Options for updating the infotainment system to something this century?!

JonW

JonW

Member
Messages
3,262
So,

Today I jumped into our family car, and had forgotten how nice it is for your phone to pair instantly, to be able to effortlessly stream music from your phone, controlled by the screen, and to have DAB radio, etc...

Admittedly, most of the time I'm in my GTS (2012), the radio is off, with the window open, sport mode pressed...

However, I'm intrigued as to what the options would be if I wanted to upgrade my system to something current. What have others done?
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,734
Matty has just had a reversing camera installed. Well received. They have a good rep and if I had spare pennies, I'd be having some installs

C
 
M

mattjevans

Junior Member
Messages
386
skippiemcgee said:
I'd be interested to know if anyone else has some experience of this as well, as I simply can't get to grips with the hdd in the GTS, however I did come up with this google search, I have no affiliation to the site or company.

I also like the idea of reversing cameras, both front and rear ideally as I'm rubbish t trying to guess the length of the bonnet.

http://www.audiofile-incar.co.uk/audio-upgrades/maserati-granturismo


Nick.
Click to expand...

I was happy with the job they did installing a reversing cam for me and it works well. I didn't ask about a front cam but I gather it is possible
 
dannywooly

dannywooly

Junior Member
Messages
201
JonW said:
So,

Today I jumped into our family car, and had forgotten how nice it is for your phone to pair instantly, to be able to effortlessly stream music from your phone, controlled by the screen, and to have DAB radio, etc...

Admittedly, most of the time I'm in my GTS (2012), the radio is off, with the window open, sport mode pressed...

However, I'm intrigued as to what the options would be if I wanted to upgrade my system to something current. What have others done?
Click to expand...

Coming from a 335d BMW with pro nav i feel your pain, like you most of the time the radio is off but there are some long cruising runs which require some entertainment. I went to Santa pod yesterday and using the sat nav believed i had arrived only to find i was 8 miles short due to the no full postcode! Its an epic car and really love it but those small creature comforts would be nice.
 
outrun

outrun

Member
Messages
5,017
I added a Bovee bluetooth gadget to the ipod lead to add the ability to stream over bluetooth. Now also using Waze as sat nav and the Bovee has the benefit of pushing the Waze alerts through the speakers which is nice. It's easy and does the job. Why bother chopping in to the headunit/screen area and possibly devaluing the car when any decent phone will do a job for little money?

The only thing I haven't nailed yet is a neat solution to hold the phone somewhere tidy. Once I have that, I will likely have a charging cable installed so that there are no loose cables about the place. Job done.
 
TridentTested

TridentTested

Member
Messages
1,819
outrun said:
Why bother chopping in to the headunit/screen area and possibly devaluing the car when any decent phone will do a job for little money?
Click to expand...

I came to this conclusion a long time ago. I wired my phone into the CD player input. Good phone, unlimited data, free data roaming - that gives you everything except a reversing camera.

Coincidentally I read on Wired that a startup which was intending to put a reversing camera discretely on a number-plate bracket paired to your phone has just gone belly up because it didn't get enough backers. Shame, I might have bought one of them.
 
M

mattjevans

Junior Member
Messages
386
outrun said:
The only thing I haven't nailed yet is a neat solution to hold the phone somewhere tidy. Once I have that, I will likely have a charging cable installed so that there are no loose cables about the place. Job done.
Click to expand...

I bought a phone mount that goes in the CD slot. It's OK but doesn't fit quite flush
 
JonW

JonW

Member
Messages
3,262
outrun said:
I added a Bovee bluetooth gadget to the ipod lead to add the ability to stream over bluetooth. Now also using Waze as sat nav and the Bovee has the benefit of pushing the Waze alerts through the speakers which is nice. It's easy and does the job. Why bother chopping in to the headunit/screen area and possibly devaluing the car when any decent phone will do a job for little money?

The only thing I haven't nailed yet is a neat solution to hold the phone somewhere tidy. Once I have that, I will likely have a charging cable installed so that there are no loose cables about the place. Job done.
Click to expand...

Will take a look at the Bovee unit. I also prefer Waze for sat nav, and have a Quadlock mount and case for my iPhone...
 
UlstermanAbroad

UlstermanAbroad

Member
Messages
1,687
Asked the same question a few months back.
I think the consensus was, if changing components, the job would be costly and complex.
Richard Grace's opinion was, there'd be a hit at resale.
It's a pity that all mass produced cars don't have agreed wiring standards, with components easily interchangeable.
 
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