Z1 competitor, the Alpine NEV-N872A w/ Zagat Guide

Posted Jul 04, 2006 · 15:30 UTC#1

I have been looking around for a while for a good navigation system. I found the Z1, but saw a TV ad for the ACURA MDX with a Zagat Guide. so did some research and found the Alpine to have all the specs for a good navi device, but I was wondering if anyone has any input on the Alpine GPS unit, its a seperate unit from the HU. Difference is it has zagat guide, and uses NAVTEQ for its maps.

All in all, The Z1 is one unit and does alot of features, the Alpine does al the features of the Z1 plus, Zagat guide, 3D landmark images, remote control, with gps and media controls.

heres the link for the ALPINE unit.
http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/p ... g=en&tab=F

Posted Jul 04, 2006 · 15:53 UTC#2

Hmmm, what did this alpine unit come out? I've also been looking at other units to compare with the z1, and so far I've found this http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/20 ... price.html

But the Z1 is a competitive unit.

Posted Jul 07, 2006 · 02:51 UTC#3

Anonymous said:

All in all, The Z1 is one unit and does alot of features, the Alpine does al the features of the Z1 plus, Zagat guide

So what? Why is this important?

Anonymous said:
3D landmark images

Z1 has this feature in major metro areas [quote="Anonymous"] remote control

Also available for the Z1 for $20 [quote="Anonymous"]with gps and media controls.

I have 5 of those on the end of each of my hands, as the Z1 is a touch screen unit. I think the Z1 is an excellent unit, compact, easy to use, & packed full of features. Plus it's got 11 million POIs vs. Alpine's chinsy 9 million... :) It's not without it's flaws, but it's just about the best there is, for now.

Posted Jul 07, 2006 · 03:23 UTC#4

ImolaVirus said:

Anonymous said:

All in all, The Z1 is one unit and does alot of features, the Alpine does al the features of the Z1 plus, Zagat guide
So what? Why is this important?
Anonymous said:
3D landmark images
Z1 has this feature in major metro areas [quote="Anonymous"] remote control

Also available for the Z1 for $20 [quote="Anonymous"]with gps and media controls.

Yeah both users had problems with the alpine here http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Z6uQ9EwnA5 ... VEN872#Tab

But I'm still waiting maybe towards the end of the year or January to buy a avic product so things can be worked out and fixed.

Posted Jul 07, 2006 · 12:40 UTC#5

HeavenSoldier said:
Hmmm, what did this alpine unit come out? I've also been looking at other units to compare with the z1, and so far I've found this http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/20 ... price.html

But the Z1 is a competitive unit.

All reviews seem to talk about the high price tag. $1875 USD. But it includes the TV Tuner. Player also supports content in the form of mp3, WMA and MPEG. I don't think that is high priced.

Should be interesting to see when it hits the US. One review said you can access all navigation and DVD's while in motion. We shall see....

Posted Jul 09, 2006 · 23:55 UTC#6

Alpine was the first to offer mobile navigation, and their newest nav computer has some great features. It also has some drawbacks, so it just depends on what features you value the most.

The Zagat guide is nice if you like food and find yourself in new areas frequently, but it's the 2003 version, so it's probably outdated, and my taste in food has never seemed to match up with Zagat very much.

The biggest issue I had with the 872 (when paired with the IVA-W200 which is the equivilant of the Z1) is the Bluetooth integration. That's one of the biggest selling points of the Z1 in my mind, especially with the onset of Bluetooth support in OEM applications. The poor Bluetooth solution far outweighs the Zagat guide, and when you add the price into the mix the choice becomes even more obvious.

Posted Jul 10, 2006 · 00:05 UTC#7

skicrave said:
The biggest issue I had with the 872 (when paired with the IVA-W200 which is the equivilant of the Z1) is the Bluetooth integration. That's one of the biggest selling points of the Z1 in my mind, especially with the onset of Bluetooth support in OEM applications. The poor Bluetooth solution far outweighs the Zagat guide, and when you add the price into the mix the choice becomes even more obvious.

Wait till you use it, the bluetooth is not nearly as good as my Parrot CK3100 was. It's ok at best in the Z1. It's cool that the Z1 screen has the caller id, but if you don't mind 2 screens, one for the Z1 and a smaller second one for caller id, the parrot integrates pretty nice as well and works better in my opinion.

Posted Jul 10, 2006 · 06:05 UTC#8

Did you find the sound quality better with your Parrot kit, or are you just talking about the functionality, pairing and phone book sharing?

So long as I sound clear to the other person, and I can hear them, I think I'll be pretty happy.

Posted Jul 10, 2006 · 10:51 UTC#9

Both. I took out my parrot kit when I got the Z1, and I gave it to my brother to install in his car. And this was the first time I was on the other end of this kit, but I can't tell the difference between his cell (one of those new LG-V phones that opens sideways) and him on the parrot speaker phone driving at 65mph in his honda civic. The parrot sounds amazing.

And I had verizon which kills all the bluetooth features but headset and DUN. And everyone here will tell you transferring your whole phone book over to something with a verizon phone is almost impossible. Well, the parrot enabled that over the DUN protocol. Not just obex which is what the Z1 uses and what verizon kills.

The parrot uses the voice activated system of your cell phone, which mine were motorola and very good, my brother likes his LG-V as well. I'm not saying the Z1 doesn't work, but it doesn't sound as good and it doesn't work as well and you can't get it loud without an echo, etc.... But it's built in. You can understand the person and they can understand you but the quality is not as good as just being on your cell phone.

Posted Jul 10, 2006 · 14:30 UTC#10

Well that's certainly not what I was expecting for, but as long as it is usable, the integration will be worth it.

Do you have a link or more information about mic swap that ruined a unit?

Posted Jul 10, 2006 · 14:44 UTC#11

It happened to "sickrick"
http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... hlight=mic

But from this it sounds like it was the speaker that fried it not the mic:
http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=236

Posted Jul 10, 2006 · 14:48 UTC#12

Sounds like the Z1 uses the same connector as Nokia mics, which are relatively high quality. I've got one laying around that I'll try out if the factory mic doesn't get the job done (hopefully that's the weakest link and not internal hardware).