Android Car Stereo Pros & Cons

This is a follow up to my Android car stereo post here.

Pros Thus Far:

  1. You can install any Android App.
  2. BETTER MAPS!
    • Google maps in the head unit (with offline maps & real time traffic).
    • No more paying for crappy map updates.
    • Edit the navigation destination WHILE driving.
  3. Ability to pause & skip fwd/back in iCatcher (my favorite iOS podcasting app) with the steering wheel controls.
  4. OK Google for ANYTHING.
  5. Sounds better than the Stock Radio.
  6. Boots faster (~25 secs) & the screen is more responsive than the Stock Radio (BTW, the reverse overlay is immediate [yeah, prior to boot] when reversing).
  7. Speed sensitive sound adjustments via Gala.
  8. Sunrise/Sunset auto brightness via XposedMTC.
  9. Very inexpensive head unit when compared to ANY brand name alternatives.
  10. The head unit receives up my home WiFi (in my assigned parking spot) where my iPhone 6 will not.  To improve the signal further, I bought a panel antenna for my router.

Cons:

  1. Unit is a tad narrower than the FF615US – so it requires a face kit.
  2. Almost zero instructions – tis the reason I created this post.
  3. The iPod interface doesn’t work on any of the USBs – it only works on the specific cable with the “old” 30-pin connector.  The iPod player app is weak compared to the FF615US.  The work around is to use Bluetooth for everything – it reconnects just the same.
  4. WiFi is only in 2.4GHz band.

Other apps you may want to improve your experience:

  1. Car Dashdroid
  2. Gala
  3. Tasker
  4. XposedMTC

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