morsegeek
Getting familiar with the group...
My Genesis is a 3.8 Premium Plus without the tech package and thus does not have integrated navigation. This was a deliberate decision on my part since I plan to keep the Genesis for a long time and do not want to be locked into an outdated navigation system that is useless in a few years.
As an iPhone owner I have made do with the built in Google Maps application and it has served me fairly well but, at long last, the iPhone has received true turn-by-turn GPS navigation!
There are several turn-by-turn navigation applications out for the iPhone now, with two of the best being from TomTom and Navigon. They work quite well and I would like to use them in my Genesis, but the major problem I ran into with this is that the Hyundai iPod/iPhone cable is abysmally short and does not allow putting the iPhone in a convenient viewing location for use as a GPS navigator.
I've thought a little about solving this problem and think I've come up with a solution that will work but I'm also wondering if any one else has run into this issue and come up with a different solution already.
My first thought was that I could use an iPhone dock cable such as the one that comes with all iPhones instead of the Hyundai cable. Unfortunately, due to Hyundai's omission of an Apple authentication chip, the proprietary Hyundai cable is absolutely necessary. I also don't think that extending the cable on the end that connects to the car is feasible since, while the USB connector is standard, the headphone jack connector is not: it has four connections like the iPod earphones instead of the usual three (left, right, ground).
This leaves one option: extending the cable on the end with the dock connector that plugs into the iPhone. Dock connector extension cables are surprisingly hard to find, but I did find one for sale at this site:
http://www.cablejive.com/dock-extender-cable
Assuming that cable solves the problem of getting the iPhone into a place where it is conveniently visible for navigation, I now need a good way to mount it. I know there are windshield mounts available for the iPhone but I live in Minnesota where this is illegal, so I found a nice (albeit pricey) alternative in the Proclip. This customized (both for the vehicle and device) mount attaches to the A bar and places the iPhone in an optimal viewing location. These are available at Proclip:
http://www.proclipusa.com/
So, my solution is a combination of dock extension cable and iPhone holder. This allows me to navigate while listening to music on the iPhone over the Lexicon system and has the added bonus of putting the iPhone screen in a conveniently viewable location so I can see who is calling (the Premium Plus bluetooth system does not announce this, just "incoming call") and use other iPhone functionality that requires a view of the screen.
The solution is not cheap though. The total cost:
6' Dock extender cable, shipped..................$38
Proclip Adjustable Holder with Tilt Swivel.....$40
Proclip Left Mount.........................................$30
With shipping costs, total: ~$117
I have not made this purchase yet so I can not be sure that everything would work seamlessly but I am fairly confident that it would. Have other people come up with different solutions to this problem? Is it worth the cost vs. just getting a standalone navigation system?
I think the answer to the second question is probably no, but there are other benefits to having the iPhone so conveniently placed in the Genesis besides navigation. It would allow better control of Apps like Pandora that I use in the Genesis. I would be able to see which song was being played, for instance. I could watch videos while charging the phone when in park. I could also make calls from the phone without having to enter all my contacts in to the Genesis' address book. I could make the call from the iPhone and when the call was connected it would automatically use the bluetooth for audio. There are probably other uses for this placement of the iPhone that I haven't thought of as well.
Thoughts? Other solutions?
As an iPhone owner I have made do with the built in Google Maps application and it has served me fairly well but, at long last, the iPhone has received true turn-by-turn GPS navigation!
There are several turn-by-turn navigation applications out for the iPhone now, with two of the best being from TomTom and Navigon. They work quite well and I would like to use them in my Genesis, but the major problem I ran into with this is that the Hyundai iPod/iPhone cable is abysmally short and does not allow putting the iPhone in a convenient viewing location for use as a GPS navigator.
I've thought a little about solving this problem and think I've come up with a solution that will work but I'm also wondering if any one else has run into this issue and come up with a different solution already.
My first thought was that I could use an iPhone dock cable such as the one that comes with all iPhones instead of the Hyundai cable. Unfortunately, due to Hyundai's omission of an Apple authentication chip, the proprietary Hyundai cable is absolutely necessary. I also don't think that extending the cable on the end that connects to the car is feasible since, while the USB connector is standard, the headphone jack connector is not: it has four connections like the iPod earphones instead of the usual three (left, right, ground).
This leaves one option: extending the cable on the end with the dock connector that plugs into the iPhone. Dock connector extension cables are surprisingly hard to find, but I did find one for sale at this site:
http://www.cablejive.com/dock-extender-cable
Assuming that cable solves the problem of getting the iPhone into a place where it is conveniently visible for navigation, I now need a good way to mount it. I know there are windshield mounts available for the iPhone but I live in Minnesota where this is illegal, so I found a nice (albeit pricey) alternative in the Proclip. This customized (both for the vehicle and device) mount attaches to the A bar and places the iPhone in an optimal viewing location. These are available at Proclip:
http://www.proclipusa.com/
So, my solution is a combination of dock extension cable and iPhone holder. This allows me to navigate while listening to music on the iPhone over the Lexicon system and has the added bonus of putting the iPhone screen in a conveniently viewable location so I can see who is calling (the Premium Plus bluetooth system does not announce this, just "incoming call") and use other iPhone functionality that requires a view of the screen.
The solution is not cheap though. The total cost:
6' Dock extender cable, shipped..................$38
Proclip Adjustable Holder with Tilt Swivel.....$40
Proclip Left Mount.........................................$30
With shipping costs, total: ~$117
I have not made this purchase yet so I can not be sure that everything would work seamlessly but I am fairly confident that it would. Have other people come up with different solutions to this problem? Is it worth the cost vs. just getting a standalone navigation system?
I think the answer to the second question is probably no, but there are other benefits to having the iPhone so conveniently placed in the Genesis besides navigation. It would allow better control of Apps like Pandora that I use in the Genesis. I would be able to see which song was being played, for instance. I could watch videos while charging the phone when in park. I could also make calls from the phone without having to enter all my contacts in to the Genesis' address book. I could make the call from the iPhone and when the call was connected it would automatically use the bluetooth for audio. There are probably other uses for this placement of the iPhone that I haven't thought of as well.
Thoughts? Other solutions?
