Chinese replacement HUs?

That does look quite nice, similar i guess to the TNS510.

I prefer the way the forthcoming caska unit fills the dash (and i think it has a slightly larger screen, though that's not a big deal for me) but i can't find any indication of pricing.

What i really want to know is if anything other than the "premium" unit will give navigation arrows on the HUD.

 

CASKA is not cheap - the Germany site presents Toyota Universal for EUR969 and Corrola for EUR999. Units are not available on stock. Prius CASKA is not displayed.

 

I believe if you look carefully at the Caska/Coagent site, the picture is very low res - and looks *surprisingly* identical to the Prius Nav (too much so in my thoughts - I think this is a marketing piece with a picture of a real Prius nav).

The company has been silent about the thing - another reason to doubt its existence. Keep in mind, Metra at least announced the faceplate, said it was coming out, then it took an extra 6 months. In addition, it was not textured to match (as the Euro 200x100 TOyota faceplate is).

I don't see how it would not be buggy once it was released. It will run WinCE 5 - but we have seen there are really two OSs running - WIndows, and proprietary. Basically two systems under one roof.

Now that I've played with the Pioneer Z110 for a while, you really appreciate the little things (GUI wise) - like call call button overlayed on each screen when you are using BT.

I'm running XM - and now think I can't do without it. Add to that MSN traffic (coming today), and it's a pretty full featured system.

It's not as customizable on the Win side - no changing GPS software, but it trades that for voice recognition (which I am still struggling with) , and a pretty good base GPS...

Since a base Z110 can be had for $710 after rebate (including $40 steering interface), it's not far from the cheap Chinese, and much less than the expensive.

From what I understand about the expensive vs cheap Chinese stuff - it is mostly market specific - people have tied up markets (like Europe) - hence have a no compete.

Also keep in mind, there is no cheap or easy way to get the things serviced.

I would not go Chinese again after living with the Pioneer. I do like the Chinese look - but that's not enough...

 

1. I agree with your opinion about Caska 3692, Rolf. It is still very foggy from the producer side.
2. You are living in the different world, Jeremy and I are living in EU. Our prices are much more higher - about 1200GBP list price (roughly 2x more then US pricing after rebate) for AVIC-F10BT, which is the EU version of Z110BT, probably.
3. I've got more detailed info about Qualir QL-TYT965 Universal Toyota. But is still Chinese quality of documentation. See attached doc. What is nice, the unit has SiRF Prima chip for GPS/Galileo - 64 channels, 1M correlators. WinCE 6 on ARM11 processor - also good.
4. The price is around $550 + VAT, customs, shipping - lot of money and quality/warranty risk. Tough choice

 

Paja - it's to bad about AVIC pricing over there... That new HU looks pretty promising - they went from ARM9 to ARM11, and WinCE6 - if there was some kind of following, i'd seriously consider going that direction.

Some of the other MFGs have open forums, and even assist a bit in allowing 'hacking' which in the end - gives them a better product.

Funny thing is - this is getting very close to a car-puter. CE6 has the WiFi and networking (if configured/compiled), the IE browser etc.

There are so many things that are close - but just not there yet in the current batches (Pioneer, Kenwood, Chinese)...

 

I think FM should be fine - as long as it doesn't have the pesky bug I ran into (which was later fixed). If it wasn't so close in price, I would have no hesitation in jumping on an ARM11 product... Also - it looks much better than the Pioneer (IMO).

 

I ordered QL-TYT965 from Qualir (it looks to be promising) + distance sensors + Camry09 camera (should fit the original place, but I'm not sure). Simply, I was not patient enough for Caska.

 

Just FYI - the good surround can now be bought at a good discount on Ebay ($70). It's now listed at $90 - so not sure what happened (USD went up?) I'll probably get one at some point, and swap out my Metra (it looks better).

 

Good job - you should be happy with it -the more I play with the Pioneer, the more I tend to miss certain features (most of all a real volume knob - 2nd most is a customizable GPS).

Be sure to get the parking sensors in the correct color - and do the measure 20 times + 1 before drilling into the bumper Location etc is already in a thread - post your pics! The Camry cam should just pop in (if it's the correct one) - no drilling or cutting. I would put some silicon around it before installing to keep it nice and water tight (funny - but that area of the car can get wet if you use a power washer - even for the stock camera).

I would get a set of wire splicers for the install (they wrap around an existing wire, and when you clamp it down, it allows for another wire to be tapped in). This helps with the cam install.

The radio is really the easiest install imaginable. All the wires/cables plug directly into the Prius - so you just unplug the existing radio, and plug in the new one.

If you just want a quick install for fun and testing, you can place the GPS antenna on top of the Chinese HU - I did this on my Pioneer, and it worked fine. At some point later, move it to the squaker... Going this route, you could easily get a working system in 10 minutes (even for someone who hasn't done it before).

Let us know how it goes!

TTFN!

 

Rolf, thank you for your advice. The order is still in China, but I'll post all news regarding this. You are right the USD went up against GBP. I'll contact local dealer for the price quote of OEM surround.
Jeremy, the unit is not 2DIN but Toyota 2DIN (180x100 vs. 200x100), so no spacing needed, I hope.

 

I'll use the original part number because the texture of surface. The purchased kit has been shipped from Qualir on Friday night -> I'm waiting for the DHL tracking number, maybe Monday as Qualir has not a direct connection between DHL and their IS as I suppose regarding their communication.

 

The HU was delivered this Friday afternoon -all way took 5 days (2 days DHL HK->CZ, 3 days local customs, VAT, delivery process). Tracking DHL No. was sent on request. It was delivered in a good condition, precisely packed. Today I made some connection harness proof-check, because no detail installation guide supplied. My car is 8 speakers, amplifier under passanger front seat, not sure if it is JBL or what. As of now I'm unsure about following:
1. Pin 20 - AMP Cont. switcher. Is it for AMP->AMP+ original L34 connector wire? The HU's wire is labeled, individual one, not plugged to connector.
2. Pin 19 - Illumination. No idea where to connect. Just to ground it? The wire is linked with Pin10 of L34, which looks to be N.C. based on the Prius schema.
3. What is a purpose of handbrake input? To allow the DVD play only when car parked?
I asked Qualir for the install guide, if available. Stay tuned - TBC...

 

Paja,

You have the JBL sound system - which the China thing is not wired for.

PAC sells a JBL interface. You will need this. They're like $60 on Amazon... It is called the "PAC TATO" - not to be confused by the curiously delicious "PO TATO"

 

Rolf, this HU should be JBL compliant according to the specification. I'll see what Qualir reply.