Video Review of Alpine EX-10 Bluetooth Car kit

HamDog

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This unit works great in any car that has an aux input on it's car stereo. It can also send the signal to your car stereo by it's built in FM-modulator, but I haven't tested that as I have mine hooked up via an aux input (much better sound quality than an FM modulator).

One note: This set-up didn't work that great with Droid 2.1. 2.2 fixed up alot of the issues and now works great.

It can also control an iPod, however the reviews of it's iPod controls aren't that great. Personally, I couldn't care less about it's iPod controls as I use my Droid. There was only so much I could do and show in a 10 minute video, so let me know if you have any questions.

[video=youtube;UjfrxJrtgj4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjfrxJrtgj4]YouTube - Alpine EX-10 Bluetooth car kit and Motorola Droid Demo[/video]
 

druski24

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Great review. I have an 06 accord with XM so It'd have to buy a splitter for my aux input. I like your setup, but for me the display seems huge and the remote would be useless. I wonder if there is a system like that, but where the processing unit is hidden. That's what I'm looking for and will hopefully have a review posted. Thanks for sharing.
 
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HamDog

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Glad you liked my review. The display of the Alpine EX-10 is not the processor. There is a separate processor that is hidden behind the dash. If you put your phone in the car dock everytime you enter your car, then there is not much use for the Alpine display and remote. But as time goes on, I got lazy about taking my Droid out of my belt holster and putting it in the car dock for short drives. The nice thing about the display and remote is that you never even need to take the Droid out of your belt holster! Just get in the car and turn on the ignition. You can play and change songs, make and receive calls, without ever touching your phone. That's been the greatest benefit to me.

Of course, if you want to play Pandora, Slacker, etc., then you will have to start those apps from your phone directly. But you can also skip tracks with the remote even when playing Pandora and Slacker.

One bad thing about the Alpine display is that it doesn't show you the song info. It just says "Streaming" on the screen. I wish it could show album art and track info.

If you want something without the display and remote, check out the Parrots (click here for their webpage). I haven't tried them, but they look like very nice units. The only issue is that they are very expensive. I would have bought one over the Alpine, but the price difference is substantial. A Parrot system will cost you probably over $400 once you take into account the specific car kit for your car model. They wire directly into your system rather than using an aux input (more complicated install and expensive vehicle specific wire harness). I bought my Alpine for $30! Once in a while they go on a big sale (Buy.com and Amazon.com had it for that price), but it has since gone up to $60, still a substantial savings over the Parrots.

Also, check out Scoche. They are coming out with a really neat and small bluetooth solution for voice and music. Click here to see it. Looks cool! And the price is $80. Supposed to be available late September. They make lots of different units too with different configuration options. So check out their whole site.
 

tommyz

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One bad thing about the Alpine display is that it doesn't show you the song info. It just says "Streaming" on the screen. I wish it could show album art and track info.

That's probably a missing feature on the Droid. My '09 Mazda 6 with built-in BT streaming will not show the song names either. The steering wheel controls do work the same as you stated in your review.

I'm hoping someday the Droid will be updated to send the song info over bluetooth.
 

druski24

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I greatly appreciate any answers for a few questions for which I haven't found satisfactory answers:

I have a 2006 Honda Accord EXL - dead stock

1) If I don't need the display or remote, I don't have to hook them up for this to work properly, correct?

2) If I order the Alpine EX-10, does it come with everything necessary to make my Droid work like your's in the video (minus the display and remote - I prefer to use the phone to control everything).

3) Will I still be able to operate my XM if I get an Aux splitter? I guess I don't understand how my receiver will know to switch between my bluetooth aux input and the aux input I use for XM.

Thanks.
 
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HamDog

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I greatly appreciate any answers for a few questions for which I haven't found satisfactory answers:

I have a 2006 Honda Accord EXL - dead stock

1) If I don't need the display or remote, I don't have to hook them up for this to work properly, correct?

2) If I order the Alpine EX-10, does it come with everything necessary to make my Droid work like your's in the video (minus the display and remote - I prefer to use the phone to control everything).

3) Will I still be able to operate my XM if I get an Aux splitter? I guess I don't understand how my receiver will know to switch between my bluetooth aux input and the aux input I use for XM.

Thanks.

Answers:

1. Not sure if you can get away from not plugging in the display. You can always hide the display somewhere behind the dash or the center console. BUT, on top of the display is the on/off button. If the bluetooth ever fails to connect, all I have to do is press the power button on top of the display to turn it off and then back on. Although the same can be accomplished by just turning the ignition off and then back on. For me, it's been very reliable and I barely ever have had to turn it off/on manually. Also, the display acts in a way where you can visually see if you connected via bluetooth or not. Again, since it's been extremely reliable for me, that may not be important either.

I would like to add that it was NOT reliable with 2.1. Foryo (2.2) fixed alot of issues and I almost never have any problems where I need to reboot the bluetooth (I'd say 95%+ reliable).

You will need the display and remote the first time you hook things up to pair your phone with the Alpine Bluetooth (you need to see the display to navigate the settings menu). Also, the display also gives you an equalizer too, but you don't have to use that either).

2. Yes, everything you need is in the box. I didn't add anything extra.

3. You're lucky your Honda has an aux input. Mine didn't. Since I didn't get the optional factory CD changer, I turned that into and aux input. I think a splitter will do the job fine as long as both devices (XM and Alpine) aren't both on at the same time. Make sure one is off while the other is operating. If you wanna get more complex, I think you can find devices in the market that will do automatic switching based on which one has a signal present. I'd go with a splitter.
 
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