W220 Command upgrate to Android Unit

[BKM]

Hi all,

Thinking of upgrading the original command on my '04 W220 to something more modern that would give me bluetooth access and other options that Android units offer. Those I can see on ebay or amazon are in £300-400 range so a bit pricey.

Before I spend that kind of money I would like some first hand opinion.

Has anyone had any experience with them? From the description they seem to work with the steering wheel buttons and have everything one would need on a long journey. Plug and play as well.

an example from ebay - MERCEDES ANDROID 5.1 S CL W220 W215 S280 S430 S500 S55 CL600 CL55 GPS RADIO DVD | eBay

Is it possible to connect those to the car's CPU and have diagnostics available through some Star-like app?

Any alternatives? I would prefer a whole unit rather then having to operate apps from my phone so those bluetooth adaptors like ViseeO don't really suit me.

Can anyone advise please?

 

[renault12ts]

I have just fitted one and having sold the COMAND on Ebay I made money.

The steering wheel controls do work...to change station and volume etc...but does not display sat nav in the cluster.

I also fitted a 5 channel amp rather than rely on the internal amp.

You will need to but the extension lead to bring power from the back of the car to the front and for the speakers if you use the internal amp. You can use the same speaker cables as line level inputs to the amp (or use a converter if line level isn't accepted).

I ran RCA cables for the amp.

I will soon be fitting the reversing camera.

Since you have BT built-in you can attach an Elm to the obd 2 port and there are apps to communicate various info.

This is the one I bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Android-5...lYBYbPogMAuJ80XKfeFbs%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc



Easy to do if you have half a brain.

 

[BKM]

Thanks for the info. Is the internal amp not sufficient or is it just your upgrade to make it more powerful?

Would it actually display any info in the cluster? Radio stations, songs' titles etc?

would it still work with the CD changer in the trunk?

very tempting...

 

[renault12ts]

The internal amp will power the front and rear door speakers...but not the subs in the rear shelf.

I don't go loud, but I do want some depth which is why I put the amp in.

Nothing will work in the boot unless you put in the fiber optic converter...but then it's only two channel.

I disposed completely of the fiber optics.

Actually I don't know if the cd changer would still work even with the fiber optic converter.

 

[BKM]

Any amp recomendations? My experience in the past was that some of the amps were quite power hungry so could drain the battery.

 

[jpl]

i got only good things to say abou my erisin model on my w220.