Pumpkin 10″ Double Din Android Head Unit Review

This is a review and look at the Pumpkin 10.1″ Double Din Android Head Unit. It’s 10″ so for those cars with more space in the middle and powered by Android, just like the others we are reviewing. It’s another plug and play type device which you should be able to fit in your car with minimal input.

Description

This is the Pumpkin 10.1″ Android Car Interface, a device that you can push straight in to your cars head unit, replacing your current car stereo.

Lets check out it’s sepcification:

It comes with Android 5.1, this is great as you can use Android Auto and any of the latest apps available on the Google Play/Marketplace. It is quad core but only has 1gb of ram like the NaviscAuto. Inbuilt memory of 16gb which isn’t too bad but this can be extended with an sd card. The screen resolution isn’t quite HD, with a 1024×600 pixel screen res. It’s touch screen, had adjustable colour settings and you can tune in to UK radio stations as well.

As well as it’s specs, there are a few things that are inbuilt and these features seem to be mainstay on these devices and this is no different.

Mirror-link you can watch what is on the Pumpkin device on your smart phones, either via wifi or usb mirror. With usb connection you can control the Pumpkin but on the wifi connection you can only watch what it is showing.
GPS which is inbuilt, so you can use online maps like iGo, Google, Copilot, etc and it gives voice guidance, this also depends on the application you use for your maps as they all differ a little.
AV Output means you can link to other displays or tablets that you can put on your headrests for the rear passengers, we didn’t test this but it’s a good feature if you have a family car.
DVD player is inbuilt in this device, being 10″ wide means it can use more technology and adding DVD is one of them.
USB/SD storage so you can add your biggest collection of music, movies, audio books, extra maps and much more.
DAB+ radio, as well as FM/AM, you can connect to your favourite digital radio station, like BBC Radio 6 in the UK which is digital only.
OBD2 means that you don’t need a car diagnostic tool, you can solve some errors using this device
WIFI/3G support, as it’s an android device means you can connect to local network or even wifi connections.
Cam-In allows you to link a camera, for the front or rear of your car to help with parking

pumpkin double din universal in dash android stereo

 

There it is, the full ‘plug n play’ set up that you get when you purchase the device. Make sure you check the size of the available space in your cars head unit/dash area to make sure this fits. With the device you get instructions on how it all works and fits together.

Review of Pumpkin 10.1″ Android Head Unit

So how does this all add up in reality? We tested it to see how it compared to the other android car stereo devices and how its features worked in the real world.

Android Operating System

We’ve said plenty about this, it has android 5.1 so is ready to download what you need. This device does have a few problems but having android more than makes up for them, if you have a problem or something doesn’t work, there is generally an app that can resolve your problem.

Comms & Microphone

Again, we have found a problem with this and it’s microphone being used for communicating. This device has an inbuilt microphone and a mic on a lead. Neither of them work very well, if you want to use the device with Google voice and command the head unit by voice, you will struggle.

The same problems continue in to phone calls, you will be able to hear whom you are calling but you’ll struggle to get your message across clearly. We talked to other mobile devices using this head unit and they basically struggled to hear us.

Radio

We had problems finding a working radio station, we did get it working every now and then but driving along gave bad reception so we didn’t use this feature. We got around this by using an android radio and bbc android app which meant we could still access radio stations we liked.

We didn’t get the device for this reason though, we prefer our own music and audio books, we drive really long distances sometimes and audio books are the best for our journey types.

Look & Styling

It has a plasticy finish, unlike android tablets which don’t have any real buttons, these car stereo replacements usually have a few physical buttons and it takes away from how they look and feel. It makes sense having them as you need to at least turn the device on and off but other than that everything else could be done using the touch screen, especially when you can configure android so much now. You could easily set up volume level or your favourite most used apps on the home page.

Pros & Cons

PROS:
  • Easy to fit and install, connects to other devices in your car, speakers, car controls etc
  • Doesn’t cost too much compared to high-end devices
  • Comes with Android 5.1 so you can use the latest apps to do what you like
  • Navigation, music, this will do it
  • This device has a DVD player so if you still have a CD collection this will play your music and audio CD’s
  • micro SD slot will enable you to enlarge storage space
CONS:
  • Plasticy, flimsy look and feel to it
  • Radio did not work too well out of the box, maybe it was the connection to the device as it worked fine before
  • Not the fastest hardware in the box
  • It does not support DAB functionality

Conclusion & where to buy

A good introduction, like the NavicsAuto to android car stereo replacements and for use with navigation and connecting your smart phone for extra features.

Its price indicates it’s not a high end digital accessory but it does do quite a lot, more than just a general radio stereo will do on your car.

Update 2022: While this particular unit might not be available anymore, we recommend the one below instead.

[4GB+64GB] Android 10.0 Car Radio with Octa Core, 10.1 inch IPS Touch Screen Radio Carplay with DSP, Bluetooth 5.0 GPS Navigation WiFi Double Din Head Unit Support Android Auto Backup Camera

Amazon.co.uk

Dimensions:

Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw

Martin is an automotive enthusiast with a deep passion for all things cars. He has spent the last decade immersing himself in the industry, reading up on the latest models, attending car shows, and tinkering with his own vehicles. Loves: family, all things cars (apart from selling them), pizza.

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