I have a new Pumpkin car stereo and I am impressed so far. The device is Pumpkin AA0495B 2 Din 7-Inch Octa-Core Universal Android Infotainment System with GPS, RBDS Radio, and Bluetooth(4G RAM+32G ROM).

I have had this installed in my 20-year-old Focus for a couple of months now. It’s double din but it seems Fords version of double din is slightly different. I had to ‘modify’ the dash bezel to get it to fit, that is nothing against this device.

For the most part, it’s been excellent, I’m far from an expert in installing something like this but have it running with all bells and whistles (Bluetooth, wifi, backup camera, etc.). Having it display battery voltage on the main screen has been incredibly valuable to learn and understand the power consumption.

I don’t believe you can use this without the engine running for too many minutes before it bleeds too much juice from the battery, having a visual display of the voltage is so useful, it could just be my car and/or battery but it should be no surprise it’s more power-hungry than what was originally intended for my car. I have yet to look into possibly a larger battery to counter/accommodate it.

The other day the screen couldn’t seem to make it minds up on brightness level and flicked levels every 10 or so seconds, that hasn’t happened since, but it happened.

I am suspecting my starter motor may be on it’s way out as the ‘instant on’ feature is proving somewhat unreliable whereas initially, it worked great. Again, I have a 20-year-old car and new to this type of install, to me, there may be calculable reasons for the above and I do not believe it’s this device but rather my lack of knowledge and understanding. I say this as a caution to others, maybe get a professional to install and advise!

Other than that I’m really happy with it and it’s a fraction the cost of a bigger name brand with all or more features and it’s Android so massive potential in customization.

As for the design, having an actual volume dial was a key factor in me choosing this, the physical Home and Back buttons have also proven superior to the touchscreen options. One tiny gripe is the black outer bezel sticks out from the screen a touch too much, so when using the touchscreen on the top edge is a tiny bit awkward, but it’s not that big a deal.

Overall I very much recommend this device.

Most car stereos on the market have the DVD player function, these car stereos have a DVD drive so that these devices can simultaneously play CDs and DVDs. It allows watching a movie on the integrated screen without an Internet connection. So this kind of car stereo is essential for a long journey and it can let you take a rest.

Car stereos with DVD drive also have external connections for monitors, with which screens on the back of the headrests can be supplied with moving pictures. In this way, they make it possible to offer passengers in the back seat a cinema while driving, as has long been the norm on planes. Especially for long vacation trips with children, this can soothe and quiet them.

Pumpkin car stereo also has external connections such as AV output, USB / SD card slot for the display. Through the external connections, the moving images can be transferred to the screen on the headrest. In this way, they make it possible to make a cinema available to the back seat passengers while driving. If your long vacation goes together with children, you will surely need this function.

DAB+ is Digital audio broadcasting, which is a digital radio standard for broadcasting digital audio radio services, used in many countries around the world. Digital Audio Broadcasting presents you all variable stations in one single list and detailed information about the program you play with a much better reception quality, which gains a great deal of reputation in European countries mostly, but Canada, Australia, Mexico are all covered.

A radio which can only receive DAB will not be able to receive DAB+ stations. However, DAB+ sets are ‘backward-compatible’ and will receive both DAB and DAB+ stations.

Some car stereos have built-in DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting), provides a large number of radio stations in a single list with program information, news, and traffic updates, local time automatically adjust, less unlicensed station interference, more channel options (mono talk, news, weather, non-music), and larger coverage area (North America excluded).

But some car stereo needs an external DAB+ Digital Radio Tuner to support this function. With an external DAB+, it can transmit CD-sound and noise-free excellently. It makes DAB Radio broadly accessible to most of Europe and makes DAB Radio a special experience in the vehicle.

Pumpkin External DAB+ Digital Radio Tuner for Android Car Radio

• Crystal clear audio
• CD-Sound quality and noise-free in excellent transmission
• Working Voltage: 5V
• Signal to Noise RF=72dBM, Mini 50dB
• Distortion at Ref out RF=72dBM, Mini 1%