pipspeak

Voice is female and the stock phrases sound OK but the TTS voice sounds eerily similar to "Microsoft Mary", the TTS voice in Microsoft Office. I really hope JVC at least gives us the option fo a male voice if they ever do another software update.

in my quest for a better BT microphone (and clip) for a JVC KW-NX7000 navi BT module I'm wondering if any external mike designed for BT modules will work, or are they all unique to the manufacturer? For example, I can get a Garmin or a Pioneer external microphone but will they work the same as the JVC one?

You nailed one of my biggest gripes with this unit... the one (yes, only one) TTS voice sucks. Mangles words like a drunk teenager. And why only one voice? Who heard of a nav unit with only one voice option? It has a few other quirks (as do all nav units) but overall is a decent enough unit. And it has one feature no other DD nav has--the detachable faceplate

In the run-up to Xmas I highly doubt any manufacturer will be putting up the price of anything, espeically a piece of kit with such a poor reputation

AFAIK (having only played with the unit for hours in stores) you simply tilt the "volume" knob up or down to zoom in or out. I'd never thought of it that way... however, the F700 might have BT but it does lack DVD playback so it sorta cancels things out. More worrying IMO is that iGo software is not exactly common and popular in the nav world as far as I can tell. Does that mean it's crap?!

I believe most Pantech handsets use Windows Mobile, in which case I suspect they'll be far more compatible with the WinCE AVIC than iPhones, Crackberries and other non-windows phones. No direct experience... just a hunch!

Heads up is a far more natural way for navigating IMO... but, like the OP, my main gripe with the 3D view is the total lack of detail when you even start to zoom out. I tend to want to know a bit about where I am in the big picture, so to speak, which is why 300ft of nav detail just won't cut it. I hate being a slave to turn-by-turn directions... I'd rather give myself an idea of where I am and where I'm going in the next few miles. Must be the old map reader in me!

would probably be better to post the question on the hacks/mods board... those folks seem to know what's what. Having said that, I've read numerous posts there that suggest this might be a custom WinCE setup wrt hardware drivers etc. For example, it's evidently tricky to install even alternative nav software like TomTom, which should normally run fine on WinCE, without random glitches like no sound.

Just curious... do the F700, F900 and F90 all use the same internal processor (or CPU or whatever crunches the code)? I see no mention of the type of processor in any of the specs.

are you sure the Eclipse is plug'n'play with a Toyota? I'd heard that the rebadged Eclipse units that Toyota offers have custom wiring/plugs specifically for Toyotas that is not standard in the regular Eclipse models.

I'm curious what folks thinkg of the iGo nav software in the F-series. Having played with a few units in stores I was not terribly impressed with overall ease of use, but then again I was not in a moving vehicle so it was hardly the best test of a nav system! Up to now I've been a Garmin Nuvi user and so it's not surprising that I've found the Kenwood nav software a breeze to use (again, in stores). The AVIC just seems clunky by comparison (made worse by occasional overall sluggishness of the unit). Too many presses to set/change/view a route etc. The AVIC maps look nicer than the rather

that's the Blackbird docking unit? I've read nothing but bad reviews for Alpine's nav system... then again I've read nothing but bad reviews about the Pioneer F-series

that's annoying... I'd never thought about it but sometimes I like peace and quiet in my truck! Is this a common "feature" of nav systems... no power off button?

90beater... where did you find an OEM Toyota double-din plate? Did you order from the stealership? Getting this thing as recessed as possible would be my goal. Now I'm less worried about LED colors, however. As long as the screen color scheme vaguely matches the weird Toyota 4runner orange (which I still hate after two years) that'll do. But I'm still gonna try and find a dealer with a JVC demo unit so I can play with it. All the shops around here only seem to have Pioneers and Kenwoods.

Interesting thread and thanks to everyone for their comments and reviews. I have a couple questions about the JVC, particularly for the Toyota owners out there: Firstly, I presume there is no way of changing the backlight color for the buttons below the screen. Correct? If so, does it bug you having different colored dash lighting? Second... has anyone played with customizing the unit at the software level? Can it be customized as extensively as the Pioneer F-series? Are there even options to add different icons or new TTS voices, for example? Finally... any comments on preferred d

you'd think, but then again I think security codes are pretty useless. Your average smash'n'grab thief ain't gonna know whether there's a security code or not and ain't gonna care. By the time they figured out the unit is bricked the damage to your car has already been done and your nav unit is gone. Plus, there are workarounds to codes (remember the old stereo in the freezer trick?) Best solution is one that only JVC seems to have adopted... removeable faceplate. No idea why other manufacturers don't offer this option even on high-end models.

makes sense to me that you should be able to interact with the nav while in motion... DVD watching while in motion is just plain silly, however.

You got a great deal... I haven't seen the Kenwood for much under $700, even on ebay, or the BT module for much under $150. That makes the package at least $200 more than the AVIC F700, which is on sale at a few places for $580.

I'm considering either the dnx5120 or the F700 and concur with most of your observations. The Pioneer just seemed a tad slower overall than the Kenwood, but the GUI is so much more polished. Screen is not quite as sensitive, so I found using the back of my finger nail was the way to go with the F700. I also noticed the F700 screen was not quite as contrasty as the Kenwood and the only adjustment is brightness, which solves nothing. Did you notice any major difference in screen visbility? As for the Garmin nav vs. iGo, it always hard to tell because judgements are so subjective, based on wh

Does the unit even read the artist/album/title tags of an mp3? Or is it really just a glorified windows explorer type interface with USB devices?

Well that makes no sense to me. Buying something from an authorized dealer online usually gives you the full manufacturer's warranty. At least it does with every other item of electronics I've ever bought. Not sure why Pioneer would be any different. Buying in an actual store might be more expensive but does have its upsides, most notably if you have to return a malfunctioning unit (which might be particularly relevent for the F-series if this board is anything to go by I'd rather simply take it back to my local Best Buy than bother with RMAs, shipping, insurance, and potentially weeks o

$54 for the Garmin or the Pioneer updates? Map updates for my portable Garmin are far more than $54! The Navteq vs. TeleAtlas debate is interesting and every recent comparison I've read suggest they are about as accurate (and inaccurate) as each other. In fact this review (http://www.gpsreview.net/navteq-vs-tele-atlas/) gives the edge to TeleAtlas, so untimately I'm not bothered who supplies the maps, as long as they're relatively up to date.

Good to know!

If I can get the BT for the kenwood unit for close to $100 that might sell me, especially since it's a Parrot unit so is probably gonna be better than the built-in Pioneer BT system. What ebay seller did you buy from? (PM me).

Funny, I'm also considering the F-series (700BT to be precise) and have also had concerns over the apparent instability of the UI. However, I'm willing to stick around and see what happens with the next firmware update because there is no other nav unit on the market that offers such an ideal mix of features for the price (the comparable Kenwood DNX5120 unit adds DVD playback but the BT unit is a $200 addition). However, a couple of things still concern me about the Pioneer from my limited time playing with them in stores and they're related to the screen. The screen generally seems f