Adding Android system to Volvo V50

elsmandino

Sorry in advance if this is not in the correct forum (could not decide between Techie and motoring - feel free to move, if appropriate).

I am looking to try and upgrade the standard sound system in my Volvo V50 and would be really grateful for some advice.

The current stereo is really basic - just has an FM stereo, CD player and auxiliary in.

I have an old Amazon Firetablet 8 (7 gen) that I had a go with, first but ran into a few initial problems:

1. That tablet cannot tether data via Bluetooth. No problem, I thought, tether it via wifi instead.

2. Need a launcher to give me a proper car experience - forgot that Amazon does not Play so had to sideload that.

3. Lots of the expected Launchers did not show up as available - realised that this is because the tablet was really old and uses Android 5!!

4. Found a couple of launchers that would work but was not impressed - seemed really clunky. Furthermore, realised that the tablet does not have its own GPS so Google Maps didn't work properly.

5. Realised that the lack of Ram (1GB) and poor CPU on the tablet probably contributed to a really poor experience.

6. I decided to try and use my Android phone, instead - my thinking being that if I could mirror and control the screen on a much larger 7" screen, things would be better. Unfortunately not - I used AirDroid and it was so laggy that it was unusable. I really didn't want to go down that route in the first place, either - if I leave the car and take my phone with me, the passengers are stuck without any media.

Any advice on what to do would be much appreciated.

I did look at an official Volvo Android stereo upgrade but that costs over £600.00.

One other quick thing - maybe I am asking for too much, but if I could somehow add a dashcam and reversing camera to the mix, that would be even better.

forgotmyname

Options are cheap ebay/amazon specials with unknown support and quality control or a branded item with support
and a real warranty.

All comes down to how much your willing to spend,  you can get sub £100 units but they will probably be android 5
and even lower spec than what you already tried.

RumRat

Doubt you are going to get a better answer than the one on Overclockers...
Look on Timu or similar for really cheap solutions...

cerebus

OK I'll ask as you haven't made it clear

Why do you want to upgrade?

To improve sound quality  , add dab, add sat nav, ability to stream music?

If you want a free solution  your phone can do most of that just get a holder for it and connect it to your aux in, voila streamed music, Internet radio and satnav 

Doesn't improve the sound quality though!

How much time do you spend in your car?

EssexExile

Have you tried https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/

elsmandino

cerebus said:

OK I'll ask as you haven't made it clear

Why do you want to upgrade?

To improve sound quality  , add dab, add sat nav, ability to stream music?

If you want a free solution  your phone can do most of that just get a holder for it and connect it to your aux in, voila streamed music, Internet radio and satnav 

Doesn't improve the sound quality though!

How much time do you spend in your car?

Ultimately, the sound quality is absolutely fine.

Plugging my android phone directly into the aux-in works perfectly.

I mainly use my phone for listening to podcasts and internet music (via spotify).

I also use Google Maps every time I drive - even for fairly short distances.  My daily commute is only about 30 minutes to work, each day, but I find that it is really good at helping to avoid traffic (which are rife, where I live).

Ultimately, if my phone were the size of tablet, I would be using just that - i.e. my phone screen is just a bit too small for maps and entertainment purposes.

However, you have just raised a very interesting point - is it possible to mount a 7-10" touchscreen in my car and somehow mirror my phone to that?

If this were possible, that would seem to be the ultimate solution.

cerebus

Something like this might do you 

https://www.trustedreviews.com/opinion/superscreen-is-a-10-inch-display-that-turns-your-phone-into-a-tablet-latest-featured-kickstarter-2951323

Attaching a screen to a phone is easy it's the replication of the touch screen thats not so easy