I'm in the market for one of the AVIC Fs

I narrowed my search down to either the F700 or the F90.

From my research, their only differences are as follows:

1. DVD

2. ipod cable ($40)

3. 3D landmark icons

4. built-in MSN receiver

5. 4V pre-outs.

6. Price difference up to $170

I know that I will never watch DVD in my car.

I should be able to get the ipod cable for $40?

I can use a line driver ($30 each) to get 8v pre-outs

So the only practicle difference between the 2 units for me are points 3 and 4 and the $170 price difference.

So my questions are:

1. Are the 3D landmark icons actually useful? Do they make a difference? What exactly are they?

2. Can I MOD the F700BT to have 3D landmark icons? or mod it to have whatever it was lacking in terms of software as compared to the F90BT?

3. What will the built-in MSN receiver give me? What does it really do? Is it a service that I have to subscribe and pay for per year? Or are the services something that I just have for the rest of my life?

4. Have I missed out any other differences? Which one do you think I should get? Is the price difference worth it?

I can get a F90BT for ~$500 and a F700BT ~$330

best regards

Bern

Actually, I also wanted to ask if there are any performance based differences in addition to feature based differences. How do their load times compare etc.

I'm in the market for one of the AVIC Fs

3. 3D landmark icons

4. built-in MSN receiver

 

1. Are the 3D landmark icons actually useful? Do they make a difference? What exactly are they?

2. Can I MOD the F700BT to have 3D landmark icons? or mod it to have whatever it was lacking in terms of software as compared to the F90BT?

 

3. What will the built-in MSN receiver give me? What does it really do? Is it a service that I have to subscribe and pay for per year? Or are the services something that I just have for the rest of my life?

Bern

There are no performance differences to speak of.

3Ð’ landmarks are realistic-looking 3D models of notable buildings, so when you are driving with map in 3Ð’ mode you can see buildings almost as they look in real life.

These can be added to any AVIC F model, as well as more coarse models of regular buildings in downtowns of major cities that no F-series model includes, so I would not base purchase decision on that. Are they really useful? No, not really. Are they cool to have? May be...

MSN receiver is pretty much the same as TMC in other units. It is a service that gives you information about road accidents. It also provides weather, movie times, and gas prices. It is a subscription service, but you can buy a lifetime (lifetime of receiver or service, anyway) subscription.

_IF_ you live in the coverage are, and coverage there is good, it is probably a worthwhile investment. If you do not drive close to a major city (MSN Direct's site has coverage maps) probably a waste of money.

Thank you so much for the quick reply. That was exactly what I needed. Now I can make a well informed decision.

I looked over the MSN direct services and considered how much it costs ($130) and have decided that I do not need it. I have an iphone which can tell me everything MSN direct can.

I am glad to know that I can add those building models to the F700BT. I had a quick search but could not find any resources to do that. I am sure its here somewhere. Would you be kind enough to point me in the right direction? (linky plz )

With that issue solved, I do not need the DVD, and I can always add the line driver for higher V preout, and I can buy my own ipod cable, I can happily get the F700BT instead.

I have infact noticed that there are quite a bit of problems regarding using the iphone 3G with the AVIC Fs, I wonder if I should buy the apple composite cable or the pioneer stock ipod cable. Or, if I just use my orginal iphone cable, if I can simply use it like a usb device and play music. Further more I assume I CAN connect any generic USB storage device (e.g. hard drive, thunmb drives etc) to it and play music as if it was played from the SD card, is that correct?

Thank you again for your great help.

Best regards,

Bern

With a bit more reading I found this:

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=23338

I assume that will do the trick to add the 3d landmarks.

cool.

Thank you so much for the quick reply. That was exactly what I needed. Now I can make a well informed decision.

 

I looked over the MSN direct services and considered how much it costs ($130) and have decided that I do not need it. I have an iphone which can tell me everything MSN direct can.

 

I am glad to know that I can add those building models to the F700BT. I had a quick search but could not find any resources to do that. I am sure its here somewhere. Would you be kind enough to point me in the right direction? (linky plz )

 

With that issue solved, I do not need the DVD, and I can always add the line driver for higher V preout, and I can buy my own ipod cable, I can happily get the F700BT instead.

 

I have infact noticed that there are quite a bit of problems regarding using the iphone 3G with the AVIC Fs, I wonder if I should buy the apple composite cable or the pioneer stock ipod cable. Or, if I just use my orginal iphone cable, if I can simply use it like a usb device and play music. Further more I assume I CAN connect any generic USB storage device (e.g. hard drive, thunmb drives etc) to it and play music as if it was played from the SD card, is that correct?

 

Thank you again for your great help.

 

Best regards,

 

Bern

You're welcome!

There's one additional difference between 700 and 900 not mentioned, and that is the fact that the 900/90 has the option of using a Vss / speedpulse....