Post by Christian McArdlePost by NeedforSwede2Post by Christian McArdleI've just bought a Pioneer DEH-P55BT, which is a similar product for a
few extra shekels. I can tell you what that is like once I get it
installed, if you are interested.
Yes, would definatley be interested in that.
OK. I pick up the car Friday. I'll drop a report on this thread a day or two
later after I've had a play with it. I feel like a 7 year old kid just
before his birthday...
Well, it is very good, really.
Standard ISO fit. Connected to the steering wheel controls via an Autoleads
adapter. The microphone is external only. I didn't want to drill and or
remove loads of trim to fit it, so I just dangled it out of the DIN-E hole,
which works just fine.
Initial registration is easy, although you do need the manual to work out
what buttons to push. Day to day connection couldn't be better. You just
turn on the ignition. 5-10 seconds later it has connected to the phone and
is indicated by a small blue LED. No buttons need to be pushed on either
phone or head unit. Your phone stays in your pocket. It works exactly as you
would want it to.
Incoming calls obviously mute the sound and display the incoming call number
on the screen. I haven't played with the phonebook yet. I'm not sure if my
phone supports phonebook sending. I haven't played with it enough. Making
calls from the presets (6 available) is easy, although the lack of keypad
makes dialling a random number unacceptably fiddly. You certainly couldn't
do it safely whilst driving.
Sound quality is the normal Pioneer standard. MP3 playing and RDS works just
as intended. A nice bonus is a built in auxilliary input, although
unfortunately not front panel. It would be ideal for connection to the
adjacent glove box, though, for sticking external players/DVDs etc.
Available optional extras are full iPod control (quite cheap) and DAB tuner
(ridiculously expensive). Obviously, multi CD units are also available.
Variable colour illumination is good, so you can match it to your car.
Alternatively, blue keypad and white LCD looks good...
The main problem is the capacity of the screen. I suspect the P70BT would be
a significant improvement here. However, I was on shallow ground buying the
P55BT, and there was no way I'd have been allowed to stretch it.
Christian.