Aux Mod, Grom, New HU completely?

[dishe]

Exploring options to expand the audio capability of my 05 Mazda3i.

My wife drives an 07 Mazda5 with the Media button the headunit, so I was able to wire up a cheap aux plug and mount it in the dash, but the older mazda3, the unit is the older kind, the ones with the Tape/MD and Sat button, but no Media one.

Truth be told, I really miss my Sony Bluetooth compatible head unit from my old car. Streamed music from my phone like a champ. But it was a single DIN unit that didn't support steering wheel controls, and would have been an awkward installation in the Mazda.

So, I'm thinking AuxMod for price, just to get a basic input. But then I started looking at the GROM options, especially those that support BT. I'm wondering, can a BT add-on be connected afterwards if I just buy the basic GROM adapter now with an aux port? Because maybe then its worth doing that instead of the AuxMod, more future proof?

But for the price of a Grom + Bluetooth add on, then I'm thinking I'm most of the price already towards replacing the whole head unit with something like a Eonon with the 7" LCD touchscreen and navigation!

After which, I need to take a deep breath and ask myself if this is more stereo than I need. I actually rather like the look of the stock unit, I don't need or particularly like resistive touch screens (reminds me too much of my old Windows Mobile days), and I already have an Android phone with better GPS tools than any stand alone unit I've ever tried. But man those things are tempting, and super cool looking!

Gah, I'm overwhelmed with options! Someone have advice for me??

 

[dishe]

Was looking at videos of the Eonon units earlier. I dunno, I like the design of the hardware, and I like the features (BT Audio and GPS nav, plus all kinds of interesting possibilities with a 7" touchscreen!). But there's something "off" about the UI.
I know the thing runs Windows CE, and therefore shouldn't be surprised that it looks and feels like the old Windows Mobile / Pocket PC devices. But the fonts and graphics just feel unrefined compared to more modern user interfaces. Am I the only one who feels this way?

It actually feels like those knock-off iPods you can buy that look like an Apple product from a distance, but then up close has a weird looking clunky UI with kitchy graphics and random animations. For example, I saw in one scene the screen displayed music notes "dancing" while something was playing. Is that really necessary??

*sigh* maybe I should just stick to the GROM + Bluetooth? That way no wires in the dash, and steering wheel controls. Opinions?

 

[dishe]

Not sure if I'm posting in the wrong place (considering I've gotten no responses yet), but is there somewhere I can see examples of what others have done to their stereo? Aftermarket units, adding aux ports, etc?

I'm wondering what other options there are. I found a blurb somewhere saying the Grom Bluetooth adapter might not work on my 05 (anything before 07 or something like that?), but haven't been able to get a straight answer from GROM or find any other references to that. Meanwhile, there is tons of info on the Eonon unit, but I don't think its really my style at the end of the day (reminds me too much of a first generation touch screen device, not to mention I don't like the idea of touch interfaces while driving). There's AuxMod, but then I have to have cables going to my phone cluttering up the dash, so I come around again to the Grom adapter.
But then I read posts about the stock head unit being really weak to begin with, so why would I want to just add on to that?

*sigh*