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New Android unit available for E46 with Mirror link

25K views 51 replies 16 participants last post by  Nr309 
#1 ·
I own a Rover 75, which many of you will know takes the same double din unit as the E46. I have fitted several E46 double dins over the last few years, including all 3 series of Dynavin's - D90, D95 and D99.

I recently came across a new Android unit for my Rover 75 and an E46 version is also available. It is being sold by a trader on the Rover 75/MG ZT Club - http://the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/member.php?u=10040 . This new unit is a giant step forward IMHO from the Dynavin D99+ e.g. soft shutdown (no more Force Close!!), capacitive screen, Mirrorlink etc etc. I hope to take delivery of the Rover version in the next week or so and will report back here once fitted.

Some details of the E46 version here: http://bmwradios.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=66&product_id=74

The unit comes with a DVR and DVB-T receiver as optional accessories. The DVR and DVB are both directly interfaced with the headunit so all controls are accessed from the screen - no more looking for remotes. It is also supplied with Primo sat nav preinstalled.

The Seller is a premium trader/supplier on our Club www.the75andztclub.com for over 4 years and has a great reputation for after sales support. He has a repair depot in the UK to service Europe , so no sending back to China. The supplier is Canadian based but also has stock in the UK (no customs charges), Hong Kong and Canada. And he speaks English!!!

There are already some fitted in the UK to our MGR cars. The supplier has a Youtube channel with vids of the unit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG-Gqero4Ck&list=PL0wpOfFIPQjkS2zdlQ9dfmKtUR2CBCLqO
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Yes, I looked at that unit also before the MGR became available.

First off, the E46 headunit alone is $699 dollars AFAIK. Obviously Mirrorlink is a big advantage on the MGR.

The seller is doing an MGR kit with DVR, DVB-T receiver and wireless rear camera for £499 sterling, thats about $800. I don't know how much a similar BMW kit is but I think its about £100 dearer due to the canbus adapter.

The Avin unit looks to have a poorer spec than the MGR i.e 800Mhz, no mention of dual core.

Maybe any of you E46 guys who are interested could go to the MG Rover Club site and ask him questions? Or I could PM him your queries over there if you wish?
 
#6 ·
No, these have nothing to do with Dynavin and are a much more advanced unit IMHO i.e capacitive screen, soft shutdown so no more "Force Close" issues and having to reflash the firmware.

Dynavin do make a good unit but its extremely expensive, especially when you take into account all the bugs it has.

I'll post a more indepth review on here once I fit the unit to my own car but the other Rover 75 guys who have one fitted say its very good.
 
#8 ·
I have one of the MGR (E46) units, much like the other member I have had the D95, the D99 and the D99+ units.

As far as I am concerned this is a far superior unit, I have had it installed for 2 months now, and I have not had ANY problems with the unit, I no longer have to reload the firmware every couple of weeks and the picture quality is far superior hat that of the Dyna unit.

I don't have any of the problems that the Dyna unit gives I.E losing GPS signal or Wi-Wi drop out.

If anyone needs more information please do not hesitate to P.m me, we are all here to help one another.

it is great with the ability to add DVB-T unit and DVR units that are fully controllable from the screen.
 
#14 ·
tcfuk, I've got a couple questions. Do you have to wait up to 15sec for it to turn on, even the radio, every boot up/start of the car since it is all android controlled unit? Does it have rca outputs? Sub outputs? Sub crossover control? I have 2 12"subs and there was no mention of these outputs on the website. The website doesnt say anything about a capacitive screen just that it is LCD. Just wondering if you can verify the capacitive screen since you have one. Thanks!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Hi

Yes you do have to wait for around 15-20 seconds for the unit to fully boot up, If you have a reverse camera connected that comes on straight away when you go into reverse regardless what the operating system is doing.

Yes there is RCA outputs for a sub amp, not too sure about the cross over control if you mean a capacitive screen that works on either your finger tip and using our whole finger then yes it is, if you mean that when you "pinch" the screen and it makes it larger and smaller then no it does not.

You could always contact BWWradios.com I am sure they will be able to answer any questions you have.

Regards
tcfuk
 
#17 ·
Hi,
I have exchanged about 18 mails with this seller in the past in the past few days. His name is Sean, also known as radioguy at 75/MG ZT Club. He answered a bunch of my questions in a very short time and was very objective, leaving me with impression that he would provide a decent support for the unit.
I am seriously considering this unit.

Best regards
 
#20 · (Edited)
Hi again,

Here is a compilation of some technical information I have been able to obtain from Sean. I tried to cover some features that (at least in my opinion) would be most interesting. There are also some pics of the unit he sent me ...

1. What is the model number of this unit?
- Model number is E46-RN502

2. What are the hardware characteristics (CPU type and frequency, how much RAM is installed, etc.)?
- CPU: 1GHZ Dual-Core A8 chipset RAM: DDRII 512MB ROM: 4GB(external SD 32G maximum)

3. Are the all steering wheel controls programmable (I have 6 keys on my steering wheel) and will the unit respond to the "R/T" and "Voice icon" button on my steering wheel?
- Steering wheel Controls I Cannot say that ALL Are But I Know they are on the MG R's , They are there, they are programmable but I Don't know if there are any that will not program. Sorry.

4. Does the unit remember present mode (radio / dvd / nav) when the car key is turned off?
- Yes it will retain its memory.

5. Does this model support both front and rear camera, or is there support only for a single camera? Can the front/rear camera be accessed by the Android side of the unit?
- Re1: It has Only Android , No WinCE , So in answer to your camera questions , yes. Furthermore the DVR Camera is controlled by the touchscreen and records and plays on the head unit.
- Re2: It supports Our DVR Camera and Supports rear camera as well. Front cam can be displayed at all times, the back camera can used and can record. The DVR unit stores the images on its own 4Gb SD card (I have put a 32Gb card in mine)

6. Can the bluetooth be accessed by the Android side of the unit?
- Regarding Bluetooth, the same , It is Pure Android.

7. Is it possible to run OBD2 diagnostic software such as "Torque" (android app) on the unit and if so, is the connection established via internal CAN bus, or possibly over the bluetooth?
- Re1: We tried to access an External Bluetooth and we are not able to. We could not get torque via Bluetooth to work. We are planning to see if we can via USB.
- Re2: I cannot speak as to when the Update for the Bluetooth will come. All I currently have is basically WE ARE AWARE AND WE ARE WORKING ON IT.
- Re3: I have asked one of our customers to dig deeper into the Torque, he had it working well on the WinCE unit So I Will get back to you on that Subject. He is a torque man too.
- Re4: Regarding TORQUE , I forgot ! LOL Yes you can display Torque on the screen via MirrorLink (well I can on my Samsung Note 2 don't forget the cell phone needs to be MirrorLink compatable.

8. Is there any support for the tire pressure monitoring (TPMS) and if so, how is this supported?
- TPMS We supply Steelmate and yes it is displayable to the head unit. There is a really good one now with Wireless external sensors. http://www.75andzt.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=65_78&product_id=102

9. Same question would apply to the PDC system connection (a small yet rather convenient feature of latest Dynavin units). Will the unit in the near future be able support PDC system of any kind (OEM or afterarket)? Is it being worked on?
-Re 1: PDC I Do not know and will have to talk to the systems Engineer on that , and he is not back until next week. Sorry.

10. Besides two dedicated camera inputs, you say that there is additional RCA video input that can for example be used for the TPMS?
- Yes , You Have Camera and AUX inputs Separate.

11. Volume control - there is much talk in the forums describing very unpleasant volume boost on some units when for example switching from FM to MP3. Is this glitch present with this unit?
- No problem with volume jumps that I am aware of. And I am very aware ! LOL

12. Do you provide software updates for this unit and if so, can you briefly describe the software update method? Also, which Android version is installed on the unit?
- We possess the firmware and will provide firmware updates if they come available but in reality , with the mirrorlink, Which is the BIGGEST feature off this unit , as phones upgrade the head unit upgrades.

13. Is this unit rooted?
- NO ROOTING period !

14. Do you accept the PayPal?
- We prefer bank transfer but will accept paypal. There will be a cost for paypal.

15. How long does the warranty last?
- Warranty is one year , but I am interested in customer satisfaction and reputation more so than sticking to a warranty . I Will always do the right and logical thing. this you will be able to verify with many of our ZTand75 customers.

16. Would the unit be shipped from Canada, China or the EU (I live in Croatia/EU)?
- We would send it to you from the UK , taxes and VAT Are Paid to the UK. So no taxes .

17. How "strong" is the screen brightness during the daylight and is it possible to adjust the brightness or even turn off the screen?
- Re1: Screen brightness is an issue with all head Units. The AntiGlare features basically don't work in strong sunlight regardless of what sellers may say. I would have to say its as good as most.

- Re 2: yes , You will see in the manual about the Brightness adjustments and you can darken the screen , It also has Auto Dimming on mine when I switch on the unit only the SRC button was illuminated, when I switched on the side/ head units the unit dimmed down and the phone answer and end button and all the other buttons become illuminated [11:50:52] Tony Fry: and the screen dimmed down

18. Is the touch screen capacitive and if so, does it support multi touch?
- The screen is somewhere between Capacitive and resistive ! Its odd , It reacts and operates like Capacitive , Except for the pinch open and pinch close (Zooming) We were not sure what to call it to be honest !

19. How would you describe responsiveness of the screen? Is the 512 MB of ram sufficient for a sooth unit operation?
Screen responsiveness is excellent. you can see that in the videos actually

20. Is it possible to install some sort of BMW skin for the unit?
- We can load Custom Skins. the Start up Logos are there. I have a graphics Designer on contract, I could even do each personalized for a little tip to the GD !

21. Is the WiFi and/or 3G modem integrated? If not, can you provide it?
- We supply with a Wifi Dongle.

22. My concern is with the antenna/usb/iPod connectors which possible might have to be with 90° angle in order to fit the unit properly. Nevertheless, please check if the cables that come with the unit fit the E46 and if they are even pin to pin - compatible
- See Photo below I really think that because the Ports are Not FLUSH to the face of the rear of the unit that they angle fittings etc will not be needed.

23. How many USB ports are available (I presume only the front one can be used for mirrorlink)?
- Regarding the USB There is front and back USB . Once the Mirrorlink is Done It does not have to be connected anymore , It connects Wirelessly.

24. The microphone is installed near the DVD tray?
-There is Both a REAR Mic and a front Mic, The front Built in is at the Top near the eject button

25. Regarding Cameras, In my understanding of your head unit, both front/rear cameras have analog RCA outputs. The front camera is accessible from the Android all the time (just like smartphone camera), it has it's own recording system (DVR) integrated within the camera chassis which constantly records while driving on it's own micro SD card. The rear camera is accessible only in reverse gear mode and does not record (nor it needs to). While in reverse mode, the rear camera overlays distance marks. Is this correct?
- Yes You are Correct again but allow me to expand. The DVR Camera will interface with the head Unit touchscreen, It will also allow live playback to the head unit and you can record from it to the head units internal memory. They are designed specifically for our head units.


26. The Wi-fi works with the dongle you provide (possibly some 3G modem dongles work as well), but any other external Wi-fi / Bluetooth dongle will not work. Is this correct?
- We have only used Wifi to date and have not tried 3G so far so I couldn't say for sure. And yes, we have not been able to get the secondary dongle to work.

27. Regarding Torque (or similar Android app):
Torque via mirrorlink is very convenient feature for in the near future when the unit eventually becomes obsolete. However, I truly would like the torque app to execute on the unit independently from the smart phone (my smart phone is HTC sensation - i think it doesn't support mirrorlink anyway). Any connection to the OBD will work for me (regardless if its bluetooth, usb/can converter or existing CAN interface from the head unit).

- I do understand your concerns but I feel that this will change with an update , I cannot say when that will be but the factory is very aware of this bug on the Bluetooth . Its good to know that the mirrorlink can get us around these issues . But once the ability of the unit is changed to allow other Bluetooth devices to be found, It will become a Non Issue. We will continue to seek a a Direct on solution.

Hope this information will be helpful.
Best regards,
Tomislav
 

Attachments

#22 ·
Hi again,

Here is a compilation of some technical information I have been able to obtain from Sean. I tried to cover some features that (at least in my opinion) would be most interesting. There are also some pics of the unit he sent me ...

1. What is the model number of this unit?
- Model number is E46-RN502

2. What are the hardware characteristics (CPU type and frequency, how much RAM is installed, etc.)?
- CPU: 1GHZ Dual-Core A8 chipset RAM: DDRII 512MB ROM: 4GB(external SD 32G maximum)

3. Are the all steering wheel controls programmable (I have 6 keys on my steering wheel) and will the unit respond to the "R/T" and "Voice icon" button on my steering wheel?
- Steering wheel Controls I Cannot say that ALL Are But I Know they are on the MG R's , They are there, they are programmable but I Don't know if there are any that will not program. Sorry.

4. Does the unit remember present mode (radio / dvd / nav) when the car key is turned off?
- Yes it will retain its memory.

5. Does this model support both front and rear camera, or is there support only for a single camera? Can the front/rear camera be accessed by the Android side of the unit?
- Re1: It has Only Android , No WinCE , So in answer to your camera questions , yes. Furthermore the DVR Camera is controlled by the touchscreen and records and plays on the head unit.
- Re2: It supports Our DVR Camera and Supports rear camera as well. Front cam can be displayed at all times, the back camera can used and can record. The DVR unit stores the images on its own 4Gb SD card (I have put a 32Gb card in mine)

6. Can the bluetooth be accessed by the Android side of the unit?
- Regarding Bluetooth, the same , It is Pure Android.

7. Is it possible to run OBD2 diagnostic software such as "Torque" (android app) on the unit and if so, is the connection established via internal CAN bus, or possibly over the bluetooth?
- Re1: We tried to access an External Bluetooth and we are not able to. We could not get torque via Bluetooth to work. We are planning to see if we can via USB.
- Re2: I cannot speak as to when the Update for the Bluetooth will come. All I currently have is basically WE ARE AWARE AND WE ARE WORKING ON IT.
- Re3: I have asked one of our customers to dig deeper into the Torque, he had it working well on the WinCE unit So I Will get back to you on that Subject. He is a torque man too.
- Re4: Regarding TORQUE , I forgot ! LOL Yes you can display Torque on the screen via MirrorLink (well I can on my Samsung Note 2 don't forget the cell phone needs to be MirrorLink compatable.

8. Is there any support for the tire pressure monitoring (TPMS) and if so, how is this supported?
- TPMS We supply Steelmate and yes it is displayable to the head unit. There is a really good one now with Wireless external sensors. http://www.75andzt.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=65_78&product_id=102

9. Same question would apply to the PDC system connection (a small yet rather convenient feature of latest Dynavin units). Will the unit in the near future be able support PDC system of any kind (OEM or afterarket)? Is it being worked on?
-Re 1: PDC I Do not know and will have to talk to the systems Engineer on that , and he is not back until next week. Sorry.

10. Besides two dedicated camera inputs, you say that there is additional RCA video input that can for example be used for the TPMS?
- Yes , You Have Camera and AUX inputs Separate.

11. Volume control - there is much talk in the forums describing very unpleasant volume boost on some units when for example switching from FM to MP3. Is this glitch present with this unit?
- No problem with volume jumps that I am aware of. And I am very aware ! LOL

12. Do you provide software updates for this unit and if so, can you briefly describe the software update method? Also, which Android version is installed on the unit?
- We possess the firmware and will provide firmware updates if they come available but in reality , with the mirrorlink, Which is the BIGGEST feature off this unit , as phones upgrade the head unit upgrades.

13. Is this unit rooted?
- NO ROOTING period !

14. Do you accept the PayPal?
- We prefer bank transfer but will accept paypal. There will be a cost for paypal.

15. How long does the warranty last?
- Warranty is one year , but I am interested in customer satisfaction and reputation more so than sticking to a warranty . I Will always do the right and logical thing. this you will be able to verify with many of our ZTand75 customers.

16. Would the unit be shipped from Canada, China or the EU (I live in Croatia/EU)?
- We would send it to you from the UK , taxes and VAT Are Paid to the UK. So no taxes .

17. How "strong" is the screen brightness during the daylight and is it possible to adjust the brightness or even turn off the screen?
- Re1: Screen brightness is an issue with all head Units. The AntiGlare features basically don't work in strong sunlight regardless of what sellers may say. I would have to say its as good as most.

- Re 2: yes , You will see in the manual about the Brightness adjustments and you can darken the screen , It also has Auto Dimming on mine when I switch on the unit only the SRC button was illuminated, when I switched on the side/ head units the unit dimmed down and the phone answer and end button and all the other buttons become illuminated [11:50:52] Tony Fry: and the screen dimmed down

18. Is the touch screen capacitive and if so, does it support multi touch?
- The screen is somewhere between Capacitive and resistive ! Its odd , It reacts and operates like Capacitive , Except for the pinch open and pinch close (Zooming) We were not sure what to call it to be honest !

19. How would you describe responsiveness of the screen? Is the 512 MB of ram sufficient for a sooth unit operation?
Screen responsiveness is excellent. you can see that in the videos actually

20. Is it possible to install some sort of BMW skin for the unit?
- We can load Custom Skins. the Start up Logos are there. I have a graphics Designer on contract, I could even do each personalized for a little tip to the GD !

21. Is the WiFi and/or 3G modem integrated? If not, can you provide it?
- We supply with a Wifi Dongle.

22. My concern is with the antenna/usb/iPod connectors which possible might have to be with 90° angle in order to fit the unit properly. Nevertheless, please check if the cables that come with the unit fit the E46 and if they are even pin to pin - compatible
- See Photo below I really think that because the Ports are Not FLUSH to the face of the rear of the unit that they angle fittings etc will not be needed.

23. How many USB ports are available (I presume only the front one can be used for mirrorlink)?
- Regarding the USB There is front and back USB . Once the Mirrorlink is Done It does not have to be connected anymore , It connects Wirelessly.

24. The microphone is installed near the DVD tray?
-There is Both a REAR Mic and a front Mic, The front Built in is at the Top near the eject button

25. Regarding Cameras, In my understanding of your head unit, both front/rear cameras have analog RCA outputs. The front camera is accessible from the Android all the time (just like smartphone camera), it has it's own recording system (DVR) integrated within the camera chassis which constantly records while driving on it's own micro SD card. The rear camera is accessible only in reverse gear mode and does not record (nor it needs to). While in reverse mode, the rear camera overlays distance marks. Is this correct?
- Yes You are Correct again but allow me to expand. The DVR Camera will interface with the head Unit touchscreen, It will also allow live playback to the head unit and you can record from it to the head units internal memory. They are designed specifically for our head units.


26. The Wi-fi works with the dongle you provide (possibly some 3G modem dongles work as well), but any other external Wi-fi / Bluetooth dongle will not work. Is this correct?
- We have only used Wifi to date and have not tried 3G so far so I couldn't say for sure. And yes, we have not been able to get the secondary dongle to work.

27. Regarding Torque (or similar Android app):
Torque via mirrorlink is very convenient feature for in the near future when the unit eventually becomes obsolete. However, I truly would like the torque app to execute on the unit independently from the smart phone (my smart phone is HTC sensation - i think it doesn't support mirrorlink anyway). Any connection to the OBD will work for me (regardless if its bluetooth, usb/can converter or existing CAN interface from the head unit).

- I do understand your concerns but I feel that this will change with an update , I cannot say when that will be but the factory is very aware of this bug on the Bluetooth . Its good to know that the mirrorlink can get us around these issues . But once the ability of the unit is changed to allow other Bluetooth devices to be found, It will become a Non Issue. We will continue to seek a a Direct on solution.

Hope this information will be helpful.
Best regards,
Tomislav
Is there any way for Sirius radio to be implemented into this unit or the other one mentioned earlier?
 
#21 ·
A new batch of these units has just arrived in the UK. The company has already made changes to the firmware in response to the feedback from the last batch. How long were we asking Dynavin to make simple changes?

Some good news for you drivers with subs:



Sorry for the poor pic - it was taken tonight by one of the guys on the MGR Forum.

Unfortunately I don't have my unit yet. It is being dispatched from China tomorrow so I will hopefully have it next week and I can post my own findings.

Also, a pic of the equaliser:

 
#26 · (Edited)
Hi Folks we are the seller that podge and tstaroveski is referring to in this thread. I am Sean (Radioguy) . Yesterday we officially became a sponsor on your forum CLICK HERE and I hope that we can live up to your expectations ! I am a Canadian Eh (No not Chinese Canadian)I have actually been a member here for about 2 years but i didn't post because I am a seller and I respect the forums policies on seller spamming and posting without paying. I have followed Jeff and kudos to him. He is fantastic. I hope that I can be 1/2 of what he is. He has my utmost respect as I know how it can be on the forums from his perspective. His postings helped me often on the MG Rover forums.

We specialize in only 2 car models of head units .

The BMW head units and the MG Rover head units world wide. We have a repair depot in the UK (in Clacton on Sea) . I am hoping to do similar in the USA very soon , a repair depot that we can handle warranty and repair inquiries. We ,very importantly , have close factory contact and a paid agent on staff in Shenzhen, China to handle Logistics, Negotiations, developments etc., whom I have worked with for 7 yeas now.

We believe in specializing and being good at particular Models, providing answers and support. Not selling every model made and running away in the corner with the cash !

For 4 years now (So far) we have specialized exclusively with the MG ZT and Rover 75 owners , as some of you may know MG ROVER was owned by BMW for a heartbeat in the late 1990's . They have many fingerprints from those initial, designs on the cars. We have sold about 1100 aftermarket head units to MG ZT owners with not one unhappy customer to date. We solve problems , we answer all emails and questions and concerns. Period.

Until recently, I was also a dealer direct from Dynavin only "allowed" to purchase the one Model (the E46 Model) and we made a few modifications ourselves so that we could offer a good android unit to our MG ROVER customer base. We were there since Dynavin's inception in 2010. I was there for the D90, I even followed the petrut patch, and the skins and hacks. We also participated in the D95 and the D99 Series. So I and my team know a few things about the Dynavins. I won't go into details but I assure you that this new Android head unit is leap years ahead ! I will just say that we recently replaced about 15 Dynavin units , as they simply were not up to customer expectations and the struggle to achieve that was no longer worth it.

I am open to any and all questions. We have successfully made 2 deals with members here in e46fanatics for Unboxing of these units to 2 E46 owners and These threads will appear here in the near future and provide objective and concise information as to the units version from an E46 owners perspective rather than me as I am a little biased ! LOL

I Will say
We have already installed about 30 Units for the MG Rover members since July of this year and they are thrilled ! If anyone cares to reference the forum is www.the75andztclub.com I am a paid trader there as well and we dominate the ICE Section there.

I have 2 pertinent websites , www.75andzt.com and www.bmwradios.com

I plan very soon to publish a good deal for the E46 membership to consider.

Best regards and Cheers !

Sean
 
#28 ·
Hi Sean

Welcome aboard.

I'm sure the guys on here will be glad to hear from "one of their own" when the two E46 purchasers post their findings.

I'll post my own when I have fitted the unit.

P.S. you had better not give the guys on here a better deal than you do over on the MGR site :D
 
#29 ·
Hi,
I have just ordered this unit from Sean and will be writing the review soon. It would seem that I am his first buyer of the head unit variant for E46. He also shipped the trim removal tools (which he will send with every ordered E46 unit).
The review will probably be done in several parts and I will do my best to cover all the features that might be interesting. As soon as the unit arrives, I will try to find the time for this.

Best regards
 
#30 ·
I also purchased a unit!!! So that is the 2 members Sean is talking about lol. When I get my unit , I will take pictures for all you to see and try it out for about 5 days to give myself a chance to feel the unit out. I can tell you so far that Sean has been prompt with emails and thorough answering questions. So far so good!
 
#32 · (Edited)
To have this feature without the Bluetooth adapter would be awesome. I don't know how much information can be extracted from the I/K-Bus tough. I think that such approach can only "sniff" data between the modules that share the common bus ( such as MFL - steering wheel, PDC, etc.). Maybe with the Bluetooth adapter more information can be accessed such as engine diagnostics (full OBD2 support). Can someone please correct me if I am wrong or comment on this.

Best regards
 
#33 ·
My new Android DD arrived today :excited:

I've just spent several hours playing with it and am very impressed so far. It really is light years ahead of the Dynavin.

More over the next few days when I fit it properly.

BTW, I got the full kit i.e. headunit, DVR, DVB-T etc
 
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