Hey all - a year ago, I posted a similar thread, but wanted to start fresh in the hope of getting fresh response. My Acadia is an SLT. My radio has options for Pandora and Stitcher. Use Pandora a ton, but never used Stitcher. Via the USB port in the dash compartment, I can put a USB stick in to view pictures. Unsure who would ever do that. I don't have navigation. All the physical buttons around my screen are different than on the upgrade model (which has nav options in place of my button names) - yet the number of buttons and their positions are identical.
First, it's been hinted by many that these units are primarily the same as the nav versions, just that something is not enabled.
I had a loaner Enclave, and that unit didn't have nav, but it did have a text message function that showed them on screen. My screen is also all red texture. The Enclave was greenish blue.
Having Pandora start (talk to my phone) at a single button push is awesome. But I'd love to see some integration for TuneIn Radio, etc.
Meanwhile, a used $40 iPhone or Droid device has roughly 1000X the capability of this radio. Not complaining - just pointing out that the brain to this radio unit must somehow be accessible. Most 12-year-olds know how to hack their phones to extend functionality. Yet you're telling me there's no way to do that with these radio units?
I see people do have units you can add on that do things like let you view the rearview camera while moving. I can see occasional need for that. But you really need hardware for that?
I am also very curious if my car (given that it has OnStar) is already rolling down the road with 100% of what it needs for GPS navigation - it's just locked away and hidden from me so GMC can warrant $1000 more for their upgrade models.
The radio is a screen. My droid phone can mirror itself to other screens. Why not this screen? How great would that be? And it's even already a touch screen. Imagine that possibility. Skip any GMC navigation - it would just bring up Google Maps navigation like a clone of my phone. Hell, right now I have my phone mounted next to the radio, and have to view all this on the phone.
In any event, somebody, somewhere surely must have found a way to flash, hack or even extend the functionality of this radio via software. There's even the **** USB connectivity. You can run the Ubuntu operating system on a laptop from a USB stick. You're telling me nobody has found a way to even do something as simple as change the on-screen colors? I'd even take that.
I think there's a clear need and market for this possibility of customizing the radio. If somebody hasn't already done it, I think we need to collectively encourage somebody to do it.
First, it's been hinted by many that these units are primarily the same as the nav versions, just that something is not enabled.
I had a loaner Enclave, and that unit didn't have nav, but it did have a text message function that showed them on screen. My screen is also all red texture. The Enclave was greenish blue.
Having Pandora start (talk to my phone) at a single button push is awesome. But I'd love to see some integration for TuneIn Radio, etc.
Meanwhile, a used $40 iPhone or Droid device has roughly 1000X the capability of this radio. Not complaining - just pointing out that the brain to this radio unit must somehow be accessible. Most 12-year-olds know how to hack their phones to extend functionality. Yet you're telling me there's no way to do that with these radio units?
I see people do have units you can add on that do things like let you view the rearview camera while moving. I can see occasional need for that. But you really need hardware for that?
I am also very curious if my car (given that it has OnStar) is already rolling down the road with 100% of what it needs for GPS navigation - it's just locked away and hidden from me so GMC can warrant $1000 more for their upgrade models.
The radio is a screen. My droid phone can mirror itself to other screens. Why not this screen? How great would that be? And it's even already a touch screen. Imagine that possibility. Skip any GMC navigation - it would just bring up Google Maps navigation like a clone of my phone. Hell, right now I have my phone mounted next to the radio, and have to view all this on the phone.
In any event, somebody, somewhere surely must have found a way to flash, hack or even extend the functionality of this radio via software. There's even the **** USB connectivity. You can run the Ubuntu operating system on a laptop from a USB stick. You're telling me nobody has found a way to even do something as simple as change the on-screen colors? I'd even take that.
I think there's a clear need and market for this possibility of customizing the radio. If somebody hasn't already done it, I think we need to collectively encourage somebody to do it.
