Hello everyone,

I just thought I'd share my newest upgrade to my G35. I was originally looking to get the z130bt. I found a few of them for pretty cheap on Amazon but I ran across a used AppRadio for less than $200.00. I decided the I would give the AppRadio a spin and worst case scenario would be I'd have to rip it out to install the z130bt.

First of all let me say that I wasn't looking to build a super system. I just wanted something to integrate my iPhone into my car and add a clean looking touch screen to my dash. The AppRadio does this for the most part but there are a few limitations/drawbacks to it.

The 1st one being that you have to use the phone to quit most of the apps in order to switch to another one. This can be somewhere remedied if you have a jailbroken phone and install the AppRadio extensions that can be found on Cydia. I haven't had a chance to test this out because I have a iP4s and there still isn't a jailbreak for it at this time.

The 2nd issue I have is that the video bypass I installed does't always work. I think this may have something to t do with the long start up on the AppRadio causing it to not see the relay flipping the internal switch but I'm not exactly sure. I'm going to experiment with the option to remove the start up video and see if that corrects the issue.

My 3rd issue is that you have to use the iPhone to program destination point on the GPS app. I'm hoping that the app makers update the app the allow you to input the info using the AppRadio screen. I know this can be done because there is another app NavFree that allows this but the US version has not been updated to work with the AppRadio at this time.

My 4th issue is the iPod interface. It really needs some work done to make it useable. My biggest gripe with it is it doesn’t let you swipe and tap to find songs or select songs. Instead you're forced to use the AppRadio’s on screen buttons to navigate through your music. This wouldn't be bad for someone with a small library but I have a rather large music collection (over 8200 songs) and this make it a pain in the *** to find music. Even though this is an issue I have found a neat work around for this using Siri. I have the phone mounted in the cubby above the radio and use Siri to search for songs, albums, artists and playlists. It actually works really well. I can also use Siri to read and respond to texts and make phone calls.

My 5th and final issue is that I can't seem to get my steering wheel controls to work. I followed the instructions found on here but it doesn't seem to want to program. I'm thinking about breaking down and taking it to a local install shop and having them take a look at it cause I don't feel like ripping my dash apart again. I know it's lazy but I think the $60 would be well worth it to have them working.

Now lets move on to the good stuff. I kept the stock Bose speakers and amp and I'm please with the sound quality for now. I may at some point add new speakers and a couple of amps but I can't get too crazy cause the radio only had one pre-out.

The AppRadio allows you to view google maps, your calendar and contacts right on the screen which is a neat feature.

The Pandora app works pretty well with the basic controls i.e. thumbs up/down, skip songs, etc. The only thing you can't do is create new playlists on the AppRadio but this could be changed with an update.

I also installed a backup camera and it works great. There is a slight delay switching over to the camera and back to radio but it's nothing crazy long so I can live with it.

Siri works very well with this radio so mount your phone in a location where it can be easily reached.

The MotionX GPS app is a pretty decent navigation app. It offers auto re-routing, text to speech street announcement and it has live traffic built in using INRIX Traffic. I have used Navigon in the past and believe they are looking into making it compatible with the AppRadio.

Over all I am pleased with the AppRadio barring the few UI issues/problems I've run into. I'm hoping that Pioneer and the app makers come out with updates to fix the few issues it currently has. Pioneer has already released a firmware update which gives me hope they will iron out the few kinks soon. Here are a few pics of the instal. let me know what you guys think.

 

Interesting... I've been wondering about the app radio but couldn't find anything here. Thanks for the review

 

i so wanna do that to my ride!

 

What kind of mount did you use for your iphone? I have the appradio as well and I love how you mounted the Iphone.

thx

Sean

 

+1 also interested

 

Thanks for the review! I was also considering this.

 

Hey everyone,

I see there's a few people asking about my mount.This is the one I used,

http://www.slipgripcarmounts.com/Sli...C_p_99737.html .

I have the CaseMate ID case on my phone and the SlipGrip mount for the OtterBox fits great.

http://www.case-mate.com/iPhone-4-4S...Card-Cases.asp

I did have to file about 1/4 inch off of the SlipGrip's release tab so it would allow my cubby door to close completely but it fit perfectly after I did that.

Let me know if you guys have anymore questions.

 

Thanks for the info bro

 

+1 for a great review!

 

Great Post.
Do you have a link for the steering wheel control adapter which you used? And please keep us informed if you figure out the problem that you were having with the steering wheel controls.....I am hoping to do the same set up sometime this spring.

 

UPDATE:

So I finally got around to ripping my dash apart and figuring out what was wrong with my steering wheel controls. I used the Metra Axxess ASWC and I had a wire come lose when I was putting everything back together. Everything worked perfectly once I re-connected the wire. The Metra Axxess auto programed to the basic control setup but you can also change the control functions using the steering wheel control function on the AppRadio

Here's a link to the steering wheel control I used.

 

Nice thanks for the info, I'm looking at the appradio2 since i have an android phone. Interested in seeing how ppl are mounting their phones who also have the stock navigation as well.... this is going to be my issue.

 

Kinda cool that you just did a review on this since I was just looking at the AppRadio2 on Crutchfield. I like the car mount that you used but how did you attach it in the cubby? Any pics of that? Thanks

 

It's mounted with two screws held in place with drywall anchors. I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them.

 

thanks for the review/install. looks good!