The Parrot Asteroid Smart has been on the market for a couple of months now but I have only had time to get familiar with lately, usually when a Head-Unit with so many features is released I’d have one in the shop and be testing/reviewing it straight away but in this instance this one slipped past me.
Out of the box it looks like a very simple Head-Unit with a 6.2″ Touch Screen but as soon as it fires up you realise there is much more to it!
The first reaction of the Sound Quality of the Parrot Asteroid Smart wasn’t the best in my opinion with the speakers running directly off the Head-Unit, it was lacking on amplification side of things and seemed a bit hollow. But once we had the speakers running off amplifiers it truly came alive producing beautiful clean sound throughout the room!
Also once you have mastered the Touch Screen/Operating System the EQ is brilliant and can adjust simply gliding your finger across the screen, controlling the Sub-Woofer levels/frequency is just as simple too making the Parrot Asteroid Smart an easy unit to use to get the sound you are after!
The Display on the Parrot Asteroid Smart is very similar to one off a Touch Screen Android Phone, which makes sense because it does use what seems to be an Android Operating System. The Touch Screen is also very responsive, more so responsive than other Double Din Touch Screens on the market which makes it very pleasing to use.
Another good feature is being able to customise the home screen/s, this is easily done by holding down on an app icon on the app screen and dragging it to the home screen/s. I found this feature very handy and soon enough I had everything I used regularly on the first home screen and apps I would occasionally use on the second home page.
The Parrot Asteroid Smart is packed with features and the fact that you can download apps via the Asteroid Market makes it a very versatile Head-Unit, I have already downloaded numerous apps ranging from Weather/GPS/Video and Social media and the more I use the apps the more it feels like a Smart Phone more than a Head-Unit.
With built in IGO GPS makes it a treat for when travelling or even finding the closest gas station. The GPS function is reasonably quick at finding satellite connection & addresses and even works well inside our showroom which I thought it might struggle with.
The WiFi feature is brilliant which means you can leech WiFi from your local hotspot or even off your smart phone, also having the ability to add a 3g/4g Dongle make’s handy if you live in areas that don’t have many WiFi hotspots.
Features:
General:
- 6.2″ Multi-touch capacitive screen
- 1 removable faceplate
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- Bluetooth profiles: HSP, HFP, OPP, PBAP, A2DP (Bluetooth stereo), AVRCP
- Android 2.3 platform
- Apple certification: Made for iPod, Made for iPhone, Made for iPad
- Internet connection over: 3G/4G USB Dongle, Smartphone (USB and Bluetooth Tethering), Wi-Fi
- Software update via USB key
- Steering-wheel controls compatible (Parrot UNIKA)
Music:
- Voice-activated music Search (Artist, Album)
- Compatibility with iPod/iPhone/iPad by cable, USB, SD card, Line input
- Audio effects: Virtual SuperBass 2 & Sound Stage 2
- Parametric equaliser with 7 bands, 6 presets, 3 custom presets
- Compatible formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, OG
Technical Specifications:
- External GPS receiver SiRFStar IV
- 4 x 55 W MOSFET amplifier 2 x line output – 1 x line input
- Noise reduction, full duplex and echo cancellation
- Flash memory: 1 GB/8 GB NAND
- RAM memory: 512 MB/4 GB DDR
Dimensions and weight:
- Dimensions : 178 x 99,8 x 114 mm
- Weight: 1000 g
Apps:
- Download useful APPs from ASTEROID Market : Driving assistance, Navigation, Music on demand, Points of Interest
- www.parrotasteroid.com/ asteroidmarket/
Telephone:
- Dual Mode (MULTIPOINT): connect two phones simultaneously
- Advanced voice recognition
- Automatic phonebook synchronisation
- Call management (Answer, make, reject)
- Phonebook: up to 5,000 contacts per telephone/50,000 in total
- Pairing: up to 10 phones, PIN code: 0000
- Audio: DSP, full duplex, advanced noise reduction, echo cancellation
Video:
- 1 reverse camera input
- 1 RCA input
- 1 RCA output
- Compatible with H.264 format (.MPEG, .MOV, .AVI, .WMV)
Package content:
- 1 x ASTEROID Smart
- 1 x ASTEROID GPS
- 1 x mounting sleeve
- 1 x USB extension
- 1 x iPod/iPhone/iPad cable
- 3 x cable ties
- 1 x ISO cable
- 1 x double external
Overall the Parrot Asteroid Smart is a lot better than I originally expected, the first thing that came to mind is that it didn’t have a CD Player but after a good ten to twenty minutes of using it I realised that the sort of person that would buy the Asteroid Smart wouldn’t carry CD’s and would most likely download them onto their Smart Phone or iPod.
I have now become really fond of the Asteroid Smart since the ease of use and quick response reminds me of a Smart Phone more than a Head-Unit. The Android Smart is the perfect unit for anybody that wants all extra’s you can shake a stick at or even the technology-freak that wants the best Double-Din Touch Screen Head-Unit at half the price of most other competitors!