Rosen Nav, Ups and Downs

All the videos are up: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...cs/90383-rosen-head-unit-ordered-today-2.html

 

Ant power controls automatic antenna up/down... if it is enabled, the antenna will retract when power is turned off and extend when it is turned on. I guess part of firmware designed for multiple systems... of course it isn't compatible with the Prius.

 

Great, I ordered mine Friday and it is shipping today.

 

Wow - that is really very scary! I would start with the NY Better Business Bureau {http://www.newyork.bbb.org/}, and follow up with the FTC {http://www.ftc.gov/} consumer protection division...

Unbelievable!

 

Where is the reset hole?

 

Please let us know the outcome - as you said - this is really scary!!!

 

I've long suspected that the Rosen and Fly Audio units are just generic Chinese units with a Prius-specific face plate. This sort of of software glitch seems pretty typical of the Chinese units and tends to confirm my suspicions.

What I find a bit odd is the high price differential between the Rosen and the generic Chinese units, especially when it seems that the internals are similar, if not identical, to the Rosen/Fly Audio units. The matching faceplate certainly adds value and looks great, but is it worth the pretty steep price premium over using the Toyota faceplate and a generic Chinese Toyota head unit with the same functionality as the Rosen?

Maybe it is worth the extra; certainly I'd love to see a RHD version at a reasonable price, but preferably without the little niggles that make these Chinese units a bit irritating at times.

Jeremy

 

I think there's no question that they are re-packaged Chinese HUs... I had a similar thing happen to my old Chinese HU - ended up having to pull the fuse (hard reset) to get it to shut down and reset.

From a cost standpoint, it seems good generic Chinese HUs are around $500.

Building a plastics mold (engineering, tooling, engineering, retooling, engineering, retooling etc) of this size would run at minimum $40K. Add to that engineering hardware dev (connectors, JBL interface etc), and you probably sit around $75K all in.

I'd doubt they've even sold 100 pieces - and that's FLY and Rosen/Coagent.

Bottom line, I doubt anyone's getting rich on such a niche market item.

Personally, I'd either get the cheaper 2DIN, or get a used factory HU...

 

I love the Rosen Unit ,Chinese or not.... never had a problem with it.
100 times better than the prius oem.

 

"I'd doubt they've even sold 100 pieces - and that's FLY and Rosen/Coagent. "


maybe less than 100

 

Being Chinese made isn't an issue at all, as over 90% of all car audio systems are made in either China or Korea, I believe. The OEM radio (JBL audio system, but actually made by Fujitsu Ten) is made in the Phillipines, I was surprised to find.

I agree, the branded, model-specific Chinese units, like the Rosen and Fly Audio ones are unlikely to sell in high volume, so maybe it is just the fascia tooling cost that makes the price so much higher. My suspicion is that the dealer mark-up will be the biggest cost factor though. With the generic Chinese units being sold virtually direct, with long distance (if any) support, I guess it's reasonable for Western dealers to maybe double the price to cover support and still make a profit.

It would be nice to know if the firmware in these units is getting updated, though, and if there was a way to re-flash the firmware with upgrades when bugs, like this latest one, are found. Just having access to much more information about these units (both the Rosen/Fly Audio and their generic no-name Chinese cousins) would allow us to understand how they might be improved.

Based on my experience with a no-name Chinese unit,which fitted the Toyota fascia panel perfectly (unlike the 2 DIN Kenwood I'm currently running), I have to say that it was close to being a good system, let down mainly by firmware quirks and some odd RDS handling by the radio. If I could get another unit like this, but with better firmware, then it'd be my preferred choice, especially as neither Rosen or Fly Audio look set to make a RHD fascia version (given the tiny market for RHD I can understand that).

Jeremy

 

My wife has the Prius but this question is about my Toyota Highlander. I installed the Rosen Nav a few months ago and everything is working except the rear door speakers when playing a CD. All speakers work including the rear door when playing the radio. As everyone with a Rosen knows this is plug and play and the only two connectors I used was the main connector and the one for the steering wheel controls.
Did I miss something during the install or is there something else that has to be done to get the rears to work? I checked the Rosen manual but found nothing.
Those with the Rosen in their Prius, do your rear door speakers work while playing a CD?
I'm posting here as this is a very active community with knowledgeable people on the Rosen Nav.
I also posted this on a Highlander forum but it is not nearly as active.

 

So when I click the Navigation button, it takes me to the accept terms page. However, I can't click on the accept button. I touch the screen but the screen does not go away. I know the Navi is working in the background because it tells me when my speed limit is too excessive.

I've tried calibrating the screen from the Menu option, but that didn't work.

Anyone have a similar problem or a fix?

 

The China places that carry Coagent and Fly Audio all state something like:

They are trying to protect their distributors. I'll speculate the intended market is car dealers who sell the unit as being "as good or better" then factory GPS at half the price. In other words sold for around 2K installed.

Allowing the unit to be sold for around $500 would kill the distributors. The distributor is responsible for support and probably warranty repair. The dealer probably buys the unit for $500 (maybe less) and tries to sell it for something like $1000. A new car dealer might hope to sell it for $2000 installed.

Problem: I don't think many new car dealers are interested in selling aftermarket units.

 

FWIW, Rosen is made by Coagent. I found that out by looking up the FCC ID # on my Rosen unit.

 

Does the Rosen unit auto dim when you turn on the headlights?

 

Rosen navigation NO voice on street name
USB and SD card player is only resume play at the last track, but NOT where is left off
NO folder on USB or SD card

 

I installed the newest version Rosen in my Prius a couple weeks ago, and it DOES say the street name, just FYI.