looking for a up to date intelligent satnav

bigjl

Probably more sensible to sell them!

But my son lost his 5C so if I had not kept the 5 I would have had to get him a new phone!

Only got the 6+ because I wanted to use it as a Nav.

londonTiger

I'm looking at a toss up between £100 satnav or a £200 direct china import double din head unit. It makes sense to just pay a little bit more and get a proper head unit. Adding reverse camera on these is a cheap upgrade as well.

I am currently using the factory head unit, from a 2002 vehicle that doesn't even support mp3 cds so an upgrade is well overdue. Just thought that it was just my first car [stopgap car] but just hung onto it and never sold it because I have done all the services on it and been through so many 400 mile round trips. (picking up gumtree items from leeds).

So I'm just going tpo bite the bullet and buy a double din. I'm sure I can uninstall it easily as long as I by an extension lead to cut and mess around with and dont cut the factory leads.

bigjl

I would personally not touch a Chinese unbranded Android head unit for £200 when you can get a Pioneer one from Argos for £280.

The warranty back up alone is worth the extra £80 IMHO

takman

I have an unbranded Chinese Double Din Head Unit and I bought it because it was the only one I could find that was made to the same shape as the original Vectra Headunit, so this makes many people assume it was factory fitted. I then bought a reversing camera that I discreetly mounted in the number plate recess, which I got to allow me to see the tow ball so I can hitch up to my caravan easily.

bigjl

takman wrote: »

I have an unbranded Chinese Double Din Head Unit and I bought it because it was the only one I could find that was made to the same shape as the original Vectra Headunit, so this makes many people assume it was factory fitted. I then bought a reversing camera that I discreetly mounted in the number plate recess, which I got to allow me to see the tow ball so I can hitch up to my caravan easily.

How does it differ in shape to say a Pioneer Double Din Android Head Unit?

To fit a double din in a Vectra/Astra/Zafira you have to fit a little trim around the aperture.

So is your Chinese head designed with the same slightly off square shape as the Vauxhall stereos?

takman

bigjl wrote: »

How does it differ in shape to say a Pioneer Double Din Android Head Unit?

To fit a double din in a Vectra/Astra/Zafira you have to fit a little trim around the aperture.

So is your Chinese head designed with the same slightly off square shape as the Vauxhall stereos?

Yeah it is exactly the same shape as the vauxhall stereo, it is also the same colour. I did consider a double din with a trim but I think it doesn't look very good at all.
Here is a picture of it:



It also has the standard connection so doesn't need an adapter. This means it also works with the steering wheel controls on the face lift vectras with no adapters.

almillar

a Chinese unbranded Android head unit for £200 when you can get a Pioneer one from Argos for £280

Because the Pioneer at that price won't have the sat nav. You pay a big premium for sat nav from the big brands, even though it's not necessarily good.
I've no personal experience of 'Chinese Android head units' but they cover a massive range. If you want to run Waze, for example, you'll need a decent spec of unit. 'Quad Core' is pretty meaningless these days (it means 4 cores - not a guarantee of speed) so reviews will be vital.
Waze on my smartphone does all I need, and if you find errors, you can fix them!

Herzlos

londonTiger wrote: »

I'm looking at a toss up between £100 satnav or a £200 direct china import double din head unit. It makes sense to just pay a little bit more and get a proper head unit. Adding reverse camera on these is a cheap upgrade as well.

I am currently using the factory head unit, from a 2002 vehicle that doesn't even support mp3 cds so an upgrade is well overdue. Just thought that it was just my first car [stopgap car] but just hung onto it and never sold it because I have done all the services on it and been through so many 400 mile round trips. (picking up gumtree items from leeds).

So I'm just going tpo bite the bullet and buy a double din. I'm sure I can uninstall it easily as long as I by an extension lead to cut and mess around with and dont cut the factory leads.

Aren't you always just about to sell the car? In which case, will you be able to take the double-DIN with you? Have you checked how map updates work on it?

bigjl

almillar wrote: »

Because the Pioneer at that price won't have the sat nav. You pay a big premium for sat nav from the big brands, even though it's not necessarily good.
I've no personal experience of 'Chinese Android head units' but they cover a massive range. If you want to run Waze, for example, you'll need a decent spec of unit. 'Quad Core' is pretty meaningless these days (it means 4 cores - not a guarantee of speed) so reviews will be vital.
Waze on my smartphone does all I need, and if you find errors, you can fix them!

I thought the point of having an Android head unit is you could use it alongside an Android phone so if you have Nav on your phone you then have Nav on your Android head unit?

Sort of screen mirroring?

Edit.

Did a quick search and found this slightly more expensive Pioneer that does indeed have mirroring, so you have the Apps you have on your phone available on the Head Unit and you have an input for a reverse camera.

The price is £295 but another advert had it for £289.

https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/pioneer-sph-da120-apple-carplay-bluetooth-android-iphone-mirrorlink-touch-screen.html?gclid=CKPyoM6sjMwCFcFsGwoduPIMEA

Worth and extra £95 to not have a no mark Chinese knock off?

I think so, sometimes spending a little more is actually more MSE than buying the cheapest available.

Never had any issues with the Pioneer after markets head units I have had, though none were as fancy as this one.

Actually it's amazing what you can get for the money these days.

Back when I was into my car stereos my head unit and disc changer cost £1200 (Alpine) the Amp £250 (Rockford Fosgate) and Sub £120 (Rockford Fosgate again) the speakers where just upgrade speakers and nothing fancy (I think Sony or Kenwood)

And yes the car was worth less than £800

bigjl

takman wrote: »

Yeah it is exactly the same shape as the vauxhall stereo, it is also the same colour. I did consider a double din with a trim but I think it doesn't look very good at all.
Here is a picture of it:



It also has the standard connection so doesn't need an adapter. This means it also works with the steering wheel controls on the face lift vectras with no adapters.

Looks a good fit.

I will admit to be a brand snob when it comes to ICE to an extent.

But if it works for you and does what you need at a fair price then you have had a result.

I shall be considering a double din in the Picanto, as I want to fit a reversing camera if possible.