Modeler

I was searching for a good price for VAIS SL2i-UP, and found another product that claims to be identical to SL2i-UP: SoundGate TOYPD2. The only difference -- and a huge one -- is the price: $129 vs $229.

I tried to search ClubLexus to see if anyone installed TOYPD2, but found no references whatsoever. This seems very strange. Is it possibly because VAIS is a sponsor of this board and all messages about competing products are deleted?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

no, i don't recall reading anything about this before, very interesting product. we didn't remove anything coz' they are competitions. for example we have a long thread about the GROM

Modeler

Great. Started to worry needlessly. I'm going to post another topic to let people know about this deal.

worker

Oh.. iPod. I was hoping usb flash.

*Batman*

Interesting device. Seems like a good deal.

The thing with these secondary vendors though is you may not get the same post sales support in case somehing goes wrong.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

http://www.vaistech.com/products/unath_res.php

sounds like someone is not authorized to sell these stuff, not a good idea

let's keep this to one thread

Modeler

This is all very fishy. What I've seen other Web sites says is that TOYPD2 is identical to VAIS SLi2-UP. What this and the statement on VAIS Web site suggests to me is that both SoundGate and VAIS are resellers of the same product manufactured by someone else -- in the same way that Prestigious Society is not manufacturing the NAVI override kit, but is reselling the Japanese one.

I can't imagine a situation where SoundGate purchased VAIS units wholesale, slapped their label on them, and is selling them for $100 less. That just doesn't make sense.

Modeler

By the way, rominl, deleting this thread would have been preferable to me over deleting the other thread, if you agreed with batman (though I strongly disagree with deleting either of them).

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

What a crazy and whacky conspiracy theory you've got ... of course not. If a VENDOR for that product comes onto our forum and starts promoting it without becoming a forum sponsor first we will close or remove their threads. Our members discussing the pros and cons of the different products whether they're sold by a CL sponsor or not is absolutely fine as long as they aren't overly-promotional about sales links, etc.

We've had several different manufacturers of competing products to VAIS sponsor CL and sell their products here on our forum including DICE and Coastal.

You should have created a single informative post rather than spamming the forum with duplicate threads about the same exact topic within a few hours of starting the first one.

Modeler, based on this post and on others you made last evening that were removed, I strongly suggest you use the private message feature to contact the moderator team directly to discuss your concerns.

worker

Can bluetooth also stream media like music? From what i understand it can but the 'slave' or the 'master' or both need to have this capability.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

not that i know of with lexus system and bluetooth

Modeler

I didn't realize that was an option. Will remember in the future.

*Batman*

Yes the Bluetooth capability of the 2006-2009 cars does not support Bluetooth stereo. The 2010 models do support Bluetooth stereo.

In principle it ought to be possible for an aftermarket kit vendor like Vais to offer Bluetooth as part of their kits. It wouldn't give you touchscreen contol of the iPhone, but even passthrough Bluetooth stereo could be useful.

Now that the iPhone supports Bluetooth stereo, I think the next gen Vais device (maybe SL3i) should have Bluetooth. The challenge would be figuring out how to synchronize the phone features so you don't have to choose between Bluetooth stereo and Bluetooth phone.

VaisTech

iTrader: (3)

Hi Everyone!

Soundgate used to distribute our products, but since Soundgate is going away they are selling everything they have in complete violation to our terms. Units they sell don't have warranty from Soundgate and ToyPD2 units WILL NOT be warrantied by VAIS Technology.

Also firmware version number offered by Soundgate for ToyPD2 corresponds to VAIS firmware number 4.43, which was discontinued by VAIS in July of 2008, and it doesn't support 5th Gen expanded browsing.

Soundgate/Kicker is placed on the unauthorized dealers list of VAIS Technology products.

TWong350

iTrader: (8)

Wow...great to know!