To DIN or DOUBLE DIN...That is the question

[precopster]

Mike did you buy the Eonon brand or another brand because my Eonon lasted 16 months before the screen went white and no longer responded to touch. The main issue was the screen itself used to get very hot even on a cool day when in use and the built-in cooling fan just didn't dissipate the screen's heat.

Mine was a single DIN design with detachable face and motorized pop out screen that was a delight to use however because the motorized screen was only attached via a small surface area (hynged area) there was no opportunity to have the screen's heat drawn away by the fan.

Next time around I'll go for a double din only because all the heat behind the LCD can be drawn away and make the unit last much longer.

Theft wise the single DIN I owned gave nothing away; in fact it looked tacky with the screen retracted; hardly a target for thieves.

[mikealder]

Mike, I have just been out to the car to check the make and there is nothing on the front of the device, I do recall it came from online shop chinavasion.com and whilst they do still have a number of these type of units, the one I have is no longer shown, not really surprising as it's nearly 4,5 years old.

The double DIN unit looks like the facia has been removed from the Stereo when it is switched off which probably acts as a good deterrent against low-life's breaking in to steal it, these days most of the music I play in the car comes from the Smart Phone connected to the car via a Bluetooth iO-Play_2 kit with it's own amplifier so the head unit remains off most of the time (unless I want to watch Sky news on the way to work - Only joking) - Mike

[j-dawg]

as to whether a double-din is a target for thieves, i think the same rules as for locking a bicycle apply:
1) make sure it's better locked than the bike it's parked next to, because crackheads will steal anything that's not bolted down, and
2) if the thief really wants it, he'll get it - you can only deter him by putting up little obstacles.

because of rule 2 - try to make him not want it enough to make the hurdles worth jumping - i went with a single-din unit. i also think a double-din unit doesn't make a lot of sense since i offload most of my data processing to a smartphone anyway (GPS, tweeting while driving, &c). the rear USB port handles music with aplomb.

i suppose if you don't have a smartphone the double din might be useful, but if you do the smartphone will be more up to date anyway.