Getting ready replace old Bose head unit soon and having trouble deciding between a DD GPS receiver or perhaps an App radio that works with an iPhone w/ Lightning plug...

The App radio concept sounds kinda cool, but reviews I've read on various models make it seem like it's not quite "baked" yet.

Thoughts, suggestions?

 

I have owned the pioneer app radio for a little over a year now. It has neat features but as a guy who loves customization it has absolutely none... The screen is nice but resolution is palpable at best.

If you want something that works easily and is great for music, get the app radio. If you want customization stick to the ones with the buttons .

 

Yeah, I have appradio 3 and it looks great with a proper flush mount; its a very clean looking unit. No SD card slot, so that sucks. No USB on the front, that sucks, but good Bluetooth and of course its designed for the mirror link. Like Urban said, not a lot of customization, but has some cool features. Screen is definitely a bit washed out compared to any modern phone/tablet screen. Not sure why they settled for the poor quality screen. Overall I'd give it a 7/10. Wouldn't necessarily buy it again, but not unhappy with the purchase either.

 

Yeah... I live in a large metro area, so GPS is a big deal for me. Seems like App Radio is kinda hit & miss on that front - some just give you the direction cues & some show the whole map. Not too concerned about customization, just as long as the features work well.

 

Use the mirror link with your phones GPS.

 

I really wish MirrorLink was better supported by phones, The Note 4 and a lot of Sony phones do it right.

 

Yeah, it doesn't even work with my phone (although someone claimed to get it to work with using like 3 weird adapters), but it's such a cool idea.

I don't get why it would work with some androids and not others even if you have the same version of android..? I have a nexus 5 with android 5.0. Same micro USB hook up and better capabilities than the phones that do support it.

 

Speaking of Android - Know anything about this company/unit? I see these on Amazon all the time. On the surface it looks pretty good. Probably won't work with an iPhone very well though, for obvious reasons...

 

One would think that Car Play (iPhone 5) would be gaining more traction... Supposedly Pioneer was to enable it with some of their recent units via a firmware update in early summer 2014....

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...ou+Already+Own

Haven't heard much about it how well it works though, or even if it's been released.

On a side note - just realized you live in Savannah Wrathernaut, I used to live there too. Wish I still had all the brain cells I killed there!

 

You live in Savannah? I was thinking of moving there. There or Eureka Springs, AK. Haha

 

There is a Eureka Springs in Alaska? Or do you mean Arkansas? AR.

I'm an urban/city/downtown lover, and you can't go wrong with either of those (AR that is...don't know AK :-)

 

Haha yes, I meant AR. I'm from CA, you can't expect me to pay attention to the rest of the world. Haha (jk)