All:
UPDATE: Not sure if some or all of these suggestions will be part of the firmware update to the X920BT and Z120BT that Pioneer has promised on their Facebook page....probably. Let's hope.
I think it's time for a new sticky thread that lists all the simple things Pioneer could do to improve the uner interface and experience on the AVIC X- and Z- Series units. I'm hoping the Admins will make this sticky. Don't know how to do it myself...
Anyway, I don't mean this thread to unclude requests for significant new FUNCTIONALITY, or fixes of SIGNIFICANT problems, per se. Those should be covered by topic-specific threads in this forum...
Rather, there's a TON of plain silly little things that Pioneer did that make no sense in the user interface (UI) for the latest units. These are things that could be easily corrected with a firmware update. Some user testing and feedback might've fixed all of these, so consider this a user feedback thread to Pioneer, if you prefer.
Here we go...
000. Show XM Station Logos Even if User Hasn't Hit "OK" to Safety Message:
An obvious bug they should fix...the XM station logos in the preset bands in the AV Source screen don't show up until a user has acknowledged the map safety warning by pressing "OK" on the map screen. Why? Huh?
00. Add Bluetooth Connection Icon to AV Source Screen:
Why do users have to switch to the map view to see if their Bluetooth phone is connected??? Add the icon to the AV source screen. Also, see #6 below.
0. Let Users Type Lowercase Letters:
Come on, Pioneer! Are you kidding with this? We can't use lowercase letters when editing place names in the favorites, etc??? Really?!?!
1. Scroll vs. Selection Beep:
Remove the selection beep when one is merely SCROLLING on the screen (e.g., through playlists). It makes users think they've made a selection instead of just scrolling (or vice versa). It's intermittent, but truly annoying. Also, it's already tricky enough to know how quickly to "swipe" to start a scroll without inadvertantly selecting something on these units. Making sure that the beep only triggers when one has pressed long enough in one location for a SELECTION 100% of the time would help "train" users how to scroll vs. select on this unit.
2. Muting Options:
Allow users to change the amount of mute that occurs when directions are being read on a SOURCE-BY-SOURCE basis. Right now, the units force the mute AMOUNT to be the same on ALL sources. Yeah, they at least let you select either Guide/Phone/VR/Phone vs. just Phone/VR muting (or whatever), but one is forced to apply either total, 10db, or 20db as the SAME mute level used for all sources. Bad interface design. Some people want total muting when a phone call is active... but almost NO muting when playing XM.
3. Make Arrival Data Button Work As It Used To:
Restore Waypoint AND Final destination arrival data to the little timer/distance/arrival cycling button in the upper right of the map screen. Right now, one has to go into the route overview to see final destination arrival data for a multi-point trip. On the D3, there was a little button on the map screen in the lower left corner that used to let the user choose between waypoint and final arrival data. This is a real annoyance...one can be on the phone and be asked when one is arriving at the final destination. Right now, all one can say is "well, I know I'll be at the gas station first in ten minutes...let me fiddle with my screen while trying to answer your question..." Geezuz.
4. Group ALL Sound-related Options in Same Menu:
There are three different menus relating containing sound options (Two different AV menus, and the system options that include the master Volume sub-menu). This is no non-intuitive, it's ridiculous. It's really annoying that AV and volume related controls are scattered across three different menus.
5. Restore The Button to get All AV Options to the AV Source Screen:
Yes, one can get to the "EQ" directly from the AV source screen. However, unless we're missing something, one now has to go to the Home screen, into Settings, and then into one of the AV Sound options to change the settings to change the staging, LPF, Loudness, etc. Same thing for Staging! Now, one CANNOT get to the "Staging" menu directly. Why?? What if I'm listing to a playlist with some classical music and I want to use Dynamic Theater....and then I switch to Rock, for which I want the Music Studio staging? As it stands now, a user has to go the main home screen, then into Settings, then into AV....then...WTF, Pioneer?!?!
6. Make Bluetooth Connection and iPod Album Art Icons Non-Microscopic:
Why, in the name of all that's holy, did Pioneer make the Bluetooth connection icon on the map view INSANELY small? It's like...ten pixels across, which is hard to see in a brief glance while driving to insure one's phone is connected. What the hell? Seriously...what the hell? It should be at least half the size the iPod album cover shown on the map screen in the lower right.
7. Neatly Align Song/Artist/Title Info in Sound Info Bar at Map Bottom:
What's with the apparently random decisions about how to align these in the song info bar that one can open/close at the bottom of the map screen??? And why not use the same little artist/album/song icons they use on the AV source screen to help us quickly interpret which is which? And why not use the same order here as on the AV source screen itself. Just plain sloppy...two seconds' thought on the part of a Pioneer software programmer would've helped here.
8. Scroll ENTIRE XM Song Titles, Artist, Etc.
We're into the fifth AVIC product line in five years and we STILL can't see entire XM song titles? Really, guys? in 2010?? Support at least 32 characters of XM song data, please...if not unlimited...come ON!!! Seriously??
9. Scroll ENTIRE FM Station/Program Name & Remove Silly 'PS:' text
Why so few characters for FM station/program names? Why scroll with only about ten characters instead of using more characters? Why place the needless clutter text 'PS:' in front of the station/program title?
10. Stop Cutting off "My Mix" Song Memo Text.
Self-explanatory...please show the ENTIRE Memo text, including both song and artist, in the list of "My Mix" memos so you can go buy the music or look it up later if you want. They've been cutting the text off -- and not displaying both artist and song -- since the D3. Why? What's the point of not letting the user see the entire memo text until it happens to be playing live on XM? How can you decide which "My Mix" song memos ones to delete or turn off/on if you can't read the titles/artists later on? Just plain idiotic...
11. Allow Users to Add Route Cancel as Quick Access Selection Button on Map!
Right now, if your passenger wants to cancel a route while driving and looking at the map screen, he/she has to go Home-->Destination-->Route Cancel. Why can't one add the Route Cancel button to quick access menu on the map screen?? Didn't the D3 at least offer that?
12. Bring Back the TRFC Button!
There was a TRFC button on the AV touch screen in the old D3 that you could program to instantly bring up whatever traffic station you wanted to associate with it (e.g., a local FM station, XM's audio traffic and weather station for your region, etc.). Why'd that go away? Bring it back?
13. Don't Change AV Source to iPod Just Because We Plug it In!
Someone putting their iPod back after using it in the gym doesn't necessarily want to make it the current AV source...especially if we're listening to a critical news announcement on XM or something! Stop this! Or give a setup option to choose this.
14. Default to Current State/City When Searching for POIs
15. Change Spelling of "Judgment" in Safety Caution:
In American english, "judgment" is correct....in British english, "judgement" is correct. But in LEGAL circles, "judgment" is ALWAYS the preferred spelling.