Back in the 1980s, a typical Indian middle-class family would cherish weekend long drives in its Ambassador and Fiat cars. Some of these automobiles even boasted of cassette players, playing out loud Hindi film songs, thereby adding to the excitement and enjoyment during such outings. Many among us used to be thoroughly disappointed whenever these rudimentary (if I may put it that way) music systems malfunctioned, primarily due to the excessive summer heat. Nowadays, our cars are literally a cluster of powerful computers on the wheels. The in-car entertainment system is one such system, highly advanced and multifunctional with a lot of productivity and entertainment features. Consolidating its position in this segment is Pioneer India, the Indian subsidiary of Japan’s car audio-visual solutions major Pioneer; it has introduced its Z series touchscreen in-car entertainment stereo system. This range focuses on connectivity, entertainment and sound quality equally well.
We got the Pioneer AVH-Z5090BT unit for a product evaluation, thankfully it came installed in a demo Maruti Swift car. My past experience while reviewing the Blaupunkt Palm Beach car multimedia system was rather bad; I got it installed in my personal vehicle and the car panel got damaged in the installation process. Therefore, let a professional install the Pioneer system in your car to enable you to tap its full potential. The AVH-Z5090BT retails for an affordable `29,999, read on to find more about some of its key features and overall performance. The AVH-Z5090BT head unit has a touchscreen display and eight small physical buttons that perform similar functions as any Android device. Its connectivity options include Bluetooth, data cable and AUX input (for music only). There’s a mic too to capture the voice while you are engaged in a wire-free conversation.
Basically, the AVH-Z5090BT has two platforms—Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Hence, you need to download either of these two apps (depending on whether you have an Android or Apple phone) to connect to the system. Setting up the connection is fairly simple and straight forward. I downloaded the Android Auto on my device in order to explore all the car entertainment and productivity features that the system supports. Take my word, Android Auto is a smart and easy way for using smartphone apps that are used in everyday life. This app allows one to use navigation and much more in a car using simple voice commands. For instance, Google Maps can be used with turn by turn voice guidance and traffic information. You can also listen to the incoming WhatsApp messages and reply too using voice command. The video songs stored on the phone including some WhatsApp videos can be enjoyed on the Pioneer 24-bit true colour panel.
You can call any of your phone contacts using a voice command or you can dial a new number using the dialpad in-built into Android Auto. Android Auto offers an
attractive and easy to use interface for your phone’s music. Music apps like Google Play Music and Gaana app can also be enjoyed. You can also connect two mobile phones (for personal and business use, for example) with the unit’s receiver, and an incoming call from either phone can be received without requiring manual switching. The AVH-Z5090BT receivers can play Full HD (1080p) video from files encoded in various digital formats (WMV, DivX, Xvid etc) that are stored in your easy-to-connect USB devices. The system is hard drive compatible too, this means that the Pioneer system can play video files stored in the HDD incorporating the NTFS file system that can store over 4 GB file per file, so you can enjoy watching high definition video in your car.
There are two more interesting apps that I must mention. The AppRadio Mode+ opens in-car entertainment to a wonderful world of apps to enjoy using iPhone and Android devices. Users can enjoy phone music, videos and navigation. MapmyIndia can now be accessed with the AppRadio Mode and supports detailed map coverage, realistic 3D landmark, terrain and city models for better recognition and supports live traffic updates in 27 cities. The AppRadio Live app gives you access to all the elements of your digital lifestyle in one place. I downloaded this app that has a smart and easy-to-use user interface. Videos can be played from two sources; those stored in your phone and streaming video.
My takeaways: The Pioneer AVH-Z5090BT is a powerful, high-performance stereo system and a fantastic choice for budget-conscious buyers. Its user interface is easy to use and navigate, connectivity for both calling and music is great, it works in a splendid manner with Android devices—literally, it’s your digital voice assistant in your car. Highly recommended.
Estimated street price: Rs 29,999