In-Dash Navigation System

[SidOliver]

Hello All,

Any recommendations for an in-dash navigation system? or recommendations against specific systems? I am looking for something with the navigation feature (obviously ), an iPod hook-up/adapter, and maybe DVD though DVD is negotiable. Mostly I want the navigation system to be user friendly-- easy to see/use. Also, if anyone has any recommendations on where to go to get the best deal, it would be greatly appreciated. I am in the Tysons Corner area of Virginia.

Thanks people!

[mjs0202]

I have a Pioneer F700BT and love it. Double din with a decent NAV (not great but functional), the iPod hook is second to none, it has bluetooth for the phone, and you can add a rear camera and XM etc.

That model was superseded by the F7010BT. Check buy.com and Amazon.

[BlakGost]

I've got a Kenwood DNX9140 installed in my CTS and love it. I never got around to the "Retain DIC modification" for now; ran into some issues. Maybe I'll get to it later. For now, it makes no difference to me. This is my daily driver anyway. YES, there are a few bugs in the software that Kenwood is still working out, specifically with ipod album art taking up to 8 seconds to load.

Of course, different features drive different people, but the decisive factors for ME were:

1. Voice control over both Kenwood and Garmin interfaces
2. Rear-view cam on screen is instantaneous (don't have to wait for unit to fully boot for camera to be operational)
3. USB input (I store movies in divx format on a 500GB portable hardrive)
4. Complete ipod control (video and audio)
5. Garmin maps are stored internally (no disc)
6. Built-in bluetooth (pairs automatically with my Berry when I start her up)
7. Bluetooth A2DP profile (stream Pandora and Slacker from my Berry)
8. The ability to customize splash start-up screen and wallpaper
9. Screen can adjust both up AND down to decrease glare
10. Buttons on bottom can be color matched to interior lighting
11. Future external device connectivity

Of course nothing is without a few CONS:

1. Unit takes up to 26 seconds from ignition turn to music playing, Makes no difference to me though because I always remote start anyway.
2. Until ipod album art is diplayed, the unit is non-responsive to input.

A fall firmware update is on schedule to fix these issues.

I guess you should just figure out which features drive you in a unit and than use a process of elimination to make a purchase. I was sold on the Avic Z3 until this came out and am extremely happy with it. Good Luck!

[mjs0202]

The Pioneer also has start up issues. Its loading a iPod (3,000 tracks), bluetooth, and a NAV system so its always going to be slow(sih). If you leave in on radio when you take the keys out you will get music/sound within a few seconds of start up. Its about 30 seconds before the iPod is fully operational, and teh bluetooth is about 20 seconds later. Within a minute everything is up and running fine.

[SidOliver]

Thanks guys,

I am going to go shop around this weekend; I have also heard good things about one of the units JVC offers (though it's draw-back is a small screen).