BMW Navigation Install

[[TW]Fox]

It would seem Dynavin have made some subtle but useful changes to these units. They've fixed the SD card interface, it now looks like the rest of the unit and gone is the horrible early 90's style Amiga looking thing. You also now get a signal strength indicator and battery indicator for bluetooth connected phones on the radio screen and there are a few more options to configure things like how the PDC behaves.

In true Dynavin style though only new customers get these, so whilst I'm out of luck, anyone who buys a newer one will get the improved featureset. It's nothing huge but its little tweaks that would appear to remove much of the few remaining iffy bits

 

[jamoor]

This looks interesting, although not totally OEM, cheaper too.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/parrot-asteroid-smart-tablet-and-mini-car-infotainment-system/

 

[[TW]Fox]

Interesting - not quite double din in depth so it'll fit an E39 without heater box mods.

 

[Sanchez]

Well, I've managed to get the funds together now for one of the Dynavin unit. I just need to decide if I go with Windows or Android. You said you installed yours yourself, Fox. How difficult was this and how long did it take you?

 

[[TW]Fox]

It's really not that hard to fit, the most time consuming thing was removing the radio cage. You have an E46 whereas I have an E39 - your job is a bit more involved as you also need to relocate the climate control panel.

I still stand by my opinion that the Windows unit is the better bet. The novelty of playing with the unit constantly will wear off - after which time it will simply become an entertainment and navigaiton system. This is why the Windows one works so well - it just.. boots into Nav every time. No faff, hassle, cheese or sauce. I'm still very happy with it.

I am led to beleive the latest units have tweaks which fix much of the irritatingly unrefined aspects of my unit - ie a new SD/USB Interface and a more responsive touchscreen.

Frankly it's still overpriced but there are few other options worth the hassle IMHO.

After 6 months, I find it's operation as a Radio/Ipod/Navigation device to be absolutely fantsatic - the unit looks great during day to day driving where its always in map mode. I have since found that the Bluetooth functionality is a bit crap, though - it's hit and miss as to whether it bothers to load my phonebook or not but otherwise generally works ok. I only really use it for incoming calls and to tell people I'll call them later and for that its fine but it's not quite a seamlessly perfect as the OEM BMW setup is for Bluetooth. Again, the newer version adds some refinements to the Bluetooth as well - it now does proper bluetooth streaming apparently for music.

 

[Sanchez]

I've just been looking at the Android unit user reviews. They not very encouraging. It doesn't seem to be as well integrated as the Windows CE version. I can really see the appeal of the Android version but with a 600 Mhz CPU it'll be sluggish. And to be fair I'll have a Galaxy Note 2 soon which will be infinitely better for everything.

I'm not to fussed about the install as long as it's relatively straight forward. I did install a Parrot Evo in the car so I'm okay with removing trim etc, I just want to avoid any rewiring as this is likely to end in tears.

I also plan on getting the DVB tuner too. Talksport for me and then perhaps TV for the little one as she gets older. Edit: Scratch that, I've just seen the price of the TV tuner! I'll listen to AM radio and the kid can chew on her fist as usual. £130?!!?

Do you know who the cheapest supplier is? I see the official website lists them as £629. Obviously there's the temperature control unit so the less I can pay for the unit the better.

 

[Liampope]

Where did you get yours from in the end Fox - can't remember? There's a notice on Dynavin.com saying Dynavin.co.uk are imposters! Ooh er. So not from there I guess?

Also where did you hear about the recent improvements you mentioned?

 

[Sanchez]

This is the unit I bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-BMW-E...ics_GPSSystems_GPSSystems&hash=item3a6d127ccd

He got it off eBay.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Where did you get yours from in the end Fox - can't remember? There's a notice on Dynavin.com saying Dynavin.co.uk are imposters! Ooh er. So not from there I guess?

Also where did you hear about the recent improvements you mentioned?

I got it from E46fanatics actually, there is a thread on there about them where the US reseller posts info.

Be aware though there is a bug in the firmware of the little box that taps into the iBUS on the E39. It conflicts with the climate control panel The Dynavin fix is a new peice of firmware that solves the issue by..

...removing the features which use the extended iBUS features. So I now don't have visual PDC anymore

Mixed thoughts about that. I am now missing an advertised feature - though they promise they'll release newer firmware - but it's encouraging that they actually bothered to trace the issue and issue a 'fix' in the first place.

 

[Sanchez]

can I just ask, which reverse camera did you buy, Fox? I'm going to place my order with Jeff in the next day or so and just wondered if there was an alternative camera to the one he sells.

 

[[TW]Fox]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Rear-...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item35b7603d4f

Are you ordering from a UK seller - if so don't forget you can use the DSR to return it if you dont like it. Useful peace of mind with something thats a bit marmite.

 

[jamoor]

Well, I've managed to get the funds together now for one of the Dynavin unit. I just need to decide if I go with Windows or Android. You said you installed yours yourself, Fox. How difficult was this and how long did it take you?

Have you seen that parrot asteroid? Seems a good option too.

 

[Sanchez]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Rear-...7?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item35b7603d4f

Are you ordering from a UK seller - if so don't forget you can use the DSR to return it if you dont like it. Useful peace of mind with something thats a bit marmite.

I was going to order from Jeff (US) on E46fanatics as he's considerably cheaper than the UK sellers as far as I can see. I've been back and forth with the Android/CE version but steering wheel support and better integration were more important than an enhanced media player and the ability to run apps I'd never use.

The newer D99+ units are pretty much there in terms of look and feel and I've watched more videos I'd care to mention so I'm pretty comfortable with how they operate, I just wish there were more details on the features of specific functions.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Excellent, Jeff is fairly awesome and his customer service seems great. At the time I bought mine import duty and VAT made him much more expensive though.

 

[Sanchez]

Have you seen that parrot asteroid? Seems a good option too.

I've seen the proposed new one, yeah. It really wanted something OEM looking though so it was a bit of a nb starter but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Sanchez]

I thought perhaps I could avoid these with it being marked as a 'gift' but I need to see if that's something he would do otherwise a UK distributor would be cheaper.

 

[[TW]Fox]

You can't avoid it and 'gifts' are not duty exempt are they? I looked into this and it basically if you buy something like this from the States you will need to pay import duty of circa 15% and then VAT on top of the price inclusive of shipping.

It made buying from the US more expensive than the UK by quite some margin - 3 figures easily.

 

[Sanchez]

Then I guess that's a bit of a no-no. A shame really as Jeff does provide excellent customer service by the look of it. Plus it makes the unit a decent whack more . I suppose on the upside, like you said, I can use the DSR to send the unit back if I really don't like it and returns should be easier.