I downloaded and read the Kenwood DNX7100 manual and all I can say is WOW! I see you can get them just under $1000 shipped on eBay. It looks like it slaughters the D3, Z1, and Z2 in features. The only thing I don't really like is the GUI looks kind of cheap in screenshots I've seen, but I'm thinking it probably looks better in real life and even if it doesn't, I can get over it. I'm still left with a lot of questions though. Any DNX7100 owners know the answer? Is there a Kenwood forum somewhere?

The 2GB internal hard drive holds all the navigation data, presumably for all of North America, but I'm not sure. People say Garmin navigation is far superior to Pioneer, but I just wonder how this is possible when Pioneer needs 2 double-layer DVDs for North America which is over 15GB max capacity when the Kenwood only has 2GB? Does the Kenwood have fewer POIs? Are the maps less detailed? What kind of hard drive is this? Is it really a hard drive, or flash drive? Can it be upgraded? If upgraded, can you add more navigation data to it?

What does the bypass consist of on this, simply grounding the park brake wire?

The USB interface looks to be as good and flexible as the iPod interface. I see it supports categories like Artists, Albums, Genres, Songs. My iPod is 100% for car use and I hate iTunes so I don't use it (I use XPlay2 to sync files/folders). I would actually be more than fine with replacing the iPod with a 40 or 80GB 2.5" HD in a USB-powered enclosure. How well would a hard drive work with the Kenwood? Can it support Playlists? I didn't see that category in the screenshot in the manual. Is it as fast as an iPod? Is there a limit on the number of folders, MP3s, or overall capacity? I found no information about this in the manual, although I did see there exists an error message "USB Device Error!" whose definition is "The connected USB device is rated a current capacity higher than the allowable limit." Strangely, no mention at all in the manual what the limits may be.

Are there any drawbacks of the Kenwood compared to Pioneer?

I have been considering the kenwood unit as well. I will be making my purchase next week and the Kenwood is looking more and more like a great choice. I am kinda into the vehicle dynamics on the Pioneer unit tho....

Decisions decisions!!!

my friend has the kenwood 7100 it is badass he has the tv tuner and bluetooth add on plus a camera navigation looks like a garmin navi GUI is not bad id buy it if i didnt have a d2 i played around with it

its worth the 1000 dollars d3 is nothing compared to kenwood

I had the ddx-6019 with nav. until it got stolen. It is last years model of the 7100. The biggest difference between the units are that the 7100 has a new GUI with better colors and graphic in the menus.

The bluetooth on the kenwood is awesome. It works flawlessly with no echo. None of the people i talked to using it could tell that i was talking through anything but my cell phone.

The buttons on the front of the 7100 are also much cleaner than the pioneer z2.

And the new direct control of the ipod on the kenwood 7100 should be way better than the pioneer cd-1b200ii.

I can tell you the ipod function on the kenwood ddx-6019 sucks. Its slow, no video, and you cant even see the artist title and song title at the same time. However, the new direct control ipod on the 7100 fixed all that.

The garmin GPS on the kenwood is also really good. It was really accurate and I didn't have any gripes about its functionality. The pioneer does have more points of interest then the kenwood. The pioneer also gives phone numbers of all the points of interest which can easily be automatically dialed through the avic-z1/z2. Oh, and whats cool about the pioneers is that they have a lot of logos of business, which the kenwood does not.

One last thing about the kenwoods is that the bypass is a piece of cake. Just ground the parking brake, and you dont even need a switch to do it.

If I only care about one state or region, is it possible download more detailed location-focused data to fit in that 2GB? Do you have any flexibility in what nav data you can upload into the hard drive?

please post more user reviews, I;m on the fence with this unit myself. Its come out around the same time as the D3 and the z2, yet no reviews, pro or consumer, save for a few sprinkled around forums.

here's the confessions of an avic D3 converter...

http://www.epinions.com/content_3564039 ... id=8003929

I am willing to take the hit with the DNX7100 concerning the navigation and its ipod interface. It definitely has a better video display over the Pioneers and its almost 7" and for under $1000 shipped. I'm dissapointed in the D3.

i just ordered my 7100 today

Here is a review I wrote over on c|net after they gave it an undeserved score of 6/10!!! Fools.

Pros:Incredibly fast GPS by Garmin. USB interface for Music/photos. Flawless iPod integration. SOOOO easy to by-pass!!! And quite a bit less $ than similar competing products.

Cons:NONE! Oh, well the iPod art is somewhat small. But most other products don't even go so far as to disply the art!

Full user opinion

I suppose to someone who tests products everyday the layout might seem quote “cluttered†or “dislocatedâ€. But to someone who uses the product every day will soon find the layout to be quite well organized, very snappy while processing commands and aesthetically appealing. I would think c|net would be a little more diligent in pointing out product flaws that actually justify a score of 6/10. Every product will have a different layout, some might seem odd at first, but use it a few days and anything BUT your Kenwood will seem out of place. There is no accounting for taste and c|net attempts to do just that with their initial review of this product, in my opinion. Some people will like the layout and some people might not. I do, A LOT! And I don’t think button layout, something easily adaptable, should so seriously reduce the rating of this product. That’s my opinion, take it for what its worth…from someone who actually OWNS the product as opposed to a 5 minute once over.

When compared with similar products such as the Avic-D3 I found the appearance and button layout to be particularly appealing. The DNX-7100 has a minimum number of buttons on the exterior that allow you to make efficient commands without a lot of fuss. You just have to use it and learn what they do. Not real challenging.

Did I mention built in navigation sans the DVD-Rom discs? Oh, did I mention the SD slot for updating the navigation that doesn’t require discs? And did I also mention its Garmin? Fewer POIs than the Z1 or Z2 from Pioneer yes, but at least it’ll get you there without calculating a route leaving you scratching your head. I bought this unit primarily because of the navigation, and you just can’t beat Garmin.

Also, I’ve heard by-passing the unit is ridiculously easy! Just ground the Park Brake wire and all commands and functions await you.

In reality I have very few negative things to say about this product. You could call it weighted, but only about as much so as someone who doesn’t actually use or own the product. So do your research, go play with it at the store, and keep an open mind about what compromises you’ll have to make in your comparisons. I did and don’t regret buying the DNX-7100 one iota!