Elinz In-Dash GPS Unit

[Lorenzo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lorenzo]

Hi All,

ever since I bought my very first car, I've always wanted to have one of those really good GPS systems with all the bells and whistles. Similar to what the BMW's, Mercs etc have in them.

A couple of years ago when I had a VX commodore, I took the plunge and bought one of those Chinese head units. It was good and it wasnt'. I had the GPS tv etc, but the GUI and the functions were crap.

Whenever I was on a bluetooth phone call, the GPS would interrupt me, give me my turn left/right signal, and then reconnect me back with the phonecall. Also, the GUI of the cd player was crap and looked like I was still using windows through MSdos!!!

Anyway, when I got the Prado, I once again had a look, and nothing much has changed since my unit in the commodore in 2005/2006.

Until I came across this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270866220...ht_17075wt_956

It looks very nice for starters (similar to the unit in my brother's Golf which is OEM) and looking through the features, it seems to have everything and the GUI looks brilliant. It even has a phonebook function and can read playlists, artists etc off an ipod/iphone. Of course you can get Ozi to work on it and best of all it's quite cheap ($499 incl Aussie road maps - excl. Ozi and offroad maps).

This unit also comes with the right wiring harness to install into a prado and a free reverse camera. Nothing a lazy afternoon can't handle.

Now, I'm wondering if anyone else has used this unit and can let me know if it is any good, or if it does have it's limitations like units of old. If no one has, I'll probably be the guinea pig and get a hold of one in about a month or so, and then charge $5 per review to make some guinea pig money back

Cheers,
Loz

[Hpycmpr Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hpycmpr]

Funny, ,cause I was just looking at the same one. I like the head rest screens too.

[Lorenzo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lorenzo]

Lol!

I'm not keen on the headrests as I don't have little tackers... could be a goer in the future though!

I contacted the seller last week. Here's the Q&A's I got:

Hi,

I'm also in Melbourne. Would it be possible to view this item before purchasing?
I just want to check the functions and the GUI of the unit.

Thanks,
Loz

Hi there,

Thanks for your inquiry. As we are an online operating business only we currently do not have a store front for demonstration or purchasing purposes. If you have any concerns about the unit we are happy to answer all inquiries so that when you purchase the unit you can do so with complete peace of mind. Please feel free to email or call us at (03) 8555 9521 and we will respond as quickly as possible.

We hope that this helps! Please feel free to contact us if you have any other enquiries, as we are more than happy to help.

Have a nice day!

Cheers,

Elinz

Hi,

I've been really keen on one as I've had one in my previous car but was really disappointed by the graphics interface and the fact that the sat nav interrupted my Bluetooth phone calls. I also wanted to see how quickly it performs at reading iPod data and how the phone book was. Also I assume this unit runs winCE which would enable me to run oziexplorer.

Is there any way of seeing all this to see if it's up to scratch? These units are very well priced but the way they act and their graphics are unfortunately a great let down. This unit however looks to be one of the better ones out there.

Cheers,
Loz

Hi there,

Sorry for replying late. We are sorry to inform you that we do not allow our customer to visit due to OHS management regulation. However, we will definitely try our best to answer all of your inquiry and concerns.

Based on our experience, the navigation for this unit wouldn't interrupted by phone calls. When you receive phone call, the GPS interface will switch to Bluetooth function. When the phone call is ended, the interface will be switched back to GPS. As for the response time of iPod and phone book function, that really depends on the size of the files. Our in dash units run with WinCE, so you can run Oziexplorer.

We hope that this helps! Please feel free to contact us if you have any other enquiries, as we are more than happy to help.

Have a nice day!

[Fishin_Dan Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fishin_Dan]

The fact they give you a phone number is not too bad a sign. Often dodgy eBay companies wouldn't do that.

Go on.... Be the guinee pig

[Hpycmpr Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hpycmpr]

Yeah the phone number is promising, being an 8555 prefix thats probably cheltenham or maybe moorabbin. Very close for me, but you cant help but be a bit sus of the fact you cant go and eyeball it.
The guy from Digioptions seems more accommodating in that respect. but the integrated rear headsets are a big one for me. i have kids obviously..

[Nut Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Nut]

but the integrated rear headsets are a big one for me. i have kids obviously..

I think you'll find the headrests are an additional purchase, at least that's the way I read it, but willing to be corrected. All the head units I've seen have the ability to run outputs to 2 composite videos, with associated audio, so you'd be able to run headrests with most units. If you get really adventurous, you could always put a 12 inch screen in the roof... Thee are also 2 types of headrests - one with DVD players built in, and ones that are just screens. You'll pay an extra couple of hundred dollars for the DVD players, but they'll also run games and can be set up to work independently of the head unit, with the option of running one as a slave off the other if you so desire. They also have aux inputs so that they are run off the head unit....

Most head units also have an auxiliary video and audio input, which would allow either an additional camera or you to plug in something like an iPad to watch. Most also run Windows CE, which allows you to pretty much run whatever mapping program you want.

I've been looking for a while now for something, but am a little gun-shy regarding the quality of unit around coming out of China, but then , most of them do these days anyway..

Cheers,
Nut

[Scottywal Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Scottywal]

Hey guys,

I became a member yesterday due to buying a 90 series prado snowy around a fortnight ago. A mate of mine told me to get involved and luckily this is the first thread I saw!

I bought one of the elinz units and installed it the weekend before last. The problem I had was that the units that matched the toyota's would not fit a Prado built before the 120 series. Needless to say that when I phoned them to check, they were happy to supply me with a unit that would. Mine is a double din with gps, dvd, tv, aux reverse cam and everything else under the sun. Bluetooth I was sceptical of at first, but I am convinced that it works surprisingly well.

Installing was a different side of the story. Because mine wasn't wired to directly fit with toyota I purchased a generic wiring harness from supercheap. Worked sweet! Besides that the only issue was installing the reverse camera, but luckily my old man being an auto electrician, had a chat to elinz and they instructed the simple steps to get it going (which were really simple). Oh and the gps aerial had to be stuck under the dash beside the middle aircon unit. That's about it. Could be installed in a couple of hours.

Overall, I am happy with the unit. I think that the radio reception is a little less than the original toyota unit, but I prefer the easy access of using my iphone. The gps is good for a standard package, and I think I'll get away with it until I feel the need to upgrade the maps. The screen is very clear, and the amplifier has enough volume to match the original toyota unit. The reverse camera makes it so easy at shopping centres and backing up towards the towbar.

Anyways I'll try to upload a pic in the near future...

Scotty

[Lorenzo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lorenzo]

Hi Scotty,

First of all welcome to the PP world and congrats on the new prado!
In relation to the unit, are you saying that the gps antenna doesn't have a clear sight to the sky (ie. it's got a bit of dash plastic in between?) how long does ur unit take to get a lock on the gps? Also have you tried various functions and notice the gps cutting off ur convos? What happens when u got music on and getting gps instructions? Does it pause the music, mute it or temporarily lower the volume? What do you think of the overall graphics, speed and ease of use? Is scrolling through your iPod library quite quick or painfully slow? Sorry about all the questions but I've been burnt once before!

[Scottywal Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Scottywal]

Yeah, it's all been pretty good so far. I muted the sound on the gps, but originally it just lowered the volume of the music. It's under the dash, but won't have any interference as my the only thing over it is plastic and the windscreen. I'm not sure if the gps has a 'backontrack' function when you take a wrong turn. I'll be giving it a test this weekend. I haven't had any issues with the gps and the bluetooth yet. The graphics are sweet. It's as clear as anything I've seen in cars. Using the ipod isn't that bad. When I switch artist's though it makes me go through the process of artist>a-z>song rather than simply going back to the list I came from. The unit takes probably about 5-10 seconds to load up, but the reverse camera comes on immediately when you put your car into reverse, regardless of whether it is loaded or not. Once loaded, it is quite responsive. When you put a dvd in the response on screen is delayed, but the dvd plays well.

I originally gave up on the idea, but a friend of mine bought one around a year ago from elinz to suit his hilux. Although he paid to get it installed, it would have been easier to install than mine, and that wasn't hard.

More than happy to help!

[MalcomM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MalcomM]

Installing was a different side of the story. Because mine wasn't wired to directly fit with toyota I purchased a generic wiring harness from supercheap. Worked sweet! Besides that the only issue was installing the reverse camera, but luckily my old man being an auto electrician, had a chat to elinz and they instructed the simple steps to get it going (which were really simple). Oh and the gps aerial had to be stuck under the dash beside the middle aircon unit. That's about it. Could be installed in a couple of hours.

Hi Scotty,
I also have a 90. Would you have any pics of it installed?
Digoptions units just keep going up in price so this might suit me

cheer
Malcom

[Scottywal Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Scottywal]

Yeah no worries... I've taken the best ones I could in the dark.



Since I last posted, I am still very satisfied with the unit, and have found the gps to be much better than my previous navman.

Scotty

[rossco101 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close rossco101]

Hi Lorenzo,
How did you go with this in the end ?

[Jus10 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jus10]

Did a search for "Elinz Problem" and came to this post.
I have just bought and fitted the same unit, so if anyone wants to know about it just ask.
Be aware that this unit did NOT fit my 2004 VX, even though the ebay advert says it does and the Elinz people insist on it doing so.

[JezC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JezC]

I came across this thread, as I am looking at this 7" model from ELINZ,..http://www.elinz.com.au/buy/toyota-c...s-prado/toyota

Just a question on the GPS mapping,.. It comes pre loaded with POLNAV,.. but says it can be re loaded with OZIExplorer, or OG8,.. can anyone shed some light on whether these mapping options are legit,.. I guess I am used to using my Garminb Nuvi,... and don't want to be stuck with a unit, that the software/Mapping is crap/shoddy,...

Cheers
Jeremy

[Jus10 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jus10]

That's the unit I eventually got as a replacement for the original Elinz unit that wouldn't work or fit. Much better at everything including GPS and TV. Haven't tried to change the mapping software but it is loaded onto the micro SD card which you can access as a simple directory so it should be easy to change I'd guess.