Parrot Asteroid
On the front panel’s far left you’ll find the phone buttons, that are used to answer (the top one) and end (bottom one) incoming calls when combined with a Bluetooth enabled phone. Tapping the top button will also activate the device’s voice dialer, that guides you through making calls with onscreen and voice prompts.
Holding the top button for a few beats starts off a redial of the last call. The power button also doubles as the power button when held down.
On the front panel’s right you’ll find the Source selection button that cycles through active and available audio sources, including an analog auxiliary input, Bluetooth audio streaming, the SD card reader, AM/FM radio, as well as a dedicated phone input. When a digital audio source is available, (such as SD cards, USB media and iPhone but not Bluetooth A2DP however), you have the possibility to tap the sizeable white Voice Search button in order to queue media by saying the name of an album or artist.
In the button bank’s center you’ll find a sizeable plastic control know that’s used to navigate the device’s interface, make selections (by also making use of its large center button) and adjust volume.
On the far left you’ll find a chrome button that causes the physical controls of the front panel to detach for security, only leaving the LCD visible as well as the device’s SD card slot.
Installation
An interesting thing about this model is that it saves quite a bit of space, only being about half as deep as a standard CD receiver, something which will come in handy since it also sports as many connections on its back as a desktop computer, so you’ll need the aforementioned space once you plug all those cables in.
This model starts with a universal wiring harness with connections for 12V power. There are also a couple of full range preamp RCA stereo outputs, a 3.5mm analog auxiliary input for the included audio patch, a stereo RCA subwoofer preamp output, a microphone input for use along with provided double microphone (with echo and noise cancellation), four USB ports as well as a steering wheel control input.
Pros
Parrot Asteroid’s hands free calling system is one of the best we’ve seen and since this model is powered by the Android operating system it also gives you the option to download and run apps. This model also gives you the possibility to voice-control digital media on iPods, USB-connected media devices and SD cards. Overall, it’s a highly functional device.
Cons
One of this model’s downsides is that it needs a USB wireless 3G dongle in order to be connected to the internet, something which is not provided however. It only offers support for Parrot approved apps, and a lot of the launch apps, especially Maps, aren’t that useful.
Conclusion
While this model doesn’t do such a good job on delivering a rich app experience and internet in the car, it’s still a good enough receiver for users aiming for excellent digital audio connectivity and a top notch hands free calling experience to their car.
Specs
- Manufacturer: Parrot Company
- Product Type: Navigation system with digital player and radio
- Monitor Type: LCD monitor
- Diagonal Size: 3.2 in
- Digital player device type: Digital player
- Radio: tuner AM/FM
- Max Output Power / Channel Qty: 55 Watts x 4
