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.

X100 We use the GPS for camping and allot of state parks in NY are not even listed... lame. These parks have been around for 50 years.

X100 We use the GPS for camping and allot of state parks in NY are not even listed... lame. These parks have been around for 50 years.

Yeah, I went to Bryce Canyon in Utah and the main famous hotel by there is Ruby's Inn. It wasn't even listed. It's been there forever and actually shows up on maps as if it was it's own city!

Oh, and I still think it's worth the $60 for the upgrade, just barely though. I'm a coder and I can't help thinking I could code up some very nice changes if I had access to their source. At least with that bleeping media software. Actually, I'd love to have leetlauncher source so I could make a few tweaks there too. I guess he's got other hobbies that keep him from doing anything here anymore .

I may just quit working....... I will be away for 2 weeks.... I will actually have a long stop over within 25 miles of my house while flying from one place to another on Friday.... I will swing by to get the update, which is at my home right now, but I will not be able to install it until August 11th or 12th...... I may just quit....AVIC more important.....

Here is the lowdown... my shipping and tracking info with delivery date.......wooohooooo

 

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

One nice "feature" of the new firmware is that if you were listening to the radio (Ipod off), when the F500 boots, it defaults to the radio again (instead of the ipod). I found this really annoying before, and always tried to hibernate my F500 to avoid this.....but now, even after a full restart the last audio source is remembered.

welll.......... it's done...... it is an improvement. The heads up map display is there as advertised. Better screen touch response; better display contrast. Ironically, they fixed some things that never should have been there in the first place........I cant quite understand how a company like pioneer could release a product where the sound of the key presses would get as loud as the SD card music volume as you turned it up...ridiculous.... they fixed it..... I have been and still am happy with my Avic-Z and my F500BT........ and the IDT 3.0 is working great awesome... I owe him some $$$.........

...oh...... that packaging is a damn shame

I ordered my 3.0 update for the F500BT on 7/31/09. I just called and was informed that they were currently out of stock and awaiting a shipment of more. I should be getting an email with an eta at some point.

Now that I've had a while to use it, I'm only now getting the unit to work in a way that I feel is ACCEPTABLE. Not great...just good. When reading the following, keep in mind that I use the F500 only for BT calling, and traffic information. Occasionally it will be used for navigation. I know you folks know many of these already, but...

What sucks:

-map becomes unresponsive. You have to click and drag and wiggle to get the thing to "wake up" sometimes.

-clicks and drags aren't very reliable. Sometimes is registers your drag, sometimes not.

-map should keep moving/scrolling after you've do a quick drag if you lift your finger off the screen. Pressing the screen again should stop the scrolling.

-single-pressing the screen should also center the map on that point like the AVIC-Z1,2,3.

-it's too easy to accidentally press the voice command key when trying to zoom in or out. Once in voice command mode, the unit is slow in letting you back out of it.

-freeway signs are HUGE. They could be effective @ 25% that size. They also seem to slow response of the unit down. They also should be defeatable.

-No mute? You must be joking. You can't shut the instructions up. Drive fast enough and you hear less music than instructions. 4 instructions per fwy interchange is way too much.

-traffic flow lines are MINISCULE! I had to change the unit to always display night-map colors just so I can get better contrast to see traffic flow better. The traffic lines should be 3X thicker, or the day maps should not be shaded in forms of yellow and beige. How are you supposed to be able to see tiny yellow lines on a background of soft yellow at a glance?

-there should be a rubber strap(s) on the back to hold an ipod, as well as an ipod adapter that is appropriately short to go along with it.

--map should keep moving/scrolling after you've do a quick drag if you lift your finger off the screen. Pressing the screen again should stop the scrolling.

Why? There's an option to turn that on in iGO through SYS.TXT, but it's generally a pain...

-single-pressing the screen should also center the map on that point like the AVIC-Z1,2,3.

Again, why should it? Z-series software does it that way. Pretty much any other navigation just selects the location that yo have clicked. iGO sets a cursor location there, which is just as good an action as any...

--map should keep moving/scrolling after you've do a quick drag if you lift your finger off the screen. Pressing the screen again should stop the scrolling.

 

Why? There's an option to turn that on in iGO through SYS.TXT, but it's generally a pain...

 

-single-pressing the screen should also center the map on that point like the AVIC-Z1,2,3.

 

Again, why should it? Z-series software does it that way. Pretty much any other navigation just selects the location that yo have clicked. iGO sets a cursor location there, which is just as good an action as any...

1. Because it's far easier for users to "push" the map in the direction they need it to go and stop it in a little bit than it is for users to devote their attention and their hand long enough to the unit to click-drag-click-drag-click-unsuccessful drag-click-drag-bumpy road wait-click-drag.

2. Similar answer. Press to recenter and you're done. That vs. that whole click and drag hokey pokey described above.

Maybe it's the way I use navigation, but beyond my commute, I'm not a point A to point B driver. I don't usually have an address or a specific destination. Beaches, mountains and National Parks don't have addresses. Well, maybe some do, but you get the idea, right? And when I'm scanning the drive home for traffic, and not lookinig for a particular destination it would help to keep my hands on the wheel and not on the unit.

And one more: double clicking with two distinct map presses should zoom in on the exact center of the screen. Though zooming is pretty good when the multi-function button, no harm in making thiis an option.

1. Because it's far easier for users to "push" the map in the direction they need it to go and stop it in a little bit than it is for users to devote their attention and their hand long enough to the unit to click-drag-click-drag-click-unsuccessful drag-click-drag-bumpy road wait-click-drag.

 

2. Similar answer. Press to recenter and you're done. That vs. that whole click and drag hokey pokey described above.

May be if you have a (human) navigator it might work, but I do not see how one can drive, scroll map with inertial movement, catch it before it scrolls too far, drag it back, and not crash into something

In any case,

[map]

follow_gps=1

inertia_on_map_move=1

should take care of it.

For the other, it's personal preference. I click the map to get point info. If I want to center there there are ways. Could be easily changed in a skin, but again... if you are driving, click the screen (to silence a camera alarm, say), miss the button, and screen recenters 10 blocks away from whewre you are, I don't see how that's better.