Intergrated Ipod From Toyota Or Aftermarket Better Value?

[lungo]

Hi,

looking for an intergrated ipod and was wondering which is better value for money??

Also which one would you recommend??

Same with the bluetooth??

Get the kit or just use an earpiece??

[TheNissanMan]

I've got the Griffin iTrip (approx £30 from PC World) for my iPhone which I would highly recommend...

Only downside which could be awkward it seems to have different results in different carsso far have tried it in Navara, Murano, 350Z and Qashqai, in all but the Qashqai it works superbly with no interference through the radio, on the Qashqai I guess I haven't found the sweet sapot for the transmitter yet.

I know the cars tested are all Nissan not Toyota but would imagine the results to be the same with varying results accross the range!

It's a cheap alternative to manufacturer options which works extremely well and acts as the charger as well.

[Teddylicious]

Hi,

looking for an intergrated ipod and was wondering which is better value for money??

Also which one would you recommend??

Same with the bluetooth??

Get the kit or just use an earpiece??

There are some nice intergrated sony units on the market for about 150 pounds that include an mp3 connection and bluetooth capabilities. The engineers who I work with use them and they work very well compared to the standard clip on visro bluetooth units. Looking at the Ipod functions in more detail though I would strongly recommend getting full ipod control on your head unit, rather than it just been an input which you would have to fastforward using your ipod.

Check this link for a good deal.

[bilbo--baggins]

Hi,

looking for an intergrated ipod and was wondering which is better value for money??

Also which one would you recommend??

Same with the bluetooth??

Get the kit or just use an earpiece??

I've used 3 or 4 different bluetooth earpieces over the last couple of years and they've done a reasonable job (a few different Jabra models, Jawbone, Apple). The main problems I found were 1) unable to answer incoming calls because it's switched off (and take too long to switch on and pair to answer before the call goes to answerphone) and 2) finding the Battery is dead when I needed it the most (to be fair, the batteries generally last quite a while, so regular charging can avoid this).

Just over a month ago I fitted the Toyota bluetooth kit to my Avensis. I was a bit concerned over cost - even fitting it myself it was around £200. However, I'm extremely pleased I did. Firstly, it's always on, so whenever I get an incoming call I can always answer it. No need to worry about finding the earpiece, fitting the earpiece, waiting for the earpiece to pair etc etc (wearing the earpiece for the whole duration of every journey just in case a call comes in doesn't suit me, especially as I like to listen to music most of the time). Secondly, it's much easier to make outgoing calls with the bluetooth kit. When you first install it, just add contacts to it's list using voice recognition (you say "Contact List" it asks you what you want to do, you say "New Contact" it asks you for their name, then you speak the numbers, etc etc. Then once the contact list is done to make a call you just hold the button on the steering wheel (it then asks you for your command, having automatically muted your music) and you say "Call... *my contact*" it repeats what you said, you say "Yes" and it starts to dial. You can then end the call with the v button on the steering wheel.

The kit is very discrete. The is about 1cm of cable exposed near the interior light console, and a small microphone that attaches to the ceiling there. That's it. It uses the controls on the steering wheel, and the installed units are hidden behind the dashboard.

I tend to just keep my phone in my pocket, and shortly after starting the engine it speaks "iPhone Connected".

Like with most things, it's not perfect. It doesn't always get the voice recognition right, but it seems to always check rather than just ringing the wrong person. I also find that sometimes it doesn't always un-mute my music after the call. Also, if I'm still on a call when I switch the engine off, I suddenly find the call goes back to the phone - and I usually forget this, and it takes me a moment to realise I need to get my phone out of my pocket. Hopefully I'll start to remember not to turn the key full to off in due course!

In short - I think it's much nicer using the bluetooth kit than an earpiece, probably safer too. If you can afford it, it's definitely worth going for. I still have my Jawbone and Apple Bluetooth earpieces - and I haven't used them since installing the car kit.