Ok, lets talk about the double din radios, I DO KNOW that I will need to mod the dash a tiny bit for proper install, thats cool, however I am looking on amazon (got a gift card there anyways), now my main concern is obviously the type, I am looking for an android based system (figure might as well) or at the very least GPS/Satnav capable with USB/SD card abilities (for the music), so I am wanting to know what do you guys use/have?

heres my basic list of questions

What brand should I use/get?
what brand(s) do you guys suggest?
what size should I look at max?
any thing else I should be aware of?
any thing I forgot to ask???

 

I have a Jensen VX7020 and it is a good unit. Not very high end but comes with Navigation, DVD and bluetooth. Also it has a camera input that I wired up to be on all the time and when I want to see the trailer hitch I just push the button for it, no need to be in reverse.

Like I said, not a high end model by any means and not Android based, but it works well and is a great price for what it includes.



This is the camera I bought too, it works very well.

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0081GZDQ...541860_TE_dp_1

 

The are 2 different types of Android based systems.
1st you have any company making there own radio that's running Android 4.1 and they are dual core. To me they are more of an exaggerated 100 tablet from 3 years ago.

The other, and best option imo, is buying an android auto system. Only made by pioneer right now but they are a great brand but 300+. They just came out with their 2nd model late last year. I've used don't and pioneer systems in my cars and I love pioneer.
Do a little research on the Android auto systems if your looking for Android experience cause the other stuff is slow or unresponsive (not like our phones now)

 

Look at Crutchfield.com they'll show you what will fit including all the install parts. When you find what you want look it up on amazon.

 

Well I been looking at that Jensen unit (VX7022 or some number like that) as it has the navi that I want, and USB abilities, I have been searching crutchfield as well....not sure if I really want Android systems, as I will have the tablet, but on the flip side having torque in my head unit.....

 

Stay away from kenwood. They don't last and warranty is almost nonexistent

 

really? explain?? quality issues or what? I have a Kenwood in my Mustang its not a navi system, but its got BT, USB and AM/FM/CD built in....so please enlighten me as to why I should remain away from them, is it just specific models that I should stay away from?

 

I've always bought Kenwoods, since the 90's and have never had one problem.

 

It's my understanding that there's a little trimming involved to fit an aftermarket double DIN unit in our dash. As glockholiday said, the Crutchfield website will show you what fits. It will at least give you a start.

I'm on my second OEM radio and it's on its last legs. I've had Kenwoods in the past with good luck and am leaning towards one when mine dies (I think they are the closest match to the rest of the dash that wouldn't look too out of place). Maybe I'm out of the loop on them since I haven't had one in over 10 years?

 

I have decided that if I am unable to locate a decient Kenwood unit with navigation I will go with another good brand that some of my friends have had in there cars before, Pioneer, I am looking at the unit found here

 

Sous, can you run torque through that unit? Thanks!

 

Some of the members here have been impatient to get Android in the dash, and they decided to get the Joying double-din head unit. I'm not saying they made the wrong choice. I hear it's a good unit... but it's Jellybean, not Android Auto - completely different beast.

I have a cheapo Jensen double-din I installed in the dash a few years back. At the time, I wasn't looking at Android - I just wanted a touch screen and the ability to put a few gig of songs on an SD card and play them. I do not recommend Jensen - the sound quality is not that great and it clearly behaves like a cheap unit. My volume **** stopped working - I have to use the remote because there is no touchscreen volume control.

I offer up that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will absolutely explode in growth over the next 5 years. This and television streaming in the home and on portable devices will be very big doings - sell your HBO stock and invest in Netflix, Amazon, or the like. New cars will have one OS or the other by the customer simply clicking a box on the sales order - fruit or candy in the dash. On January 4, 2016 - I read that Ford announced all 2017 models will have Android Auto in the dash. For those of us not buying new cars, a great number of people will want the familiarity of their favorite phone in the dash, so Crutchfield will be busy for a long while.

In a perfect world... the Head unit will have no DVD, Blu-Ray, or CD slot (who needs 'em?) - we just need an SD slot. The face would be your 7" "wearable" or "wrap" phone (OLED touchscreen) - the head unit links via Bluetooth 4 (or whatever the version is up to), and has a charge port in a secure cradle (we're in a moving vehicle for crying out loud). Since everything else you need will be in the phone - the base unit will just have the amplifier, SD slot, hands-free microphone, Bluetooth connection, radio receiver, and antenna - maybe a GPS and antenna as well. No need for a face - not much use to a would-be thief if security measure are built into the head unit.

We don't live in that perfect world (yet), but our portable devices are well beyond the imaginations of those that first came up with Star Trek. Flip phone? That starship has sailed. Tricorder? Ours fits in our pocket... Doctor McCoy should be so lucky. Pioneer has always had supreme sound quality without reaching for a Bose-like price point... so I am partial to Pioneer for this one item alone. After all... it's a sound system. What good are all those bells and whistle if all they do is ring and tweet? A good set of speakers and a Pioneer system will have you relishing your time in the cab. Hell... the Pioneer alone will make you say out loud "I didn't know my stock speakers can sound so good".

Now that I dropped the Pioneer plug, I see that the Pioneer AVH-4100NEX retails for $600 and shopping might improve it a bit... but waiting another year will see those prices likely cut in half. For phone integration - Pioneer says you want to spend another $100 for the AVH-4200NEX. Other than Pioneer, there are models rumored to be compatible with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay... just make sure you read the fine print. I found a Kenwood unit that's available as a factory rebuild. Am I to understand they took an existing unit and changed it to be compatible with the new stuff? Every time I read something about all the new units, it shows they are coming soon - but not here yet. The JBL Legend CP100 looks to be a nice unit, but Crutchfield didn't show it in my search... it's pre-order only. Kenwood DDX9703S will be joined by several other Kenwood models this year alone - available in fruit flavor, candy, or both. The Parrot RNB6 was touted as the next big thing, then they bowed out last year.

 

Not that I have discovered. It has its own operating system which is very much different than the auto or cell Android system.

I do connect my phone to TorquePro and then to the stereo to play Pandora though and it works for me that way because I don't always need TorquePro running.

In regards to the Android Auto application, there were a couple of issues I saw right off the bat when I was looking for a new head unit for my truck.

1. The price was more than what I wanted to pay.
2. The GPS feature appeared to run solely off the phone and if/when I was out of cell signal range or on 1x data I would have to drive until I was back within a suitable data coverage area to change the destination or search.
3. There appeared to be no back up camera feature (besides units like the Joying which I consider more of a hybrid between the older units and Android Auto).
4. I wanted DVD capability for the passengers when traveling across the country.
5. I wanted to be able to use the stereo/GPS/features even if my phone was not near the truck.

I am sure there were a couple of other reasons why Android Auto was not going to work for me at the time, but for now that is all I could think of. YMMV and you should get what works for your application.

 

My girlfriends dad has a really nice one. I can't remember the name so I'll check and post back

 

Had a dnn890hd which had navi and all the bells and whistles and it last maybe six months and it quit booting up so I to it to the local stereo shop where I purchased and they said they didn't know if they could warranty it because I installed it. They sent it off anyway so in the meantime I purchased the next new model the Dnn990hd and had them install it and about eight months later it did the same thing. Sooo back to the dealer I went. Meanwhile I got my old one back from warranty and sold it to May buddy that had it installed in a Chevy and once again software issues left if unusable. And kenwood won't warranty either of them. So I'm done with kenwood from here on out. My next 2din with be a jvc with Apple iplay and android.