Those who are lucky enough to buy a car nowadays can count on a quality infotainment system that is already present, compatible with Android and iOS smartphones, but not only. But if you are among those users who have an old car, without Bluetooth and other technological gems, fortunately there are aftermarket solutions, such as those proposed by EONON, which allow you to transform an old multimedia system into a modern and up-to-date solution with an expense that is, all in all, quite reasonable. Today we discover together the EONON P4 which also has the integration of a dashcam capable of capturing 4K videos.
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Hardware and Installation
English: The product that EONON sent me to test has the acronym P4 in its name and is a touch monitor with a 10.26″ inch display that does not require any particular skills in installation, which in fact takes place by means of a bracket with a suction cup to be anchored to the windshield of your car or via an adhesive bracket to be anchored to the surface of the dashboard that offers a product angle of 30° on the horizontal axis and 10° on the vertical axis, in practice a plug & play solution, since the only connection you will have to make is that of the power supply, again quite simple since you just need to insert the power supply into the cigarette lighter socket of the car, with a very long cable that ends with a USB Type-C connector. This also means that if you already have a smartphone charger in the car, you could even use that. Of course, the screen can be detached and stored elsewhere if we park the car in unsavory places.
The sales package is definitely complete, since in addition to what has already been indicated (double anchoring bracket and power supply), it also contains a replacement sticker for the fixed bracket, a series of cable loops for accurate cable management but also a waterproof rear parking camera capable of recording at 1080p with AV connection. Only in this case, if you are not an expert, you will need the help of a technician but only if you want the rear camera to be connected to the reverse gear control. Finally, there is an AUX cable for connecting systems not equipped with Bluetooth or for connecting to the car radio, if it has this type of output, manuals and a plastic tool for passing the cables through the car's plastics, in addition to the aforementioned power supply with cigarette lighter socket that also offers a USB-A socket in order to charge the smartphone.
EONON P4 presents itself as a 10.26-inch diagonal monitor with a resolution of 1600×600 pixels whose maximum brightness is sufficient to offer excellent readability of the contents on the screen even under direct sunlight. However, we find a light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen based on the ambient light.
On the upper profile we find a button that allows you to temporarily or completely turn off the display. The lower and left profiles are clean while on the right profile, we find some inputs, including a Type-C port for power, AV-IN input for connecting the rear camera, AUX input and finally micro SD input. I also forgot to say that a 64 GB card is already supplied, allowing you to record videos or photos from the rear camera or the standard one.
In fact, on the back of the EONON P4 we find a dashcam with 4K resolution and a 175° viewing angle and WDR technology. This can be oriented on two axes as well as being adjustable in height via a movable plastic bracket. Finally, on the back we find the grooves for anchoring the brackets.
How it works – User experience
I would like to point out that the power of EONON P4 also lies in the fact that we can easily install it on any type of car, camper, van. Another strong point lies in the audio management which occurs through 4 different methods: we can transmit the audio via Bluetooth from the phone to the car system and therefore delegate the screen to the sole management of the entire interface, we can connect the tablet to the car system via jack cable or transmit via FM by tuning the radio to the right frequency or, in extreme cases, use the integrated speaker of the EONON P4. The speaker does not have a very high audio quality and is obviously not comparable in power to the car stereo, but in desperate situations it does its job. Operation via FM does not suffer from any distortion and/or disturbances, indeed compared to similar solutions I found it clearly superior in terms of audio quality.
The interface is very simple, providing Android Auto or Carplay connection options and phone screen mirroring but we also find the possibility, via smartphone app, to connect directly to the device's dashcam/rear camera with GPS location information and the ability to download captured videos/photos without having to remove the memory card. Once the connection is complete we are ready to make the most of our new entertainment system and on-board computer.
When you turn on the car, EONON P4 automatically starts and connects to our smartphone by starting, depending on the phone we are using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. In my case I had the opportunity to test it with Android and I admit that I was very satisfied with it. The functioning of Android Auto (but also CarPlay), is truly excellent, with a more than satisfactory experience also due to the 10.26-inch IPS screen which, as already mentioned, is readable in all conditions. The touch also works well, always being fluid and this allows us to make the most of all the functions of our smartphones. From the panel, or even via voice commands, we can start applications, listen to music with our favorite apps, read notifications, make calls and use the navigator.
In fact, we find an integrated microphone that offers a decidedly high capture quality, in fact during telephone conversations in the car, my interlocutor did not complain of annoyances or poor audio quality. Even the voice commands are received perfectly. Personally, I have used it a lot for calls, music and navigation. The calls work perfectly and there are no lags, delays or drops in quality. The management of music with the various apps is excellent and has allowed me to completely revolutionize the entertainment system of my car. The operation of the navigation system with Google Maps and Apple Maps is also excellent, everything works great and having such a large display is really convenient when you are driving and do not know the roads well.
An overlay button is added to the system interface that allows us to return to the system home, switch to the dashcam and manage secondary settings. Finally, as anticipated a few lines above, in addition to the classic systems, we can use the screen with the transmission of the display of our phones. In this case, it should be specified that the touch of the EONON P4 will be useless, since it is a banal replica of the smartphone screen. Furthermore, some apps such as Netflix or Prime Video do not allow viewing of content, protected by DRM. However, you can exploit this potential for full reading of Telegram or Whatsapp or entertain your child with a game but seen on a larger display. But what is super interesting is that apps such as IPTV allow you to view the TV directly on the EONON display and therefore you will not miss the match, the news or your favorite soap opera while you are returning from a long trip.
I have not tested the rear camera properly, but it offers 1080p video quality with a 140° FOV angle and IP68 resistance, which is still as good as the 4K of the front dashcam. In short, the EONON P4 is an all-in-one multimedia system, also offering safety and proof in the event of accidents. In any case, the system interface also offers the possibility of viewing what is framed by the cameras even with Android Auto or CarPlay active.
Conclusions and price
I've been looking for a definitive solution for a while now that will allow me to revolutionize the entertainment system of my car. EONON P4 seems like a good solution to me, since it also integrates a dashcam in addition to a rear camera and all the potential of Android Auto or CarPlay, with extreme ease of use. You can buy it on Amazon at the special price of € 143,99 or you can find it on the official website of the brand at a cost of $ 89,99 using the discount coupon EITECH10. So what are you still doing here, run and buy it before the offer ends.
