Replacing your default OEM car radio with a vertical Tesla style screen multimedia unit opens up a whole new world and new features to your old car. Most vehicle manufactures add the most basic features to cars and given that fact that most Ugandans are driving cars made in the early 2000s or older doesn’t help the situation.
It is basically a Tablet running Android in your car and it brings a different atheistic to the interior. The systems often come with a huge capacitive touch screen with the most expensive having a maximum resolution of 1920*1080 pixels (the cheaper ones have less resolution), 2 or 4 GB of RAM (the higher the better), 32 or 64 GB ROM, Quad-core or Hexa-core chips, FM Transmitter, Built-In Speaker/Microphone, Support Steering Wheel Control for some cars, etc.
ALSO READ: Why you should install a Tesla style Android-based radio Multimedia system in your car
As we promised, let’s unbox and install Tesla style radio, the Unit we used was for the Lexus and Harrier vehicle modeks. See both videos below;
Unboxing Video
Installation Video
At the core, this Tesla Style Unit is an Android device in your car — so you can install apps to your liking. Using Google Maps for Navigation is a breeze on such devices as it could help track traffic-congested areas to be avoided while driving around Kampala. We recommend you get a unit with the latest Android operating system, the ones we have seen have at least Android 8 and above. These come with more features and support from modern apps in the Google PlayStore.
The user interface on most of these units has been changed to support car navigation and easy usability while driving. You can play music from your phone, watch movies, stream Netflix or listen to Spotify or Apple Music with a good internet connection from your phone’s hotspot or a dedicated MiFi.
The User interface on most of these Tesla Style Units adds functionality for real-time monitoring of the vehicle’s performance from speed, GPS position, altitude, Climate (also known as AC), adjust volume, etc. as illustrated in the above image.
Before you can spend over UGX 1 million to UGX 2 million on these vertical Tesla style screen car multimedia units, its important to ensure that the unit you are buying is compatible with your car make, model, and year of manufacture. I have heard of many cases irregularities after installation for example of AC not working, reverse camera not working, wheel control buttons unresponsive, etc. Our unit worked perfectly on all fronts.