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108 of 110 people found the following review helpful.
I love this nav system!
By D. Matheny
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2EFAJ45OUM36K [*** UPDATE 9/9/2010 - It turns out that firmware version 2.003, which I just installed tonight, fixes the bug where you have to press OK before your phone connects to the AVIC-Z120BT. I tested this out and it works as expected now. ***]I got this AVIC-Z120BT unit a few days ago and installed it in my 2009 Nissan Frontier. The install did take a while; but, I had several quotes by some car audio installation places and I decided I'd be better off doing it myself and saving the money. So far, I am absolutely loving having this system in my truck!In the attached video, I tried to go over some of the main features of this unit. I'll also try to cover most of the same material here for people that don't want to spend the time to watch the video.Here are the things I'm loving about this Pioneer navigation system:1) The sound quality is very good. The radio reception is also exceptional for both AM and FM.2) The media source selection is great! This unit supports playing from CDs & DVDs (including MP3s from either), SD cards with either video or music, iPods (using an additional interface cable), USB keys, or the internal AM/FM tuner. You can also add an HD radio tuner, although I didn't add that feature. Personally, I love that I can stick an SD card with all my music in this unit and it is always available to me without having to mess with an FM transmitter or hook up my phone to the receiver.3) The navigation system itself is very good. The maps are up to date in my area, and it looks like new maps can be downloaded from Pioneer when they are available. It has all the standard nav features, like being able to adjust the scale or change the top of the map to be either North or to be inline with your current heading. It also offers turn-by-turn guidance, waypoints, and can be controled using voice commands - although I haven't played with this much.4) The Bluetooth interface on the receiver is amazing! It automatically downloads the contacts from my phone whenever it turns on and then I have access to all of my contacts through the nav system. Even though my Android phone does NOT support voice dialing over Bluetooth, I can now use the voice dialing feature of this receiver and it automatically dials my phone.5) The voice interface in general is very good. It handles everything from voice dialing to switching inputs - even when I'm driving down the highway. The included mic works fine for phone calls in the truck, although it does sound like I'm talking on a speaker phone (which I basically am when using this system).6) Incoming calls on this system work very well. A small overlay pops up on the screen that lets you answer incoming calls, hang up, etc... It also mutes (or turns down) the currently playing audio during the phone call.7) The backup camera is a great addition. It switches on automatically when the truck is in reverse, and it can also be used in conjunction with the map view - which will be great for towing.8) The system boots fairly quickly. The backup camera and previously selected music source are available almost instantly, where the navigation system and other controls are available after about 15 seconds. My Android phone typically takes about 45 seconds to connect from the time the system first starts up.9) I should have shown this in the video, but the screen tilt can be adjusted if you need it to angle up a bit. In my truck, I don't need it to tilt at all; so I tend to forget about that.10) The interface looks great and is very easy to use! The system also looks great in my truck.11) You can set an anti-theft password through a 'secret' interface, and the system will prompt for the password if the backup power is ever cut. I think this is a dubious 'anti-theft' feature since the system could easily be stolen and the thieves wouldn't find out about the password until they were back at the secret lair :). I guess I would have the satisfaction of knowing they probably couldn't use it...Although I absolutely love this Pioneer nav system, there are some quirks in the firmware that I hope will be addressed by future releases:1) [*** UPDATE - This is fixed in firmware version 2.003. ***] When booting the system, you need to press OK on the warning screen BEFORE the system connects to your phone. Otherwise, you won't be able to voice dial until the car is turned off and back on again. If the system boots up into the map screen, this is pretty easy since the prompt will show before the map is displayed. If, on the other hand, the system boots into the media mode, the prompt won't even display until you manually switch to either the home screen or the navigation system - and it can be easy to forget until you need to make a call...2) The AM and FM presets are named based on the text being broadcast by the station. That makes no sense in my case, so I end up with presets with names like "ive,". I wish that could just be turned off and I could just have the frequencies displayed - or it would also be great if I could name the presets myself. Normally, I don't mind remembering the preset numbers - but this interface doesn't really lend itself to that. Hopefully this will be fixed/changed soon!3) I wish this system would show album art for songs that are on the SD card. I called Pioneer and verified that isn't supported in the current firmware.4) On bright days, the display tends to be a bit washed out - even on the brightest setting. It's still visible, but just barely. I may end up getting my front windows tinted to help out with this.Overall, I really love this system and would highly recommend it if you want an integrated nav/bluetooth/multimedia system in your vehicle. The combined feature-set that this added to my truck wouldn't have even been possible a few years ago; and, the Pioneer pulls it all off with a very nicely integrated user interface. There are some quirks in the firmware, but I think they should all be easily addressed by future firmware updates - I just hope Pioneer does us all the favor of actually updating the firmware!I will update this review to reflect any changes in my opinions, or if new firmware versions are released.
45 of 52 people found the following review helpful.
Overall excellent, slightly disappointing in some aspects
By E. Harp
I have been using this receiver in my 2010 Toyota Tundra for several weeks now. I will simply go over the points that mattered to me. This is an updated review.- sound quality: excellent. Very happy in this regard. I have this connected at the line level to a JL Audio 400 watt amp and Morel Tempo speakers. Professionally installed.- navigation: so far so good. The voice quality is great. The UI works well and I haven't found it slow when searching for an address or a POI. I like how it behaves as your drive.- iPhone integration: generally very nice. Both for video and music and phone contacts. The audio quality I am getting for better music files is what I had hoped for. I am using the Pioneer iPod cable. There are glitches here and there, such as transitions. For example, shot off the unit/vehicle with video playing, then when the unit starts up again, the video doesn't play but you hear the sound. This continues even after acknowledging the safety screen. Can be lived with.Voice quality during phone calls appears to be good. Or should I say nobody has complained nor misunderstood me. I did move a microphone a few times before settling on the rear edge of the visor. This is a less hidden, less integrated place to put it, but this places the microphone much closer to my voice. Sound levels in my Tundra aren't too bad. The doors are lined with Dynamat.- voice recognition/control: overall surprisingly good. There is a bug that happens if your phone connects to the unit before you have acknowledged the safety notice for the GPS. Voice commands related to the phone refuse to work at all. This bug earlier led me to believe that the VR was useless. Work around for this is to hit that OK button in GPS mode as soon as possible after starting up the unit. I have used the VR even for specifying an address or searching for a point of interest, and it all works well. The VR voice is computer generated and not nearly as smooth as the GPS voice. One of several points of integration between the unit's separate systems that could use some improving.So overall, I am very happy with this choice. I have not used such a unit in the past, so my expectations were actually quite high. I am used to better integration between features. I am however quite impressed with the overall quality of the user interface. Much nicer than I have seen on earlier receivers. Useful and looks good, not a silly display of flashing graphics. I believe it could be improved on, but I develop user interfaces for a living, so take my opinion as coming from a more critical point of view.Six months update: really not happy with the navigation in this unit. Makes mistakes too often and in a few cases dangerous situations (big city, lots of traffic, etc.). The alternate view thrown at you at big intersections isn't helpful and causes more confusion at bad moments. I could go on for an hour why I don't like this GPS. I have resorted to using a portable Garmin sitting on the dashboard. That's right, $1300+ "nav" unit and I have to use a Nuvi 760 if I actually want to get there.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Very weak for a "Flagship" navigation unit
By flightjunkie
This unit is not what I expected for a "Flagship" unit from Pioneer. If I would have been able to test a unit before purchasing, I would not have purchased it.1) The Navigation screens are so poorly designed.If you have the unit search for any point of interest, i.e. "Taco Bell", it will give you multiple results with the distance being the only thing differentiating them. You have no idea which street they are on, or in which direction they are from you. Completely useless. It would not be asking much for them to at least put an address on there. Ideally, a map display of results, similar to what you get with Google Maps is ideal. However, for an update, I would be happy with just showing addresses.2) The features of the radio are utterly pathetic. There is less functionality in this radio than the most basic car stereos.You can only have 6 channels in memory, and 3 FM "modes" (FM1, FM2, FM3), for a total of 18. Why so little channels? Is it a lack of technology, processing power, or laziness in design? There is no scan function. The channel info freezes when you switch away from the station, and stays there until you reselect the station. So, you may have a partial name of a song you listened to days ago, as a means to identify what one of your presets are.3) Voice features for music are not responsive. I don't even bother with this feature anymore. It rarely understands what you ask for, and usually ends up changing the audio source when I ask it to play an artist or album. The Voice dialing actually works really well, so I do not know what the disconnect is between great voice dialing and terrible voice music requests.4) Musicsphere is more trouble than it is worth.The program is just a convoluted way of making playlists. You can jump through hula hoops to make playlists through this program or you can just use Genius in Itunes or make them yourself. The program does not work with 64 bit versions of Windows OS's, so hopefully your computer is not too advanced for this.5) Outdated options.There is an option to dial Google 411 on the phone screen, and when you call it, Google informs you that the service is no longer available. They could have removed this on a firmware update but have not.6) AVIC feeds app has terrible ratings.Read the reviews on the Itunes store for more info. I have never had the pleasure of using it because it is not compatible with an older operating system I am running on my Iphone.BOTTOM LINE-------------------------For a "Flagship" aka "Top of the Line" Product from Pioneer, this navigation unit has many shortcomings. As of this review, there is not even a downloadable firmware update for the unit. There used to be one, but it is no longer there. Hopefully they are preparing a new firmware that addresses many of the shortcomings that this unit currently has. If they do, I will update this review.Until Pioneer makes changes to this unit and future units, save your money and wait for a company to really put an effort into their top-of-the-line products.
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Koolertron GPS never worked
