Parrot Asteroid Android-Powered Car Stereo (iPod/iPhone/iPad Compatible)

by Parrot

Product Features

• Single Din Android Based Deck
• Hands-free Calling, Bluetooth, 4 USB ports, analogue & GPS inputs, detachable screen, automatic phonebook sync, Multipoint & AM/FM Radio, A2DP streaming
• Internet connectivity via 3G dongle or tethering for Apps including Google Maps, Roadtrip, Wikango, TuneIn & more
• Search for and play your music simply by speaking the name of the album or artist
• Powerful audio platform that includes 3 sets of pre-outs and a built in 4x55W Mosfet amplifier

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Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Parrot ASTEROID Overview

Parrot has released the ASTEROID 1.5 software update which includes USB tethering, phone compatibility updates and new APPs. Please see the firmware update page at parrot.com for instructions on this simple procedure.

The Parrot Asteroid offers the latest in digital music playback from nearly any media source, including internet radio when connected using a 3G capable device. Dial a contact hands-free or search your music safely and conveniently using Parrot’s unparalleled voice recognition. This unique car receiver is an industry first to operate on Android software to unlock its full potential.

Access All Your Music by Voice

The built-in Voice Music Search feature, makes finding the song or artist you want to hear easier and more convenient than ever; just say the name of an artist or album from your music library and the music will begin automatically, offering you a list of matching tracks. To offer the highest in audio quality, the Asteroid is equipped with a 4x55W built-in MOSFET amplifier, a subwoofer output and 6 RCA preamp-outputs. Fine tune your music using the fully customizable equalizer with optional sound effects that give produce exceptional audio quality for any music genre.

Parrot ASTEROID plays all types of music sources: iPod, iPhone, USB, SD card and also Bluetooth stereo (A2DP), analog player (view larger).

Innovative Design

Operating the feature packed Asteroid is made easy and intuitive with its elegant faceplate that incorporates backlit buttons and a discrete jog wheel. Next to this detachable faceplate is the large 3.2 inch high-definition color display. In addition to being an aesthetic design, the unit features a reduced depth chassis to offer compatibility with nearly every vehicle.

The reduced depth of ASTEROID facilitates the installation in standard headunit location and it’s compatible with all makes of car equipped with 1 DIN module (view larger).

Items Included

• ISO cable
• GPS receiver with USB connector
• USB male 1.5m to USB female cable
• iPod cable 1.2m
• Jack cable male to male 1.5m (audio device)
• Front panel bag
• Quick start guide
• Cables ties (3)
• Bracket keys
• Double external microphone
• Mounting sleeve

Web Service Apps

The Parrot Asteroid is the first to offer web connected Android applications and internet ready features. When paired with a data capable Smartphone or a 3G USB modem, an entirely new set of features come to life, including access to Maps with live points of interest, Internet Radio playback and geolocational service apps to inform you of weather conditions and attractions relevant to your route. You can expect to see more applications in the future due to Parrot’s open platform design which leaves the possibilities nearly endless with the help of third party app developers.

The maps application offers advanced mapping and geolocation. It tells you about traffic and gives you points of interest (dinning, hotel, & more).

Built-in ANDROID Apps

The Maps application is an informative driving assistant. When used with a 3G connection, Maps allows you to easily find ‘Points of Interest’ (POI) near your location and gives you options to call the POI or access simple driving directions. This App will also display driving conditions near you to help you choose the best possible route to your destination.

TuneIn offers free local, international and internet radio. When used with a 3G connection you have access to over 50,000 radio stations and podcasts from around the world. With TuneIn you can quickly find and listen to unlimited music, sports and talk radio in digital quality. The application can also suggest radio stations that you might enjoy, based on your listening history.

Roadtrip is your virtual travel guide. When used with a 3G connection, it invites you to discover tourist attractions based on your current location with detailed information and photos. With the combination of hi-res photos and tourist information from Wikipedia and Google Maps, Roadtrip is the perfect in-car companion.

• Roadtrip can display your current location allowing you to zoom in and out on the populated map.
• When using Roadtrip, it will notify you of upcoming potential POI’s.
• Select a POI to receive a detailed summary and associated photos.
• Summary can offer a history of the POI and vocally announce the weather conditions.
• You can call or even get simple driving directions to the listed points of interest.

The Weather application keeps you informed of the weather conditions relevant to your location or your choice of any location from around the world. The easy to read color display of the Parrot Asteroid allows the Weather App to accurately represent weather conditions using more than 26 unique weather condition symbols.

The Wikango application turns your Parrot Asteroid into the ultimate driving assistant system. The App knows the location of all fixed speed and red light camera’s throughout the USA and alerts you as you approach one of these camera’s. Wikango also includes a community aspect where individual users can plot the location of temporary speed camera’s, traffic accidents or other risk situations.

Product Description

Single-Din Car Receiver With 3.2'' Color Screen; 55W X 4 Built-In Amplifier; Innovative Design-Detachable Faceplate & Reduced Depth For Easy Installation ; Bluetooth(R) Hands Free With Advanced Features; Phonebook Synchronization Associated To Automatic User Independent Voice Tag To Make Hands Free Calls Easily ; Multimedia Car Receiver With 3G & Gps Connectivity Provides Access To Internet Radio, Music Streaming Radio, Pois & Navigation Services ; 3G Multimedia System With Embedded Android(Tm) Operating System Supports Internet Applications & Geolocation; Subwoofer Output; 6 Rca Preamp Outputs

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 104 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars No Android Phone Required November 3, 2011

By Jonathan Abrams

No Android Phone Required

First, a bit of background...
I have an extensive 20+ year 12 volt background as a custom installer, salesperson, retail store owner, and wholesale sales rep. I've also been an avid Android user since the G1. That being said, I'm very impressed with the potential of this piece. Understand, the Asteroid is yet in the beginning stages of its development.

Build Quality.
The quality of craftsmanship is top-notch. The buttons and displays are very sharp and solid. The feel of the buttons remind me of a factory Mercedes Becker radio. Back lighting color and brightness are very appealing. The HD LCD panel is beautiful. Even the included USB GPS antenna is higher quality than any other I have seen. The Asteroid (as do most Parrot units) comes with a pre-terminated DIN harness that allowed me to plug directly into my Kia Forte with no wiring or adapter harness at all! This will not likely be the case for you, unless you have a Hyundai/Kia or German vehicle. The rotary volume is not the most comfortable to use, and there is no wireless remote or steering wheel control adapter available yet (they claim by the end of the year). That is my only hardware complaint.

Bluetooth.
Works wonderfully. Both phone and audio streaming are great. "Call Bill Smith mobile" I said, and instantly the pleasant voice said, "Calling Smith, Bill on mobile". Perfect! The call quality on my end is significantly better than the factory Kia Bluetooth, and on the other end it is 20 times better! The Asteroid builds it's own voice tags for each contact automatically, so you don't have to worry if your phone doesn't support voice tagging. You can also select whether or not you would like the caller's name to be verbally announced on incoming calls.

Audio.
The Asteroid has 6ch F/R/Sub 6 volt pre-amp outputs... which is real impressive. As of now, I'm currently using the internal 55wX4 amplifier on some DLS components, and it sounds very nice after tuning in the 7 band EQ. It does take several steps through the menus to get to any audio adjustments, so I may run some kind of pre-amp with this eventually. The menus are pretty clear and intuitive.

Media and Control.
Inputs: 3 USB's (one for the GPS), SD card, iPod/iPhone/iPad, and 3.5mm aux input. There is NO video support on this device through inputs or video files. I use a 32GB SSD, and the first time it was turned on, it took about 20 minutes to index all the music on that drive. It was a little annoying... until I used the voice control! I said "play Sublime", and instantly Sublime started playing and a list of the albums came up on the screen along with the album art of the track currently playing. Ok, that was worth it!

Internet.
This is where the Asteroid still needs some catching up. The Asteroid is pre-loaded with about 5 apps. Almost all of which need internet connection to function. I was under the understanding I could tether my G2 via USB for internet connection. I was wrong. The firmware that will allow that to happen is still under development. As of now if you would like to use you phones internet connection, you must have a phone that will share internet via Bluetooth (DUN or PAN profile). You can, however, connect via 3G USB dongle. I personally can't justify a $300/year internet connection budget for my car stereo. So I cannot review these apps at this time. I will try to find a jailbroke iPhone that supports the proper DUN profile for that application. Imagine that... the Android radio will only work properly with the iPhone! According to Parrot techs, they will have this remedied "shortly".

Conclusion.
Although I was really anxious to see and use the Android apps on this radio and was entirely let down on that issue for now, I am still thoroughly impressed with the Asteroid. I was also expecting the radio to depend on my Android phone for some functionality, and it does not. At least not yet. You would have full functionality using any decent smart phone. All of the voice functionality works great. Better than the $1,600 Pioneer AVICZ130BT's voice recognition, in fact. The build quality is superior to anything Pioneer, JVC, Alpine, and all the major players are producing now. Once I have my steering wheel control, Pandora app, and USB tethering, I will be a happy camper. The other two useful additions would be a back up camera input, and satellite radio compatibility. But I can stream Sirius (when I have good signal) from my phone, so I think I'll live. Hopefully Parrot keeps putting some R&D effort toward this platform. At $350, you can buy a lot worse... and as this product is up-datable and expandable, so I am looking forward to see great things in the future.

You can download the users guide from here: [...]

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great concept with lots of features December 9, 2011

By MagnaRider03

I actually bought this unit from Crutchfield because at the time, both, Amazon & Crutchfield were selling them for the same price- but Crutchfield includes free installation gear. The only real reason why I was even in the market for a new stereo was because some lowlife broke into my garage and stole my old Sony Radio with bluetooth.

Carrying around a CD this days seem rather antiquated, unless you're an absolute audiophile. For those that are not, in comes this stereo that pretty much lets you do it all- short of being able to watch videos on the screen. It has 4 USB ports which are intended to be used for the provided GPS antenna, your choice of USB broadband dongle (which is intended to be used with the USB extension cable) and finally you have one spare USB port for you to connect your preferred USB device (be warned, you will need to gain access to the rear of the stereo if you do not buy an additional USB extension cable. Also, from some brief web browsing, I'm given the impression that you can actually use a USB hub on this stereo unit, which would further expand your options. In addition to this you also have an additional SD card slot to be used for even further onboard music space.

Installation is pretty straight forward for my car... obviously YMMV. But do note that other than the standard installation of this stereo, you will be required to run & hide the cables for the GPS antenna (which is supposed to be mounted on your dash) and for the microphone as well (which is supposed to be installed near your rearview mirror or on your visor- I opted for the visor). Also, parrot made this unit with the intention of easing installation for those whose car's have ISO stereo harnesses. Otherwise, you will need to buy a VW ISO harness to connect to the unit's harness or do as I did and cut the ISO connector of and wire the unit as you would any other stereo.

Before purchasing this unit, I was actually heavily leaning towards the Kenwood KIV-BT901 since it had many of the same features this unit has and then some (ie. video, sms on screen, etc)- for around the same price. Unfortunately, it turned out to not be a good fit for me since it was lacking a removable face plate for security.

The next runner up was the Pioneer MVH-8200, again similar features to this unit, plus video- and a partially removable faceplate. Unfortunately, I wasn't too fond of the user interface, and the USB and Line inputs were located at the front of the unit (which ends up cluttering it up with cables and the entire look overall). Furthermore, it was also lacking one feature that I really liked, and wanted to keep from the Sony unit that was stolen, was the Bluetooth audio streaming capability. As I understand it, not many stereos today support this feature, save for several of the Sony headunits.
Undoubtedly, I was constantly being recommended to Sony's line for this Bluetooth audio streaming feature. Although this would be a good choice for many given the features and price point, it just wasn't doing it for me. I'm not a fan of their iPod interface and their units have more lights than those dressed up semi-trucks that you see on the highway.
With all of that being said, and to summarize, there are a few key features that made me pick this stereo over your more common brands (Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, Sony, etc):

Not Flashy - essentially many of the stereos that I saw had more lights than a UFO and the styling completely seemed to clash with my dash (I can't really think of any dash style that these UFO stereos would even look good in). This unit is very simplistic with a very tolerable white glow to it and all of the audio source inputs are nicely tucked away behind the unit or behind the faceplate in the case of the SD card.

Security - This unit, much like the Pioneer unit that I mentioned above, both have a "half" faceplate that can be removed, which leaves only the screen behind on the unit itself. A sufficient deterrent for my needs considering I now actively set my alarm, regardless of where I park my car. One nice thing about this "half" faceplate is that it's less cumbersome to carry around and store away in your book bag or even your jacket pocket.

Audio inputs - You essentially have every source imaginable for this unit... minus a cd-slot. You have the option of USB dongles, SD Card, iPod, line-in, Bluetooth audio streaming and/or internet music with the use of broadband USB dongle.
iPod interface - it's not terrible, but really (at this point) not that much better than the Sony interface that I had before. One really sweet feature is that you can search for songs by artists or albums, simply by pressing a button and saying either. It would be nice if you were able to search for songs with this feature too. It works well the majority of time, but it's still kind of new to me, so there may be some user error here.

The android aspect of this unit is decent idea, particularly since this allows you to update the stereo as necessary and I'm sure that if you're nifty at writing out code or whatever you do to write programs for android devices, the possibilities could be that much greater.

Unfortunately, just with any product these days, it has its downsides.

When I first placed my order, I received my receiver promptly and installed it flawlessly. The only problem was the unit itself. It would restart randomly, the unit would get extremely hot, it would freeze, Bluetooth connectivity would be sketchy, plus a bunch of other minor annoyances. Fortunately, I had a new unit sent to me at no charge that seems to be a much better unit.

Faulty unit aside, there are some things that more annoyances than anything. The first would be the Subwoofer control, which will automatically activate even though it's displaying as being inactive in the settings. Which forces me to go into the settings and activate the subwoofer and deactivate for it to remain turned. This seems to only really happen after I remove the faceplate, otherwise if I pull up to a gas station and shut off the car, and leave the faceplate on, it will retain it's settings and function as indicated.

The ipod has on occasion lost track of where it was... but I haven't exactly figured out a pattern to this yet. It may be due to it being a 5th gen iPod video classic that I haven't updated in quite some time.

As for internet connectivity, I wish I could comment on this, but I have not opted to purchase a plan and a USB broadband dongle. I thought that maybe I could find a way around this and just tether my phone to this unit (Evo 4G), but that is not the case at the moment. Maybe a future update will enable this feature... so until then this feature will remain a con in my book.

Although I like the simplicity and elegance that this unit portrays... they could have added some rubber grip to the volume knob. It's rather difficult trying to turn the knob with gloves on. The knob and much of the face seems to be made of plastic (duh!), but I constantly fear scratching it (even with the included soft carrying case), since the volume knob for example is a clear plastic circle. I may also end up buying a screen protector to cut to size for the actual screen, just to ease my paranoia. Another complaint of mine is the buttons on this unit, since they are all essentially flush with their surroundings, it forces you to glance at the stereo before pressing a button... and there is really no way around this since as far as I know, no remote control is offered for this unit. Lastly, the implementation of a touch screen would have probably made it easier to navigate this unit. Luckily, it's not terribly difficult to navigate the unit with the knob.

For me though, this unit meets my basic needs. If, and when, more apps and internet connectivity become reality for me, it will make things just that much better for me.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Dont Believe the Hype March 31, 2012

By K. Dyer

Pros: great phone features, good call quality on both ends, phonebook download and voice commands work well.

Cons: Long boot time, useless apps, for internet connectivity iPhone works out of the box but android phones dont (even though the thing is running android!), NO NAVIGATION, I REPEAT- NO NAVIGATION FUNCTIONALITY. After spending more money than you usually would on a head unit, the company tries to up-sell you with their app subscriptions. Takes longer to adjust audio controls than any other head unit I have ever used ever. Line-in cord supplied is thin and has poor shielding. The unit wont automatically play when its turned on- you have to press a button every time.

I am sad to say I regret my purchase. The concept sold me, but the results leave much to be desired.