Shipped 7/29. No tracking number. I don't see people jumping up and down here so I figured no one knew they are on their way. Forgive me if this is old news and people have already received their LEGIT copies in the mail.
Nothing here yet. "Awaiting shipment"
Nothing here yet. "Awaiting shipment"
^ this.
Nope. Ordered 7/1/2009 for my 2 90BT's and 'awaiting shipment' still.
Just got my email this afternoon. Mine shipped today, 7/30/2009.
I have to admit, I hope this update brings along some of the perks of the newer iGo version I've been playing with on Leetlauncher. I just can't use Leetlauncher full time on my F500 for a few reasons and so I'm hoping a decent 3.0 update as a starting point for some hacks will give me everything I want.
Status** Shipped YAY!!
Still awaiting shipment for my F700/900/90 
Ordered 7/3, still awaiting magic shipping email.
Here is the lowdown... my shipping and tracking info with delivery date.......wooohooooo
whats with the friggin discrepancy with the pioneer shipped vs UPS billed dates.... anyways......
PIONEER ORDER INFO
Order no.: 503????
Order date: 07/29/2009 19:05
Shipping address: Kevin M??????
12 M???????
LAPLACE LA, 70068
Product Description Ordered
Qty Price Shipping Status Qty Tracking Number
CNSD-150FM
MAP update for AVIC-F500BT 1 $60.00 Shipped: 07/29/2009 1 1Z40W110025109????
Net Subtotal $60.00
Shipping $11.99
Taxes $2.40
Total Price: $74.39
_______________________________________________________________________________________
UPS TRACKING INFO:
Tracking Number: 1Z40W110025109???? Status: In Transit
Scheduled Delivery Date: 
08/03/2009 (Updated) / 08/04/2009 (Original)
Shipped To: LAPLACE, LA, US Shipped
Billed On: 07/31/2009 Type: Package Service: 2ND DAY AIR Weight: 1.10 LBS
awaiting shipping confirmation on mine, ill let you know when i get it 
Ordered 7/7, awaiting shipment.
Ordered 7/5 awaiting shipment as well.
Mine says status shipped but has no tracking number
Just so everyone is clear here.... the only update shipping is for the F500.
The update for the f700/900/90 has not arrived at Pioneer yet..... as of today anyway.... no actual date either....
Got it in the mail today. I'm really not the one to do any sort of comparison as I've only used the F500 a couple times...and never in a car. BUt I'll do the update so all I'll ever know is 3.0 goodness.
And no...I'm not going to take a photograph of two SD cards to prove it. You'll just have to believe me.
Just so everyone is clear here.... the only update shipping is for the F500.
The update for the f700/900/90 has not arrived at Pioneer yet..... as of today anyway.... no actual date either....
so I purchased the wrong update?
$#!7 i did!
It's done. It took about 1:15. It now shows Map: 2.000400, Version: 3.010200 . The only lameness were two errors while updating and some lame instructions. Pressing retry got past the errors. As for the instructions, only after you've completed all of the instructions does it actually give you a couple extra instructions for how to update an F500!! Ya think you maybe should have mentioned that first...given that this is an F500-only update.
Among the three special instructions one says to attach the unit to the cradle before updating and do not detach. I have yet to install the cradle in my car...so that didn't get done as instructed. I also haven't activated MSN direct yet...so I'm not sure how those particular updates are going to get done.
before it's installed see if you can make a copy of the sd's
Click and drag is noticeably better...even with my limited use. Button clicks aren't quite perfect, but pretty good.
I forgot to mention one really noteworthy thing. In a great example of packaging waste, the CD case with the two SD cards was sent to me in a 12"x12"x6" box. Nice job.
Just got it. I haven't installed it yet. I'm wondering if I should wait till I hear that leetlauncher can still be run after the upgrade! I'm hoping they didn't change anything to block the testmode we all love so much.
Here's some pics. I'm sure no one will want to look at them all, but they're there if you care...
Just looked at the instructions a bit more. FYI, it looks as though the update requires a media number that comes on an included card as well as a device-unique id. Those two numbers are fed into a webpage and permanently associated with each other. The webpage then generates an activation "password" that you enter into the unit to begin the upgrade process.
If you were hoping to just copy someone's card and get a free install, think again. Obviously there will be people who make it available one way or the other, but if you were hoping for something now, just go buy the thing! Seriously, I'm an engineer/coder as well so I try to pay for what I use.
Got mine today. Installed it and its stuck at the Top Menu with "System startup in progress. Please wait"
I received no errors during the install. I can use test mode but I am hesitant to copy my older flash disk to the unit. This is my test unit so at least my other one works but I am not happy....
I ended up installing both cards and everything went ok. First card didn't take too long, second card took 31mins. I have pictures of each stage of the process that I figured I'd take just "in case". I also recorded a video of me using the system before the update so I could compare it to after the update.
Quite honestly, $60 for the maps might be worth it, maybe, but the firmware update isn't THAT big of a deal. Honestly, it still hangs up on random actions and takes seconds to become responsive again. It takes about as long to enter leave menus/submenus. It still takes about as long to boot. They moved a few settings around, and the new iGo version and customizations make the gps minimally easier to read and use.
All in all, it feels like a minor update to me. I know everyone has been oozing compliments over the update, but I'm still amazed at how bad the music/video player and controls are, how poorly they response to my actions, and (the BIG one) how LONG it takes to respond to me sticking in a card packed with mp3s. Does it really need to index anything? Just do it the way coreplayer does; let the user select the music folder and then hit play. I don't need it searching the whole disk for media files. It ends up playing .wav files that are on the disc in game folders even though I obviously don't want to listen to them. The biggest annoyances are still the biggest annoyances.
Testmode does still work perfectly. Leetlauncher still runs just fine. The only reason I still need it is for coreplayer and the nicer default gui/features of the iGo 8.3.2 setup that comes with leetlauncher. I like that coreplayer automatically reads the album art info that media player auto generated in my music folders. Why doesn't leetlaunchers media gui do the same?
I ended up installing both cards and everything went ok. First card didn't take too long, second card took 31mins. I have pictures of each stage of the process that I figured I'd take just "in case". I also recorded a video of me using the system before the update so I could compare it to after the update.
Quite honestly, $60 for the maps might be worth it, maybe, but the firmware update isn't THAT big of a deal. Honestly, it still hangs up on random actions and takes seconds to become responsive again. It takes about as long to enter leave menus/submenus. It still takes about as long to boot. They moved a few settings around, and the new iGo version and customizations make the gps minimally easier to read and use.
All in all, it feels like a minor update to me. I know everyone has been oozing compliments over the update, but I'm still amazed at how bad the music/video player and controls are, how poorly they response to my actions, and (the BIG one) how LONG it takes to respond to me sticking in a card packed with mp3s. Does it really need to index anything? Just do it the way coreplayer does; let the user select the music folder and then hit play. I don't need it searching the whole disk for media files. It ends up playing .wav files that are on the disc in game folders even though I obviously don't want to listen to them. The biggest annoyances are still the biggest annoyances.
Testmode does still work perfectly. Leetlauncher still runs just fine. The only reason I still need it is for coreplayer and the nicer default gui/features of the iGo 8.3.2 setup that comes with leetlauncher. I like that coreplayer automatically reads the album art info that media player auto generated in my music folders. Why doesn't leetlaunchers media gui do the same?
Thanks for the mini review. I feel like I wasted 60$ now 
Thanks for the mini review. I feel like I wasted 60$ now
I just hope at least the maps are up to date in my area.