I've been weighing up my options for bluetooth/iPod connectivity ever since I bought the car a year ago. I finally narrowed it down to two options - either the Parrot Mki9200 with the standard Business system already in place or an Alpine headunit. I eventually decided on the Alpine CDE-126BT which I bought from CarAudioDirect for £180 including the iPod cable.
It was fairly easy to fit. Only two problems though - firstly I was sent the wrong aerial adaptor so had to pop down to Halfords to buy the correct one today. Secondly, there's not a lot of space behind the headunit to fit the harness and extra wires! It eventually all fitted in and seems to be sitting in place ok. The fascia that came with it feels rather flimsy and has to be put in place AFTER the vents which is rather odd. It has quite a nice finish, although in this case I was sent the grey rather than black fascia. It will do in the meantime but will need to find a black one from somewhere.
Must say I'm really impressed with the unit. My first concern was that it would look out of place, but I'm more than happy with it and don't think it looks to bad in the Z4. It has the added advantage that the lights can be changed to a different colour including amber which helps it blend in. iPod connectivity is really intuitive, much like the iPod classic clickwheel. The only problem is it can take a while to scroll through all the options, but I think this is more down to the fact that I have an iPod filled with crap! Parrot bluetooth is excellent. Pairs easily with my iPhone 4 and allows easy access to the phonebook. Sound quality seems fairly good so far but not really tried to have a conversation with the roof down yet. The microphone and stand seem a bit bulky and I've yet to find the best place to position it. At the moment I have the mic clipped on to the instrument cluster but thinking of taping it down to the side of the steering wheel column.
All in all, this seems to be a really good unit. I had initially planned to get the iDA-X305s like RichardG has, but I really would miss having access to a CD-player in the car and felt installing a compatible CD changer would be overkill. Overal, this was fairly easy to install and is easy to use. Would definitely recommend!
It was fairly easy to fit. Only two problems though - firstly I was sent the wrong aerial adaptor so had to pop down to Halfords to buy the correct one today. Secondly, there's not a lot of space behind the headunit to fit the harness and extra wires! It eventually all fitted in and seems to be sitting in place ok. The fascia that came with it feels rather flimsy and has to be put in place AFTER the vents which is rather odd. It has quite a nice finish, although in this case I was sent the grey rather than black fascia. It will do in the meantime but will need to find a black one from somewhere.
Must say I'm really impressed with the unit. My first concern was that it would look out of place, but I'm more than happy with it and don't think it looks to bad in the Z4. It has the added advantage that the lights can be changed to a different colour including amber which helps it blend in. iPod connectivity is really intuitive, much like the iPod classic clickwheel. The only problem is it can take a while to scroll through all the options, but I think this is more down to the fact that I have an iPod filled with crap! Parrot bluetooth is excellent. Pairs easily with my iPhone 4 and allows easy access to the phonebook. Sound quality seems fairly good so far but not really tried to have a conversation with the roof down yet. The microphone and stand seem a bit bulky and I've yet to find the best place to position it. At the moment I have the mic clipped on to the instrument cluster but thinking of taping it down to the side of the steering wheel column.
All in all, this seems to be a really good unit. I had initially planned to get the iDA-X305s like RichardG has, but I really would miss having access to a CD-player in the car and felt installing a compatible CD changer would be overkill. Overal, this was fairly easy to install and is easy to use. Would definitely recommend!
