2008 Lexus IS 250 / IS 350 2IS “Tesla Radio” install during quarantine.
Review:
TLDR;
Cheap Chinese tablet with a lot of tradeoffs but looks cool and allows music/video/tablet capabilities over stock unit if you're willing to deal with minor inconveniences to impress people who ride in your car as long as you connect it to wifi; Basically a glorified Bluetooth receiver that can control your A/C too.
I love it! I'm in my car around 3-4 hours a day, so this screen has been one of the best purchases so far. I got it from Phoenix Automotive whenever they had one of their 'fake' discounts, so it was slightly cheaper than when they sell it retail (They always have sales so I think I just bought it for retail tbh). The quick boot is significantly better than the non because it doesn't have to start up each time you start your car (see video). When it boots (like after a battery disconnect), it takes forever! But when I get into my car regularly, it probably takes a few seconds to get operating; at that point I've gotten my seatbelt on and shit out of my pockets and it's ready to go. The $$ amount over the regular is well worth it IMO.
The Iphone mirror capability is SHIT. It's basically a shitty app that lags a second or two with the sound. So if you were watching a video, it's pretty much a horrible dub that makes it impossible to watch due to the second or two lag. I deleted the app since it always tries to autoconnect. The Carplay however is cool because it auto connects quickly via Bluetooth. If you have it on and connected and use your phone for music and Nav, well worth it since our cars came with no Bluetooth and if you had OE Nav, that's probably shit compared to google maps. It projects your music player and Nav onto the Carplay screen. HOWEVER, I use RU-vid Music, so this isn't a feature I use since you can download that app from the appstore into this tablet.
GPS is shitty, and basically doesn't work. If you need to GPS, use Carplay and your phone, it'll bring the map up via Carplay app. kinda neat. The Google maps app is shit via the tablet screen due to shitty GPS signals.
DOESNT have sim card or USB tethering capability, but has WIFI. I hotspot from my phone, but the connectivity is ANNNOYING and takes forever; gotta open it up on your phone and then go into settings in the tablet and connect EVERYTIME. Sometimes it auto connects to my hotspot with time, but it's a gamble because most times it doesn't auto connect at all. Of course, this gets solved with Carplay, but I like hotspotting better because I like to use the RU-vid music app via the tablet screen, and also my daily commute is an hour so I can justify the time it takes for the initial set up.
Sound quality is not nearly as good as factory. The internal amp is shit, and the default settings are terrible. Of course it has a lot of adjustment EQ and stuff to get it better, but way too much if you have no idea wtf you're doing. I ended up getting it to sound okay, and hooked up two 12"subs (RCA ports are a plus with this). Sounds meh solely due to the subs tbh.
Only worth getting if you use your phone for Nav and music, or if you have Wifi hotspot. Otherwise, stand alone not worth it at all.
Android radio:
phoenixautomotiveinc.com/prod...
Auto Trim Removal Tool Set:
amzn.to/2GTMaOJ
3M Tape:
amzn.to/2FD30Rf
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2 апр 2020
