Adrian@TORQEN Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Apple CarPlay went live on Pioneer's NEX and AppRadio 4 installable systems late Wednesday night, making this new, smartphone-safe auto interface available for older cars before it's shown up in any new cars (except the Ferrari, which is too fancy-shmancy to count). If you have or install of these systems in your car, you'll be able to plug in your CarPlay-compatible iPhone (iPhone 5 or later) to make calls, send and receive text messages, and use compatible apps safely from the display and other controls. Why this matters: One of the coolest new kinds of car tech, from the most popular technology company in the world, is available for your oldish beater of a car before basically anyone else gets it. And it's not just cool and new--it also promises to make using your smartphone in your car a lot safer than it is now, even with Siri Eyes Free. We saw a late beta of CarPlay in Pioneer's AVIC-8000NEX infotainment system earlier this year. That flagship product has a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen and an MSRP of $1400, but it has NEX cousins with prices down to $700 MSRP. Currently installed systems simply need a free firmware upgrade, which you can download yourself and install via USB drive (or an authorized dealer can do it for you). With AppRadio 4, Pioneer launches a new version of its touchscreen-based receiver, and the second product line with CarPlay compatibility. The AppRadio 4 has a 6.2-inch capacitive touchscreen and an MSRP of $600. New cars with Apple CarPlay are due to ship any day now. Apple's roster of automaker partners includes Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, and many more. But for all those who don't plan to buy a new car, Pioneer offers a third-party solution. Rival Alpine should be coming out with its product eventually as well. http://www.macworld....r-once-3574984/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 (edited) Hmm.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181473726796 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171153415120 Edited October 2, 2014 by octet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Sounds promising, would give me an excuse to upgrade my old Pioneer F900BT. I guess it would negate the need for a HU with built in SatNav as you could just mirror Google Maps App from your iPhone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Not really, as you'd need 3G to run it permanently, which isn't always a given. Until we get 100% UK 3G signal of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Actually, that's not quite correct Ekona. While in the US, the missus and I had a hire car and used our iPhones as SatNav without having 3G/4G (roaming data turned off), what we did was open up Google Maps App and entered our destination while on hotel lobby wi-fi. Then just started the route. As long as you don't make a wrong turn, it will get you there as it seems to run off GPS. I don't know the ins and outs of how it worked but it just did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Because you downloaded the route on wifi first. If you were in the arse end of nowhere and need the satnav, it's useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 It still showed us correctly en route, so it has to locate you correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Yes, because it uses gps based on the map you downloaded. No downloaded map, no routing. Turn off all data connections, and try it. I just did, it cannot locate me nor find any routes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 That's what surprised me tho, there was no data connection while we were on the go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Some good info here http://www.mcofs.org.uk/navigation-gpsandsmartphones.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 That's what surprised me tho, there was no data connection while we were on the go Because your phone downloaded the map for your entire route before you left, as per post #31 If you'd gone significantly off course, or decided to go somewhere else, then it would've failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 What I mean is that I still knew where we were on the route, despite having no data connection. I understand the route having been downloaded and the route calculated et all, the only thing that still amazed me was that it knew where we were without any data connection or tracking. It knew how far we physically were from the next turn and stuff, which lead me to believe that there must be some kind of GPS connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 There is GPS connection even if you have network, even in airplane, tried and tested. Doesn't download maps through 2G/3G/4G as there is no network, but it shows the location on a wide map. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 What I mean is that I still knew where we were on the route, despite having no data connection. I understand the route having been downloaded and the route calculated et all, the only thing that still amazed me was that it knew where we were without any data connection or tracking. It knew how far we physically were from the next turn and stuff, which lead me to believe that there must be some kind of GPS connection. Well yeah, of course there's GPS as otherwise no sat nav would work Basically there's still no way to use any internet-based map service as a sat nav via this system, not if you want it to work anywhere and any time. I've got the TT app for the phone, which for £30 was a bargain and is all I'll ever need. Works without data too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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