30days later, I am over it

[timhunold]

I totally understand why the rebates popped up and the pricing dropped 40% in just a few months. This unit is pretty dreadful. I am going to give you guys a breakdown of some of my woes eventhough I don't see much more out there, maybe the Kenwood.

 

Background:

2001 BMW 740iL. Factory navi was old and iPod integration sucked. Autonet 3G in the trunk. I do not own a cellphone, I use Skype only. My commutes is 1.5 hours each way, for a total of 120miles round trip everyday. So I have had the unit for a conservative estimate of 3000 miles so far. It took 3 days to install the unit because of the design of my dashboard so I am not stuck with it, but it won't be an easy uninstall. I got this under the assumption it was the best out there and money was not a concern of mine when I went shopping.

 

Voice Recognition Stinks:

I asked for "Lucille's Roadhouse" and got Mrs. Fields Cookies. I asked for "The Old Spagehetti Factory" and got Gold's Gym. I asked to play the album "Get Yer Ya-Yas Out" by the Rolling stones, and it said "now playing gothic" or something like that followed by the only song in that genre I own "Bela Lugosi's Dead". Bauhaus and the epic 1968 live Stones concert are worlds apart.

 

POIs Limitations:

There is a limit to the number of POIs you can display, a very small number. I went to go to a restaurant near UCLA lastnight, and I was not sure of the address. It is a little cafe, but no way did the unit find it until I was literally outside their door. On the plus side, I asked some lovely co-ed cuties and they pointed the way.

 

Wait After Adjusting Volume:

You have about a half second between changing the volume and then changing tracks, otherwise you "next" button becomes a volume button. Particularly embarassing when your client is in the car and some explicit comedian pops up.

 

iPod Touch:

Basically this is an iPhone with out the phone or camera "apps", but everything else is roughly the same from the OS standpoint. So why can't I get my contacts off the iPod and in the system the same way? Which leads me to the "option" of using Avic Feeds.

 

Contacts/Favorites:

Even exporting from Outlook is easy. Importing to the Avic Feeds app on the otherhand is weak. I am trying to import an address book of about 475 items. It will import, but break fields. I have URL's as titles, and have remapped the whole export as well. Creating a new poi stinks, it is limited as to the characters in the address field. VERY limited. None of that matters because I can't save the file to SD anyway. This is important when I have friends borrowing the car or my crew is driving it to one of my photoshoots, often to places that are not an address, but a destination.

 

Screen Quality:

I am getting movies from my iPod and DiVX DVD playing looking like high color-depth animated Gifs or like bad DVR playback. If you have a first/second gen Tivo, you'll recognize the similarities. Has to be a data rate issue. Looks fine on my netbook.

 

Wasted UI Space:

Given the powerful nature of the unit, why are XM songs/artists, and radio tags truncated? My 2004 Volvo OEM headunit pulls down more characters.

 

No Remote:

If you have a big car or SUV, the backseat passengers are probably more likely to be changing sources and tracks, but there is no dedicated remote for the unit.

 

Next/Prev Steeringwheel Buttons:

Sometimes it goes to the next song, sometimes it scans the FM dial to the next station it picks up (not your next favorite), sometimes it just goes to the next XM station (also not your next favorite).

 

Conclusion:

I am not going to hate on the unit, a lot of the others in the field have some marginally worse functionality or interfaces, but not often all these gremlins in one. If I am in a stereo shop, I would not outright say "don't buy this unit" to someone; rather "if I had to do it over, knowing what I do now, I would not have bought this unit".

 

[VBLUE42]

No offense but about 90% of what you posted is absolute nonsense and is either user or install error. I have non of these issues with my unit.

[Pogigreg]

I love mine.

[timhunold]

No offense but about 90% of what you posted is absolute nonsense and is either user or install error. I have non of these issues with my unit.

While you may have countered my enquiry, you did not acknowledge that 10% you feel is legitimate, so I am going to I guess re-address key issues I have. FYI, Fry's in Fountain Valley and Anaheim advise people against this unit after returns and customer complaints, one complaint was the navi crashing, but

i have not experienced that.

 

I'd love to film this unit in operation this weekend, and maybe you can help me troubleshoot the issues.

 

1. [*:e4qr5udd]I can tell you that the steering wheel button is a momentary switch, it is not a laggy circuit controlled unit, it is basically wired to the Pioneer module.
   [*:e4qr5udd]I don't have a thick accent for the VR to fail.
   [*:e4qr5udd]The Avic Feeds app supports less than 100 favorites, maybe I can continually add more, 99 at a time?
   [*:e4qr5udd]Even 2nd gen iPod bricks had a contacts feature. This is more important in a navi than video capability.
   [*:e4qr5udd]As for the installer, I have been going to these guys for 12 years now, I have had them do installs on exotics, and other difficult units.

I love mine.

I have to admit, I like mine too, but there are serious impediments to operation from the features the unit has.

 

[VBLUE42]

• [*:2w3ju4ug]I can tell you that the steering wheel button is a momentary switch, it is not a laggy circuit controlled unit, it is basically wired to the Pioneer module.

 
Ok so what steering wheel interface are you using because that doesn't make any sense. What you should be using is the PAC SWI-PS version 1.6.8 and it is not wired to any Pioneer module.
 

[*:2w3ju4ug]I don't have a thick accent for the VR to fail.

 
There is apparently a software bug in the system that will fail the VR if the bluetooth connects before you hit the warning OK button that displays when you go to the map screen. This is a nuisance but is worked around. When your unit boots go to the map screen and hit the OK button before BT connects, wait 30 seconds, and your VR should work fine. Certainly not worth hating the unit.
 

[*:2w3ju4ug]The Avic Feeds app supports less than 100 favorites, maybe I can continually add more, 99 at a time?

 
This is a legitimate gripe of mine as well. For whatever reason, Pioneer decided that this limitation was necessary. However, this feature works great for what it is designed for. It is not meant to be a a way to add thousands of additional POI on a permanent basis. It is meant to be used as to supplement the POI database on a planed journey. For that I believe it does serve its purpose well. This is in my 10% of things however I would like to see changed.
 

[*:2w3ju4ug]Even 2nd gen iPod bricks had a contacts feature.

 
This is an iPod limitation. Several iPhone apps will not run on the iPod Touch.
 

[*:2w3ju4ug]As for the installer, I have been going to these guys for 12 years now, I have had them do installs on exotics, and other difficult units.

 

Nevertheless, they can still screw up.

[timhunold]

Ok so what steering wheel interface are you using because that doesn't make any sense. What you should be using is the PAC SWI-PS version 1.6.8 and it is not wired to any Pioneer module.

I bought my entire kit, leaving out only the Sirius and HD radio modules, and purchased everything else listed as an accessory for this unit. I am 36, and I have multiple cars, I wanted something for my luxobarge that would benefit myself and the people I loan it to.

 

There is apparently a software bug in the system that will fail the VR if the bluetooth connects before you hit the warning OK button that displays when you go to the map screen. This is a nuisance but is worked around. When your unit boots go to the map screen and hit the OK button before BT connects, wait 30 seconds, and your VR should work fine. Certainly not worth hating the unit.

I only turned on BT just this once, I do not own a cellphone, so I do not use it. I do assume the people borrowing the car will use it though and explaining it everytime I loan out the car will be no fun. It is not hating on the unit, but you see how after a few seconds it just gave up.

 

For whatever reason, Pioneer decided that this limitation was necessary....For that I believe it does serve its purpose well. This is in my 10% of things however I would like to see changed.

No vendor should ever tell anyone that limiting your addresses is a desired feature. I don't believe people would stand for cellphones with 99 address entries, or a TV/cable/satellite with 100 channels, they'll go to the unit that is more capable. I lead a much more exciting life than 50 favorites can hold. I am about to drive across country shooting models in various cities for a well-known magazine, about 30 stops I can think of right off the bat.

 

This is an iPod limitation. Several iPhone apps will not run on the iPod Touch.

But contacts has been around since before Pioneer got in to iPod integration, this is just sloppy work on their part. If they can incorporate video and DiVX, and SD, and USB, how can such a simple thing be the issue?

Nevertheless, they can still screw up.

My 7-series is not the first, nor the last they installed, and this is not the first Avic they installed either. I have seen them do tricky installations on show cars, vintage hot rods and exotics. I find it possible, but highly unlikely, and even then only one item, the buttons, could possibly be their fault, as remote as that is.

 

I do think I'll continue to use the unit, but I am frustrated and not unrightfully so. I will also continue to look forward to the next unit they put out, maybe some of these issues will be addressed.

[VBLUE42]

You have missed nearly every point I made.

[timhunold]

You have missed nearly every point I made.

you failed at making a point, try to be blunt

 

it is hard to see how pioneer did not fail at a lot of things with this unit.

[Grestorn]

The iPod can't synchronize contacts via BlueTooth since that's a mobile phone functionality, which the iPod Touch doesn't offer. It's not Pioneer's fault.

 

What I don't understand, however, is why there seems to be no easy way to use the contacts stored an iPhone(!) as target addresses for the navigation. If that's also a limitation of the Bluetooth protocol (likely) then this functionality should be provided by AVIC feed directly without any workaround.

 

I agree that the user interface could be better, yes, there's a lot of wasted space especially when using an iPod. But I can live with it, it still seems to be much better that any other solution I checked out, like for example Apline's head units.

[VBLUE42]

What I don't understand, however, is why there seems to be no easy way to use the contacts stored an iPhone(!) as target addresses for the navigation.

 

That is what the AVIC FEEDS iPhone app is for.

 

I agree that the user interface could be better, yes, there's a lot of wasted space especially when using an iPod. But I can live with it, it still seems to be much better that any other solution I checked out, like for example Apline's head units.

 

This is certainly the best option in its field going right now and has the best ipod interface of any touch screen in dash device. I have experience with almost all of the current in dash navis going right now and nothing compares overall with this unit. The DNX9140 should be the nearest comparison but that thing is loaded with issues and has been a disaster for Kenwood.

[VBLUE42]

No offense but about 90% of what you posted is absolute nonsense and is either user or install error. I have non of these issues with my unit.

While you may have countered my enquiry, you did not acknowledge that 10% you feel is legitimate, so I am going to I guess re-address key issues I have. FYI, Fry's in Fountain Valley and Anaheim advise people against this unit after returns and customer complaints, one complaint was the navi crashing, but

i have not experienced that.

 

I'd love to film this unit in operation this weekend, and maybe you can help me troubleshoot the issues.

 

 

 

 

I watched the vid you provided and can give some insight here. I looked up the Old Spaghetti Warehouse and Lucille's locations on the internet to determine how many locations there were in the US. The Old Spaghetti Warehouse is spread out in 14 states with few locations in each state and Lucille's only has 14 locations mostly in CA. The VR for POI is designed to recognize POI locations that are well known to the majority of the population of the US. Mcdonalds, Burger King, Walmart, ect. Even though I would like to see a bigger variety of locations accessible to the VR, I am more then satisfied with what it does offer. Keep in mind that there is only one other aftermarket unit on the market right now that will do this and it has the same limitation.

 

I certainly understand and agree with your disappointment on the lack of scrolling titles on the XM and iPod interfaces. However, the XM interface on the Pioneer units is among the best hands down even with this limitation. Do yourself a favor and check out the demo vids I did of the DNX9140 XM interface. Talk about wasted space and bland interface. There are several things the Pioneer interface out performs on. For instance, it has the MEMO feature that allows you to store a song that you would like the unit to alert you to the next time it plays. The Kenwood does not. Also, if you have a favorite category of music you enjoy and would like to seek through the channels in that category it will allow you to do so within that category. The Kenwood will not.

 

As previously stated by myself and others, your gripe about the contacts in the iPod touch is misguided. This is a limitation of the iPod and not the Z110BT.

 

Your problem with the FM titles deals with the lack of RDS on the radio tuner. Pioneer has not offered RDS on its FM radio tuners sense the late 90's to early 2000's. This clearly would be a good feature to add but probably is not offered because RDS is not available nation wide and digital music sources are taking over the airwaves which does offer this capability.

 

Lastly your steering wheel control programing is either incorrect, defective, or there is a slight compatibility issue with your vehicle and the PAC SWI-PS. I do not have that problem so it clearly is not an issue with the Z.

 

It is clear that several of the features on this unit and ALL units have limitations. When you are offering so much capability with one unit for the price it is sold for, there will always be limitations. That being said, the features it offers are very good features not offered in a lot of other units. You will likely never get it all when it comes to features being offered on "all in one" units. And I can assure you, your Volvo didn't offer half of the features this unit does. Even though it did offer RDS.

[VBLUE42]

The VR for POI is designed to recognize POI locations that are well known to the majority of the population of the US. Mcdonalds, Burger King, Walmart, ect.

 

 

Also POI categories, find the nearest BBQ Restaurant, Italian Restaurant, Bank, Atm, Gas Station, etc.

[timhunold]

I really appreciate your help

[VBLUE42]

Hopefully Pioneer will announce a new software update at the CES show next week that will address some of the disappointments we both feel about this unit.

[timhunold]

I hope so too, I still have high hopes for this unit.

 

FYI, I transfered the iPod touch contacts to three Parrot devices at Best Buy, by accident. Well the first was an accident, the other two were to prove a point.

 

Which also brings up a question, custom icons for my faves, I used AFeeds, but it did not help. I created a Playboy Bunny icon for those businesses, and a custom gun for the gun shops, and ranges I frequent. Mostly to amuse myself and to see if I was doing it right. I apparently was not. There is not a lot of help from the documentation.

 

Also, if you go to POIs, type in Lucille, you will get Lucille's Smokehouse, you type in Spaghetti Factory, you get a listing of those chains as well. So you can't say that it is not in the DB. Which brings up another Pioneer mistake, no apostrophe in the keypad. I can type Lucille or Lucilles, but not Lucille's.

 

I tried the "30 second home" rule and various off-shoots, cycling the power on my car many times, only to see the thing frozen on "building VD dictionary" or whatever that dialogue is for 30 minutes. I tried unplugging the iPod, turning off the AV source, and a combination thereof, still the same deal, so I am nuking it from the control panel.