Lets face it – who is truly satisfied with the factory navigation in their vehicle? The car manufacturers struggle to provide the drivers with the latest maps solutions and keep them updated. It is hard to achieve contemporaneity while maintaining standard vehicle developing and manufacturing cycle, which is at least three years. Therefore the drivers are being stuck with the outdated maps, and the necessity to invest into the visits to their vehicle dealership or obtaining mapping DVDs to keep their navigational systems up to date.
VLine with Google Maps in Lexus IS350 2015
However the struggle is over with GROM VLine Connected Car Infotainment System. Integrated to the vehicle’s original factory stereo, VLine provides truly connected car experience. Android based system gives to the driver the full access to Google Play services, including advanced mapping solutions. With VLine the drivers get the access to the latest and greatest maps available at Google Play market that will always stay updated.
VLine fully integrates into the existing stereo system and navigational display with the video and interface harnesses and connectors. The seamless vehicle integration gives the drivers the luxury to enjoy sleek-designed factory interior and get the access to the modern driver assistance technology available on their mobile devices (aka Maps and GPS navigation).
Many options are available for maps and navigation, however in this article we will cover three most used options.
Google Maps
Google Maps is the king of the maps. It has been the standard in mapping and GPS navigation since 2005, and currently has more than 54% global market share.
We praise it for its robust features such as street maps, real time traffic conditions, and route planning services while traveling by car.
We often use its turn-by-turn GPS navigation while cruising through the busy city streets or even the countryside. Additional features such as gas station or restaurant finder make Google maps preferable option for many drivers.
Google Maps offer to save offline area for later use without mobile connectivity. That of course requires some advanced planning from the user.
GROM VLine infotainment system fully integrates with Google Maps. The user can activate turn-by-turn GPS navigation by using VLine’s voice activation feature, without the need to typing in the address. The Google map will display on the factory stereo screen, and the prompts will play via car stereo speakers.
Waze Maps
While providing the driver with turn-by-turn navigation, Waze acts like a crowd-sourced social network at the same time. The life traffic in Waze is reported by its users. Compared to Google Maps, Waze provides more options for roundabout routes through residential neighborhoods.
If you are an avid “Wazer”, this option can be a good fit for you. Waze reports accidents, traffic jams, speed and police traps. Some users find its traffic jam reporting feature more accurate compared to Google Maps.
Waze is fully integrated with VLine voice activation, car navigation display and stereo speakers. The drivers enjoy the convenience of having Waze maps displayed on their navigational car stereo display.
Waze can be set as a map of choice within VLine Settings by going to Settings → Navigation
Sygic
European choice and offline alternative to Google Maps and Waze. Sygic provides the users with turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic & police radar/speed camera warnings, parking place and gas prices suggestions.
Sygic can be used both online and offline, offers maps for more than 200 countries in the world and operates in more than 30 languages. The drawback of Sygic is that many of offline maps and features are not available for free. However if you plan to drive back-country it might be wise to invest into some offline mapping solution.
Similarly to Google and Waze Maps, Sygic can be set as a map of choice within VLine settings. It will also respond to the Voice Activation feature within VLine, and fully integrate with the factory navigational screen and car stereo system.
There are some other options available to use with GROM VLine. Providing the complete access to Google Play store, VLine makes it easy for the driver to choose the mapping solution that works best for the driver’s needs.
About VLine
VLine (https://gromaudio.com/vline/) is Android based car infotainment system that seamlessly integrates to the factory stereo and navigation screen of select car makes. Once the system is installed into the vehicle, the driver gets the access to the latest mobile technology such as Google and Waze Maps, music apps, and voice control, using vehicles original stereo and integrated controls.
GROM Audio expands their VLine portfolio with the next generation model VLine VL2. VLine VL2 provides quicker speeds and load times, Android 7.2 Nougat operating system, and support for newer Lexus, Nissan and Infiniti vehicles of up to 2017. Upgraded hardware includes 3x faster MCU and 3GB RAM on board, and 5GHz Wifi with best in class Broadcom chipset.
So is this not available if you use an iPhone?
You do not need the phone with VLine. Please see more info at https://gromaudio.com/vline/ and https://gromaudio.com/vline/video.html
Phone is needed only if you want to play music via Bluetooth BT stream or to tether internet data. Both iPhone and Android phones will work.
Great and relatively inexpensive idea. However, it’s only available for Lexus’s pre-2013. I have a 15 ES300h and a 17 RX450h.
We have newer Lexus vehicles covered as well:
https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/grom-vl2-lex8.html
Would this work with a 2015 nx200t fsport?.
Yes it will work as long as the stereo has navigation: https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/grom-vl2-lex8.html
Yes it will work: https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/grom-vl2-lex8.html
Is this available for a 2015 Lexus RC-F, with Mark Levinson sound system?
Yes it is available, see here: https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/grom-vl2-lex8.html