dual Zone Fuction does work, but not with android. It seems the way they designed this thing is, they installed a DVD player into the head unit, and use an analog input channel to feed the video signal into android. It's not natively playing the dvd in the android software. This makes the dvd look funny(like it would through the analog input). The dvd player is wired to the analog outputs as well, and that's the only way to get video to play out of the unit onto the headrests, is via the DVD player. So i can't play video files off my sd card to my headrest, though it looks fine on the main screen. This was a big bummer :-(. Video files won't play to video out, only the DVD.

    3. Spotify runs directly on the unit, and it operates beautifully, though the scaling is way off. Seems it's optimised for a small phone where your fingers need to be used to touch everything. On an 8" screen, the scaling it way way off, i may try download the app on my nexus 7 tablet and sideloading it from that, maybe the scaling will be better. But it still operates just fine, the problem is you can only see 3 songs or playlists at a time, when there is enough real estate for at least 10-12 lines at a time.

    4. Call quality seems ok while driving, this unit came with an external mic i have mounted to the steering column.

    5. Very quick processor, doesn't seem sluggish at all, and everything is very responsive. Boot time is a little long, but not really that bad.

    6. LCD screen quality is excellent, colors are very good, doesn't look like a crappy washed out TFT panel found on my headrest monitors, this LCD looks as good as my laptop, colors are awesome with no backlight bleed. In sunlight it looks ok too.

    7. FM radio works a little better than the factory OEM unit which sucks. I get a few more stations and the ones that broke in and out in AM stay locked now.

    8. Navigation is excellent. The OEM nav is IGO which works well, just had to find the menu item to disable the speedometer, but after that it looks good and worked well around here. I just prefer tomtom, so i purchased it on my phone and sideloaded it. There is a menu item in settings where you can select the default app for navigation. So when you press the NAVI hard button or NAVI icon, it opens TOMTOM directly which was pretty slick. There is also a setting in the amplifier to duck your volume levels. Right now i have NAV set to +3, so it ducks the audio down of my spotify or DVD and increases the volume of the nav which is all perfect sounding for listening and playing nav commands.

    9. The only major complaint is the audio quality of the built in AMP, it sucks big time. It's probably about the same audio quality as if i soldered my own amp from a kit you buy during your first electronics class. It's full of distortion, no bass, it's not good at all. The factory unit on my non-JBL prius was actually way better. If you buy this unit, i'd recommend buying a 4 channel amplifier to go with it. The clarion XC1410 for $90 is supposedly pretty good, i'll probably try one of those when i have free time.
     
    saminatlanta likes this.
  6. saminatlanta

    saminatlanta Junior Member

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    Thank you for this detailed review! I found a unit being sold on Amazon but was hesitant since there are no reviews on it.
     
  7. saminatlanta

    saminatlanta Junior Member

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    Were you able to use the AUX plug in the center console after installing this unit? I can't figure out a way to play audio through it after installing mine.
     
  8. Robert 3291

    Robert 3291 New Member

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    2012 Prius Alpha
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    Ok I have been looking at these and I really want one, I only have 1 reservation. What about the options in the car that require the head unit to set. like the auto dimmer and oil change info?





     
  9. neez

    neez Member

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    Spotify no longer works well, the app changed so you have to log in every time now and won't keep my music offline.

    I would consider buying an actual android auto unit and installing that. Android auto is designed to work with your music apps at least.
     
  10. LasVegasaurusRex

    LasVegasaurusRex Active Member

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    there are quite a few reviews and additional info on xda-devs regarding these: Android Head Units

    you can try sideloading an older version of the app

    Spotify Ltd. APKs - APKMirror