Any new head units that extra functionality with WP8?

jonathanrn

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I'm looking for a car stereo head unit that will work exceptionally well with WP8. I know most stereos support Bluetooth music streaming and handle calls, but there are some more advanced functions for Android and iOS, like miracast and special apps (Pandora, etc). Will any of that work with WP8?
 

Daniel Ratcliffe

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While I'm not 100% sure, I do believe the audio through apps such as Pandora will work with any Bluetooth stereo kit because AFAIK WP8 will just redirect all audio to the Bluetooth kit.
 

N_LaRUE

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I'm looking for a car stereo head unit that will work exceptionally well with WP8. I know most stereos support Bluetooth music streaming and handle calls, but there are some more advanced functions for Android and iOS, like miracast and special apps (Pandora, etc). Will any of that work with WP8?

In general, as long as the stereo head has compatible bluetooth capabilities to WP then you should technically have no issues pairing and listening to music and using the basic functions. As for any extended functions beyond the basics it will come down to the app being used. There's no reason why you can listen to Pandora or any other streaming music via bluetooh but if there are extra functions for Android and iOS it may be limited to just those apps on those OS.

Here's the bluetooth functionality:

Windows Phone 8 supports Bluetooth 3.1. This is an improved version of Bluetooth that automates the pairing process between Windows Phone 8 and Bluetooth devices, such as phone headsets, car audio systems, speaker docks, & NFC pairing.

Windows Phone 8 supports the following Bluetooth user profiles:

•Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP 1.2)
•Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP 1.4)
•Hands Free Profile (HFP 1.5)
•Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP 1.1)
•Object Push Profile (OPP 1.1)
•Out of Band (OOB) & Near Field Communications (NFC)

Hope that helps.
 

Martin Y

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Hi. First post.

Like the OP, I'm interested in knowing if there are any head units which work well and add more than basic Bluetooth functions.

I already have a Sony HU which does the basics well (pairs automatically, streams music, skips forward and back, answers phone calls) but I'd upgrade if a newer model would also display media metadata and have a slick interface to search my music library and phonebook etc. If I could navigate between music and podcasts even better. Ideally, I want to be able to choose to listen to something or make a call without having to take my phone out of my pocket to do it.

My couple of months experience of WP8 means I'm not going to assume a feature will work in real life just because the spec sheet says it should, so I'd be most grateful to hear of any real world experiences.
 

N_LaRUE

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Hi. First post.

Like the OP, I'm interested in knowing if there are any head units which work well and add more than basic Bluetooth functions.

I already have a Sony HU which does the basics well (pairs automatically, streams music, skips forward and back, answers phone calls) but I'd upgrade if a newer model would also display media metadata and have a slick interface to search my music library and phonebook etc. If I could navigate between music and podcasts even better. Ideally, I want to be able to choose to listen to something or make a call without having to take my phone out of my pocket to do it.

My couple of months experience of WP8 means I'm not going to assume a feature will work in real life just because the spec sheet says it should, so I'd be most grateful to hear of any real world experiences.

If anything the manufacture would have the app available for their stereo system and my guess would be that WP is probably very low on the priority list. You can also look into stereo units that support MirrorLINK but make sure they're compatible with WP as I believe they are now.
 

Martin Y

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If anything the manufacture would have the app available for their stereo system and my guess would be that WP is probably very low on the priority list. You can also look into stereo units that support MirrorLINK but make sure they're compatible with WP as I believe they are now.

Thanks. MirrorLINK looks interesting, though I can't find anything to suggest it's available for Windows phones yet. I would have imagined it would have to work through new OS functionality rather than as an app, since essentially the phone needs to accept an external display, touchscreen etc. for its existing apps.
 

gibbyhome

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Ok,
with the announcement that some Nokia WP's with the GDR2 update will support Bluetooth 4.0, this will give WP the abilities to connect to heart monitor devices and low power stuff like that .But I also believe that it will support mirrorlink. I think Mirror link runs on BT 4.0 and if that is true I'm sure Nokia will be making a Mirrorlink App since they are the ones that invented mirrorlink. and the HU only needs to support Mirrorlink it does not matter what phone you have as long as it has the app for mirror link and the proper protocol.
 

jonathanrn

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I've never seen any references to MirrorLink for WP8 or any of the GDRs. It is apparently a new feature for Windows 8.1, so maybe when WP 8.1 "Blue" gets announced, MirrorLink may be included for that release. *fingers crossed*
 

enthuz

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Ok,
with the announcement that some Nokia WP's with the GDR2 update will support Bluetooth 4.0, this will give WP the abilities to connect to heart monitor devices and low power stuff like that .But I also believe that it will support mirrorlink. I think Mirror link runs on BT 4.0 and if that is true I'm sure Nokia will be making a Mirrorlink App since they are the ones that invented mirrorlink. and the HU only needs to support Mirrorlink it does not matter what phone you have as long as it has the app for mirror link and the proper protocol.

So Mirrorlink is the 4.0 support listed for the future update? I read that the Neo has it already. Does the 8XT have it too? I'm guessing that this makes it certainly coming soon. Is there a good article discussing the features and benefits of 4.0 and Mirrorlink?

Sent from my PG86100 using WPCentral Forums mobile app
 
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kiteless

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Hey all I have a Lumia 925 world edition and just ordered one of these AVIC-6000NEX - <b>NEW!</b> - In-Dash Navigation AV Receiver with 6.1? WVGA Touchscreen Display | Pioneer Electronics USA Its the Pioneer AVIC-6000NEX for my car. Seems like a pretty bonkers head unit with tons and tons of options. It supports MirrorLink, MHL, iPhone, Siri. Basically everything.

I'm running the latest 8.1 developer preview on my 925.

I also use an iPod for podcasts, but would happily dump it if I could just use my Lumia for everything. I while back I picked up a Pioneer AVH-X3600BHS. It also supports Mirror Link with some kind of massive interface box.

Anyway I mention all this because I picked up the iPod 30 pin dock connector for my iPod, but I also got the MirrorLink cable. I don't expect it to work. If it doesn't I'll hold onto it for future expandability. Even if Windows 8.1 supported it, I would think MirrorLink would require some kind of special port with a little extra hardware in the phone. MHL on higher end Android phones is a good example of this.

This is frustrating though, as Android has had MHL for years, and even the older Lumia Symbian phones supported MirrorLink.

Bottom line, I'll be setup for MirrorLink should it become a feature, and would be a driving force into the choice of my next Windows Phone. I got no plans to go back to Android or iPhone. Maaaaaaaaaaaybe it will work with Nokia Drive or "Car Mode", as some kind of magical hidden feature in Win 8.1 DP, but I'm not holding my breath.

If anyone is interested though I can post my findings next week after I get this beast of a headunit installed.

- J

Edit: Just realized this thread is almost exactly a year old. Kinda sad that it's been a year and we still have nothing. *sad face* :crying:
 

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