Did you guys see that Phoenix is releasing a pre-order 13" (1600x1200) Android 9/10 with their version of the physical HVAC controls for the F150? Expected release date is March or April of this year.
A few things I noticed:
* The unit comes with their hard button controls/dials for HVAC.
* 3 different hardware varieties: PX6 (4G RAM/64G ROM Android 9), SC7862 (4G RAM/64G ROM Android 10), SC7862 (6G RAM/128G ROM Android 10)
* You can choose between black or chrome (OEM) colored HVAC knobs
* A bunch of add-on type accessories
Anyone know if the performance differences between the PX6 and the 2 flavors of SC7862 is significant (similar to the PX4 to PX6 jump)?
https://phoenixautomotiveinc.com/pr...1&_sid=d6ad1684d&_ss=r&variant=37941518270650
Maybe we should start another thread for this new version
I did not see that. Thanks for the heads up!
In addition to what you mentioned, I noticed that...
- Built in 4G LTE. So instead of using a mobile hotspot or WiFi dongle, you can set this up directly with mobile service. I don't think I would use that though, as you lose the benefit of having WiFi in the truck for other devices, and I suspect getting service for the tablet may be a little more cumbersome since it's an unknown device to the mobile service provider. I suspect anyway.
- Speaking of WiFi, this says the new version is 5GHz, not 2.4GHz. Not sure if that means 2.4GHz won't work with the new tablet. That could be a problem if your existing hotspot doesn't have 5GHz.
- The top buttons are moved back to the top where they should be in my opinion. I did not like their other 13" layout with the HVAC buttons removed.
- It looks like they've improved the equalizer. That could be a nice addition since the previous EQ is pretty weak.
- It says it has DSP. Don't want they fully mean by that.
- I don't know what to think yet about the HVAC controls. The previous version reused to OEM circuit board, and the buttons were pretty much the same location. Does this use the OEM board or are we getting a new one. My instinct is to say that this is a new board because the buttons are in different locations, but perhaps not. It looks like they already knew how to 'read/write' with the OEM board since they had on screen HVAC controls.
- 2 of the HVAC buttons have been removed. The 'AUTO' and 'DUAL buttons, on the knobs, are no longer there. They are on screen though, so perhaps not an issue. I don't use these much so I can live with it. It also could be that the version in the image shown is for a manual control system, and an auto AC version will have those hard buttons. Something to ask about.
- The mic looks improved on this version. I say that because it's a bit bigger, so perhaps not, but it's a good sign.
- I don't like the yellow lighting around the knob. Would like to know if that can be turned off or switched to a different color.
- It looks like this is the same plastic material they used on previous models. Not great, but not bad either.
- The previous screen did not work with polarized glasses. Getting an anti-glare screen protector partially fixed the problem, but would like to know if this model used different glass.
- I would want to find out if Serge's software add-ons work with this new version.
This is rather tempting, way more than other iterations. Definitely something to think about.
