New Prius Owner - Head Unit Questions

I installed a rosen in my 2011 prius II .
so far im very pleased with it. there is a gps, bt ,iphone ipod controls.usb port , stering wheel integration (non bt).
and it looks like factory.

 

Read all related threads here in the Gen II & III sections, then go to the your local Car Audio shops and play with them if you can. Opinions vary, but educated hands on is best. I like my Kenwood eXcelon, you may like one others have chosen.

 

I have all of the functionality you are requesting by using the factory III head unit and putting my iPhone on a ProClip mount next to the shifter. The only difference is that the phone gets connected to a cable, which takes all of 5 seconds each time I get into the car. The address book I use is the one on my phone already. One additional function I get is that the phone stays charged, which is something the iPhone really needs anyway.

 

Is scrolling through your address book easier with the dash mounted system? With the iPhone you hold down the "home" button for a few seconds. This enables voice control through the car's BT and then you can simply say "call Bob, mobile" or whatever. You don't need to scroll anything. Voice control works really well with Bluetooth and the iPhone's address book.

There is no reason to stream using BT if the phone is already connected to the car. That's what I use the AUX in for, and it works for streaming apps quite well. I use a Kensington cable that connects to the bottom of the phone and branches into 12V and 1/8" jacks.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0031U1AU0


There will always be something that is not perfectly integrated with modern electronics, and if it is then wait 6 months and you'll need something else.

 

I use MotionX GPS Drive for the iPhone.

MotionX™ | MotionX News » MotionX-GPS Drive

It's $0.99 but for $20 per year you get very good voice guidance so you don't need to look down to the phone very often. It uses NAVTEQ mapping and traffic info, continuously updated. Like Google Maps, though, you need a continuous internet connection (or you can preload the maps for your trip).

If you rely on GPS a lot, I think a Garmin stand-alone unit would be more reliable. I've never had a problem, but I can imagine situations where I would.

Regarding, phone controls, you can still use the steering wheel controls for adjusting volume and for answering calls. It's just when you make calls that you need to use the phone.

 

Kenwood DNX6980 is what you are looking for. It even has Pandora built into the head unit.

I have the last year model and I love it. Although there are no official map updates available yet, Garmin does release new map every 3 months for their portable units. Those maps also work for my 6960 using the "unofficial" instructions.

You can youtube DNX6960 and check out the overview video I made.

 

By the way, the iPhone voice commands can also be used for music playback.

iPhone Basics: Complete List of Commands for Voice Control | Art of the iPhone

 

If budget is an issue, look at a used Pioneer (the older ones are 'hacked' to allow many cool functions - avic411.com) / Kenwood / JVC. $350

If you want look and feel, you can pick up a used 2010 nav (wrecking yards) for like $1000. Then get the JBL amp stuff on EBay ($150) - the JBL amps are a dime a dozen (it's used on many many Toyota products).

Personally, I'd stay away from the Chinese stuff (Fly / Rosen) - they are a bit more clunky in their interface, and don't support XM or HD radio. On the plus side, you can load any nav you can find into them (iGo, Garmin, TomTom etc).