MkII Mobile Device Interface (MDI)... IPods basically!!

[blackspaven]

I work out that to get bluetooth and ipod working on a Columbus you're looking at least £300 extra in parts on top of the cost of the unit, and more if you don't fit everything yourself. So yeah, i'm definately tempted by the zenec, I just don't want a stereo that sounds pants and I won't know that until I fit one!

Or someone else does and reports on it on here, I guess.

[blackspaven]

Ah, could be a slight snag with this product: the list of compatible phones for the bluetooth is quite small! The following link tells you what will actually work and despite having had about 6 nokias in the last 7-8 years, none of them showed up on that list.

Bummer!

http://www.zenec.com/fileadmin/media/ZE-MC2000_5600_BT_compatibility-list.pdf

[Brimma]

I work out that to get bluetooth and ipod working on a Columbus you're looking at least £300 extra in parts on top of the cost of the unit, and more if you don't fit everything yourself. So yeah, i'm definately tempted by the zenec, I just don't want a stereo that sounds pants and I won't know that until I fit one!

Or someone else does and reports on it on here, I guess.

Hence the reason I'd sooner go with something which has good reviews and sounds good and pay £700 for it nearly new, than pay £800 on something which might turn out to be a complete b*mmer. The main point of having a decent stereo is to get good sound quality (at least it is for me).

I might miss my TomTom software a bit, but, having said that, it will probably be better to have a built-in unit with a touch screen, than a fairly loosely-mounted one on the vents or windscreen IMHO.

[gadgetman]

From the offset I didn't think it would either, but remember nobody likes a smartarse gadgetman.

It's not being smart. You argued white was black, when others have been there and gave you their experience, and now have had the same answer.

YES skoda should have updated their website correctly, BUT the folk here are usually better knowledgeable than SUK or any dealer.

I work out that to get bluetooth and ipod working on a Columbus you're looking at least £300 extra in parts on top of the cost of the unit, and more if you don't fit everything yourself. So yeah, i'm definately tempted by the zenec, I just don't want a stereo that sounds pants and I won't know that until I fit one!

Or someone else does and reports on it on here, I guess.

You can get a Nokia or Parrot kid for a lot less than the £300. It's a lot of money to have a name show in your maxidot. I have it in my new works Mondeo, and TBH when your driving around it's so small you can easily miss it or have trouble reading it. To see how small, enable show radio in maxi dot. That's it!

Better to get a full Nokia BT install (CK20w or similar) for around £100 and enable "say caller name" on your phone. It's what we have in our Octavia, and SWMBU can use BT voice calling etc even with her Samsung.

[blackspaven]

Okay treacle, perhaps you didn't detect the sarcasm when I called you smartarse??!

(blimey!)

And the £300 was for iPod as well, so does the parrot or nokia stuff you're talking about work that as well then?? Just asking, before anyone flips!

[gadgetman]

Okay treacle, perhaps you didn't detect the sarcasm when I called you smartarse??!

(blimey!)

And the £300 was for iPod as well, so does the parrot or nokia stuff you're talking about work that as well then?? Just asking, before anyone flips!

The CK20w has aux in yes, as does your car already for the ipod.

Ipod sockets are bad for them, as they keep them charged constantly meaning a borked battery which apple will charge you £80+ to replace.

Again, the small area which shows radio station name is where you'll see the track artist etc, which when driving, will be difficult to navigate and use whilst trying to drive.

[blackspaven]

Sorry, i'm missing something here: 'as does your car already for the ipod.'. Not sure what yoiu mean with this? My car doesn't have anything that'll accept an iPod except the jumbo box, which doesn't solve how to control the iPod from the HU, so not sure what you're trying to say?

[gadgetman]

Why is that so desirable to do?

I can easily control my ipod from the ipod without spending silly money on add-ons or new head units.

[blackspaven]

Cos I don't want to take my eyes off the road and my hands off the steering wheel as much while i'm driving and so I don't potentially crash and be blamed for being distracted. A larger screen is easier to see and doesn't require as much concentration to look at.

I'm sort of waiting for a 'oh, well, if you can't do that, you can't be much of a driver' sort of rsponse, but as i'm a full-time professional fireman, i've scraped more than my fair share of splattered heads off the tarmac to realise it's VERY easy to get distracted by little things like this no matter how good you are!

Just want to limit the possibility of that and I don't see wanting it as a big deal, that's all.

[roo]

Cos I don't want to take my eyes off the road and my hands off the steering wheel as much while i'm driving and so I don't potentially crash and be blamed for being distracted. A larger screen is easier to see and doesn't require as much concentration to look at.

In that case another option would be using the ipod remote. it clips onto your shirt and you can change tracks without taking your eye off of the road.

[Rhoobarb]

What about the Harmon Kardon Drive & Play?

Harmon Kardon Drive & Play In-Car iPod Dock - AWESOME on eBay, also Car Kits, Apple iPod Accessories, MP3 Player Accessories, Consumer Electronics (end time 29-Jan-09 19:58:25 GMT)

(NOT my listing )

http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/default_dp1.aspx

with that you could connect your ipod in your junbo box, have a screen better placed on the dash for your safety, and seperate remote control stick in easy access area. A lot cheaper than a new HU. Its not the perfect sollution your looking for (i.e. display on your HU or maxidot screen), but it is a cheap alternative to do the same job.

[AndreasL]

No thats incorrect, someone with an audience tried and got nowhere. The audience has no external changer controller, so its not possible to work.

The Dension gateways don't work with the Audience MP3 HU. I've got a 2008 Scout and asked Dension directly.

They told me that they are developing and a GW will be ready in Q1 2009. I suppose it'll be a 300 attached to the car's data bus.

[blackspaven]

Sorry, i'm not that technical. What is a GW and does this mean that i WILL be able to get a dension 300 which will work with my HU eventually, sometime this year?

[davedelea]

hi, this may be of interest, http://www.volkswagen-zubehoer.de/fileadmin/pdf/prospekte/englisch/zubehoer/L41003_Scirocco_Zub_GB_2.pdf look to the ipod section.....

[dan_the_v8man]

In that case another option would be using the ipod remote. it clips onto your shirt and you can change tracks without taking your eye off of the road.

I find the problem is looking at the screen, looking through the artists as i daren't hold it up so i can see out of the windscreen at the same time, nexting the track isnt a problem

[blackspaven]

Skoda have got back to me saying that Dension are looking at a fix for the Audience HU. Intereted to see what happens as I can't see how they can do anything if there's nothing there to plug into in the first place.

[AndreasL]

Yes, that's what Dension say, too.

The issue with the Audience MP3 HU is, that it hasn't a cd changer port, so the normal Gateways don't work. What we need is one that connects to the car's data bus (like the Dension 300s).

I guess Dension call their products gateways, because they permit to interchange data between the HU and the ipod.

[shark_90]

The 300 is a CDC port gateway the same as the 100. Do you mean the 500?