New Infotainment Alpine?

[markwj]

I just took delivery of a new Roadster in Hong Kong, with Infotainment option, and it comes with a different head unit.

Rather than the IVA-NAV-10 mentioned (and hated) in different threads, this came with a combination of Alpine IVA-W520E head unit + NVE-M300P navigation module + KCE-400BT bluetooth.

I had a short play with it today, and it seems ok. Controls are quick, and screens fast. Not sure why they've gone this route, or if it is just for Asia, but things seem to have changed.

 

[Jaff]

Thanks for posting this Mark...we'll have to check & see it it's available over here...

 

[markwj]

P.S. It still has the 'play the first song found, alphabetically' feature. Salesman was amused when I took delivery and plugged in iPhone it started playing my kid's "A B C" song.

 

[NigelM]

They are essentially the same. The IVA-W520E is an Asia-specific unit, probably due to the different AM/FM frequency ranges and relevant to any satellite radio you may have in Asia. The bluetooth unit is the same as I have in my Roadster 2.5.

Alpine INA-W900BT Original Unit

Alpine IVA-NAV-10 Unit branded for dealers/installers

Powered by Alpine - Tesla Roadster version 2.5 (photos)

Alpine IVA-W520E Asia version

 

[Eberhard]

I got mine the the IVA-W502. Its not really good. It even has no mute button and no remote control (there should be the mute button). If have to tune volume to zero level instead. if the radio station goes week, the sound doesn't stop and I get terrible noise. in tunnels its loosing track and i am flying with more then 300km/h trough the solid rock.

 

[NigelM]

I got mine the the IVA-W502. Its not really good. It even has no mute button and no remote control (there should be the mute button).

The IVA-W502 seems to be yet another Europe-Asia version:IVA-W502 Although the newer versions (502E or 502R) do have a mute button.

Question: Several people mentioned remote controls (I don't have one) on different threads; why would anyone want a remote? It's not like a TV where you have to get up out of your seat and go change channels. The inside of the Roadster is so "cozy" I can reach everything without moving and a remote is just going to fly around the interior of the car isn't it?

 

[zack]

Remotes have real buttons and there's lots of them. Easy/instant access to many controls. There's a little tray near your right foot that the remote will generally stay stable in. I've had mine slip under the seat... a good trick for dislodging anything from under the driver's seat is to move it all they way forward and then back again.

 

[NigelM]

Remotes have real buttons and there's lots of them. Easy/instant access to many controls. There's a little tray near your right foot that the remote will generally stay stable in. I've had mine slip under the seat... a good trick for dislodging anything from under the driver's seat is to move it all they way forward and then back again.

Did you purchase the remote aftermarket? Which one? Isn't it a PITA to get anything that's down in that tray?

 

[markwj]

Alpine Interior

OK. I've had it for a few days now. Not so bad. It is fast and responsive. I do have some annoyances, though:

1] After syncing iPhone, it always plays the first song. I get into habit of queuing up the track I like after syncing, and that seems to resolve it. I also put something I like with sort label 'aaa' at the front of the list. Annoying, but I can live with it.

2] If you hit the wrong button, it goes to the start of the track. Half way through a 90 minute podcast (thanks Leo) it takes forever for fast-forward to get you back. No solution, except for great care when hitting pause or rewind.

3] Every second time I plugged the iPhone in it would switch to bluetooth audio, and I'd get no sound from iPod control. I can switch back on the phone, to workaround this (using the normal sound selection button). Now, I've found a setting in the settings menu that disables bluetooth audio, but leaves the handsfree profile enabled, which looks like a better fix.

4] No dock. That cable was driving me nuts. Double-sides tape and a ProClip fixed this.

Apple iPhone 4 (Black only) WITHOUT Cases - Padded Holder with Tilt Swivel and Pass-Through Connector for Cable Attachment*-*ProClip Car Mounts for Mobile Phones, GPS, and Handheld Devices

5] Navigation Maps. They haven't loaded them on (yet). Unit is a standard NVE-M300P and it seems very simple to load these (doing it myself would mean I can update them easily without waiting for Tesla, and they have some other options like 3D landmarks and safety camera locations), but I have to find where they've installed the unit and the cable for the USB stick to plugin. Must be somewhere under the dash. I'll send one of my kids down there to look.

Overall, not too bad and getting used to the quirks.

 

[zack]

Did you purchase the remote aftermarket? Which one? Isn't it a PITA to get anything that's down in that tray?

I bought an aftermarket Kenwood 9960 and it came with a remote. I like the voice command feature but it doesn't understand me more than 30% of the time. Makes my passengers laugh, though.

The tray's not too bad for me. I'm going to have to study the car and see if there's somewhere I can stick the remote permanently... that might be nice.

 

[markwj]

The Alpine IVA-W520E came with a remote. Don't really use it, but it lives in the tray under the center console.

 

[NigelM]

I like the voice command feature but it doesn't understand me more than 30% of the time.

My Toyota Solara is no better!

 

[markwj]

Nav map update is ok, with help from the rangers. USB socket is in the fuse box, visible to the right of the fuses.