The Laymen's Lingo for Some Audio/Navi/Bluetooth Options Please?

[Hrant]

I have tried to follow the posts regarding hooking an MP3, i-pod, i-phone Android, this/that etc, but frankly can't keep up with the techies lingo to make a reasonable judgment when finalizing product/hiring someone to meet the following criteria:

1) I want to keep the OEM radio and console - dinosaur or not.

2) I want to add a source for additional music - seems an MP3 will fit my needs. [Costco has a Sansa with up to 8GB that fits the coin tray!] If I follow the posts, is an RCA AUX input (red/white) at the back of the radio to be connected to the MP3 (ear) the simple solution? [I do have the OEM CD player but if the AUX is the clean solution without cutting/splicing etc. that would be great. Would the CD changer then be needed to be removed?]

3) I also want to be able to add Bluetooth for phone and a Navi system. For all those using the phone as a venue for your navigation, how do you keep up with the battery charge? I used my BlackBerry once to give me some 45 minutes of much needed direction to make it to the airport and had to pull over and attach the cigarette charger for the phone to keep its charge! Apparently Navi really drains the battery. For Bluetooth and Navi, I thought about an aftermarket solution such as a Garmin 4.3" 05 5" that would fit the OEM Navi pod with some additional trim - though this would look a bit cheesy.

I do have an OEM Navi pod, but have held back from installing it for some time searching for some solution that perhaps can combine the above short of going double DIN [If i go this route, I would want a lap timer software too LOL!]. There is an aesthetic simplicity of the dated console but some of these comfort features would be nice.

I appreciate feedback, but please use layman's terms if possible :wink:

 

[TURBO2GO]

You have a blackberry and want to stay with it? Yes nav uses a lot of power but that depends on the phone, and how long the screen is on. If you want constant visual feedback the the phone needs to be plugged in. For you, wanting to keep the OEM radio, I'd really recommend the oxygen o'dock but that is an iPhone device so I'm asking if you are really tied into the blackberry. You won't need an MP3 player, a phone, and a nav if you have an iPhone (and IMO it's just a better phone). If you say yes, I'm staying with blackberry the we can go with a plan B.

Also do you want to keep the whole stock sound system? Are you good with the quality?

 

[Hrant]

Good questions, and I can understand them too :tongue:

No I am not tied to BB; just what I have had for the last two years (I don't surf the net with my phones) and I don't change with every model. My daughters are using the new Samsungs and they like it; the larger (Galaxy) one seems to cover nicely the ash tray area when on its side [assuming it can be still be hooked to the cigarette lights for charging this may be a good option.]

I am fine with the OEM radio quality; the NSX is not where I listen to hifi :wink: but I do listen to FM radio/news. I did buy an S2000 antenna a while back to replace the dorky but signature OEM antenna ..... waiting for one appointment to figure all these.

 

[PoKnow]

http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/interior_performance_products/NSX/USASpec/

Get that ...

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8Z492-P-Bluetooth-Music-Receiver/dp/B0047T79VS

Get that... hook it up to the USA spec

Now your NSX has bluetooth.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Good questions, and I can understand them too :tongue:

No I am not tied to BB; just what I have had for the last two years (I don't surf the net with my phones) and I don't change with every model. My daughters are using the new Samsungs and they like it; the larger (Galaxy) one seems to cover nicely the ash tray area when on its side [assuming it can be still be hooked to the cigarette lights for charging this may be a good option.]

I am fine with the OEM radio quality; the NSX is not where I listen to hifi :wink: but I do listen to FM radio/news. I did buy an S2000 antenna a while back to replace the dorky but signature OEM antenna ..... waiting for one appointment to figure all these.

I don't know what happened to my reply earlier today... just disappeared.

Who is your current cell provider? Do you have a "Data" plan? if you are sending emails you most likely have a Data plan of some sort? It would help me if you knew what the Data plan is that you have. It will say it on your bill. Like 1Gigabyte, or 2G, or 5G, etc.

I am asking all of this for a reason. I want to make sure we do what is right and suits your needs the best.

Is your exhaust stock? Using bluetooth for phone calls in an NSX, especially one with an aftermarket exhaust is not something I personally like too much. It is too loud of an environment and makes it a bit difficult. Bluetooth is also convenient but it is not rock solid. For phone use in an NSX, I'd use a bluetooth earpiece instead. Something like a Jawbone 3.0 with the noise canceling system will give you better clearer phone calls than any bluetooth mounted in the car. I'd just take this out of the equation.

 

[Hrant]

AT&T and I had unlimited data - only to find out that I was using no more than 10 megabytes a month except for that one time I had to use Navi; now it is down to the basic 200 megabytes. My cell phone usage is mostly for accessing e-mails while on the road and texting with the kids. For now, I haven't found the need for any of the applications that can't wait till I get back to a computer/laptop. The only need in the NSX would be the Navi and some additional music beyond the 6CD option/capacity. The MDX and TSX-V6 already have the tech package :wink:

Comptech exhaust; and yes the noise inside the cabin can be an issue above VTEC. I have used a wired earpiece with the BlackBerry and don't care for each much but that or an earpiece bluetooth piece can be the compromise as the NSX is not the DD.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Do you have a really large music collection? I find myself and most others use a lot of things like Pandora. Are you familiar? You basically tell the system what songs you like, and it plays similar music for you. You choose your favorite songs and artists, and over time it learns exactly what kinds of things you dig. And that is all you hear... songs you like! Its free... but you need more of a Data package. We are talking about $20 or so a month to upgrade that. Then you can also get nav on your phone, use radio apps, etc.

I have to tell you Hrant, I know blackberry's well and they are good with email but not a lot better than an iphone. And in every other area from ease of use to features to battery life to available apps, the iphone is just plain better.

So you can go one one two routes. If you upgrade the phone to an iphone and get a data package, you will be thrilled with what you will have and its simplicity, having only one device, etc. An iphone into an O'dock with the factory stereo for you would be ideal. The O'dock will also give you bluetooth. It should be out in about 30-60 days.

If you want to keep the blackberry, use a seperate nav (or use what is built into the blackberry although that isn't very good at all in comparison), we can tie that into the factory system for you. If you want to keep the factory radio as well, then we toss the CD changer and instead use that input for your phone. Fairly simple setup. I recommend plan A, but either will work for you.

 

[Hrant]

My taste in music is eclectic and the selection is stagnant if not somewhat dated :biggrin: I was going to copy some of my CDs [Windham Hill, Narada, etc.] and actual vinyl LPs ........

But I appreciate the iphone suggestion seesm to be the easiest option; but just curious would any of the other phones like Samsung Galaxy [or any of the other ones] also work or there is something in iphones apps/software that makes it superior? Technology seems to outpace my aptitude is keeping up. Seems the marketplace has indeed responded with simpleton solutions.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Hrant the musical selection now available online at music services like iTunes or pandora is so incredibly vast that the most eclectic stuff is there. I spent some time in Russia and Europe growing up as a kid decades ago... and I found the music that only a few thousand people on the other side of the world might be aware of on these music services. The library is now 20+ million songs and growing. So rest your fears, if a 25 year old folk song by some small foreign band is there, your type of music would be commonplace.

You type in Narada and all sorts of similar music will show up especially as the system learns your tastes. I mentioned this in another thread but one day soon keeping and storing your own music will become a rather unusual action. Everything will simply be available in a virtual cloud anytime anywhere.

As for the phones, apple has built itself on the concept of simplicity and ease of use. Because of this, they simply close off certain options that a novice can get themselves into trouble with. What makes the non apple people angry is that they feel they lost certain options and freedoms with that move. And for that segment, it's true. But for the majority of laymen, simplicity has prevailed with apple. Apple controls the whole system. Software and hardware. That allows them to control, and therefore simplify. Samsung makes the galaxy, google makes the software, and a third party makes the app. While it is more "open", it is also more prone to problems rising from incompatibility, etc. This is what is killing the windows empire, they don't have total control. They give parameters, and someone in the far east makes hardware or software that they will supposedly operate within. The smallest variance winds up in errors and strange messages and incompatibilities that infuriated and confused the average consumer. Walk into an apple store and see how busy they are. The prevalence of the iPhone that's mainly driven by this user friendliness also makes more third parties bank on supporting it, instead of another phone. Oxygen audio does not make docks and stereos that fit various android phones. Whenever a company like PLX devices showing gauges, or a Sonos home music system make software or hardware, it is supporting apple first, and eventually they provide some android support for the rest. There is almost always more hardware and software available for apple products. Apple also has incredible compatibility and ease of use in between their products like the iPhone, the iPad, apple TV, their various storage and network devices, and computers.

I really don't want to get into a debate over this with others, but I will say that my job for the last 22 years has been helping average people setup and run things like music systems, remotes, automation systems, etc. The guys that usually want to debate are techies. For the average person, apple is IMO the most superior product. The iPhone 4S is a marvel, and for a non technical user I think the best device.

I know you might be a bit weary, but just as I advise all my customers, I would say to you trust me and you will like the end result. My current navigon app with traffic data on my iPhone is superior to any nav system I've ever used. It's a $50 app with a $20 add-on for live traffic data. It really does find the fastest, least-congested route all the time. It updates for free, has amazing voice and graphics, and instantly searches google for the nearest anything you want.

Once you have the phone with a data package (for most 2G is enough), you'll start to use features. Because it's easy. Someone on prime says "download this app" and bang... You're there.

So if you can, if it was me, I'd download iTunes into my computer, get my music in there. Buy an iPhone, get it loaded with your stuff, I can walk you through some great apps to have in a car. You pop the phone into the dock and you're done. Everything is at your fingertips. No wires, no mess, no searching for multiple devices, just a constantly charged phone ready to do whatever you want. Soon you'll be using pandora or slacker and your nav app, and wondering how you did without it. The iPhone 4S also has a great HD video camera, take it to the track and record sessions. Download an app and it gives you lap times and g force data. Hook it up to a plx gauge and check your Intake air temps. Wanna write an email? Just wake up Siri and talk. It's all written for you. It's not flawless but even after a few hand corrections if needed, beats the heck out of typing.

The phone can be your doorway to other things apple, because you are now familiar... With iCloud, an apple service available on your iproducts, you download a song, take a picture, record a voice memo, write an email on any device, and it appears on ALL your apple devices. Your track video is already on your iPad and MacBook before you are even home. Download a song from iTunes at home, it's already on your phone when you get in your NSX. You do nothing.

 

[Hrant]

Wow; great info ........ and just when I was getting comfortable I read this in today's paper - originally posted in the Washington Post. I guess the idea of still having some modicum of privacy is really gone.

"Using its playlist and some tech savvy, lost iPod reshuffled to its original owner"