Iphone Integration Dilemma

[comc]

Yesterday I picked up my first ever Audi, which is a 2006 A4 2.0 TDI Avant S-Line, and very happy I am with it too. Having owned nothing but VW for 8 years it was a big shift but I have absolutely no regrets so far.

My question to you guys relates to the integration of an Iphone for the purposes of playing music and dealing with calls. I had installed a Parrot MK6100 kit in my previous car which was a Jetta 2.0 TDI Sport and this was ideal for playing music through bluetooth aswell as coping well with calls and phonebook selections via the Parrot OLED display.

My A4 came with built in Audi mobile phone preparation which includes basic bluetooth and the fixed phone mount on the left of the centre console. My main gripe is that the car does not have a multi-function steering wheel which would have allowed me to control calls without the need to interact with the phone. I cannot believe someone would spec a car with mobile phone prep and not bother to add a multi function wheel. Anyhow basically if any of you guys have experienced this situation and have managed to resolve it I would be interested to hear how.

At the moment the iphone connects through bluetooth however requires me to use the phones touchscreen to make receive calls.

Do I buy an audi cable to attach the iphone to the headunit in order to play my music?
Do I purchase a RNS-E headunit with satnav and would this allow me to view my phonebook on the screen?
Do I buy an iphone adapter for the standard audi cradle, but then how would i access the music held on the iphone to play in the car?
Should I really be looking for a multi function steering wheel in order to gain proper full remote control of the phone and if so how easy is this?

Basically I need to be able to easily make calls and play music on my car setup. The head unit would appear to be a Symphony II (built in disc changer and cassette player) with Bose speakers and amp.

 

[S3Matt]

Hi there, can't really help much from a technical perspective, only from my own experience...

The RNS-E will allow you to bring up your phonebook on screen but to be honest it's not immediately intuitive, and because it sits so low in the centre console you may as well carry on using the phone itself... to be useful, you really want your phone book displayed in the DIS; and the ability to scroll through it with a multi-function steering wheel

Worth while checking your phones level of connectivity as different phones work with differing degrees of success

If you get an ipod cable I can't see the benefit of a phone cradle unless you can't make/recieve calls using bluetooth at the same time as playing music

 

[dan_the_v8man]

get a multifucntion steering wheel off ebay and fit it. If you know which end of a screw driver is which there not difficult to swap.

the RNS-E does add a lot of functionality but I think you'd find the steering wheel more use. Ideally id say get both


As for your iPod situation, you can get a dension interface from shark_90 on here, he's the UK distributor and its far better than the audi offering. He can also fit you the wheel and code it you all up

 

[comc]

Thanks for the responses.

I have managed to source and fit an audi ipod interface at the weekend, and although I can now play my music from my iphone through the cable and make and receive calls via the cars bluetooth, it would seem I cannot play my Spotify music through the ipod cable. Again this was possible through the Parrot kit in my previous car.

Reckon I will probably go along the Multifunction steering wheel route but the only other concern regarding this is that my interior is a greyish colour and ebay doesnt seem to have any different coloured multi function wheels. However I suppose black would be acceptable. Would I have to change the steering wheel mount if changing to multifunction?

 

[comc]

Update ......managed to get Spotify to play through the Ipod adapter cable, however in order to successfully achieve this I had to delete all Ipod music from my iphone.......still looking for a suitable multifunction wheel.............

 

[TorqueTerrorist]

I was under the impression that you cant stream music via the iPhone, only make and receive calls.
Would love to know for sure though as i have thousands of songs on mine.

 

[comc]

TorqueTerrorist
If you have an iphone running the latest firmware, mine is a 3G running 3.1.2 firmware(although I think 3.1.3 has just been released), you would definitely be able to stream your music via the bluetooth profile A2DP. The iphone did not originally have this capability and it has only been added of late. All that you need to allow this to happen incar is a suitable bluetooth music receiver with which your iphone can connect. The standard audi phone preparation which includes bluetooth will only handle calls and not the music. I installed a Parrot MK6100 in my Jetta which was great for streaming music and dealing with calls however I did not want to install another bluetooth kit in my new audi which already had the manufacturers kit installed.

Hence my dilemma. I have now compromised and allow the standard audi bluetooth to make/receive calls and the ipod adapter cable allows me to play my music directly through the cd changer port in the back of the head unit.

Hope this is kind of clear!

 

[TorqueTerrorist]

TorqueTerrorist
If you have an iphone running the latest firmware, mine is a 3G running 3.1.2 firmware(although I think 3.1.3 has just been released), you would definitely be able to stream your music via the bluetooth profile A2DP. The iphone did not originally have this capability and it has only been added of late. All that you need to allow this to happen incar is a suitable bluetooth music receiver with which your iphone can connect. The standard audi phone preparation which includes bluetooth will only handle calls and not the music. I installed a Parrot MK6100 in my Jetta which was great for streaming music and dealing with calls however I did not want to install another bluetooth kit in my new audi which already had the manufacturers kit installed.

Hence my dilemma. I have now compromised and allow the standard audi bluetooth to make/receive calls and the ipod adapter cable allows me to play my music directly through the cd changer port in the back of the head unit.

Hope this is kind of clear!

Crystal clear thanks mate. That is good to know for when i sort my car situation out as mine is now a write off.....boo!