Alpine IVA-W505 2-DIN Mobile Multimedia Station (Black)
From Alpine
The IVA-W505 is a versatile AV head unit that provides complete media center capabilities through effortless touch-screen control over all your in-vehicle digital media sources. It’s the full-featured 2DIN solution you’ve been waiting for – with full USB support for iPod, including iPod Video playback and a built-in DVD/CD/MP3/AAC/WMA/DivX player. It features a new customizable graphical interface, as well as full Bluetooth connectivity for both hands-free and streaming audio. Don’t forget about navigation either. This unit also offers an in-dash docking station for the Alpine PMD-B200, so you can simply put your Blackbird portable nav right inside of the IVA-W505 and enjoy the larger 7-inch screen for a true fixed nav experience. The IVA-W505 is ready for all your favorite media, so you can enjoy full control of your in-vehicle entertainment.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #651 in Car Audio or Theater
- Color: Black
- Brand: Alpine
- Model: IVA-W505
- Dimensions: 3.94" h x 7.00" w x 6.38" l, 6.00 pounds
- Display size: 7
Cool Product - lots and lots of features in one unit!
UPDATE:
Alpine's customer service did get in touch with me, and I was able to resolve my Navigation issues...therefore, I would move my rating from 4 to 5 stars - but it won't let me!
Original review:
First let me say that I thoroughly enjoy this Alpine head unit. It really does everything you can imagine from an entertainment / navigation unit.
BTW - I purchased a PMD-B200 portable navigation unit that 'docks' into the IVA-W505 head unit. In addition, I am using the optional USB cable to connect to my 80 GB iPod.
The head unit will play both video and audio from the iPod. Basically, it can play anything that your iPod can play (video, audio, books, TV shows, etc.). In addition the unit can sync to your phone via bluetooth (I happen to have an iPhone) and the phone book syncs every time I get into the car. The 'handsfree' works seamlessly - when someone calls me the audio mutes, and as soon as I am done with the call, the audio (music) comes back on at the level it was prior to the call - and song plays from where it was interrupted by the call.
On the navigation side of things, I like the 3D mode - you can watch points of interest go by on the map, etc etc. The 'sky' on the nav unit changes from day to night...simple, but cool feature.
Supposedly, there are over a million points of interest...to which many in my town seem to be in there...
One note - I haven't been able to figure out what the 'address book' is in the navigation unit - it didn't seem to sync from my phone - and I had to manually input the addresses I wanted in the address book - which is cool I guess, it limited the entries in the book itself.
In summary -
PROS -
-Access to navigation, phone, iPod, DVD/CD all in one unit - VERY COOL!!!
-Interfaces very well with iPod - all iPod functionality is available in head unit (previous head unit only partial iPod functionality, playlist only)
-Screen resolution is very good - which makes movies crystal clear, and helps in day time viewing.
-Many audio and video adjustments - from bass, treble, subwoofer, and high pass filter, to contrast, color, screen height/width etc., etc.
-Just good to have so much functionality in one head unit...
CONS -
-Owners manual might as well not exist, I have a USB cable that doesn't seem to go to anything (it goes with the nav unit, but with no software updates, and no computer interface why include it??)
-Graphic User Interface (GUI) is REALLY funky - you have to learn how to use it - not intuitive at all (and I own 2 Macs, 1 PC, Xbox360) - there are actually two menus, one for the audio / video side and one for the navigation side - and each have their own 'setup' menus etc....
-NO support on the Navigation side of things - Alpine actually isn't releasing updates for the navigation maps, and NAVTEQ (the people who they purchased the maps from send you back to Alpine (NAVTEQ's customer service was quick to respond and outstanding)
Overall, I am EXTREMELY pleased with the performance of the unit, and would recommend it to anyone.
Worked as advertised!
Finally had the chance to have the Alpine IVA-W505 installed and as advertised, it worked perfectly. Video is very clear with the audio more than sufficient when played with the factory installed audio system in my 2008 Honda Civic. Had a slight problem though with my ipod touch since the unit cannot read the video files. Nonetheless, the audio is crisp and does not skip a beat, thanks to the additional cable (KCE-422i) i purchased, also from Amazon. Over-all, the unit met my expectation.
The BEST 2-din DVD touchscreen on the market
I have been thru 6 different headunits on my show car in about 3 years and this is BY FAR the best unit I have come across. The menus are easy to navigate and looking for MP3s on the unit is way better than the previous JVC that I had in my car. I don't have a single complaint about the 505 yet, and I recieved the unit from the first shipment to the US.
5 stars +
