reelestates

Does the IPOD kit rock??? Audio Quality??? Controls??? I am taking my car in on Friday for the tires & oil... So, of course what else can I spend on???

cmcjo

Controls are only behind the steering wheel display and not on the command screen.

It is a little slow to control but it works and sounds good. It would be much better for the passenger to control the ipod via the command.

NeverColdCall

Yeah it definitely rocks - I don't know how I ever lived without one - no more bringing CDs in and out of the car getting scratched up!

The only real downside, of course, is that the display is only in the speedo and not on the regular LCD screen. Otherwise it works great. The only bug I've found is that sometimes the iPod continues to play after you shut the car off, draining the battery, but this isn't a problem for me because mine almost never leaves the car (where it runs off the car battery) and when it does it plugs into the computer for an update (and runs off computer power).

Autobahn-Maniac

The built in MP3 player works well also. No more CDs for me either. FYI...buy Apple stock. It's on sale today.

reelestates

Being installed today! $730

NeverColdCall

You'll love it, I have a couple hundred CDs on mine all at my fingertips in the car!

tee_tz

$730 to install on an S-Class, wow, that's pretty pricey. I guess the electronics make it harder than the other models. Or maybe they know you guys can afford it!

I'm installing one on my C320 and it'll cost me $200. I've got the 80GB iPod, and it's filled to the max (I even removed some data files off the iPod; in my song collection I've removed album intro's, interludes, and outro's to save space), and I think I still need to get another 30GB to fit all my music!


Tee_Tz.

cmcjo

Yeah that does seem a little high. I think I paid around $500.00 or so from the dealer.

Doctodd33

order the car with it and the install is free....$350 or so for the kit.

T

tee_tz

Yeah, that sounds more like it, because I think the iPod Kit is a standard price of $425, so they're charging you quite a bit for installation.


Tee_Tz.

aschb

Installation of my Ipod Interface took 1h 15m at the MB dealer.

reelestates

The Coral Gables guys down here are just out of control!!! It looks like a mall. Captive audience!!! You see an S-class per 10 minute lapse. So, there stickin it to me!!!

azmike

YES. I love it.

strolee

How does the menu on the speedo display work? Can you scroll through all aspects of the ipod menu (ie. Genre, Artist, Album, song, playlist etc.) or can you just scroll from song to song?

azmike

YES. All functions on the speedo display. Works like a charm. It charges and plays great. The sound is top notch because it is using the aux connection not the fm transmitter method. I also have Sirius Sat radio but listen to my ipod at least half the time. BTW, the older 1st/2nd generation ipods will not work, i.e., it must have the dock connector on the bottom in order to work. I know because I had to donate my older ipod to my sister and upgrade to a newer model.

Doctodd33

Ive had the car a couple of days and now that i reflect back, i dont think the ipod kit was worth it. But i was trying to have some foresight for a few months/years down the road when i might want an ipod.....but so far the Sirius is all i listen to.

T

NeverColdCall

Sirius rocks!! I wasn't sure what to expect but that's the only thing I use besides my ipod. I love all the comedy channels

Right now I'm burning an MP3 disc to try that out, apparently it gives you a real iTunes-style display, you can set up your folders in any order, and so on. I'll let you know how it works.

NeverColdCall

Ok I burned my Rush CD collection to a DVD and tried it out in the car ... it's awesome! It's much easier to use and navigate than the iPod. Of course the downside is that the capacity is limited, so I'm going to put collections of bands I listen to frequently on mp3 DVD and continue to use the iPod for everything else (and de-clutter the iPod in the process).

I'll post some photos of it in action in a day or two.

davidegai

does the DVD show all the menues in the same structured fashion as the iPOD? 4 Gigaybe of MP3 tracks is an awful lot and makes me wonder about the usefulness of the iPOD KIT considenring that all information is being shown of the Comand screen as opposed to the small central display.

BTW i fail to grasp the need to have a PCMCIA slot as a sort of go - between between a memory card and Comand. Why has MV failed to have a direct slot for the memory cards, like othe manufacturers, most notably Audi?

Jakarta Expat

I live in Jakarta Indonesia and it only cost me in Indonesian Rupiah 2.7 million which equals USD 270 and that was for the kit for a W211 and the installation. But then man power is a little cheaper here. I stopped using the 6CD changer and I usually never even touch the DVD or TV even though the COMMAND is programmed to play both in the Drive position.

reelestates

I cracked!! When it came to doing the $720 I did'nt do it.

NeverColdCall

Agreed. It's silly when you can have six DVDs holding 4 Gig each sitting in the changer.

The folder structure comes up intact and you can browse it easily. I do a quick flash video and post a link so you can see it.

davidegai

Thank you, NeverColdCall, I would really appreciate it!

mmereos

Hi azMike. Can you be more specific? I just picked up my new s550 (love it) w/Ipod integration kit. I noticed that it can only play songs from "a" to "z" and does not seem to play playlists, so it only goes forward and back between songs and it also can go fast-forward and back by holding the up and down arrows on the steering wheel.

So can it play playlists?

I answered my own question. If you use the phone hangup button on the right side of the steering wheel it brings up the playlist menu. I haven't read the manual yet ;-)

Thanks