Android Car Stereo, is is upgradable???

[jonequest2013]

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I am looking at buying this Andoid powered Erisin stereo. there are a few of these Android stereos on e-bay and I am thinking of pulling the triger but it come with Android 2.3 and Erisin said that they don't have an upgrade and don't recommend I mess with it. This is the one I am thinking of getting because it has a REMOVABLE Android tablet. Erisin ES7035A 7 HD Car DVD GPS Android MID PAD Tablet [ES7035A] - US$320.00 : erisin.com Erisin ES7035A 7 HD Car DVD GPS Android MID PAD Tablet [ES7035A] - US$320.00 : erisin.com

This is basically an Android 2.3 car stereo AND you can remove the tablet and use it outside of the car and the stereo still works. I just want to know if anyone has tried to upgrade on of these to 4.0, Jelly Bean etc. I also don't know what front end they are using. to make it have car stereo display, etc. I think with at least ICS and Gogle Maps Nav this could be a great little powerhouse of a car stereo/portable tablet. If it didn't have a proprietary pin connector you could drop a 7" Nexus on it!

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I'm going to say no, it can't be updated.

Sent from my HTC One XL using Tapatalk 2

 

[patruns]

While technically possible, I don't see any interest over at XDA for a custom ROM and I doubt the manufacturer has any incentive to update it. Also note, the removable pad is Android not the actual radio.

 

[jonequest2013]

While technically possible, I don't see any interest over at XDA for a custom ROM and I doubt the manufacturer has any incentive to update it. Also note, the removable pad is Android not the actual radio.

Yes, true but the thing obviously has some radio and menu icon SW package runninng on it. So even if the hardware can run say ICS, which at 1Ghz I bet it can, I still cannot just do an install and possibly wipe out whatever OEM SW that is running for the radio functions. There is another guy on e-Bay selling Andoid 4.0 stereos but those are permanent attached touch screen only. I think the removable touchscreen tablet that can go anywhere AND still leaves a working radio behind is a great idea. I just wish it had at least this years Android OS on it.

 

[jonequest2013]

OK I have this thing. It came the other day quicker from Hong Kong than I thought. It works pretty good actually.

It came with a GPS antenna that may be needed with another NAV option but since this latest flavor has the WIFI and GPS antenna in the tablet I was using Google Maps and played with the included iGO NAV just fine without the external antenna.

I can install apps from the Play Store just fine. I have had it running Pandora on my desk and it seems to run fine. I left it running for 5 hours yesterday and it didn't crash.

The DVD player also seems to work as it should.

I have also tested the bluetooth/phone function and it works as advertised. I have never been able to bluetooth music from my phone to anything but my laptop once but I only played with that for a few minutes, it is suppossed to be possible.

I have not tried the Ipod interface but it is there.

I have played files off of my micro SD card and it is a boring no frills interface but works like it should.

The main thing I would like to figure out is how to get "Net connection" quick and easy. So far I have to open and start hotspot on my phone, then goto settings and turn on wifi on the pad. This will be a pain on a day to day basis jumping in and out of my truck several times a day. Verizon will let you add a tablet for only $10 a month but this is not a Verizon tablet. the next option is the expensive jetpack/hotspot that is $20.00 per month. But I DON'T want to pay that much for web in my truck. I have to admit, having web, email, DVD, etc. etc. in my dash seems like it will be pretty cool since my truck is also my second office. Is this better than a tablet plugged into a seperate amp? I think so, but connectivity without hassle is my biggest hurdle. Even crippled with no web it would still be better than my stock stereo.

 

[Shadowriver]

Odp: Android Car Stereo, is is upgradable???

As long hardware its using have drivers its in mainline linux or open somewhere and theres way to replace system then its possible to do something... problem is no body cares about chnesse hardware to toy with it... so you are on your own, you could also try to google a little bit.

 

[patruns]

Have you looked at something like this app for your phone? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.core.technology.wifi.hotspot&feature=search_result
Then, just leave wifi on and it should always pair when you hit the app button.

 

[jonequest2013]

<patruns> I had not tried that one, I had the Verizon hotspot icon on my front page with one click to open, one click to start the hotspot. BUT, I just installed Wifi Hotspot Free and it is even quicker with just one click. THANKS for the tip.

Update: I have installed this stereo finally and used it for a day. So far so good. The amp seems as powerful or more than my stock stereo was and the Pandora was flawless while driving around using my phones wifi. I could not navigate because I figured out that the tablet switches to the radio's external GPS antenna when the pad is put on the stereo. I thought it was not needed since the pad has its own GPS built in. So that is my fault since I didn't install the external GPS antenna. Ny biggie I can do that tomorrow in about 10 minutes or less. Of course I bypassed the brake wire so the DVD player works when I am driving, I just need to not watch it and crash. Having e-mail and a web browser that is big enough to read on your dashboard is pretty cool as well. I know that you could do this stuff with a nexus 7 but it is nice to just dock and it becomes part of a car stereo. The bluetooth phone feature is pretty good and auto switched from phone to radio when I started my truck mid conversation. That was unexpected but pretty handy. The ONE thing I really want to get going is to add the microphone to the search, text input, etc. screens. I have to type everything in which gets old. I want to just speak my destination and have Google nav get my there. I am trying to figurte out a way to add that so if anyone know, please share that info.

 

[johnny vazquez1]

I purchased a Chinese version the Otto android and it boots up and then crashes when loading the android screen could anyone help me out on how to fix this or reboot it I hit the reset button on the front it doesn't help and tried disconnecting the battery cables to see if it would reset. Is there any way to hard reset like an android phone I haven't rooted this radio it's stock . Any help would be greatly appreciated . Thanks

 

[jonequest2013]

I am not sure how to do a hard reset even on mine. I have to admit, besides a maybe 3 times in the last 1+ yr that it had a random crash solved by simply rebooting I have not had any problems with my stereo. I use it every day and it is a part of my life. I would try to e-mail your tech support BUT maybe do it in Chinese. Use Google to translate what you need to say to them then paste that into the support message. It is very possible that the person you are asking for tech support at that company cannot read English.

Good Luck

 

[jonequest2013]

For those who were following my experiences with this unit. I DID get Google Voice to install on the pad just a week or so after install, it is just not available in China so I had to find the .apk file and just load it on the SD card to install. It has now been well over 1 year of daily use (still at android 2.3.5) But voice control makes this thing a whole new beast. I call out addresses and Google Navigation gets me where I need to go. I also answer e-mails, etc. hands free while driving now. I know you can do these things on a phone but having a 7" screen that is stable on the dash just really makes reading e-mails and using Google nav. easier. Here is a photo of what my view is from drivers eat now that I have a wireless phone charger mount for my phone as well. The ONLY thing short of perfection is having to turn on wifi hotspot every time I get in the truck and realizing that the Samsung S4 wifi hotspot is no where near as stable as the Motorola RAZR one was. This hurts for apps with little buffers like IHeart Radio but Pandora is still fine. I may get a usb sim card wifi device I seen on Erisin website and just add a line for $10 to get a permanent 4GLTE signal.... if it works.

 

[johnny vazquez1]

How did you reboot your radio because I turn it off and turn it back on still does the same .

 

[jonequest2013]

Just hit the power button on the tablet off then on again or turned my truck off then on again which does the same thing. It was just giving a blacked out or almost all white screen due to some communication hiccup between the radio and the tablet. Mine is removable and docks on the radio so pulling it to turn off and on is not a big deal.

 

[fingers109]

Hi,

I just got one of these.... To get the wifi hotspot to work automatically, install tasker on your phone and use the bluetooth connect to turn on the wifi hotspot when bluetooth connects to the stereo (called CAR KIT)...

 

[fingers109]

Hi,

Just got one of these,

To get an automatic wifi tether install tasker on your phone,
Create a BT Connected to CAR KIT (the bluetooth name of the stereo)
And a task to turn on the phones wifi tether.

So when your phones bluetooth connects the stereo, your phones wifi tether will turn on and connect to the car pad

I'm currently having trouble installing tasker on the car pad.... Some sort of GApp (google apps) issue.... If anyone has solved this.... How??
Or rooted one of these tablets??

 

[jonequest2013]

That's a great idea. I have actually bought another vehicle a Toyota Tundra with built-in "Entune" system. It is sort of a in dash OEM PC. It ports your Pandora, IHeart Radio, and few other apps. It also has AM/FM CD, Navigation and Bluetooth connects to my phone. I regret the loss of full customization like using Google Maps instead of the crappy Toyota Nav. BUT the Bluetooth for my phone is actually useable and people can hear me as well as I can hear them. The Erisin had no "mike" near my head and was useless for hands free calling. No I will probably sell my Erisin and find a way to hack the Toyota Entune to side load apps like Google Maps (which is the best hands down) and maybe use Google search instead of the built-in Bing that Toyota picked.