Rosen DS-GM1010-P11 "OEM-look", Plug & Play, DVD/Navigation Head Unit Review
Here is my full review of the Rosen DS-GM1010-P11 head unit - I've had this unit installed long enough (a few weeks now) to give a good thorough review of the unit.
I. Features/Functionality
II. PROS
III. CONS
IV. Usage Review
V. Conclusion
Here is my full review of the Rosen DS-GM1010-P11 head unit - I've had this unit installed long enough (a few weeks now) to give a good thorough review of the unit.
I. Features/Functionality
- 7" 800x480 Touch Screen (resistive screen technology)
- Built-in Bluetooth (including A2DP profile for audio streaming)
- Built-in microphone (for hand-free phone calls via Bluetooth)
- (1) Mini-USB Port (on the front of the unit)
- (2) Full size SDHC card slots (one for Navigation app/maps and one for music/video/pictures)
- Many option input/output harnesses available to connect to the back of unit, including pre-amp outs, camera input, AUX audio/video input, etc.
- Dual-Zone support (can listen/view different sources in fron/back seats with an option harness) - great if you install headrest monitors in your Impala!
- Built-in 6-Disc Virtual CD Changer (can store up to 6 CD's in the unit as .mp3 files)
- Supports factory On-Star, factory Bluetooth and factory XM Radio (if equipped)
- High Quality AM/FM Radio with working USA RDS support
- Built-in GPS receiver (w/included external GPS antenna)
- iGo Primo navigation software and maps included
- Windows CE 5.0
- 128mb DDR2 SDRAM (667Mhz)
- Supports MPEG-4 (Divx), DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, VCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, JPEG, WMA formats
- 4x22 watt (RMS), 4x45 watt (Peak) amplifier
- OEM-style look and Plug & Play installation - now cutting or splicing wires.
- Retains ALL warning chimes, turn-signal sounds, steering-wheel controls (if equipped), etc.
- Built-in Bluetooth (including A2DP profile for audio streaming)
- Built-in microphone (for hand-free phone calls via Bluetooth)
- (1) Mini-USB Port (on the front of the unit)
- (2) Full size SDHC card slots (one for Navigation app/maps and one for music/video/pictures)
- Many option input/output harnesses available to connect to the back of unit, including pre-amp outs, camera input, AUX audio/video input, etc.
- Dual-Zone support (can listen/view different sources in fron/back seats with an option harness) - great if you install headrest monitors in your Impala!
- Built-in 6-Disc Virtual CD Changer (can store up to 6 CD's in the unit as .mp3 files)
- Supports factory On-Star, factory Bluetooth and factory XM Radio (if equipped)
- High Quality AM/FM Radio with working USA RDS support
- Built-in GPS receiver (w/included external GPS antenna)
- iGo Primo navigation software and maps included
- Windows CE 5.0
- 128mb DDR2 SDRAM (667Mhz)
- Supports MPEG-4 (Divx), DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, VCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, JPEG, WMA formats
- 4x22 watt (RMS), 4x45 watt (Peak) amplifier
- OEM-style look and Plug & Play installation - now cutting or splicing wires.
- Retains ALL warning chimes, turn-signal sounds, steering-wheel controls (if equipped), etc.
II. PROS
- Easy installation, OEM-look
- Unit comes with cable harnesses for both Bose and non-Bose installations
- Contains BBE sound enhancing technology (provides a noticable improvement in sound quality)
- Supports RAP (Retained Accessory Power)
- Reatins all steering-wheel controls properly
- Retains ALL warning chimes and turn-signal sounds without an addtional "stick-on" speaker
- Fully supports On-Star and XM-Radio
- Screen visibility is very good, even on sunny days
- iGo Primo installed by default - GPS software and maps can be upgraded or changed without any assistance from Rosen though
- Optional support for a backup camera (w/optional backup camera harness)
- All external device harnesses are optional and extra-cost items
- Unit comes with cable harnesses for both Bose and non-Bose installations
- Contains BBE sound enhancing technology (provides a noticable improvement in sound quality)
- Supports RAP (Retained Accessory Power)
- Reatins all steering-wheel controls properly
- Retains ALL warning chimes and turn-signal sounds without an addtional "stick-on" speaker
- Fully supports On-Star and XM-Radio
- Screen visibility is very good, even on sunny days
- iGo Primo installed by default - GPS software and maps can be upgraded or changed without any assistance from Rosen though
- Optional support for a backup camera (w/optional backup camera harness)
- All external device harnesses are optional and extra-cost items
III. CONS
- Firmware is not user-upgradable - must send the unit to Rosen to upgrade firmware
- Startup Logo cannot be changed (it is a Rosen splash screen)
- No support if purchased used. If purchased new, you must go through the Rosen reseller for support - cannot get support directly from Rosen.
- No 1/8" AUX input on front of unit
- No IR remote control
- No USB port on back of unit
- No iPod or MP3 album artwork
- USB/SD card interface is pretty bad
- Startup Logo cannot be changed (it is a Rosen splash screen)
- No support if purchased used. If purchased new, you must go through the Rosen reseller for support - cannot get support directly from Rosen.
- No 1/8" AUX input on front of unit
- No IR remote control
- No USB port on back of unit
- No iPod or MP3 album artwork
- USB/SD card interface is pretty bad
IV. Usage Review
Overall Fit and Look
The Rosen unit fits perfectly and looks great installed in the dash of my 2012 Impala. It looks 100% stock and at night, the button color matches the rest of the interior lights *perfectly*. On the the other hand, the button color of the OttoNavi K-Series unit was a different shade than the rest of the interior lights. Also, the Rosen unit has three different brightness settings for the screeen (normal, dim and off). You can cycle through these screen brightness settings simply by pressing the power button. Also, when the headlights are on, the screen automatically dims as well. The OttoNavi screen was either on or off.
Overall Interface
First off, this unit had two completely separate "modes" - one for Navigation and one for everything else. This way, you can instantly switch between the navigation app and all of the functions, without exiting and re-starting the navigation app every time (which can take a good 10-15 seconds). Basically, the navigation app is always up and running in the background - it starts automatically when the system is turned on. You can use the "Navi" hardware button on the unit to switch between navigation mode and "music" mode (which can be AM/FM, CD, DVD, USB, SDHC, iPod, etc). When not in navigation mode, there are "tabs" along the bottom of the screen to selet the different functions (AM/FM, SAT, iPOD, CD, DVD, MP3 and Phone). To access the USB or SD card, you press the DVD source repeatedly (first press=DVD, second press=USB, third press=SD). Unit has multiple DSP modes (Pop, Rock, etc) as well as separate Bass, Mid and Treble settings. Unit also has an automatic "Spectrum" mode which shows an audio spectrum of the playing music - pretty slick looking. There are multiple different colors and styles for this "Spectrum" mode and you can enable/disable the auto-spectrum mode. No matter what function you are actively using, an incoming call on your bluetooth enabled phone will pop-up a window showing you the number of the incoming call as well as buttons to answer or ignore the call. Overall, a very easy to use interface.
Navigation Interface
Overall, the navigation app runs *very* well on this unit. Surprisingly, the navigation app runs better on this Rosen unit than it does on the OttoNavi K-Series unit, which has twice as much RAM (256M vs 128M on the Rosen) and a faster processor! I can't explain why, but it just runs better - the navigation TTS voices work flawlessly on the Rosen unit, whereas they would constantly stutter and cut out on the OttoNavi unit. With the OttoNavi, I had to find and install "low quality" TTS voices in order to get them working properly. I also like the way that the Rosen handles navigation voices - it mutes the music on the front speakers while the navigation app is "talking" - it "talks" va the front speakers only while continuing to play music through the rear speakers. Also, you can adjust the navigation voice volume using the regular volume controls while the navigation voice is talking, which is really nice. For comparison, the OttoNavi mutes *all* speakers for navigation instructions and you also have to dig into the navigation app menus to adjust the navigation voice volume.
AM/FM Interface
Not much to say here - it's an AM/FM radio... It *does* support RDS in the USA though (unlike the OttoNavi). It also gets much better recpetion that the OttoNavi K-Series. I suspect a higher quality tuner.
SAT Interface (XM Radio)
The satellite radio interface is OK - you can set up to 18 presets for XM and cycle through them with the steering wheel controls. You can also press on-screen buttons to go channel-by-channel. The bad news is that you cannnot directly input a channel number. When you have 60+ channels, it's a pain to go through them one-by-one. Then again, with 18 presets, it's not that big of a deal, I guess.
iPod Interface
I have not tested the iPod mode, since I don't have an iPod (I'm an Android guy). I did run the iPod cable from the back of the unit to my glove box, just in case a passanger has an iPhone/iPod that we want to listen to. The iPod interface does seem kind of nice though (unlike the USB interface) - the on-screen controls look like the normal controls on an actual iPod.
CD/DVD Interface
The CD/DVD player works great - it does support MP3's on CDs (like the original head unit) and also supports MP3's on DVD's as well, which is really nice (you can fit *alot* of MP3s on a DVD!! DVD playback looked pretty damn good also. You can pick DVD menu options just my touching them on the screen too. You can also adjust brightness, contrast and color settings when playing a DVD. There is a hidden setup menu where you can disable the "brake" function so that you can watch DVD's without setting the parking brake as well. The unit has licensed Dolby Surround settings and everything for 5.1 audio ouput!
USB/SD Interface
There are no dedicated "tabs" for the USB/SD mode selection - to access the USB drive or SD card, you press the DVD tab repeatedly (first press=DVD, second press=USB, third press=SD). For the USB connection, you have a mini-USB connection on the face of the unit. Just like the OttoNavi, the USB/SD interface is pretty bad, but it gets the job done. Steering-wheel controls allow you to go forward or back songs (and you can pick specific songs on the touch-screen). I could not get random or repeat modes to work, even though I can select them (in a roundabout way). Like I said, this USB/SD interface is pretty bad - it's best used to select a folder of music and let it play (with the ability to easily skip forward or backward to other songs). Also, while there is a empty square in the USB/SD interface that would be perfect for album art, I couln't get album art to display there. It's strange - I select in image file while in SD/USB mode, it will display the image in that square, so I don't understand why they didn't display the album art there as well when playing MP3s... Unless I just don't know how to get it working... Not a big deal for me since I usually leave the system in navigation mode while playing music anyway.
Phone Interface
The "Phone" tab will take you to an on-screen dialer to place phone calls without touching your phone (via bluetooth). Unfortunetley, unlike the OttoNavi, the Rosen doesn't download your phonebook from your phone (that's about the only feature where the OttoNavi beats the Rosen!). You can, however, view receent calls on-screen (recently missed calls, recently dialed calls, etc) - it does download these from your phone (albeit slowly). There is a button in phone mode that will allow you to stream music from your phone over bluetooth (A2DP) - this works well - there are play, stop, pause, next and back buttons on-screen - so you can skip Pandora songs or go to the next or previosu track in your phones music player without ever touching your phone. Very nice. One thing that I really dislike about the bluetooth interface is that once you go above volume number 20 (about half valume) in bluetooth mode, the Rosen flashed a message telling you to make sure the bluetooth sound volume on your phone in turned up. The problem is that if you are in navigation mode and try to increase the radio volume while streaming bluetooth, it flashes that stupid message and takes you out of navigation mode! So you have to press the Navi button to get back to Navigation mode after adjusting the volume in bluetooth mode! Just stupid...
Backup Camera
I also connected an optional (extra cost) license-plate backup camera which is awsome - it even has infra-red lighting so that it works at night too. I had to splice into my reverse lights in order to power the reverve camera while in reverse. Another feature that I like on the Rosen is that the system will automatically set the system volume to a very low level while in reverse so that you can hear things outside the car. Very cool. I always found that I wanted to reduce the volume when in reverse on the OttoNavi, but the volume controls are disabled while in reverse, so there is no way to reduce the volume while in reverse on the OttoNavi - it's all done automatically on the Rosen. Also, the video quality of the reverse camera is *mcuh* better on the Rosen (using the exact same reverse camera)!
The Rosen unit fits perfectly and looks great installed in the dash of my 2012 Impala. It looks 100% stock and at night, the button color matches the rest of the interior lights *perfectly*. On the the other hand, the button color of the OttoNavi K-Series unit was a different shade than the rest of the interior lights. Also, the Rosen unit has three different brightness settings for the screeen (normal, dim and off). You can cycle through these screen brightness settings simply by pressing the power button. Also, when the headlights are on, the screen automatically dims as well. The OttoNavi screen was either on or off.
Overall Interface
First off, this unit had two completely separate "modes" - one for Navigation and one for everything else. This way, you can instantly switch between the navigation app and all of the functions, without exiting and re-starting the navigation app every time (which can take a good 10-15 seconds). Basically, the navigation app is always up and running in the background - it starts automatically when the system is turned on. You can use the "Navi" hardware button on the unit to switch between navigation mode and "music" mode (which can be AM/FM, CD, DVD, USB, SDHC, iPod, etc). When not in navigation mode, there are "tabs" along the bottom of the screen to selet the different functions (AM/FM, SAT, iPOD, CD, DVD, MP3 and Phone). To access the USB or SD card, you press the DVD source repeatedly (first press=DVD, second press=USB, third press=SD). Unit has multiple DSP modes (Pop, Rock, etc) as well as separate Bass, Mid and Treble settings. Unit also has an automatic "Spectrum" mode which shows an audio spectrum of the playing music - pretty slick looking. There are multiple different colors and styles for this "Spectrum" mode and you can enable/disable the auto-spectrum mode. No matter what function you are actively using, an incoming call on your bluetooth enabled phone will pop-up a window showing you the number of the incoming call as well as buttons to answer or ignore the call. Overall, a very easy to use interface.
Navigation Interface
Overall, the navigation app runs *very* well on this unit. Surprisingly, the navigation app runs better on this Rosen unit than it does on the OttoNavi K-Series unit, which has twice as much RAM (256M vs 128M on the Rosen) and a faster processor! I can't explain why, but it just runs better - the navigation TTS voices work flawlessly on the Rosen unit, whereas they would constantly stutter and cut out on the OttoNavi unit. With the OttoNavi, I had to find and install "low quality" TTS voices in order to get them working properly. I also like the way that the Rosen handles navigation voices - it mutes the music on the front speakers while the navigation app is "talking" - it "talks" va the front speakers only while continuing to play music through the rear speakers. Also, you can adjust the navigation voice volume using the regular volume controls while the navigation voice is talking, which is really nice. For comparison, the OttoNavi mutes *all* speakers for navigation instructions and you also have to dig into the navigation app menus to adjust the navigation voice volume.
AM/FM Interface
Not much to say here - it's an AM/FM radio... It *does* support RDS in the USA though (unlike the OttoNavi). It also gets much better recpetion that the OttoNavi K-Series. I suspect a higher quality tuner.
SAT Interface (XM Radio)
The satellite radio interface is OK - you can set up to 18 presets for XM and cycle through them with the steering wheel controls. You can also press on-screen buttons to go channel-by-channel. The bad news is that you cannnot directly input a channel number. When you have 60+ channels, it's a pain to go through them one-by-one. Then again, with 18 presets, it's not that big of a deal, I guess.
iPod Interface
I have not tested the iPod mode, since I don't have an iPod (I'm an Android guy). I did run the iPod cable from the back of the unit to my glove box, just in case a passanger has an iPhone/iPod that we want to listen to. The iPod interface does seem kind of nice though (unlike the USB interface) - the on-screen controls look like the normal controls on an actual iPod.
CD/DVD Interface
The CD/DVD player works great - it does support MP3's on CDs (like the original head unit) and also supports MP3's on DVD's as well, which is really nice (you can fit *alot* of MP3s on a DVD!! DVD playback looked pretty damn good also. You can pick DVD menu options just my touching them on the screen too. You can also adjust brightness, contrast and color settings when playing a DVD. There is a hidden setup menu where you can disable the "brake" function so that you can watch DVD's without setting the parking brake as well. The unit has licensed Dolby Surround settings and everything for 5.1 audio ouput!
USB/SD Interface
There are no dedicated "tabs" for the USB/SD mode selection - to access the USB drive or SD card, you press the DVD tab repeatedly (first press=DVD, second press=USB, third press=SD). For the USB connection, you have a mini-USB connection on the face of the unit. Just like the OttoNavi, the USB/SD interface is pretty bad, but it gets the job done. Steering-wheel controls allow you to go forward or back songs (and you can pick specific songs on the touch-screen). I could not get random or repeat modes to work, even though I can select them (in a roundabout way). Like I said, this USB/SD interface is pretty bad - it's best used to select a folder of music and let it play (with the ability to easily skip forward or backward to other songs). Also, while there is a empty square in the USB/SD interface that would be perfect for album art, I couln't get album art to display there. It's strange - I select in image file while in SD/USB mode, it will display the image in that square, so I don't understand why they didn't display the album art there as well when playing MP3s... Unless I just don't know how to get it working... Not a big deal for me since I usually leave the system in navigation mode while playing music anyway.
Phone Interface
The "Phone" tab will take you to an on-screen dialer to place phone calls without touching your phone (via bluetooth). Unfortunetley, unlike the OttoNavi, the Rosen doesn't download your phonebook from your phone (that's about the only feature where the OttoNavi beats the Rosen!). You can, however, view receent calls on-screen (recently missed calls, recently dialed calls, etc) - it does download these from your phone (albeit slowly). There is a button in phone mode that will allow you to stream music from your phone over bluetooth (A2DP) - this works well - there are play, stop, pause, next and back buttons on-screen - so you can skip Pandora songs or go to the next or previosu track in your phones music player without ever touching your phone. Very nice. One thing that I really dislike about the bluetooth interface is that once you go above volume number 20 (about half valume) in bluetooth mode, the Rosen flashed a message telling you to make sure the bluetooth sound volume on your phone in turned up. The problem is that if you are in navigation mode and try to increase the radio volume while streaming bluetooth, it flashes that stupid message and takes you out of navigation mode! So you have to press the Navi button to get back to Navigation mode after adjusting the volume in bluetooth mode! Just stupid...
Backup Camera
I also connected an optional (extra cost) license-plate backup camera which is awsome - it even has infra-red lighting so that it works at night too. I had to splice into my reverse lights in order to power the reverve camera while in reverse. Another feature that I like on the Rosen is that the system will automatically set the system volume to a very low level while in reverse so that you can hear things outside the car. Very cool. I always found that I wanted to reduce the volume when in reverse on the OttoNavi, but the volume controls are disabled while in reverse, so there is no way to reduce the volume while in reverse on the OttoNavi - it's all done automatically on the Rosen. Also, the video quality of the reverse camera is *mcuh* better on the Rosen (using the exact same reverse camera)!
V. Conclusion
Simply put, I *really* like the Rosen unit - it really does blow away the OttoNavi unit. The sound quality and power of the Rosen unit is reason enough to purchase it over the OttoNavi unit. It just performs better in practically every single aspect. Like I said, even though I still had a brand new OttoNavi K-Series unit sitting here (actually sending it back to OttoNavi tomorrow), I left the Rosen unit installed - it's that much better. OttoNavi is going to replace my K-Series, assuming mine was defective. If the new one has the same issues, they have agreed to give me a refund for the unit. Even if I can't get OttoNavi to give me a full refund, I will be selling the OttoNavi for a loss.