It's a long story, I'll highlight the questions further down in case anyone needs to skip...
We have a kenwood(I'd have to double check the model) in our van, original owner installed it. Gps, backup camera, etc... It was okay except the maps were out of date and cost money to update. I found that ridiculous considering how expensive the unit was. Anyway, it just quit the other week so now I'm stuck making decisions on a new unit.
I recently decided that I have FOMU(I hate acronyms actually) instead of FOMO... Fear Of Messing Up... HA
I'm a perfectionist, OCD, anxiety, things like that. Decision making is VERY difficult for me so I take days and days of being online ALL day comparing features, reviews, prices, etc... Drives me nuts, I hate it. But, I can't buy something I'm going to regret...
We're also poor so, I can't fully replace the kenwood we had... we need something cheap... Been looking at quite a few options. We started looking at things around $100 but quickly realized that, unless I opted for some REALLY off brand with no reviews, I wasn't going to get all the features I need. So I started looking at higher prices. My wife and I kind of considered going up to about $250 but I was looking at one model that was a little higher. I can probably push her to $300 if I NEED to... but, I'm not sure if I need to...
Some of my frustration now is knowing what does what as many models don't spell out EVERY feature or show enough pictures. Some of them, you can find more info in the questions... some, you cannot. That all adds to the maddening factor of the whole shopping experience...
So.... getting a little closer to the subject at hand...
I started REALLY leaning towards a couple sort of off brand Android units that have good reviews... like, decent reviews really. They had the gps built in(antenna and all), cables, connection for the backup camera, etc... looking like a good option. One thing that wasn't major but had me rethinking the decision I ALMOST made was that in the questions, the seller answered people about the backup camera saying it would not come on unless it was in reverse.
Our kenwood unit, we were able to hit a button(especially in GPS mode) and use the backup camera while driving. When my kids are watching a dvd in the back, I can't use the rear-view mirror... On a LONG trip from AR to MA they'd watch a lot of movies and, I would use that camera to see behind me to aid in judging the traffic for lane switching, etc... That was handy. Again, it's not a deal breaker unless I can figure out the other thing I'm really here to ask about...
There are some Pioneer models that are under $300 that look like MAYBE they'd work. Unlike the Androids, they don't have built in gps... but, some of them connect with your cell phone and you can use that gps.
AVH-1300NEX is one of several I'm looking at. Also looking at AVH-X390BS and AVH-600EX
At least one of them mentions apple carplay and not android... so, I'm assuming that my android wont be able to put gps up on the screen? My wife has an iPhone but we've never messed with anything like that before.
Some, I think, can connect with both.
Some of the images they use on amazon make it look like it has gps but, then somewhere in the fine print it's only if you buy some gps unit to connect to it that costs over $300 more. Might as well buy one with gps unit included... ha.
So I'm trying to figure out...
1. How the connection to the phone works. Anyone with experience with that sort of thing? Description makes it sound like it's REAL easy to just have the maps on your phone come up on the stereo. I don't want to make assumptions with that, I want to be SURE...
In case all the above was skipped over, I'm talking about the stereos that can use gps through your phone. Is it as simple as connecting the device?
2. Anyone know if the camera is accessible with any of such pioneer stereos, while in drive? Basically, if I can't do that at all with the touch of a button on the pioneers, I might as well get the android unit that has gps already built in.
3. Where's the easy button? HA I don't know anything about wiring but can follow directions quite well. I need a unit that plays CDs, has a stereo(of course), has an easy and cheap way to do GPS, and can use the backup camera on demand...
And wont break the bank... I've read that you can wire things differently on some of the units to get the backup camera to work whenever but... two issues with that. It needs to be at the touch of a button or something, and, I STILL want it to come on when in reverse. Is that possible??? This last question(s) is just in case pioneer stereos don't have a button to see the camera on demand... and then I decide between the pioneer relying on a cell phone or the android with built in gps.
Wow... way too many questions and thoughts there but, this is how my mind works... I have to get this right or I'm going to go crazy.
Once in a while I'll come across a unit that looks like it might do all I want but then, it is cheap and has REALLY bad reviews.
I think one of the android units had ports for two different cameras... backup camera being in reverse only and a front facing camera I'm guessing would be accessible at the touch of a button. Perhaps someone could wire the one backup camera into both ports, somehow???
Oh so many thoughts... Days... literally days trying to find JUST the right thing... with every purchase I make it seems. ugh.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far.
Tonight I'm going to pull out the old radio just to make sure something didn't come loose or something. We've been in the van for just about 2 years and it suddenly just quit... Power still gets to it, no bad fuses or anything... No screen, no sound, can't eject the cd that's in it... but we know power is getting to it. meh...
(side note/question: someone explain to me why these "fancy" radios are so, well not simple? Difficult to go through settings... and, the time... if the radio is off, you don't know what time it is. Such a big computer in a car that needs to be on just to see what time it is... or us the backup camera... meh)
We have a kenwood(I'd have to double check the model) in our van, original owner installed it. Gps, backup camera, etc... It was okay except the maps were out of date and cost money to update. I found that ridiculous considering how expensive the unit was. Anyway, it just quit the other week so now I'm stuck making decisions on a new unit.
I recently decided that I have FOMU(I hate acronyms actually) instead of FOMO... Fear Of Messing Up... HA
I'm a perfectionist, OCD, anxiety, things like that. Decision making is VERY difficult for me so I take days and days of being online ALL day comparing features, reviews, prices, etc... Drives me nuts, I hate it. But, I can't buy something I'm going to regret...
We're also poor so, I can't fully replace the kenwood we had... we need something cheap... Been looking at quite a few options. We started looking at things around $100 but quickly realized that, unless I opted for some REALLY off brand with no reviews, I wasn't going to get all the features I need. So I started looking at higher prices. My wife and I kind of considered going up to about $250 but I was looking at one model that was a little higher. I can probably push her to $300 if I NEED to... but, I'm not sure if I need to...
Some of my frustration now is knowing what does what as many models don't spell out EVERY feature or show enough pictures. Some of them, you can find more info in the questions... some, you cannot. That all adds to the maddening factor of the whole shopping experience...
So.... getting a little closer to the subject at hand...
I started REALLY leaning towards a couple sort of off brand Android units that have good reviews... like, decent reviews really. They had the gps built in(antenna and all), cables, connection for the backup camera, etc... looking like a good option. One thing that wasn't major but had me rethinking the decision I ALMOST made was that in the questions, the seller answered people about the backup camera saying it would not come on unless it was in reverse.
Our kenwood unit, we were able to hit a button(especially in GPS mode) and use the backup camera while driving. When my kids are watching a dvd in the back, I can't use the rear-view mirror... On a LONG trip from AR to MA they'd watch a lot of movies and, I would use that camera to see behind me to aid in judging the traffic for lane switching, etc... That was handy. Again, it's not a deal breaker unless I can figure out the other thing I'm really here to ask about...
There are some Pioneer models that are under $300 that look like MAYBE they'd work. Unlike the Androids, they don't have built in gps... but, some of them connect with your cell phone and you can use that gps.
AVH-1300NEX is one of several I'm looking at. Also looking at AVH-X390BS and AVH-600EX
At least one of them mentions apple carplay and not android... so, I'm assuming that my android wont be able to put gps up on the screen? My wife has an iPhone but we've never messed with anything like that before.
Some, I think, can connect with both.
Some of the images they use on amazon make it look like it has gps but, then somewhere in the fine print it's only if you buy some gps unit to connect to it that costs over $300 more. Might as well buy one with gps unit included... ha.
So I'm trying to figure out...
1. How the connection to the phone works. Anyone with experience with that sort of thing? Description makes it sound like it's REAL easy to just have the maps on your phone come up on the stereo. I don't want to make assumptions with that, I want to be SURE...
In case all the above was skipped over, I'm talking about the stereos that can use gps through your phone. Is it as simple as connecting the device?
2. Anyone know if the camera is accessible with any of such pioneer stereos, while in drive? Basically, if I can't do that at all with the touch of a button on the pioneers, I might as well get the android unit that has gps already built in.
3. Where's the easy button? HA I don't know anything about wiring but can follow directions quite well. I need a unit that plays CDs, has a stereo(of course), has an easy and cheap way to do GPS, and can use the backup camera on demand...
And wont break the bank... I've read that you can wire things differently on some of the units to get the backup camera to work whenever but... two issues with that. It needs to be at the touch of a button or something, and, I STILL want it to come on when in reverse. Is that possible??? This last question(s) is just in case pioneer stereos don't have a button to see the camera on demand... and then I decide between the pioneer relying on a cell phone or the android with built in gps.
Wow... way too many questions and thoughts there but, this is how my mind works... I have to get this right or I'm going to go crazy.
Once in a while I'll come across a unit that looks like it might do all I want but then, it is cheap and has REALLY bad reviews.
I think one of the android units had ports for two different cameras... backup camera being in reverse only and a front facing camera I'm guessing would be accessible at the touch of a button. Perhaps someone could wire the one backup camera into both ports, somehow???
Oh so many thoughts... Days... literally days trying to find JUST the right thing... with every purchase I make it seems. ugh.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far.
Tonight I'm going to pull out the old radio just to make sure something didn't come loose or something. We've been in the van for just about 2 years and it suddenly just quit... Power still gets to it, no bad fuses or anything... No screen, no sound, can't eject the cd that's in it... but we know power is getting to it. meh...
(side note/question: someone explain to me why these "fancy" radios are so, well not simple? Difficult to go through settings... and, the time... if the radio is off, you don't know what time it is. Such a big computer in a car that needs to be on just to see what time it is... or us the backup camera... meh)
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