[shoop0414]

Hey guys,

Finally got my windows tinted with 35% all around and now its on to the DRL's and a Nav unit. I have a guy who will install the unit for me for $90 here in chicago. He says he can beat Crutchfields prices 95% of the time and that I should just tell him what I want and he can get it for cheaper. So that brings me to my question. They all look the same! I really like JVC, Alpine, Pioneer and Kenwood. I am looking to spend around 650 or 700 if possible. I would prefer that I purchase a unit with the larger screen (no volume knob, home button, etc). I basically want just a blank screen look, no buttons on the sides (bottom is ok since i dont think they make a pure touch screen only unit). Does anyone know where I can find a nice unit for the price range im looking at? I dont mind going over my budget, as long as its not too much. Please let me know what you guys recommend. Thanks and happy modding!

Shoop

 

[Milkit18]

China unit! Best bang for the buck!

 

[OptimaEXTurbo]

Milkit miopocket rocks

 

[OptimaEXTurbo]

unlocks windows ce turns the gps into a windows tablet

 

[loman4ec]

Yes the Chinese units I am bringing over are really nice. We are getting them for less than $400 shipped to your door. They work great! The GPS is awesome. The Igo maps are not well known but I am a salesman/Engineer so I live in my car and it works great. IT is so accurate that there is a golf course accross the street with many little ponds and one is only about 6 to 8' wide which is more of a puddle than a pond but it is even on the GPS. They are that accurate. In the city it shows 3D buildings and if you touch one it says the name and address of the building. The points of interest are also great! My 10 year old son is in karate and goes to a local teacher in an old 7-11 building. Its only been open for 2 years and its on the points of interest. For all poi's it gives name address and pone number as well as nav. But you can look up the POI and it gives the phone number and it calls them through the blue tooth and while its calling asks if you want to go there and if you do just hit yes and off you go while talking. The radio is great! I get stations now that all I got was static with my oem unit. The DVD is crystal clear and is great to keep the kids quiet. It has vid outputs if you want to add screens in the back. It has an internal amp that is 45W RMS x 4 and comes with 5 amp preouts plus a camera out. I love having a backup camera. As optimaexturbo just said it runs on Windows CE and can be unlocked to be used as a computer. Optimaexturbo got his unit from me.

I lived in South east Asia for many years and created a lot of contacts. I have a broker in China that finds everything and anything I can think of. He found this company and although man sell this unit this is the actual factory so returns for repairs are easy and then I found out that one of my very close friends and business contacts in Singapore owns part of the factory. SO now there will be NO PROBLEMS! He will take care of any issues no question. You can't go wrong. they are selling for more on ebay so if you dont like it sell it. Also they are plug and play. Nothing altered, no wires to cut. Just remove old one and insert the new one. It is built into the new dash facia so no need for an adapter. Here are some pics. Its also not got the cheesy backgrounds that many have. The first pic is one of their ad pics but by swiping your finger up or down and side to side you can flip through options like this. also for an extra $50 you can have digital TV added. It also streams music via bluetooth, Has usb that is connected to your oem USB. It holds you phone contacts, of course bluetooth phone. It has an internal mic but everyone I talk to says its clearer than the stock one was. You really can't go wrong with this. It looks and works killer.

 

[shoop0414]

Thanks for the replies guys. That unit does look nice, but I am pretty picky and am leaning towards a unit that doesnt have the volume knob and buttons on the side. I would prefer the nice large 7" screen. Can you contact in China get any Pioneer, JVC, Alpine units?

 

[loman4ec]

No no one uses them and the prices would be 10X the cost of ours. This unit although has a volume knob it has 8" screen. After using it I wouldn't think of having one without the knob. Touch screen for everything is not optimal. I can get you a generic type unit that wouldn't have the knob but then you will need the metra adapter kit and all of the wires must be spliced into an adapter harness and adapted to the car. Where this one is plug and play.

 

[Milkit18]

Milkit miopocket rocks

Can you backup ur original software on the headunit to restore later on?

 

[Milkit18]

Thanks for the replies guys. That unit does look nice, but I am pretty picky and am leaning towards a unit that doesnt have the volume knob and buttons on the side. I would prefer the nice large 7" screen. Can you contact in China get any Pioneer, JVC, Alpine units?

Besides the price the reason the don't like the pioneer units and etc. is bc the metra kit make it look non oem.

 

[OptimaEXTurbo]

Can you backup ur original software on the headunit to restore later on?

Yeah it only affects the windows ce side of the unit and if you pull the sd card it dosnt load and if your unit is like mine there is a soft reset button right beside where the sd cards go. If your not good with windows dont mess with it. Basically makes the nav side of the unit into a Wondows CE Tablet without internet. Biggest gain is you can load up multiple gps softwares tom-tom,garmin, igo,etc...
Try it at your own risk ive had to make a few patches to get all the apps to run but thats my thing.

 

[nohart]

Milkit miopocket rocks

I looked at the Miopocket at MioPocket 4.0 (Unlock for GPS devices) This looks awesome! Does anyone know if we can use this with the KIA Premium Navigation package? If we could it would totally increase the value on current system!

 

[elvisfan]

shoop0414, if you're looking for the knobless look then the Unavi system may be the way to go. (pic below) It is a bit pricey, around $1000 - $1200 but you don't lose your Sirius satellite radio, voice recognition, or some of the steering wheel functions that you do with some of the other units....and they offer both 7" and 8" versions. Despite what has been said here, some members have used other aftermarket head units besides the cheap ones from China and they didn't pay $3000 - $4000 for the unit....maybe for their whole system, but not just the head unit. That is just a ridiculous statement. Search the web and this forum and you'll find some alternatives.

 

[loman4ec]

Elvisfan, I just went through the thread and where does it says a system costs $3000 to $4000?? By the way these Chinese systems may be inexpensive but they are far from cheap. The aftermarket side is just a small part of their business. They make OEM Systems for Dodge, Ford, Toyota and many more. They are a great company. Not all things made in China are cheap. My Tube home amp in singapore was the highest rated high end amp back in 04 and it was Chinese made..

 

[elvisfan]

No no one uses them and the prices would be 10X the cost of ours.

Unless there is a new math that I am not aware of; 10 x ($300 - $400) = $3000 - $4000. That is why I said this statement was ridiculous. I know of no head unit that costs this much. In terms of pricing, the Chinese units are cheap compared to the other options the OP and I myself mentioned. The term "cheap" does not always refer to or define quality. I'm not going to comment on the rest of your reply to my post because I never referenced your factory or source. You have obviously read more into my post than was intended and I'm not going to engage in some stupid argument over it. There's already enough of that on this forum. Thank you.

 

[Milkit18]

I'm in love with that unit pictured. But way to rich for me lol

 

[elvisfan]

I'm in love with that unit pictured. But way to rich for me lol

Yeah. It certainly isn't the cheapest GPS option out there, but it does have everything the OP is looking for.

 

[loman4ec]

I think you misinterpreted what I said. He asked if I could get a Pioneer, Kenwood or the like from my contact in China and yes that statement is absolutely true. That is why the Chinese make these units in so many places. The duty for American, European and even other Asian countries is very very high. And the cost of a name branded unit in China would easily be 7X to 10x the cost of the USA models.

 

[K5 Optima Store]

shoop0414, if you're looking for the knobless look then the Unavi system may be the way to go. (pic below)
View attachment 7095

Wow this unit look really nice!

 

[shoop0414]

@loman4ec I am starting to lean towards your unit. Where is the SD card input on it? Also, what type of screen is it? LCD? LED? 720p? Just curious. Finally, on this unit will I be able to have it wired so that the DVD's can play while I am driving? Will I need some sort of parking brake bypass kit with this?

 

[Phenom]

@loman4ec I am starting to lean towards your unit. Where is the SD card input on it? Also, what type of screen is it? LCD? LED? 720p? Just curious. Finally, on this unit will I be able to have it wired so that the DVD's can play while I am driving? Will I need some sort of parking brake bypass kit with this?

With playing while driving you should just need to ground the parking brake wire to any ground not the parking brake. It'll trick the unit into thinking it's in park.