Z1 newbie Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 A friend just brought his brand new Magellan 4250 along on a 400 mile round trip. I was amazed at how much better the routing was when compared to what my Z2 came up with and how well the voice command worked. If that little 41/2" handheld $369 wonder can do that, then how come my $2000 Avic can't?? The Avic routing once again took me on needless detours while the Magellan picked the same routing that we had been given on Google maps prior to our departure. 17 miles shorter and definately faster to the destination. We had a lot of fun trying to get the Z2 bitch to understand voice commands that we were giving and what she came up with when she repeated what she thought we said. It's one way to kill some time while travelling, but it's totally useless. However the more limited commands on the Magellan worked perfectly every time and there was no need to push anything to get into voice command. A simple spoken "Magellan" put voice command to work. What a treat. Pioneer I hope you're paying attention. Get a Magellan and see how much you can learn. For the money we pay we deserve better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hottwhyrd Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 actually for the money we pay you get what u get. considering what the avic is i think its worth every dollar! what kind of amp does the megellan have? hows the ipod interface.... u see where im going. dont mean to be a dick but i am working late tonight! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TeDy Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 All though you have a valid point, and a good one, but the Z2 was designed for navigation too. If the navigation doesn't really work, then thats like paying for a $2000 Ipod/cd/dvd head unit (which there are several out there for a lot less then $2000) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eggsack Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is a way in the Z2 to adjust the routing options. Try them and see. You can also choose to have it shopw different routes and you pick one. The Z2 is a very powerful tool. It has some issues, all of them do, but I am glad i got mine. I also have a Iway 250C and I have used it at the same time as I was traveling with the Z2 and sometimes the Lowrance works better and sometime the Z2 works better. It happens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eggsack Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is a way in the Z2 to adjust the routing options. Try them and see. You can also choose to have it shopw different routes and you pick one. The Z2 is a very powerful tool. It has some issues, all of them do, but I am glad i got mine. I also have a Iway 250C and I have used it at the same time as I was traveling with the Z2 and sometimes the Lowrance works better and sometime the Z2 works better. It happens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djmixmac Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I think the Z2's interface is falling behind some of the competitors. Is it possible to get a fresh interface (more colorful and 3d like) from a simple DVD upgrade disc? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z1 newbie Posted January 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 ... what kind of amp does the megellan have? hows the ipod interface.... u see where im going. Well, on Pioneerelectronics. com it is under NAVIGATION and not under CAR AUDIO. It's being advertised as a full fetured Navigation system and I don't think that too many people would pay $2000 if it was being marketed as an audio device that by the way also has navigation. When I replaced my first class factory head unit with a Navigation system I did not look at what kind of amp or i-pod interface it had. I chose the Avic D1, later the Z-1 and now upgraded to Z-2, because I needed a Navigation system for my frequent travels. I had accepted, up until now, that what the Avics do is all that can be expected of such a device currently. I don't use my i-pod in the car and in any case i-pod is just something else that the Z-1, Z-2 can do, but first and foremost it's a navigagtion system and at the price it should be a BETTER Navigation system. I've learned to always get my routing from Google maps before I go on trips and use the Avic stricly as a live map. It is great for that but so is a less than $200 portable. The voice command was a feature that helped me decide on the Z1 over other options and I'm disappointed that they still have not improved on how poorly it functions. It understands "return home" every time but beyond that it's useless. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z1 newbie Posted January 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 There is a way in the Z2 to adjust the routing options. Try them and see. You can also choose to have it shopw different routes and you pick one. Thanks, but I'm familiar with every option setting and the different routes option. Tried every tweak that there is but nothing gives me reliable results. Not sure why there are route options. Only one should be the most optimal route (actually none is) that I've asked for on the basis of my settings. How would I pick from the various routes when I don't know anything about that area? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z1 newbie Posted January 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I think the Z2's interface is falling behind some of the competitors. Is it possible to get a fresh interface (more colorful and 3d like) from a simple DVD upgrade disc? Unfortunately No there isn't. But you bring up a good point: Maps are displayed better on a variety of other units. In my area we have very thin almost indistinguishable yellow road lines on a beige background. Without putting on my reading glasses I can't make them out and it makes no difference if I chose blue or red for roads display. Why does Pioneer (Tele Atlas) not double the thicknes of the minor-road lines and make them contrasting from the background Other units do. And yes, I've tried all the brightnes and contrast settings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eggsack Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Ok here we go mother fucka. I travel a lot, I got a truck that is 16 months old and has 65,000 miles on it. I have been across this country 3 times the past 12 months. The AVICs, all of them have their problems, but I have found in my travels that they are still great at getting it right. There are always areas that the mapping is not quite right. That is not Pioneers fault. They just load data that is proveded by another company. So call tele nav or whoever makes the mapping part and complain to them. I have a friend that paid $3,500 for an alpine unit and it can not navigate him across the town we live in. How is that for Alpine???? Same thing different comany. If you think you can do better, then start your own company and do it so we can pay you for the product. Get a Grip man. Nothing and I mean nothing is perfect. There are too many features involved that one comany does not have any control over. I think that for my money, the pioneer AVIC Z2 could be better, I agree, but quit bashing the thing cause it is not perfect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dawgbone Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 +1 on Eggsack....Pioneer just bought into some 3rd party....And being that they are releasing updates, means that they are still in fact updating their data...But Pioneer themselves, do not do GPS....Too bad they couldn't sign on with Garmin or the likes... In my case, the routing and charting is phenomenal...but the POI sucks...I can't find shite in my area, not even a walmart...Although I did find a childrens museum in New Orleans that I was surprised it found....But the museum is also older than I am... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kruff10 Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 look people , i have a garmin 2730 and i have the d 3 there are some things i dont like about the garmin and there are some things i dont like about the d3 navigation but the d 3 still gets me where i need to go. U CANT PLEASE EVERY ONE! DO U SEE WHERE IM GOING WITH THIS?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hottwhyrd Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 wow this thred got fun after i left! im in a better mood today Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Passat 05 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 A friend just brought his brand new Magellan 4250 along on a 400 mile round trip. I was amazed at how much better the routing was when compared to what my Z2 came up with and how well the voice command worked. I'm not surprised that the Magellan is better than is the Z2 in the navigation dept. I'm driving around in rental cars right now with a little portable Garmin and discovered that I can actually trust the routing almost totally which would be a recipe for disaster with the Z2 (or any other Avic). Your voice command info is very interesting as the Garmin that I have does not have that. Will have to see if Garmin has that or might have to get that Megellan 4250 instead. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Passat 05 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 ....mother fucka..... That is not Pioneers fault. They just load data that is proveded by another company. So call tele nav ... Ok buddy, you sure got this one wrong. It definately is Pioneers fault that they chose Tele Nav to provide the mapping for Pioneer. When I spend $1800 on a Pioneer I don't have a choice over who's mapping I buy with it. Pioneer made that choice. Good thing I've got that VW diesel which will last a long time because Google and VW have bonded to provide true 3D mapping just the way you can see it on Google earth. Can't wait to put one of those babies into my Passat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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