[vinay_ss]

Bhpian's

I am in the process of buying an A6 (Matrix edition). While the car comes with a 14 speaker Bose setup, the rear entertainment unit is not included. Audi supplies a "Entertainment mobile" as an accessory. Essentially it comprises of

a) 2 touchscreens of 10.1 inch with an aspect ratio of 16:10
b)Bluetooth interface, wifi interface, HDMI in and out, SD card slot, USB ports.
c) Dedicated smartphone app.

The 2 screens can be taken out of the car and can also be used as tablet devices.

The pricing is pretty high (about 1.4 lacs) and i am not inclined to spend so much unless it comes highly recommended in this forum. At the same time i am not sure of what other options are available in the market, which can fit the pre wired front seats (Front seats have pre wiring at the back side to fix the Audi entertainment system and also provision for hooking up the screens).

I want to know if there are any alternate products that can be fitted onto the pre installed entertainment systems. The dealer tells me that the Ipad's are not compatible/they do not have ipad holders which fit the A6. Not sure if this is true.

Are there any specific brands of entertainment screens that are compatible and play /sync through the smartphones for movies/youtube/games etc.

Any inputs would be valuable and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Vinay

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vinay_ss

The pricing is pretty high (about 1.4 lacs) and i am not inclined to spend so much unless it comes highly recommended in this forum.

Not worth it at all. I have rear entertainment in my car and its primary purpose is to keep kids on the backseat quiet on long highway journeys so that I can enjoy my drive. My niece especially is a yapper.

At the same time i am not sure of what other options are available in the market

If you want the best alternative, get an iPad and put in a 4G sim card. It beats any integrated entertainment solution out of the water . There are also several good looking holders in the market (example). When not in use, the holder + tablet can be removed. Bonus = The iPad will entertain you at home too .

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by vinay_ss

Bhpian's

I am in the process of buying an A6 (Matrix edition). While the car comes with a 14 speaker Bose setup, the rear entertainment unit is not included. Audi supplies a "Entertainment mobile" as an accessory. Essentially it comprises of

The pricing is pretty high (about 1.4 lacs) and i am not inclined to spend so much unless it comes highly recommended in this forum.

I will agree with GTO, the last time I picked a Q7, I negotiated similar equipment without any charge. It used to cost the same amount at that time as well and given the low number A6 is doing, I won't be surprised if they accept FOC offer if you stick. But if it does not come free, better buy some holder for iPad and use the 4G sim to stream.

From my own experience with multiple BMW cars, I have not watched a single movie or streamed anything till date. Can be good options for the Kids though but again, they will be more happy with tablets than those screens. Remember you need some contents to play on those screens so it can get tricky connecting video games or stream from a laptop in a car.

[vinay_ss]

Thanks GTO , Turbanator,

It makes my decision easy and you are right, the purpose was to keep the kids entertained on long highway runs. Also the clarity of the ipads is far superior and ik was leaning towards not buying the same. My Pajero doesnt have it and they get pretty bored and upset when we talk of long drives.

The unfortunate thing is the A6 seats are pre wired and the holes look pretty awful without the holder installed. I guess i cant charge the ipads directly as well, but that can be managed through USB ports.

Once again, thanks. I will pick up the holders instead from Amazon.

[androdev]

I prefer OEM rear entertainment over iPads:

1. Clean setup and no jugaad look.

2. Always available, don't have to remember to bring ipads and charger etc.

3. If iPads are given to kids they are more likely to play games with iPad in their lap than watch movies with iPads mounted on brackets. In that sense, having limited functionality of a fixed screen just for movies is better than addictive iPad. When my kids get bored of movie time, they sleep off or we talk. With iPad, they never get off it.

4. There is a bit of family movie theatre feel when everyone is watching the same movie and audio playing through the car speakers. Of course, driver doesn't get to see the movie, but you can still feel part of it. I enjoy this aspect of the journey.

Sometimes less is better, esp when it comes to kids. Maybe you can achieve similar experience with iPads, I am not sure. Permanently fix iPads and setup streaming from your phone using iPads just for display.