Parrot UNIKA

Very goodS teering Wheel Control Adapter for Asteroid Head Unit and MKi Series Bluetooth Kits

Excellent technology, high quality, quicker shipping to Russia, easy installation.

A necessary evil

The Unika adapter is relatively easy to set up and works mostly as advertised. The compatibility is very good (works with CAN bus, Kbus, and resistor ladders, which covers about every vehicle out there).

This being said, the responsiveness is average, the initial setup is more complex than it could be, and the tens of wires that need to be connected just right could have been replaced by just about 4 (plus a USB plug). I almost forgot to mention that it is far more expensive than any competing product -- I personally find the price almost insane.

So why would you bother with the thing you ask? You almost need to since you own an Asteroid, as this is the most straightforward solution to combining said Asteroid with your steering wheels remote controls.

Why did I purchase the thing you ask? Well, I do own an Asteroid Smart and I was not aware at the time of purchase of any alternate solution. In the meantime I discovered that there exists at least one device out there that connect to the steering wheel controls at one side and present to the head unit (such as the Asteroid) a virtual USB keyboard at the other side. All of this at about half the price of the Unika. Had I known of such a thing when I purchased the Unika I would have gone for it instead.

If the USB keyboard device work as advertised, it would be a cheaper as well as more elegant solution. If it does not, then the Unika remains a necessary evil for Asteroid owners. Either way the Unika is a mediocre device that can be had at an inflated price. As I said, a necessary evil!

It works, thats about it

Bought this to go along with my Asteroid Smart. Unfortunately, poor documentation and the proprietary nature of this product made it a bit of a hassle to install in my WRX STI.

The Metra 70-7552 is missing a steering wheel control lead that connects to the UNIKA. This requires either tapping from the vehicle harness, customizing the 70-7552 or buying another harness (found via NASIOC). The unit is not exactly plug & play. The mass of wiring included is bulky and borderline unnecessary - all that is needed is power/ground and 3-4 SWC wires. Programming was luckily straight forward.

Once installed in my car I found that pushing volume up/down a few times (say 3 times) often pushes the volume WAY UP or WAY DOWN. The response time is a bit slow. Skipping tracks has a similar response time.

Proprietary, overpriced and bulky. The only plus is that it is nice to have steering wheel controls after being without them for some time.

Parrot UNIKA

Great product, easy to connect, simply plug and play. Instructions are not car specific though, but ar available on the internet.

Parrot UNIKA

Great product, easy to connect, simply plug and play. Instructions are not car specific though, but ar available on the internet.