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(More customer reviews)I installed the ISHD751 in a 2007 Honda Pilot. The ISHD571 consists of the 'media gateway' box and vehicle specific cables, and Instructions that are particular to your make of vehicle, but not your model or year. You are on your own to know how to disassemble/reassemble your dashboard, and will have to replace (from your dealer) any retaining clips that you might lose as panels are removed.
Installation was straightforward, however the unit that I installed initially would not recognize my iPhone 3gs with IOS4.1; I had to upgrade the firmware in the ISHD571 media gateway (using a Windows-only installer and instructions from the pac-audio.com web site, and a USB to mini-USB cable which they did NOT provide) before it would recognize my phone as connected. I installed the media box behind my glovebox so that future updates to the firmware wouldn't require dis-assembly of the dash. The instructions with the unit DO NOT mention any possibility of upgrading the media gateway firmware; this is a huge oversight on their part.
After I installed the unit, following the instructions closely, the ISHD571 Inputs appear as sub-categories of your 'XM' mode on the factory radio. Switching the modes takes a bit of getting used to, as there's a bit of lag between a keypress on the radio and something happening on the display. Explaining how to use it to other family members that occasionally drive your car could be challenging. It will definitely require practice.
Controlling iPod/iPhone functionality from the stock radio requires use of the 'preset' buttons 2-6 on your stock radio. For example, pressing the preset '2' toggles Random play mode. Navigation uses the stock screen display on the radio, and as mentioned before, there's a slight lag between any keypress and the display getting updated. If you have a lot of music, finding one particular song might be tedious. iSimple might have included some transparent stick-on labels for the preset buttons to assist with the learning curve. They do provide a generic reference card. If all of that is too hard, you can just put the device in 'AUX1' mode, and use the User Interface on your ipod/iphone; I suspect most people will use it that way.
Audio quality is great when you have a device attached. If you're in iPod mode, and you don't have a device connected, my model picks up interference from the engine ECU or ignition.
Bottom Line: If you don't want to replace the stock radio, this will work to get your iPhone/iPod attached to your stock radio. You'll need to perform some extra installation steps (not mentioned in the manual) -- You will likely need to upgrade the 'media gateway' box before installation, and later on subsequent IOS version changes. When you're done, you'll like the audio quality, but you may not be satisfied with the User Interface experience (due to limitations of your stock radio).
If you're doing it yourself and have the dash open anyway to install this unit, why not just go all the way and replace the stock radio with another that has AM/FM/MP3/Navigation/Ipod/Video etc. for about 4-5x the price of this unit?
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Recipient of a 2008 CES Innovations Award, the iSimple GateWayTM is the first interface ever to bring the iPodTM, HD RadioTM broadcasting, Satellite Radio and many other portable media products into the vehicle.The iSimple GateWayTM directly connects your iPod to your radio allowing you to browse your music, by Artist, Album, Genre, and Playlist from the radio controls. This direct connection eliminates the need for noisy FM modulated solutions and also keeps the iPods internal battery charged.The iSimple GateWayTM brings the power of HD Radio broadcasting with the help of the HD Radio Tuner (HDRT). Available separately, the HDRT gives users more channels, more content, in exciting new formats-all with no subscription fees.The iSimple GateWayTM can also be expanded with an SCC1 Satellite Radio tuner (sold seperately) or with the iSimple BluStream Bluetooth Interface (Select Vehicles).The iSimple GateWayTM allows connection of any two devices at once: iPod cable, AUX cable, SCC1 Satellite Tuner (sold seperately), HD Radio Tuner (sold seperately) or Bluetooth module.
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