Hello everyone. I'm comparing a portable vs. a in-dash navigation system, I strickly want a navigation system for navigation purposes don't need anything else.

So I was wondering why pay $2000+ for a in dash navigation like avic z1, when a avic s1 for 400 can navigate the same way, or some other portable device, and I can put it in other cars. Would a in dash navigation system be more reliable? But overtime I still will upgrade to a indash because you can add rear view camers to it and etc to a indash but just wondering for navigation purposes is it worth the money? Thanks and God Bless.

If you want a REAL navigation, get something from Garmin. You will not find anything better in my opinion. However, I do like my Z1 in the car. It does a very nice job. There are gripes and bitches when people own a real GPS and go to the Z1 or any other in car navigation. Some are that things don't work the same. Like being able to find an intersection, planning your own routes and such. The Garmin is nice cause you can do a lot of stuff on the computer and download it to the device. You cannot do that with indash systems. I wish you could. I use my Garmin when I go in someone elses car or if I travel on a plane. It makes finding some place easy especially if I am not familiar with the area. I also like the logging features that my portable has over the Z1.

bdmpastx said:

If you want a REAL navigation, get something from Garmin. You will not find anything better in my opinion. However, I do like my Z1 in the car. It does a very nice job. There are gripes and bitches when people own a real GPS and go to the Z1 or any other in car navigation. Some are that things don't work the same. Like being able to find an intersection, planning your own routes and such. The Garmin is nice cause you can do a lot of stuff on the computer and download it to the device. You cannot do that with indash systems. I wish you could. I use my Garmin when I go in someone elses car or if I travel on a plane. It makes finding some place easy especially if I am not familiar with the area. I also like the logging features that my portable has over the Z1.

Okay but the z1 has the lane information program, I don't think the garmin does? I really wanted to drive in big cities like atlanta, so the the lane information a big deal? I was looking at the garmin nuvi 360 does it route effectively without the lane information?

I actually just got the Nuvi the other day and just got back from my first trip using it. It took me my 3.5 hour trip there and back perfectly, with no errors. The ETA was within 2 minutes there and back and it routed perfectly with no issues around NYC. The GPS signal is very strong and the touchscreen is very responsive. I also have the D2, and I like the navigation of the Nuvi MUCH better.

i have the z1 and my wife has the garmin c550. the garmin is perfect for her, its very easy to use but doesnt have all the bells and whistles. It has teh text to speech and thats why i got it for her. just like the z1 it says turn right on spring street. i never thought that was really important untill i accidentaly turned that off once. When your in a downtown area and streets are very close together its very nice to know just which street to turn on. but hers doesnt let you plan multiple waypoint routes. but it is super accurate. Her eta is always closer than mine. but not to lead you away from the z1 or anyting else, hers still does screwey things so dont think pioneer cornered the market on mistakes. hers new at retail was like 799 or 899. but ive seen them online for around 699

Z1 is too expensive for what it is, IMO.
I prefer indash navigation mainly for the size of the LCD, integration with the audio system (automatically mutes audio for example), and more integrated appearance (I think it's soooo ugly when people have all kind of electronics mounted on the dash).

I think Alpine had the right idea when they came up with the Blackbird and its docking kit. With the IVA-W200 and the Blackbird mounting kit, you can take the Blackbird (a portable navigation unit), put it in its dock (which you could hide away in the glovebox or somewhere else), and fully control it with the HU's touchscreen. Pioneer should have done that with the AVIC-S1.

That said, if I wanted a portable, I'd probably buy the Blackbird. A Blackbird + IVA-W200 + docking station I think is still less than a Z1 costs. The Blackbird has a 20GB HDD.

Okay thanks a lot. I might go with the Garmin 360, just don't feel like paying a lot for the avic z1 when a garmin can do the same thing or better navigation wise. Also I like how they constantly update the device on their site and you can upload travel guides, and POI loaders and etc, and the excellent reviews on the garmin. But I'm still going to shop around. I might get the indash at a later date who knows? But why if the portable does the same thing? Thanks and God Bless