AppRadio Central

I don’t know for a fact what this fixes, but I’m hoping the parking brake interface! We’ll see if it hits the local Pioneer websites later this week.

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/support/software/SPH-DA01/index.html#download_255

According to Pioneer, “This version fixes a critical bug reported on the SPH-DA01”. It also fixes inconsistent icon display issues. Grab it from the App Store.

The good news is that the new UI is fantastic! It’s fast, it’s streamlined, etc. The bad news is you can’t use it AT ALL when your car is in motion. You only get a black screen that says  ”Function Unavailable While Driving”, but there’s no way to select any other function and it comes up no matter what screen you’re on when the parking brake is taken off. I’ve contacted INRIX and hopefully we’ll have a fix soon.

Of course if Pioneer’s lawyers would just eliminate all their stupid overrides and nagging messages we wouldn’t have to worry about this sort of thing. Until there’s an update you won’t want to upgrade unless you’ve worked around the existing parking brake lockout.

My favorite app has a major update available now on the App Store. INRIX promises the Android update is on it’s way. The interface looks to have gotten a major overhaul. More info after I get to try it out on the commute home with my AppRadio.

Forbes has an article reporting on analyst research projecting that by 2016 most new cars will have smartphone integration built into their respective standard or optional head units. There’s no mention of AppRadio, but there is some discussion of MirrorLink which we’ve mentioned before. It’s worth reading.

The Truth About Cars has a pre-production review of the Scion FR-S sports car and indicates that their car had an AppRadio installed. It will be interesting to see if Scion does indeed put the AppRadio in production cars. It sounds like they have their own app, BeSpoke, for it, so this may be more likely than it sounds.

Cnet has coverage of Clarion’s newly announced windshield mount AppRadio competitor. This is interesting as it’s a 7 inch touch screen that sticks to your windshield like a GPS, but runs apps from your iPhone like Pandora and INRIX Traffic. Pretty interesting, but it will take up a lot of space on your windshield! This would be illegal in California, which means there will certainly be other mounting options available. It’s supposed to launch next month and will retail around $269. For those not interested in installing a new head unit this has possibilities.

In case anybody reading this has not already installed these themselves and rendered their own judgement, here’s my take.

The Good:

• CarMediaPlay 1.2.0 is a solid update that fixes the stutter at the begging of songs issue on my SPH-DA01. It also fixes a less annoying issue where it would restart the song you’d been playing when you turned off your AppRadio instead of keeping the bookmark for where you’d been. So overall, this whole update goes on the good side (other than the fact that it’s a separate app and not a replacement for the existing iPod function built into the head unit).
• Firmware 2.50 seems to have fixed the issue where sometimes there was no audio until you cycled through the AppRadio app.
• 2.50 finally removed that ridiculous path through the main screen after pressing the home button in an app that was supposed to send you to the AppRadio app. I still don’t like the overall design here. I think compatible apps should have an “Apps” button like StreamS HiFi and the home button should take you to the main screen, but Pioneer seems married to this design now. At least this cleans it up a bit.
• 2.50 also has removed the annoyance of having a separate settings section in the Radio app for just one function- setting the time via the RDS info from FM stations that broadcast it.
• 2.50 seems to be doing a better job displaying station/song metadata from the RDS feeds also.
• 2.50 has many Bluetooth improvements including showing names next to numbers in the call history.

The Bad:

• Firmware 2.50 has not fixed the issue where when you start the car, you cannot use any app until you cycle the parking brake. This was broken with 2.45. If you’re using an wiring harness adapter as I am that uses vehicle speed to send that parking brake signal, then you can’t use MotionX, INRIX, etc. until you move the car and you have to click on OK after you come to your next stop to continue. I thought the idea was to prevent YouTube, Netflix, etc. while in motion, not the apps that have been approved for use!
• I continue to have issues with INRIX crashing when switching from it to other apps via the AppRadio app and then back to it. I’ve also had issues where it didn’t recognize it was no longer connected to the AppRadio, but these probably have more to do with INRIX than the firmware.
• Also, I’ve had cases where the parking brake lockout gets confused and starts showing things only when in motion, but not when stopped. A disconnect and reconnect of the phone seems to fix that, but it’s still annoying.

Following our report about European availability of 2.5 last week, Pioneer USA made the update available to US customers on Friday. You’ll find it under the “Firmware & Software” tab on the SPH-DA01 page: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/AppRadio/AppRadio+(SPH-DA01)

The only stated change is “multi language support”. Let’s hope they also fixed that audio stutter at the beginning of a track. It’s on the App Store now.