That's a shame your first radio fell off the perch. After a lot of looking around I bought this one on Ebay. Pumpkin brand. Yes, I know. Pumpkin? It's Android 5.0 and has everything that opens and shuts. 4 USB ports, including the one on front panel, one on the back has a little microSD cardreader with the GPS app on it; the other two USB ports are in the glove box, via extension cables, as is the SIM card slot. The front microSD slot is supposed to be dedicated to GPS, but I use it for music. When the car is under the carport, I can access the internet via my home wifi so I don't have to use the expensive 3G connection so much. The Sygic GPS has offline maps, anyway, so doesn't need to be connected, but I can also use Google maps if I want. The GPS antenna has a magnet, so I just stuck it on one of the braces beside the radio; it seems to work fine. The radio antenna is broken and is only a stub, so FM reception is not all that good; but I don't listen to the radio that much, anyway. I'm looking at ways to add an extension to the stub so it will work better and I won't have to replace the whole antenna. This unit cost me $AU300, or about GBP200, which is pretty good, I think. I haven't installed the rear camera yet, but I need to do that soon. I haven't yet detected any quality issues that might result in a limited lifetime. Here's hoping. Sticker shock prevented me from buying any of the name brands. My only regret in choosing the double-DIN is that I've lost the storage bin. This is a serious matter in a car that has so few places to put things.
Good luck with your Pumpkin, I'm sure things have moved on since I originally wrote the rewiew. Having said that, my Pioneer is still going strong, but the map updates are around £130!
Nice stereos, but I question whether some of the more expensive features you're paying for are actually worthwhile for most people, possibly including yourselves if you have a smartphone? If you have an Android phone (I'd assume Iphones too, although you probably need to buy some special dongle that costs £349 and breaks if you fart near it) then you don't need GPS, internet or even radio on your stereo, as long as it has a screen and connects to your phone via bluetooth you're good, extra points for a USB slot so you can charge your phone too. Just start your music on your phone, start off your route on Google Maps, which is free, it all plays through your speakers. I'm thinking of this one from GearBest (awesome site) 7010B Bluetooth V2.0 Car Audio MP5 Player-56.91 Online Shopping| GearBest.com which is... £46.42. Great reviews, couple complaints that the screen isn't perfect quality but I won't be watching films on it, also one complaint their gps didn't work in the units gps slot but I won't be using that either. Plays everything, can take up to 32gb memory card and has bluetooth, USB slot on the front and even comes with a reversing camera.
Rex thank you posting the pictures, I have just followed them to run wires for Anji's reversing camera, I also copied your mounting position. Great walkthrough really helped, thank you
I'm amazed my photos are showing again, as they were originally stored on photobucket and they changed there policy some years ago, so to share photo they wanted you to have a subscription account. Needless to say, i never paid. But now they are working again.... What?
@Rex The Windows CE operating system is the dealbreaker on your unit. This OS is well and truly obsolete compared with modern ones. My last radio used WinCE, and I ended up pulling it out and binning it. It was so substandard in performance, it was next to useless. The Android ones are more expensive, but have much better hardware, and far superior software. This is borne out in your comments about it being laggy and inconsistent. Admittedly, this is from a long time ago, but there are still many WinCE units being sold. @Kagu The unit I have is no longer available, the current one is nearly identical, but has Android 7.1. Only difference I can see is mine has actual USB port on the front, not mini connector. I assume this one has other ports on back panel like mine. Link here: Android 7.1 2 DIN 7" RAM 2GB Car Stereo GPS OBD2 DAB+ Head Unit 1080P Navigation 607128788393 | eBay Price is in $AU. This compares very well to Rex's unit. Everything is expensive in this country, so you might find the same unit elsewhere at a better price. Still, it's the best-priced unit I've found anywhere with the same specs. I have no regrets about buying it. With 2 GB of RAM, it is smooth and responsive. There are 4 USB ports and 2 micro SD slots. And SIM card slot so you can have internet on the go. This one fits flush in the dash and looks as good as factory fitted. Mine didn't come with reversing camera, but I already had one. Connections for it are already there, just plug it in. I still haven't done that, it's high on my to-do list. I have to back in to my carport, else I wouldn't be able to open the drivers door enough. Camera will help a lot in aiming. Thank you Rex for the pictures; I was hoping for a wireless solution, but wired might be simpler in the long run.
Thanks a lot for the clear instructions, this helped me a lot last weekend. I recently bought a android based 2din stereo and surprisingly it came with a rear camera. I in stalled the camera last weekend. I mounted it in between the bumper and the exhaust with some large bolts and a metal corner piece.
