Car dealers can charge thousands of dollars for head units that connect cars to music, navigation and smartphones. Another viable options is to put an after market receiver with all the apps you need and more. Pioneer AppRadio3 devices will be available for$399-$499. The CD-DVD player (SPH-DA210) is currently available from Amazon for $362.29 with free shipping.Pioneer was recently awarded Best of Innovations, In-Vehicle Audio/Video, as at 2014 CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards for its AppRadio 3 (SPH-DA210) smartphone-connected in-dash receiver for great smartphone connections.
AppRadio 3 is operated through the high resolution 7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) capacitive touchscreen.
Both AppRadio 3 models feature a built-in AM/FM tuner with RDS text information display (when available), MOSFET 50 Watts X 4 power, and dual preamp outputs.
Pioneer’s AppRadio 3 offers two new models the SPH-DA210 and SPH-DA110, that include MirrorLink and compatible with both iPhone 4/4s/5/5c/5s devices and select Android OS smartphones. Apple 30 Pin, Lightning, USB and HDMI are some of the connection types that AppRadio supports.
AppRadio includes voice control for Siri Eyes Free and Google Voice Recognition, a revised graphical user interface, Bluetooth audio streaming, and a built-in DVD/CD player for theSPH-DA210 only.
AppRadio 3 receivers offer control of app functions on a 7″ touchscreen.
- MirrorLink – A standard from the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), MirrorLink technology enables consumers to connect compatible smartphones to AppRadio 3 via a USB cable.
- Siri Eyes Free – When activated, Siri Eyes Free allows Siri voice prompts to play through the speakers and commands are made through the external microphone. Siri Eyes Free gives access to many iPhone functions, such as music selection, listening to and writting text messages, Maps, calendar information, reminders, and more.
- Navigation -you can use the built-in Google Maps on Android devices and Apple Maps on the iOS platform. For turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance, choose from among more than six compatible navigation apps that include Waze and MotionX GPS Drive.
- Voice Recognition for Android – Android devices with voice recognition can use Google Voice for hands-free calling by simply touching the microphone icon in the Contacts section of the Pioneer’s
- AppRadio App (version 2.0.0). Voice recognition can also be used to play music through Pioneer’s free of charge CarMediaPlayer App (version 1.2.0).
- Bluetooth – AppRadio 3 offer both Bluetooth hands-free calling2 and Bluetooth audio streaming and wireless control of compatible devices.
- Enhanced Touchscreen User Interface – Designed with the smartphone user in mind, the AppRadio 3 touchscreen user interface (UI) provides easy access to the most commonly used features such as apps, music and calling.
Pioneer’s SPH-DA110 and SPH-DA210 AppRadio 3 have suggested prices of $399 and $499 respectively.
The smartphone connectivity cables range in suggested prices from $30 to $60. You can check for list of compatible devices from Pioneer. It has been reported that as long as your device can connect to HDMI many of the features work.
In general the trend with after market head units is to offer mirroring via an HDMI connection. Getting iPhones to connect via HDMI can be tricky.