Android headunits in e9x cars

[SS Ball3r]

Hey everyone. I recently bought an '07 335i to se as my work vehicel. I travel a lot for work in a sales capacity, and i'm regularly visiting offices in cities iv never been to before. I thought i would be fine without having the navigation, but at this point i starting to think that wasn't the wisest choice. I have the new sync 3 in my f150, and the apple car play funcitonality is great for navigational purposes.

I have been looking at the ***** headunits, but it looks like there are several brands that appear to be almost identicle. DOes anyone have any feedback or experience using these types of headunits?

[MarcoZandrini]

What brands are you asking about? Why not use google maps or waze for navigation and interface it with the car’s head unit.

[DennisCooper]

Hi,

The brand you typed in was auto blanked out due to them being sponsors here some years back and many forum members who purchased didn't get good after sales support and service when their units went wrong. It got to the stage where the forum owners perhaps decided to ask them to leave or kicked them off. The same brand did the same on the other big USA BMW forum and after some months, got removed or kicked off there. Over here in the UK, the brand sponsored a forum and it was a repeat of the above, kicked off/removed after many experienced issues/problems. The other brands you mention are the same hardware just a different name and company flogging them on ebay/amazon.

If you buy one, you 'might' get lucky and get a unit that works properly fully and long term.

The simplest and cheapest solution for you to have navigation is to use Google Maps or Waze on your smartphone as they're free of any cost to use. If you want a fully inclusive solution, you can fit a premium high quality and reliable head unit in the E9x which will have GPS, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and many other features built in. As per Marco's response above, take a look at standalone GPS devices that have Bluetooth and I think they then can interface with your car so the spoken directions come through the oem audio system.

Cheers, Dennis!

[SS Ball3r]

The exact reason i was looking at the e onon units is because they take a pretty factory looking fit, and allow for apple car play, plus have full android which i think will be a benefit when i purchase MHD. I routinely use google maps, wayze, etc when i am making sales calls, and that is specifically why i like the idea of apple car play integration. When i am switching quickly between offices, someone texts me an address, or i pull it form salesforce, i love the convenience of just clicking on the address and pulling up the directions vs having to enter it into a seperate gps system.

Currently my car is non I-drive, and I don't even have a usb port in the car. As I'm sure most everyone is aware, the stock headunit doesn't support Bluetooth music/streaming, and that makes it difficult to hook up my phone and stream music and directions. I am currently working with an octopus of cables and splitters to get the aux input working being that iphones don't have headphone jacks anymore.

That being said, if someone can recomened a "premium" aftermarket headunit that looks fairly factory and will work witht eh logic 7 system i would be very apreciative. All of the ones I have seen through searching look very aftermarket, small screens, and a crazy amount of work to get the integrations to work.

[DennisCooper]

Hi,

The cheap chinese replacement type units don't run genuine Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, they use screen mirroring technology despite their claims on the marketing blurb used. Genuine CarPlay & A/Auto are specific operating systems and licenced to the OEM car manufacturers and aftermarket head unit brands that meet the criteria for high quality electronics in order to properly run all features. None of the chinese unit's are certified this way. The quality is poor which means you are taking a gamble if you buy one that it'll work well and properly for you, or not.

The only aftermarket brand with better quality internals, an OEM look is Zenec - http://www.zenec.com/products/ego-na...-mkii/?lang=en
Not sure they offer local representation in the USA, so I'd say drop them an email to ask specific questions. They have a proper after sales care and support channel with updates etc. None of the premium brands offer similar for the older BMW's as far as im aware.

Cheers, Dennis!

[SS Ball3r]

Has anyone tried the Avin fiber optic adapter:https://avinusa.com/most-fiber-optic-amp-interface-for-bmw-e90-e91-e92-e93-e60-e61-e81-e82-e83-e84-e70-e87-e88-e89.html

Looks like this will put me in the right direction of solving half of my issues when looking at a multimedia headunit.

[mumblyjoe]

Might be worth looking at this product:
https://www.alpine.com.au/shop/perfe...ies-auto-hvac/

I'm currently considering it myself as I have base stereo but with Bluetooth. I'm using a Bovee adapter and run Android Auto off my phone, but rather have a built in unit, better sound quality and digital radio. Does integrate with steering wheel buttons but don't think it uses stock USB port or Aux in

[frankcast]

The exact reason i was looking at the e onon units is because they take a pretty factory looking fit, and allow for apple car play, plus have full android which i think will be a benefit when i purchase MHD. I routinely use google maps, wayze, etc when i am making sales calls, and that is specifically why i like the idea of apple car play integration. When i am switching quickly between offices, someone texts me an address, or i pull it form

salesforce customization, i love the convenience of just clicking on the address and pulling up the directions vs having to enter it into a seperate gps system.

Currently my car is non I-drive, and I don't even have a usb port in the car. As I'm sure most everyone is aware, the stock headunit doesn't support Bluetooth music/streaming, and that makes it difficult to hook up my phone and stream music and directions. I am currently working with an octopus of cables and splitters to get the aux input working being that iphones don't have headphone jacks anymore.

That being said, if someone can recomened a "premium" aftermarket headunit that looks fairly factory and will work witht eh logic 7 system i would be very apreciative. All of the ones I have seen through searching look very aftermarket, small screens, and a crazy amount of work to get the integrations to work.

Good reply. Using SalesForce in such a condition is a big plus as well as synchronizing other requried apps.