GROM VLine - Google apps/Android&iPhone integration (5 Viewers)

[jLB]

I read the whole thread but have a few questions. I use an iPhone 6s and use google play to stream music and google maps a lot.

Will this work well for that?

I have unlimited data on my phone, do I have to set up a wifi hotspot or can the vline use the data from my phone directly? (Does this make sense)

My wife uses android, will it be an issue to switch back and forth depending on who drives the 100 that day?

What's the general consensus, is this worth it for an iPhone user?

I'm really looking for plug and play.

Thanks for the help in advance, just bought the LX Saturday.

The VLine box has become more stable/usable over the last 5 months, but it does still have a few quirks.

There is a native "GMusic" app on the VLine that should let you stream Google Play Music directly through the VLine (with some sort of Internet connection) although I have not actually tried it. You should also be able to stream the Google Play Music to your phone and pipe the music through Bluetooth or CarPlay, but I haven't tried it with Google Play Music (many other native iPhone apps have worked just fine like this)

I've had the most consistent results with an iPhone 6, using the CarPlay interface.

I've had better results using Apple Maps through the CarPlay interface than Google maps (or Waze) through the native VLine interface. Using Apple Maps through CarPlay, does not require Internet access for the VLine (only the phone). Native VLine google maps or Waze would require Internet access of some sort (or you could download maps for an area and run Google maps in "offline mode"). Another option would be to continue using your phone as the interface to google maps and just send the audio through the VLine over CarPlay or Bluetooth.

You may be able to use your phone for Internet access, by setting up your phone as a wifi hotspot. I went with a dedicated hotspot in the car just to make things a little easier.

Switching between iPhone and Android may offer some challenges depending on how you are using the VLine, and the reports that I have seen from Android phone users appear to have been less pleased with the system than iPhone users.

Is it worth it for an iPhone user? I think it getting to the point that it is worth the pre-purchase price and has the potential to be worth the full retail price, but I don't think that it is quite there yet.

While it is supposed to be "plug and play", and the patches/updates have taken care of most of the bugs, I still think it still has enough quirks to be more "bleeding edge" at the moment and not something I'd put in a spouse's or child's car without expecting to get an earful every now and then.

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

The VLine box has become more stable/usable over the last 5 months, but it does still have a few quirks.

There is a native "GMusic" app on the VLine that should let you stream Google Play Music directly through the VLine (with some sort of Internet connection) although I have not actually tried it. You should also be able to stream the Google Play Music to your phone and pipe the music through Bluetooth or CarPlay, but I haven't tried it with Google Play Music (many other native iPhone apps have worked just fine like this)

I've had the most consistent results with an iPhone 6, using the CarPlay interface.

I've had better results using Apple Maps through the CarPlay interface than Google maps (or Waze) through the native VLine interface. Using Apple Maps through CarPlay, does not require Internet access for the VLine (only the phone). Native VLine google maps or Waze would require Internet access of some sort (or you could download maps for an area and run Google maps in "offline mode"). Another option would be to continue using your phone as the interface to google maps and just send the audio through the VLine over CarPlay or Bluetooth.

You may be able to use your phone for Internet access, by setting up your phone as a wifi hotspot. I went with a dedicated hotspot in the car just to make things a little easier.

Switching between iPhone and Android may offer some challenges depending on how you are using the VLine, and the reports that I have seen from Android phone users appear to have been less pleased with the system than iPhone users.

Is it worth it for an iPhone user? I think it getting to the point that it is worth the pre-purchase price and has the potential to be worth the full retail price, but I don't think that it is quite there yet.

While it is supposed to be "plug and play", and the patches/updates have taken care of most of the bugs, I still think it still has enough quirks to be more "bleeding edge" at the moment and not something I'd put in a spouse's or child's car without expecting to get an earful every now and then.

Thanks for your detailed response!

For general use i.e. Playing music through an aux cable or Bluetooth streaming, Charging the phone would you recommend the Vais SL unit?

 

[jLB]

My VLine replaced a VAIS SL3B (Bluetooth). The VAIS is/was much less full featured (just streams Bluetooth audio as an emulated CD/MD changer and bypasses the Nav "I agree"), but for the most part was rock solid reliable. I just used a cigarette lighter adapter for charging the phone. Most of the time my phone stayed clipped to my pants pocket, and just continued playing where it left off, when I started the car.

For the most part I was very pleased with the VAIS SL3B. The "everything is a playlist presented as a disc" got a little old after a while, but it just works. My motivation to try the VLine was for the additional features.

Most of the features of the VLine just replicate functions that are already available on your phone, but the presentation on the OEM MFD through a simplified interface is what makes it compelling. Voice commands that actually work (unlike the OEM voice commands) are a nice touch too. Probably my biggest bitch right now is that at startup, I have to switch out of VLine mode (to a normal audio source like the disc changer) to get my OEM reverse camera on the MFD screen. The thing that I have most enjoyed is the CarPlay/Siri "Play..."/"Navigate to ..."/"Text ..."/"Call ..." interface (from someone who didn't previously use Siri directly on the phone).

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

My VLine replaced a VAIS SL3B (Bluetooth). The VAIS is/was much less full featured (just streams Bluetooth audio as an emulated CD/MD changer and bypasses the Nav "I agree"), but for the most part was rock solid reliable. I just used a cigarette lighter adapter for charging the phone. Most of the time my phone stayed clipped to my pants pocket, and just continued playing where it left off, when I started the car.

For the most part I was very pleased with the VAIS SL3B. The "everything is a playlist presented as a disc" got a little old after a while, but it just works. My motivation to try the VLine was for the additional features.

Most of the features of the VLine just replicate functions that are already available on your phone, but the presentation on the OEM MFD through a simplified interface is what makes it compelling. Voice commands that actually work (unlike the OEM voice commands) are a nice touch too. Probably my biggest bitch right now is that at startup, I have to switch out of VLine mode (to a normal audio source like the disc changer) to get my OEM reverse camera on the MFD screen. The thing that I have most enjoyed is the CarPlay/Siri "Play..."/"Navigate to ..."/"Text ..."/"Call ..." interface (from someone who didn't previously use Siri directly on the phone).

Thanks again. Obviously, sound quality is subjective but whats your opinion on the Bluetooth audio quality on both VAIS and Grom Vline instead of an actual aux cable or lightning cable? Better, worse, same?

 

[jLB]

My recent experience is limited to an 06 LX with the factory ML system.

My musical tastes run from jazz/reggae/rock/metal w/ very limited rap & country.

My background, I'm bordering on old fart status, and probably half deaf by now, but I did compete and did rather well in car stereo competitions back in the late 80s early 90s, when sound quality was still more important than pure SPL.

I was not bothered by the SQ of SL3B Bluetooth. I do seem to notice a minor difference between the VLine Bluetooth and CarPlay (lightning) modes. They're close, but CarPlay sounds a hair richer. Most of the time I've dealt with headphone style "AUX" inputs, they've been kinda fiddly about the volume setting on the player/phone. All of these options are leaps and bounds above any FM transmitter or cassette input that I have ever heard.

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

My recent experience is limited to an 06 LX with the factory ML system.

My musical tastes run from jazz/reggae/rock/metal w/ very limited rap & country.

My background, I'm bordering on old fart status, and probably half deaf by now, but I did compete and did rather well in car stereo competitions back in the late 80s early 90s, when sound quality was still more important than pure SPL.

I was not bothered by the SQ of SL3B Bluetooth. I do seem to notice a minor difference between the VLine Bluetooth and CarPlay (lightning) modes. They're close, but CarPlay sounds a hair richer. Most of the time I've dealt with headphone style "AUX" inputs, they've been kinda fiddly about the volume setting on the player/phone. All of these options are leaps and bounds above any FM transmitter or cassette input that I have ever heard.

Thank you sir. Great info. I think I'm going to give the VLine a try.

 

[Manhattan]

Is Grom actually selling anything yet? Unless I missed something (very possible), it looks like they're 100% focused on finding Nissan/Infiniti beta testers.

 

[jLB]

Is Grom actually selling anything yet? Unless I missed something (very possible), it looks like they're 100% focused on finding Nissan/Infiniti beta testers.

Yep GROM-VL1-LEX

and

Yep VLINE Infotainment System for Nissan/Infiniti/GM/Lexus - BETA Test Sign Up

 

[abuck99]

Mark-

I've got the Vline installed- call me if you'd like to check it out.

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

Is Grom actually selling anything yet? Unless I missed something (very possible), it looks like they're 100% focused on finding Nissan/Infiniti beta testers.

I just installed the Vline. They are running $50 off with the march coupon.

 

[jLB]

( from anyone getting the grom vline? - Club Lexus Forums by "gromaudio")

"We are rolling out new OTA upcoming week. with more fixes, better power management, startup times and more. We just got new 4G LTE modems that work with ATT and T-Mobile. All customers will get an email shortly.

As of faster and better specs, we will announce VL2 model with 3x faster MCU and 2GB RAM pretty soon. It will also support few other things."​

I'm not sure how I feel about the thought of a VL2 at the moment

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

( from anyone getting the grom vline? - Club Lexus Forums by "gromaudio")

"We are rolling out new OTA upcoming week. with more fixes, better power management, startup times and more. We just got new 4G LTE modems that work with ATT and T-Mobile. All customers will get an email shortly.

As of faster and better specs, we will announce VL2 model with 3x faster MCU and 2GB RAM pretty soon. It will also support few other things."​

I'm not sure how I feel about the thought of a VL2 at the moment

I don't feel good, I just bought and installed the old one last week...

What mobile hotspot are you guys using? I am think about a dedicated on for the vline.

 

[jLB]

What mobile hotspot are you guys using? I am think about a dedicated on for the vline.

I'm using the ZTE Moble on AT&T:

ZTE Mobley - ZTE USA

Easy install (plug it into the OBDII port) and has worked just fine for me. I did add an OBDII splitter/Y-cable to allow concurrent use of the Bluetooth dongle for Torque.

 

[abuck99]

( from anyone getting the grom vline? - Club Lexus Forums by "gromaudio")

"We are rolling out new OTA upcoming week. with more fixes, better power management, startup times and more. We just got new 4G LTE modems that work with ATT and T-Mobile. All customers will get an email shortly.

As of faster and better specs, we will announce VL2 model with 3x faster MCU and 2GB RAM pretty soon. It will also support few other things."​

I'm not sure how I feel about the thought of a VL2 at the moment

Feels like being punished for being an early adopter and in reality a beta tester for the development of the VL2 platform.

Maybe there is a hardware upgrade they can do if we send in the VL1-?

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

Feels like being punished for being an early adopter and in reality a beta tester for the development of the VL2 platform.

Maybe there is a hardware upgrade they can do if we send in the VL1-?

I messaged them today about this. They disconnected the chat before I could follow up

 

[abuck99]

I paid $299 for the VL1 on the pre buy- so while the prospect of a newer/ better platform 5 or 6 months after initial VL1 release is pretty frustrating, my system works acceptably , although it has some random behaviors. Had I recently paid the current going rate of $500 and found out of a new VL2 platform I would be more vocal.

 

[LouisianaRubicon]

I paid $299 for the VL1 on the pre buy- so while the prospect of a newer/ better platform 5 or 6 months after initial VL1 release is pretty frustrating, my system works acceptably , although it has some random behaviors. Had I recently paid the current going rate of $500 and found out of a new VL2 platform I would be more vocal.

I paid $450 last week! I'm about as pro profit as one can be, but selling me a system with no mention of a new release and no path to upgrade would be unacceptable to me. I will return it for the new system if this is the case. I like the product and as far as I can tell its the only option for what it provides.

 

[crimsonaudio]

They call it bleeding edge for a reason, guys.

 

[abuck99]

They call it bleeding edge for a reason, guys.

No doubt-

I paid $450 last week! I'm about as pro profit as one can be, but selling me a system with no mention of a new release and no path to upgrade would be unacceptable to me. I will return it for the new system if this is the case. I like the product and as far as I can tell its the only option for what it provides.

Last week .... you've still got time to return it.

 

[kennethdart]

I guess you're right I can't confirm that Android Auto works because I don't have an Android phone. Sorry. But here is a video of the device working with my iPhone.

is there a way to access Siri via Carplay on Vline?