Will there be updated VW headunits in the near future?

[noone]

Removed.........

[Ryan_R]

Or have a look at the ANS510. From what I've heard there are a few teething problems but there's a good feedback channel to the developers here so things can be fixed and updated fairly quickly.

[Flipper Dog]

Being a Touareg owner with the RNS850 I can confirm that your good old disc does jack all with map updates. I need to present my vehicle to an authorised dealer and connect to VW Germany. I then get to buy a code for the SD card and get map updates. What ever region I need is unlocked.
This also applies to custom boot images and other mods you are able to do with the RNS510, the RNS850 no go.

[thezoneR32]

It wont take long to crack the new unit. Just like every other attempt at copy protection...............it took years after dvd's were released b4 we could rip them, it took months to rip Blu-rays after they were released and they were supposed to have un-crackable copy protection.

[kamold]

It wont take long to crack the new unit. Just like every other attempt at copy protection...............it took years after dvd's were released b4 we could rip them, it took months to rip Blu-rays after they were released and they were supposed to have un-crackable copy protection.

It would be a less than trivial effort. The scheme as described would require you to capture and redirect the authentication request to VAG servers, then spoof a valid signed certificate to authenticate to a fake server in order to bypass. Not impossible (similar hack was recently done to bypass in-app purchases through IOS ap store) however its by no means a forgone conclusion.

[DkN]

Anyone with experience in software knows that nothing is uncrackable. However if they do a good enough job, it may just be difficult enough to discourage 99% of people and that's a fair result for them.

I would imagine though that the lock has more to do with problems with stolen units than anything else, the RNS being popularly targeted due to wide compatibility and easy access to VCDS. Sales wise, VW still gets it's cut on third party RNS sales as long as they are legitimately purchased. Plus for most people, if they won't pay $3k for sat nav, then they won't buy an RNS from the dealer whether there is an alternative or not.

In fact I think I see more people turning to aftermarket solutions if they are left with only a 3k option.. It could just as easily hurt RNS sales.

Regarding the cheap Chinese copies comment, I would just like to point out that the situation now is very different from what it was a few years ago. There are a lot of Chinese products that are rubbish, but if you filter out the crap you will find some gems. It's not like they lack the ability to make good products, nearly everything is made there anyway, it's just that the enticement of earning quick cash by tempting buyers with products 1/10 of the price is often too strong in a country where its reputation attracts bargain hunters. However every once in a while people with the right knowledge and right ideas come together to make something that has both quality and attractive price. If you want the crap, it's there, generic 7 inch units claiming to be able to run GPS at $120 flooding Ebay, or cheap RNS copies with hastily written and dysfunctional software for $300, similarly flooding Ebay. But look higher in the price bracket, sitting in between the crap and the often overpriced genuine / mainstream options are the true value products.

Of course, I may be biased but if you look you will find that these days this is true for much more than just navigation units.