CCJ22

iTrader: (26)

The unit has been delivered to my door here at work.

Please start asking your questions and I'll answer them througout my install video and review video.
Video of unboxing being made as I type this.

Questions I have: **UPDATE**
-Will this product work with steering wheel controls? Yes and no. Volume control and mode selection work. Along with next track and previous track
-If phone is in glovebox will I be able to speak commands through in car mic? NA
-If phone screen is off will it black out the in car screen? It does, however... Touching on the nav screen wakes it back up and the nav screen stays on while the phone screen is off
-If I want the in car screen off (as this is how I like to drive around at night since I have limo tint) will it in fact black out like the OEM nav screen does? Yes
-If yes to the above answer, will the android voice guidance still be audible? Yes
-If passenger is watching a movie and I am using nav, will nav voice be audible over movie? Not tested yet
-Does the unit have a way to control treble, bass, etc.... ? Yes


Threads created by Vaistech themselves:
- https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...tegration.html
- https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...echnology.html

Positive things I noticed thus far:
So I have had this unit for a couple of days now (sorry for not throwing video up yet of the full in depth review) and I've had the unit on for 2 hours just yesterday while driving back home from Miami. No issues with heat at all. And I'm here in south Florida. I am able to FINALLY swipe on the screen. At first I couldn't. I don't know if the unit has learning capabilities, or if I have gotten better at touching the screen. Either way, I can now pull down the header bar at the home screen, along with cycle through music and pics with a swipe of my finger.
KEEP IN MIND, our headunits aren't multi-touch. So it can be difficult at first.
I also learned the unit has it's own volume control. I'll show this in my vid coming up.

CCJ22

iTrader: (26)

ALL VIDS CAN BE SEEN IN 720p HD

Here is the UNBOXING Video.

Here is how to remove your IS's trim. (NOTE: the 1st vid below is not mine. I found it on youtube. And the dash, at least in my car, is NOT forgiving and can be ever so slightly damaged... FYI)

Here is the install video.

**ISSUE I CAME ACROSS** Installation instructions can be found here http://www.vaistech.com/manuals/Manual_iVIC-5G-IGFO.pdf We used the install instructions to hook the cables up to the IVIC-5 box. Very straight forward. The hiccup for me occurred in two areas. 1st area was grabbing the wrong 12 pin cable. In my video you will see the WRONG 12 pin cable was grabbed. At the 3:26 mark. For us Lexus IS owners (and I do believe other cars as well) there are only TWO 12 pin cables on the back of the nav. One goes to the hazards.... The CORRECT 12 pin is on the bottom right of the nav if you are looking at the FRONT of the nav. If you are looking at the BACK of the nav (as you would be during install) it is located on the bottom left of the nav.
The second and last issue I came across during the install can be found on page 8 of the above manual I linked in my sentence. The confusion came into play with the programming switches. However, I quick call to Vaistech and they got me ironed out within less then 5 minutes.

Big thanks goes out to OZTIKS for the massive assist on installing and troubleshooting of this product.

THE BAD
-No way to change the name of the source to a name you designate. For example on the source screen you have: Android, HDMI, AV1, etc... If I wanted to change the Word Android to say "ClubLexus" I can't. If I wanted to change the icon picture, I can't.
-keyboard doesn't work on RAZR nor RAZR max. I tried swype, stock android, swift key, & slideIT. This ISN'T VAISTECH's problem. It's a known bug with the RAZR and the ICS OS. The problem is that it detects the Vaistech box as a input device so it assumes it's a keyboard and mouse. I am going to root my RAZR to 4.1 ans see what happens. Work around=voice typing.
-bluetooth Mp3 streaming. I can't bluetooth stream music. The vaistech product doesn't do this. Maybe in the future is what vaistech's answer was to that question. Again this is on the 5th gen navs. Those of you with stock bluetooth streaming capabilities with 6th gen navs will be able to with the stock headunit.
-The vaistech menu always pops up on the right hand side. Me personally, I'd prefer it on the bottom of the screen. About 10% of the bottom of the nav screen isn't in use anyways. I'm betting Vaistech will give us this option in an update.
-When I hit the steering wheel "say a command" button It'd be neat if it launched the google voice app. This is just wishful thinking on my part. I'm betting it'd be hard to implement.
-I couldn't review if the next track previous track buttons worked as my vaistech product is a beta product. VAISTECH advised that the customer units WILL have the ability to skip to next track and previous track via steering wheel controls. Something I'd love to have as i use my backup camera as my review mirror and don't like having to go back into the audio menu just to change the track.



THE GOOD
-I drove for 2 hours last weekend with the windows down and no AC in 96 degree heat and the Vaistech unit I mounted under my passenger seat didn't turn off and malfunction once. Was it hot to the touch? Yes, I could have cooked an egg probably. But it performed flawlessly.
-Touching the nav screen, once calibrated, is perfect. I rarely hit the wrong button and I'm shocked that menu items and the browser allows me to slide menu's around. Something I really thought I'd have to use the vaistech side menu arrows for.
-I love that I can turn off my nav display (cause at night I drive around with all interior lights off for better outward visibility) and the unit still performs as expected with steering wheel volume controls in tow.

Conclusion
Give yourself a good 5 days to become acclimated to the device before chalking it up as crap. The initial setup (BECAUSE I DIDN'T READ ANY INSTRUCTIONS) was a headache. I was turned off to this product in the first 2 hours of hooking it up. HOWEVER, now I love it and wouldn't dare sell it or give it back. It works and performs as advertised. It even goes above and beyond what I expected.


THE BELOW VID IS NOT MINE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-i7m3tEUoc

Nilism

Sweet, thanks for the post. Did you have any issues with cable lengths?

How did you mount under the seat?

rayac88

iTrader: (3)

i was just reading on this for a new solution as my mediabridge is ok but want better features. its a good come up i just cant see paying the 650 for iPod playback. that's new head unit money! next meet i might have to come and check it out.

chicagoblknazn

Thanks for the videos. I'll take a look for more users and reviews in a couple months. I'm still not sold on this yet at this price. That's a couple benjamins less than my rent and more than my car payment. I have to think about this.

souljah798

iTrader: (2)

I just PMd vaistech as to the release of this unit and ran across your posts. Waiting on your review before i purchase, so thanks for taking your time with the vids.

Is that the new Knight Rider steering wheel?

JVMP58

CCJ22, Really appreciate you taking the time to review and video the installation. I'm looking forward to your video posts of the programming and actual use!

CCJ22

iTrader: (26)

I ended up having to unbolt the passenger seat in order to put the cables/wires UNDER the seats rails. They wouldn't slide under it without unbolting it
However I liked this unit to be under the seat for two reasons:
-In the glovebox it will take up space and I use my glovebox to house my glock 17 amongst other items
-Under the seat it receives alot of air over the heat sink
Anytime you want to see this unit in action PM me. I'm always down to show the ins and outs of it.
You're welcome. Anytime. Full review of me going through the ins and outs will be coming soon
You're welcome! Glad to give back to CL.
LOL yea the steering wheel makes me feel like batman. LOL (Kidding of course)
Yea man no prob!
I'm still working on getting the hang of this unit. This past weekend was hectic with family coming in so I didn't get much time to play with her.
HOWEVER, I should have full in-depth vid of me putting this unit through it's paces SOON!

rebs

Thanks for the information so far; I look forward to your review!

oztiks

Being the "co-installer" i will say the setup / installation was decidedly straightforward, vaistech did a great job on offering a plug-n-play solution. There is NO cutting, soldering, etc of any wires which is outstanding. The provided harnesses from vaistech also seem to be of pretty good / sturdy quality.

The unit gets H O T so don't think about trying to bury it under something.

Just some quick notes:

This unit only works with (insert supported list of android phones here - THIS MATTERS, YES, REALLY). If they don't have it in the supported list, it's possible you will have screen pointer / sync issues which is extremely frustrating.

For the Android functionality, phones with micro-hdmi out send both DIGITAL VIDEO AND AUDIO to the Vais. For MHL output phones, I believe you would need a separate adapter that may or may not (more likely) come with your phone. The MHL adapter simply splits the "one" connection from your phone into a micro hdmi out connection, and normally also allows you to connect power.

For Android, the vaistech, as mentioned, delivers Audio and Video over the HDMI cable. The apple version delivery method is different.
The touch screen control linking your car's touch screen to your phone's touch screen is via bluetooth. It is NOT via the USB connection. The USB connection is for charging ONLY and not data.

For those that have experience with heavy in car phone use (4G LTE + Google Maps, etc) you should be happy to know the following:

Most android devices, to my understanding, limit themselves to 400ma for charging when connected to a USB "port" as this is roughly the limit of USB. This is a huge deficiency with modern phones. If the phone is plugged into a USB cable that is connected to a typical charger (cigarette lighter -> USB or wall plug -> USB) the phone will draw more current (~1.2 amps max, I believe). FORTUNATELY, the "USB PORT" on the Vaistech is essentially a charge only port. The phone sees it as an A/C charging source, which makes the phone draw maximum current and charge faster and more efficiently. I was very happy to have tested this as it was actually a concern for me.

The unit is good and has lots of potential. I absolutely understand everyone's concern about it regarding price and then not having seen it/used it. Using it gives you a much better perspective, of course.

rebs

Any thoughts on using phones that have an identical skin and OS to a phone that's on the supported list? For example, I currently have the HTC Evo 3D, and it's running ICS and Sense just like the supported HTC EVO 4G LTE.

Also, on the combo version that does Apple products, can someone confirm that you have have to add a cable that's coming out later this month to this unit?

I'm also interested in seeing or hearing about some of the voice functionality. I didn't realize that you could access the phone's voice functions through the talk button on the steering wheel.

Thanks again for all the information guys (and gals).

chicagoblknazn

Where's the list of phones? I have an AT&T Sky Rocket, which I beleive is a Galaxy II phone.

rebs

It's a pretty exclusive list right now


Compatible Android phones:

Motorola:

Droid Razr
Droid Razr Maxx
Droid Bionic
Droid x2

Samsung:

Galaxy Note
Galaxy SIII

HTC:

EVO 4G LTE


You can view the list here: http://www.vaistech.com/dev/iVIC-droid.php

oztiks

I would agree with your guess / assumption that the phone you mention should be work since it's nearly identical; although there is always a chance the manufacturer OR phone provider changed something in the ROM to cripple or modify a feature to their advantage. I do think you are "safe", though.

My understanding is that the unit they are shipping now, is in essence the combo version. It has the Ipod (OR Video 1 input) port on it. It looks like a semi-proprietary connection. Additionally, my understanding is that the unit they are shipping now WILL support the IPOD connection at a later date (eg, you could in THEORY buy the unit now, and wait until they introduce ipod support). I believe it will simply be a software upgrade; and am not sure if there will be an additional cost to enable the ipod functionality.

Again - this is all conjecture; having seen it and also spoken to vaistech to gain further clarification. I am in no way representing them or making statements on their behalf.

CCJ22

iTrader: (26)

Updated the OP with review vid