iSimple Gateway iPod Integration Kit Review
05-06-2010, 10:42 PM
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iSimple Gateway iPod Integration Kit Review iSimple Gateway iPod Integration Kit
I picked up one of these kits today for my GXP. I wanted a way to listen to my ipod without buying a new head unit (the factory one is sufficient for my listening tastes). The kit was $199 at best buy which is pretty pricey but this kit is great when compared to a fm transmitter or even a generic modulator that hooks into the fm antenna.
This kit is incredibly easy to install. The provided wiring harness plugs in the factory deck and then the factory harness plug into the isimple harness. The gateway box is very small and light. I mounted in underneath the center console with 3M Super Strength double sided adhesive squares. I then ran the ipod cable into the armrest compartment.
The kit basically gives your ipod its own XM channel. The sound quality is great. No loss at all. This kit also charges your ipod. And the best part is that the kit allows you to control the ipod using the factory head unit AND the steering wheel controls. Yes, you can change songs and everything right on the wheel. Song information is displayed on the head unit.
I am impressed with this kit. It is expensive, and there are a lot of options that are not too much more expensive or even cheaper, if you are willing to replace the head unit. For those who do not want to replace the factory radio (whether the vehicle is leased or too keep onstar ect...), this is a great alternative.
I picked up one of these kits today for my GXP. I wanted a way to listen to my ipod without buying a new head unit (the factory one is sufficient for my listening tastes). The kit was $199 at best buy which is pretty pricey but this kit is great when compared to a fm transmitter or even a generic modulator that hooks into the fm antenna.
This kit is incredibly easy to install. The provided wiring harness plugs in the factory deck and then the factory harness plug into the isimple harness. The gateway box is very small and light. I mounted in underneath the center console with 3M Super Strength double sided adhesive squares. I then ran the ipod cable into the armrest compartment.
The kit basically gives your ipod its own XM channel. The sound quality is great. No loss at all. This kit also charges your ipod. And the best part is that the kit allows you to control the ipod using the factory head unit AND the steering wheel controls. Yes, you can change songs and everything right on the wheel. Song information is displayed on the head unit.
I am impressed with this kit. It is expensive, and there are a lot of options that are not too much more expensive or even cheaper, if you are willing to replace the head unit. For those who do not want to replace the factory radio (whether the vehicle is leased or too keep onstar ect...), this is a great alternative.
05-06-2010, 11:23 PM
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Hmmm, so I take it that the GP's didn't come with the 3mm input jack on the stock HU?? That is a pretty cool little kit though and if mine didn't have the jack already I would have looked for something like this or just replaced the HU.
Great Find!!!
Great Find!!!
05-07-2010, 12:21 AM
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Your factory unit controls the ipod and gives song and artist info?
05-07-2010, 03:56 AM
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yep, that's right. That is what sold me on it. Granted, the stock GXP unit can't display many characters at a time. I find it is best to throw a playlist together and use the steering wheel controls to cruise through songs as opposed to browsing the ipod through the deck.
05-07-2010, 11:33 PM
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I used the ISGM74 kit. It does not advertise the Grand Prix as compatible. In fact it even says that the kit is not compatible with Monsoon stereos, but it works just fine! I don't think they tested every GM application. As long as you have the XM Button your good! I will take some pics of the install and hook ups this weekend to post up.
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05-09-2010, 07:00 AM
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Might want to take a look at this writeup:
http://www.grandprixforums.net/f73/h...4-a-21849.html
Is the functionality any different from this $2.75 solution?
If it isn't, sorry!!
http://www.grandprixforums.net/f73/h...4-a-21849.html
Is the functionality any different from this $2.75 solution?
If it isn't, sorry!!
05-09-2010, 07:16 AM
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The $2.75 solution is an alternative but simply adding an input jack isn't quite the same as this kit. Like I said in the first post, it also charges your ipod / iphone and you can browse your ipod through the deck. The gateway also provides line out sound levels that don't need to be played with on the ipod.
I am on duty this weekend until 8:30 Monday morning. After which, I will post a video showing the kit and how it works.
I am on duty this weekend until 8:30 Monday morning. After which, I will post a video showing the kit and how it works.
06-27-2010, 12:07 PM
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texasGXP08 just curious what model of ipod did you use with the isimple kit? I have the ipod touch 3rd generation and see its not supported by this kit. I'm going to try the kit any way and hope it works. Also did you have any pictures of the installation? I would really appreciate it if you could post or send me some. Thanks!!
06-29-2010, 03:27 AM
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I also have one of there kits on my car.. Extremly easy to use and install... You can play with it a bit and get it where you can control everything with your car stereo and steering wheel controls and it will display song name... or you can have it so that you can change the playlist and those options using the ipod but still able to skip songs via the radio/steering wheel contorls.
07-09-2010, 03:04 PM
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iSimple Gateway iPod Integration Kit
I picked up one of these kits today for my GXP. I wanted a way to listen to my ipod without buying a new head unit (the factory one is sufficient for my listening tastes). The kit was $199 at best buy which is pretty pricey but this kit is great when compared to a fm transmitter or even a generic modulator that hooks into the fm antenna.
This kit is incredibly easy to install. The provided wiring harness plugs in the factory deck and then the factory harness plug into the isimple harness. The gateway box is very small and light. I mounted in underneath the center console with 3M Super Strength double sided adhesive squares. I then ran the ipod cable into the armrest compartment.
The kit basically gives your ipod its own XM channel. The sound quality is great. No loss at all. This kit also charges your ipod. And the best part is that the kit allows you to control the ipod using the factory head unit AND the steering wheel controls. Yes, you can change songs and everything right on the wheel. Song information is displayed on the head unit.
I am impressed with this kit. It is expensive, and there are a lot of options that are not too much more expensive or even cheaper, if you are willing to replace the head unit. For those who do not want to replace the factory radio (whether the vehicle is leased or too keep onstar ect...), this is a great alternative.
I picked up one of these kits today for my GXP. I wanted a way to listen to my ipod without buying a new head unit (the factory one is sufficient for my listening tastes). The kit was $199 at best buy which is pretty pricey but this kit is great when compared to a fm transmitter or even a generic modulator that hooks into the fm antenna.
This kit is incredibly easy to install. The provided wiring harness plugs in the factory deck and then the factory harness plug into the isimple harness. The gateway box is very small and light. I mounted in underneath the center console with 3M Super Strength double sided adhesive squares. I then ran the ipod cable into the armrest compartment.
The kit basically gives your ipod its own XM channel. The sound quality is great. No loss at all. This kit also charges your ipod. And the best part is that the kit allows you to control the ipod using the factory head unit AND the steering wheel controls. Yes, you can change songs and everything right on the wheel. Song information is displayed on the head unit.
I am impressed with this kit. It is expensive, and there are a lot of options that are not too much more expensive or even cheaper, if you are willing to replace the head unit. For those who do not want to replace the factory radio (whether the vehicle is leased or too keep onstar ect...), this is a great alternative.
I just received mine yesterday and it works great. There are some bugs but these will be eventually ironed out.
Here's my post from the CorvetteForum:
Originally Posted by GXP25
I own a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP with the same NAV unit and I received my PAL unit yesterday. I have the original iPhone.
The sound quality is great. It is miles above XM's compressed streams. I would argue though that it is less than an MP3 CD I have in the vehicle (comparing the same song, one on CD, the other on my iPhone).
The menus take a while to get used to. I did have a problem when doing an artist search, where sometimes pushing the "SCAN" button would make the menus go crazy.
The song title correctly displays on my HUD (my XM songs don't, only the station), albeit with a character limit. It would be nice if it could scroll. Likewise with all the other buttons displaying album names, etc. This could be a limitation of the NAV unit. My steering wheel controls work as well, except for the play button, which is defaulted to starting up the CD player.
Issues:
Requests:
Ideally, a menu like the CD menu is desirable, but I know we're limited due to interfacing with the XM connection/module.
I am sure more issues and requests will come up, but overall it's a good product and I anticipate future updates. :thumbs:
Thanks for all of your hard work Ray!
The sound quality is great. It is miles above XM's compressed streams. I would argue though that it is less than an MP3 CD I have in the vehicle (comparing the same song, one on CD, the other on my iPhone).
The menus take a while to get used to. I did have a problem when doing an artist search, where sometimes pushing the "SCAN" button would make the menus go crazy.
The song title correctly displays on my HUD (my XM songs don't, only the station), albeit with a character limit. It would be nice if it could scroll. Likewise with all the other buttons displaying album names, etc. This could be a limitation of the NAV unit. My steering wheel controls work as well, except for the play button, which is defaulted to starting up the CD player.
Issues:
- When music is playing, my NAV unit displays ": Playing" after displaying the song title and artist at the top. I'm not so sure if the colon is supposed to be there or not. Notice more errors in the menu.
- I encountered the XM playing for a bit before the PAL initializes. Like another member mentioned, this is probably due to the relay(s). [Un]Fortunately (?), since my vehicle is larger/longer, I do not get to hear the relays click.
- I lost XM once when the menus decided to hang. I "only" have 387 songs on my iPhone so I'm a little confused. I am not a mad button tapper; I allow time for the menus to load. So I had to go to the trunk and unplug the PAL and plug it back in to get the XM buttons back. Kind of annoying since mine sits behind my trunk's carpet above my rear driver side wheel well.
- When navigating through the menus, the volume tends to drop as the buttons are populating. It reverts to normal after they're done. But it is ongoing as one continues to navigate.
- I don't have an "[ ABC ]" button under my "All Songs" search. I can tap the button and search, it's just not populated with "[ ABC ]".
- Ray, one of the extra extension cables' female connector does not secure correctly (the one you sent me separately), creating severe connection issues with the PAL. The extra extension cable (in sealed clear plastic) included in my PAL kit works just fine though. Fortunately, it seems that only one single extension cable is sufficient for my vehicle.
Requests:
- In the settings menu, when tapping a button ("Language", "Shuffle", "Timeout", etc.), have it show the current setting instead of instantaneously changing the setting. A second tap would then effectively change the setting. Maybe the settings' values could be displayed above instead of on the actual buttons?
- Is it necessary to tap "CAT" twice to initialize scrolling?
- When tapping "[ TIME ]", are the extra zero place holders necessary?
Ideally, a menu like the CD menu is desirable, but I know we're limited due to interfacing with the XM connection/module.
I am sure more issues and requests will come up, but overall it's a good product and I anticipate future updates. :thumbs:
Thanks for all of your hard work Ray!
More info about the GM PAL: http://www.kawal.net/PAL%20Rev%202.htm
02-27-2013, 12:20 PM
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Sorry to revive an old thread. How can I find this ISGM74?? It's not on ebay or on their site. The next closest one from what I can find is the ISGM575.
I know there's a universal one but I really don't want to screw my stock wiring if I can find another GM kit that would work with the grand prix. That GM575 kit only shows 2005 Grand Am as compatible... no grand prix.
I know there's a universal one but I really don't want to screw my stock wiring if I can find another GM kit that would work with the grand prix. That GM575 kit only shows 2005 Grand Am as compatible... no grand prix.
03-01-2013, 03:11 AM
#18
I'm not sure if you have the factory NAV or not, but if you do, I suggest purchasing the GM PAL for the C6 Corvette.
More info about the GM PAL: http://www.kawal.net/PAL%20Rev%202.htm
More info about the GM PAL: http://www.kawal.net/PAL%20Rev%202.htm
03-01-2013, 08:49 AM
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This is what I have and it works great. Easily control it with the steering wheel controls just like using the radio. When a new song is played, it shows up on the heads up also. Pretty nice little kit. Just takes one of the XM bands to work. Don't need XM subscribed for it to work. And it will work with XM if you are subscribed.
But back to the isimple... in case this doesn't work I would like to have the same model as texas so that I have full control. The universal ones just don't turn my crank lol. Since this thread is so old though i'm wondering if iSimple has changed the models of kits. The closest kit that I have found to this one is the GM575.... doesn't look like you can get the GM74 anywhere anymore. (not even ebay!) lol
03-06-2013, 09:18 AM
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I need to look at what mine is called again, but this is a lot better. Mine just adds a aux port to the factory deck. It was around $80 I think. But after playing around with iPhone integration in my parents cruze, I would love having something like this so much better. But I guess I will live