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Review of the 10.4" Android infotainment system from prelingcar

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  • Review of the 10.4" Android infotainment system from prelingcar

    Right guys, here is my full review as promised.

    This review is based only on the unit made by prelingcar and purchased from this store.


    The Kit
    It has all the cables you just about need to get it almost working to the full potential, its missing front phono out, but has rear phono out, so you can hook this up to a subwoofer. If you have an external amplifier you would still need to use your line convertor.
    There is only 2 usb sockets, 1 is normal full size and other is Mini A size, you would need to convert back to normal size by using another converted cable, the Mini A socket cover itself has a big lip that sticks out you would need to trim this off otherwise you can't connect a cable to it.
    RCA connections you can connect 1 external device to it such as a media player, game console etc.
    There is a reverse camera input.
    It has aux input, but i need to test this out
    It has GPS receiver which you must plug in if you intending using location services and sat nav.
    Has built in Wifi

    Build quality
    The quality build of the unit itself is pretty good, colour matches to the cars trim, the plastic casing is good quality, only thing i didn't like is the back mounting plate is a very soft metal which can easily bend.
    There are 4 things you need to transfer from the factory unit, 1. Air vents 2. Lock/unlock Hazards control panel 3. climate control panel 4. Top 2 metal clips above air vents

    Operating system
    It is running Android 4.4, the actual core behind the os is fine, what i didn't like is the icons on the top control bar look basic, climate control panel looks basic and you can't use it to change climate, its not dual screen layout with top/bottom apps on view like the more expensive unit, you can't customise the look of the interface as standard. The good thing is they can send you new software updates, but i think you have to request this if one is available.

    Features
    It has a really basic radio app with no RDS if you could get the radio working as the signal on mine is poor.
    The bluetooth app looks basic but you can stream music from your phone, phonebook directory contacts are back to front.
    It has mirrorlink on the advert, but the one the unit you receive may not have it, under investigation i discover they have removed mirrorlink on the newer firmware, but you can download a mirrorlink app of your choice.
    The music app is not bad it supports cover arts and has the all the features you need.
    There is a full parking diagram which displays front and rear radar which vx only did the front. The parking diagram on this unit is good. I also recommend adding a reverse camera, it displays both cam video and park diagram at the same time.
    There is also a door open diagram, which is display the wrong way round for us right hand drive cars but this can easily corrected after alot of headache for myself, the supplier keeps giving me incorrect information, i sussed out the correct setting.
    It has its own mini speaker for the indicators, car chimes, and park sensors, which i like. As my line convertor sometimes go into aux mode and i have no sound at all even for park sensors. This unit has overcome the issue i previous had.
    The sound quality is amazing, it can use the factory speaker to its full potential, its also very bassy.
    It has wifi, but you must connect the reverse cam cable in as that is also the wifi antenna.
    Playstore is available so you can download your own apps and make this better place.

    Performance
    The load up time is bit slow after you started the car but the reverse sensor sound/indicators is there just nothing on screen until everything loads up.
    App load up times is good.
    The touch screen is not as responsive as i like but bearable, is like buying a cheaper phone pay for what you get.
    It can be a bit buggy and some apps do crash and requires closing and opening again.

    Compatibility with car
    Everything works from what i could see.
    Steering wheel controls working
    Ambient Temperature working
    Climate control panel information working
    Park sensors and Park assist button working
    Car configuration menu working apart from the sports menu (if you have flexride)
    TC button should also work, i didn't test this out as mine is link to sports tour buttons so still factory buttons.
    As previously mentioned the unit has 2 usb connections, unlike microsoft windows you can expand/split the connection using a splitter, this you can't it won't detect the devices at all, so is 1 device per usb only.
    The only things no longer work is the nav centre jog dial/buttons and the cars usb/aux port.
    If you are playing music and having navigation mode on, the voice guidance/warning will cut the music app, and you would need to reactivate the music app to continue playing the music. I'm still trying sort this issue out with the supplier.
    The unit is bit buggy but has alot of features to overcome this.
    USB flash drive max size support is 32GB.

    Summary
    It is excellent piece of kit for the money, i paid £280 with front adas dvr for this as i got stung by H&M import VAT and partly parcelforce. The way i look at it is the price is not far off an xcarlink interface box but does a hell lot more, no brainer for me, i personally think the new price of the xcarlink is not worth it.
    Would i go back to my factory nav unit, NO!
    Would i recommend this unit, a big fat YES! But if you can't live with the things i mentioned above then i could only suggest don't buy this or you try the more expensive unit as that may be better. I think they are £150 more.


    There is a technical discussion thread for all the bugs/issues i have encountered, i'm reporting bugs to the supplier bit by bit at a time, as they can't handle the stress in one go .



    Thanks i hope you all enjoyed this review

  • #2
    If you do ask for assistance from the supplier, make sure you have alot of patience as there is a language barrier and they may not understand what you are asking even if you send a video showing the fault and how you tried to fix it.

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    • #3
      Just installed the 10.4" Android infotainment system from prelingcar on my Insignia 2012.
      It works well but two aspects are very unpleasant:

      1) By every starting of the car engine the radio stations previously stored are missing, need to be stored again and again, at every starting....
      2) When starting the engine the system is booting every time from the beginning, it's take long time.
      On other systems the android is going directly in the menu. How to put my system in standby mode (sleeping mode) ?
      How to solve these?

      Comment


      • #4
        Problem solved

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