Has anyone changed from Streetdeck to Centrafuse?

**froalskiner** · 08-26-2008, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by tmonroe

Yup, I'm a little bitter - that's true.

The price of GPS units has fallen dramatically in the last couple of years. Sure, a GPS might lack a few features that a Car PC would give you - but while the features you get from a GPS have been increasing (and the price decreasing), CarPC's have been stagnant (I could even say that since Streetdeck has backtracked on all of their "promised" features, they've actually been going backwards, and prices more or less staying the same). Sure, if GPS units aren't "good enough" for you right now, just wait a couple of years (they are constantly adding features and coming out with new models), and you can bet they'll get a lot better. Or you could wait a few years for streetdeck or CF or whatever to release things like Bluetooth phone support - but you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

If you already have a CarPC installed and running, it might be hard to justify reinstalling the stock stereo and getting a GPS... On the other hand, if you haven't bought anything yet, I can't see why in the world anybody would spend (easily) $1200+ vs. around $200.00 for a complete turnkey and no hassle system.

I'm just glad I was able to sell off most of my car PC and recoup a good part of the money I wasted on it. Honestly though, I think if someone like Garmin or TomTom comes up with an in-dash mount unit that replaces the car stereo, (either using an embedded linux or MoblePC interface), it's going to be really hard to justify the money and futz factor that a CarPC represents.

God_of_cpu said in the other thread that SD v2 would be cheaper actually...

**tmonroe** · 08-26-2008, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by froalskiner

God_of_cpu said in the other thread that SD v2 would be cheaper actually...

True, and also that all of the "promised" features were being dropped. Of course, no one would ever even consider buying V2.0 of Streetdeck if it was the same price (think about it, same price, but less features? - I am referring of course to bluetooth phone support, which some of us got in Beta).

Besides - the prices of hardware at the MP3car store haven't come down much in the last few years - if at all. GPS hardware prices have been falling like a brick.

**froalskiner** · 08-26-2008, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by tmonroe

True, and also that all of the "promised" features were being dropped. Of course, no one would ever even consider buying V2.0 of Streetdeck if it was the same price (think about it, same price, but less features? - I am referring of course to bluetooth phone support, which some of us got in Beta).

Besides - the prices of hardware at the MP3car store haven't come down much in the last few years - if at all. GPS hardware prices have been falling like a brick.

Ahhh...that makes perfect sense. So you aren't ****ed off that you aren't happy with SD, CF, whatever...you feel like you were ripped off for buying a carpc in the first place.

No worries dude. I can see your point. If you are happy with a regular GPS, then go for it. Nobody is saying that you should stick with SD, CF or any other frontend if it doesn't meet your needs.

Personally, I don't want a GPS unit hanging from my windshield (illegal in CA anyway) so I went for the OEM look and I'm happy. If spending $300 on a good GPS would have made me happy I would have done it. I spent more like $1500 at the time. However if given the choice now where I needed to choose between a $300 GPS unit that made me 50% happy and a full Car system for $1500 that would make me 100% happy, I would honestly stick with the CarPC.

More power to you...don't let the man push you around...stick with what makes you happy...period...SD, CF, RR, Garmin, Thomas Guide, the guy at the gas station...

**froalskiner** · 08-26-2008, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by tmonroe

True, and also that all of the "promised" features were being dropped. Of course, no one would ever even consider buying V2.0 of Streetdeck if it was the same price (think about it, same price, but less features? - I am referring of course to bluetooth phone support, which some of us got in Beta).

Besides - the prices of hardware at the MP3car store haven't come down much in the last few years - if at all. GPS hardware prices have been falling like a brick.

Plus the main feature that people whine about is BT support. CF has it but from what I've seen it's buggy and doesn't work all that great anyway. Maybe I'm wrong...but that's my perception of BT in cars anyway. Traffic is a simple Digimod away...

**polo6979** · 08-27-2008, 03:55 PM

I use the bluetooth phone integration in my car with CF and dont have a problem with it.

**danielkh** · 08-27-2008, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by polo6979

I use the bluetooth phone integration in my car with CF and dont have a problem with it.

Full duplex or half duplex?

**froalskiner** · 08-27-2008, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by polo6979

I use the bluetooth phone integration in my car with CF and dont have a problem with it.

I'm sure it does...but for every 10 people that get it to work right, there are a few that don't...It's not a CF specific issue. It's a Computer issue. Plain and simple. The point is right now there is no great solution for BT in cars outside of a full OEM set up. Even those aren't perfect. My dad can't get his older Blackberry with BT to pair with his brand new S class...even the dealership can't get it paired. Which BT dongle are you using? What kind of Mic? That makes a huge difference. You need a dongle (as far as I know) that supports HSP (Headset Protocol) as well as a good mic.

I would hope that once SD v2 comes out and sales start again they'll be back on track and maybe they will look at BT again if there are systems that work well enough with it.

**tmonroe** · 08-28-2008, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by froalskiner

The point is right now there is no great solution for BT in cars outside of a full OEM set up. Even those aren't perfect.

I'm not having any trouble at all with the TomTom910 with bluetooth pairing. Works just like any of the other 3 bt headsets I have. Since the hardware is always the same, unless there is some weird difference in how bluetooth phones pair, I would guess that its going to work pretty well for most people.

**froalskiner** · 08-28-2008, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by tmonroe

I'm not having any trouble at all with the TomTom910 with bluetooth pairing. Works just like any of the other 3 bt headsets I have. Since the hardware is always the same, unless there is some weird difference in how bluetooth phones pair, I would guess that its going to work pretty well for most people.

I would put the TomTom in that same bucket as OEM. It's dedicated hardware. What features does it have? Does it stick to the basics? Caller ID, Make call, received call, call log, etc and not try to do more like phone book sync, signal strength etc? They are obviously trying to get as many systems connected via a basic BT profile as possible. The problem with many BT dongles is that they don't support HSP. If they don't support that, I'm not even sure how they get it to work. There are some dongles that do great with HSP but most people don't have those and expect everything to work with a cheapo $10 Newegg BT dongle. It just doesn't cut it. That's just the BT side of things. What about a good headset or Mic?

Now...

If people want to go for CF because of BT support then they should go for it. If SD doesn't meet their needs then they shouldn't be using it. I wouldn't however switch simply because of liking the current Mappoint navigation. The new engine is completely different.

If it's really worth it for you to switch to a different platform based on an apples to oranges...no...apples to avocados comparison then fire away. Comparing SD v1 with CF v2 is like picking your favorite between Mohammed Ali and Anti-lock brakes.

I would wait until SD v2 comes out if I were you...but it's your choice!

**2k1Toaster** · 08-28-2008, 04:57 PM

I like Anti-lock brakes better... I doubt Mohammed Ali will stop my car in case of skidding

And you hit the nail on the head with the cheap bluetooth dongles and headset support. If you want your phone to work, and you buy a $200 or $300 piece of software for who knows what reason other than you are loaded with money, why would you expect a $10 dongle to cut it, and then blame the software.

Of course everything that SD does and that CF does, RR does. You can make any of them look and act like any of the others. Want SD to look like RR, ok. Want RR to look like CF, ok. All possible. The only difference is audio player support which CF/RR win because they dont use WMP.

So they are more like types of the same. Sort of like comparing Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji apples. All are pretty much the same, with different skins... and costs.