Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Android 4.1.1 Car Stereo - WHOA BABY!
 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q...-h680-no/7.jpg
Dashlinq 4 as delivered:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Qk...w377-h282-p-no

Overview
So I know there is a number of other android car stereos that other members on the forum have played around with - so I figured I’d offer my $0.02 on a new one I just picked up. I’m sure a few of you have heard of Ca-Fi, which has been making car stereos with android for quite a while. I’ve owned their last generation which ran gingerbread and quite enjoyed it. I jumped when they finally offered a 4.1.1 version that will run Torque natively - as those where two big things I was looking for.

Needless to say, I got the Toyota Universal version ASAP which drops right into the FR-S perfectly. Quite literally all that needed done was the following:
1.Swap OEM Brackets onto the Ca-Fi unit
2. Snip the Steering wheel controls wire on the harness they provide (wired for all toyotas).
3. Hook up Antenna Adapter
4. Plug in all accessories (GPS Antenna, Wifi, iPod connector, and USB for thumbdrive/HDD — i have this wired into the stock USB outlet, and Aux in.

Literally took me 15 minutes to install, the longest part was deciding where I wanted to mount the GPS (right behind the stereo basically).

First Impressions:
This thing shocked me on first boot up for two reasons… It booted up really quick compared to other units I’ve used. Secondly - and more importantly this thing FEELS and LOOKS like an OEM unit. I can’t say how awesome this is - it feels and looks like something you SHOULD be using in your car as a car stereo. Finger friendly, quick, easy to launch apps and do car based tasks (radio, eq, navigation, MP3s…etc).

Speed:
I believe this has a 1ghz processor. I honestly don’t care what it has though, I’ve used tons of android devices and currently have a Nexus 5 and 7 that i regularly use. This car stereo easily keeps up with both. I’ve experienced nearly zero lag. Stability has also been impeccable (no crashes or weirdness!)

Compatibility:
Basically speaking - any damn android app i have thrown at this has run flawlessly. Games included (but come on now… why do you need games in the car? lol). Play store is loaded by default. What I use regularly is Waze, Pandora, Google Play Music, Pocketcaster, Google Maps, etc. I could realistically run all of these apps at the same time without it hiccuping (i’ve ran quite a number without issues). The only issue I’ve come across is that it only has 2gb of internal storage available - but, don’t forget you have an SD card slot for expandibility as well as USB for a hard drive or thumb drive.

Realistically, this device handles its self just as a stock android device would, no weirdness - no issues. If you want to install an app, it will install, it will work as expected, and it will just be another android install to the app. Better yet, the core functionalities of the device - such as playing a radio station, will play nice with any android app. Say you are listing to the radio and have a navigation app running, when a command is announced by the navi app, the radio will fade briefly and then resume after the command has ended.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_HheZ9aJ1c"]Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Android Car Stereo - Application Performance Part 1 of 2 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tvs8GQVZiE"]Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Android Car Stereo - Application Performance Part 2 of 2 - YouTube[/ame]

Torque!!!!!!!!!

So, one killer app in our community seems to be Torque. Does it work here?

Yes. Without modding, rooting, hacking, etc. Over bluetooth you can pair a Bluetooth OBD2 reader and it will work with torque without issue. Flawlessly.

Torque works - obviously its not working in this photo... just to display the obd2 reader that goes with the app
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-H...-h680-no/5.jpg
Settings showing obd2 reader attached via bluetooth (device is NOT rooted, this works out of the box)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...-h680-no/4.jpg
Running Torque:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSv-3fKBmls"]Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Stereo - Torque via OBD2 reader NO ROOT NEEDED - YouTube[/ame]

Built in Apps & Launcher
So, as a car stereo, you’d expect it to work as one. A vanilla android installation won’t really get you to where you need to go for this to be a pleasant in car experience (no offense to those that have installed tablets in their car). When I think of what the experience should be - it should ATLEAST be as easy to use as a OEM stereo would be, say like a Ford MyTouch system.

Well, Ca-Fi has stepped up their game. They have included an incredibly useful car front end that sits on top of the regular android launcher (basically it acts like a program that launches as default) which allows easy access to Radio, SD Card Music, iPod, and Navigation… the core functions you’d want to do when you get into the car.

Secondary, the launcher that sits below it is tweaked to be geared towards one usage - in car usage. Meaning, while it retains all of Androids functionality (widgets and such), it is scaled in such a way that it easy to navigate and hit the icons quickly without taking your eyes off the road for too long.

The same can be said about their ‘core’ apps. First of all, the radio interface is exactly what you would expect from a car stereo… but its also pleasing to look at, fast, and full of all functionality. The same could be said about the EQ, iPod, SD/HDD Music players (you can always use another program to play music from SD or HDD… but these are included out of the box). Basically, it is an amazing car stereo.

General Walk through:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sGxtnF6GfU"]Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Walk Through Part 1 of 3 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=303ny-z1LtM"]Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Walk Through Part 2 of 3 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSPT7Jrd_-E"]Ca-Fi Dashlinq4 Walk Through Part 3 of 3 - YouTube[/ame]

Overall impressions:
As I’ve mentioned before, I had other android car stereos and the last version of the Ca-Fi stereo line… this blows it all of them out of the water. To add to it - i’ve been in the stereo game for years (i was that guy in high school with the stupid loud stereo)… and honestly none of them compare either. As an android enthusiast too, I’m throughly pleased that it works as a ‘regular’ android device would. Unfortuantely other android car stereos always seem to have hiccups, crash, stupid functionality that doesn’t work, or just compatibility issues with apps. None of that is found here.

I’ll go one further. I’d say this is probably the best in-car navigation/smart radio on the market, including that of what the OEMs are building. I mentioned My Ford Touch above, which is generally mentioned as one of the best. This kills it too.

Pretty cool.

—Just a note, I’m not affiliated or a part of Ca-Fi in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. I am only an android and car enthusiast like the rest of you, I’m just post in my thoughts because of how thrilled I am with this thing.


More photos:
Old Dashlinq Model coming out: Android 2.3 w/ 1ghz, 512mb ram
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/sw...ldNE=w644-h483

New Dashlinq 4 installed with 4.1.1
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...317_202946.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...317_203245.jpg

Comparison of these two: NOTE THESE ARE THE TOYOTA UNIVERSAL MODELS not the double din universal
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...317_202344.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-u...317_202405.jpg

Finished Install in a 2013 Scion FR-S
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...322_134048.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...322_134041.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...322_134713.jpg

Base car home launcher that sits on top of the android launcher (see video for better understanding)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q...-h680-no/7.jpg
Built in radio app
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...-h680-no/6.jpg

Launcher behind car home - customized with car widget and play music widget
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b...-h680-no/3.jpg
Installing an App
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I...-h680-no/2.jpg
Angry Birds Demo, lol
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_...-h680-no/1.jpg

Before I forget, this is the exact stereo I have:

http://store.ca-fi.com/index.php?rou...product_id=283

$533!

Watched all the videos, this thing looks amazing. Just placed my order. Can't wait. Thanks for the review.

:thumbsup:

Let me know if you need any help if/when you install it.

how does the audio sound with stock speakers?

Compared to the stock stereo - vastly superior, mainly due to a better internal amp in this stereo and better control over the sound with the equalizer.

the stock speakers actually sound fairly good with just a stereo change!

Thanks for the incredibly detailed review! Do you know if the unit supports SDXC cars? I could fit all of my music on a 64GB card ([ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009QZH6JS/?tag=azy95x-20"]like this one[/ame]), and never have to worry about internet access again.

How fast does this thing boot? Have you timed it yet?

edit: Nevermind, was still watching videos when I posted. Looks like it's about 30 seconds from cold boot...but that quick start thing is nice. But if it has a battery in it...isn't that bad for heat? Are there any operating specs for temperature listed in the manual or anything?

Still looking through your videos to see exactly what that Disp/Seek knob does...

edit #2: Unless I missed it, I can't find any info on that knob. Can you use the disp/seek knob for going through music? Also, how's it work with your phone?

This by far is the best android HU I've seen. Thanks for the review.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Looks really good! Thanks for the write-up. :thumbup:

When using Play Music, can you select the SD card when saving music for use offline?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Do you have any pictures of the back of the head unit?

Do you know if the harness will automatically connect/function with the factory bluetooth microphone?

Does it have any features for HPF/LPF, time alignment, subwoofer control/filters, etc.?

It said it has the USB Dongle for WLAN, but does this have built in wireless?

Sorry for all the questions, but their website is very vague so I couldn't find anything there. I'd ultimately use my iPhone 5 as a WiFi hot spot and connect to that (no cords) if possible. I've always had Pioneers and Kenwoods, and before dishing double the price on one, I'd highly consider this. Thanks!

All good questions right there ^.

Also, do the physical next/previous buttons on the right also fast forward/rewind if you hold them down?

this is seriously making me reconsider my tablet install. ive bought all the parts for it aswell.
i dont suppose you have ran a ps1 emulator on it by any chance?
i have got my tablet paired with my ps3 bluetooth controllers playing ps1/snes games.