Alpine IVA-W505 2-DIN Mobile Multimedia Station (Black)

By CarAudioSystemReviews | Published: November 28, 2009
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Alpine IVA-W505 2-DIN Mobile Multimedia Station (Black)
 
Manufacturer: Alpine
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $1,100.00
Sale Price: $788.00
Availibility: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Available Now on
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Product Description
The IVA-W505 is a versatile AV head unit that provides complete media center capabilities through effortless touch-screen control over all your in-vehicle digital media sources. It’s the full-featured 2DIN solution you’ve been waiting for – with full USB support for iPod, including iPod Video playback and a built-in DVD/CD/MP3/AAC/WMA/DivX player. It features a new customizable graphical interface, as well as full Bluetooth connectivity for both hands-free and streaming audio. Don’t forget about navigation either. This unit also offers an in-dash docking station for the Alpine PMD-B200, so you can simply put your Blackbird portable nav right inside of the IVA-W505 and enjoy the larger 7-inch screen for a true fixed nav experience. The IVA-W505 is ready for all your favorite media, so you can enjoy full control of your in-vehicle entertainment.

Product Details
  • The IVA-W505 offers an optical digital output for the very highest in sound quality.
  • Bluetooth Ready.
  • SIRIUS or XM, Alpine brings your choice of satellite radio inside your car.
  • Add a rear view camera to your vehicle to make your drive easier. See what¿s behind your vehicle, right from your IVA-W505 screen.
  • Hear it, Tag it, Download it, Never forget it!
  • Now if you're on the road, and you hear a song you like from an HD radio station, you can tag the song info right onto your iPod

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews
Worked as advertised!
 
Review Date: November 1, 2009
Reviewer: Ed C,
Finally had the chance to have the Alpine IVA-W505 installed and as advertised, it worked perfectly. Video is very clear with the audio more than sufficient when played with the factory installed audio system in my 2008 Honda Civic. Had a slight problem though with my ipod touch since the unit cannot read the video files. Nonetheless, the audio is crisp and does not skip a beat, thanks to the additional cable (KCE-422i) i purchased, also from Amazon. Over-all, the unit met my expectation.
The BEST 2-din DVD touchscreen on the market
 
Review Date: December 3, 2008
Reviewer: Dave Kuenne, Wisconsin, USA
I have been thru 6 different headunits on my show car in about 3 years and this is BY FAR the best unit I have come across. The menus are easy to navigate and looking for MP3s on the unit is way better than the previous JVC that I had in my car. I don't have a single complaint about the 505 yet, and I recieved the unit from the first shipment to the US.

5 stars +
* * * BEWARE NO WARRANTY * * *
 
Review Date: December 21, 2008
Reviewer: ., California
Discount Jungle is NOT an authorized Alpine dealer. There is NO WARRANTY buying Alpine from this business. I was told by an authorized dealer that the serial number is most likely removed or altered, and he showed me Alpine's website that warns folks to not buy from people like this. In fact, Alpine does NOT ALLOW their product to be sold on Amazon ~ thus any item sold HAS NO WARRANTY. I bought from the authorized dealer and it's a great radio, but looking at all the stuff it can do, I sure as heck would want a warranty. SO DO NOT BUY!!!
great all around
 
Review Date: September 2, 2008
Reviewer: William Jaramillo, Orlando,FL
Very, very, very satisfied with the product and the shipper. Everything arrived as promised also arrived before promised date. Everything was very on point from the produces condition to time of delievery. thank you to dependableResource and Amazon.
Cool Product - lots and lots of features in one unit!
 
Review Date: January 26, 2009
Reviewer: J. McWhirter, Eugene, OR
UPDATE:
Alpine's customer service did get in touch with me, and I was able to resolve my Navigation issues...therefore, I would move my rating from 4 to 5 stars - but it won't let me!

Original review:
First let me say that I thoroughly enjoy this Alpine head unit. It really does everything you can imagine from an entertainment / navigation unit.

BTW - I purchased a PMD-B200 portable navigation unit that 'docks' into the IVA-W505 head unit. In addition, I am using the optional USB cable to connect to my 80 GB iPod.

The head unit will play both video and audio from the iPod. Basically, it can play anything that your iPod can play (video, audio, books, TV shows, etc.). In addition the unit can sync to your phone via bluetooth (I happen to have an iPhone) and the phone book syncs every time I get into the car. The 'handsfree' works seamlessly - when someone calls me the audio mutes, and as soon as I am done with the call, the audio (music) comes back on at the level it was prior to the call - and song plays from where it was interrupted by the call.

On the navigation side of things, I like the 3D mode - you can watch points of interest go by on the map, etc etc. The 'sky' on the nav unit changes from day to night...simple, but cool feature.

Supposedly, there are over a million points of interest...to which many in my town seem to be in there...

One note - I haven't been able to figure out what the 'address book' is in the navigation unit - it didn't seem to sync from my phone - and I had to manually input the addresses I wanted in the address book - which is cool I guess, it limited the entries in the book itself.

In summary -

PROS -

-Access to navigation, phone, iPod, DVD/CD all in one unit - VERY COOL!!!

-Interfaces very well with iPod - all iPod functionality is available in head unit (previous head unit only partial iPod functionality, playlist only)

-Screen resolution is very good - which makes movies crystal clear, and helps in day time viewing.

-Many audio and video adjustments - from bass, treble, subwoofer, and high pass filter, to contrast, color, screen height/width etc., etc.

-Just good to have so much functionality in one head unit...


CONS -

-Owners manual might as well not exist, I have a USB cable that doesn't seem to go to anything (it goes with the nav unit, but with no software updates, and no computer interface why include it??)

-Graphic User Interface (GUI) is REALLY funky - you have to learn how to use it - not intuitive at all (and I own 2 Macs, 1 PC, Xbox360) - there are actually two menus, one for the audio / video side and one for the navigation side - and each have their own 'setup' menus etc....

-NO support on the Navigation side of things - Alpine actually isn't releasing updates for the navigation maps, and NAVTEQ (the people who they purchased the maps from send you back to Alpine (NAVTEQ's customer service was quick to respond and outstanding)

Overall, I am EXTREMELY pleased with the performance of the unit, and would recommend it to anyone.

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