RallyJon

I'm waiting for the new Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT. Sounds incredible, but have to wait for comments once it's released.

I was looking at the new Kenwood 9140, but it seems to have huge bugs and missing features.

It amazes me why it seems to be so hard to put together the features one would obviously want.

Links:

http://kenwoodforums.com/viewforum.php?f=2

http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=25042

weatherthedecision

Both of those setups look gorgeous!

Todds911

I looked this stereo up. Pretty cool, you can plug an external monitor into the face - so that you can play DVD's to your back seat occupants while driving. My kid would love that. Then I saw the price! Ouch, $1600.

RallyJon

Figure $1100 or so from the discounters.

It requires no add-ons, though. I was looking at an Alpine where they actually wanted to sell you a bluetooth module and an ipod module and a usb module for hundreds extra. Screw that--should be all in one box!

Todds911

The one thing I did notice with this one, though, is that the GPS maps are loaded on an internal flash drive (no update discs). So wondering how you would go about updating the maps over time?

I know that I often find myself driving on roads that don't exist on my wife's Lexus nav. (looks like you are 4x4 off-roading on the screen).

RallyJon

It takes an SD card. You get new maps (and firmware updates) put them on a card, and it updates from that.

Marc Gelefsky

On mine you get a DVD and it uploads all the new maps to the hard drive.

RallyJon

I think they use flash memory now to store the maps. Given that the few gig needed for all U.S. maps and a few million POIs can fit on $10 of flash ram, i'm not sure that an actual spinning hard disk makes sense anymore.

One thing for sure: a spinning optical disk makes no sense at all in 2009, but the mfrs can't bring themselves to eliminate the CD/DVD player for some reason.

Love to have a head unit with no moving parts.

My wife's Audi still has a c. 2002 Phatbox, with a massive 30gig hard drive. Seriously--it's the size of a CD-changer. All I want it to be able to slip in a half-dollar sized 32GB SDHC card and not worry about it.

salayc

To each his own. I can't see one of those features that I would want. Let me plug in my iphone, have a handsfree phone, and touch screen, and I will be happy.

schwank

See I want it totally brand agnostic. I don't buy into the apple thing so my preference would be a standard USB port. I honestly don't even care that much about nav but the pcm 1 is so bad and takes up so much room that I might as well put something there that is useful. All it really does now is display radio stations and cd changer data anyway.

I need to find something in the under 1k price point though.

salayc

I bought the Avic F700BT for $477.
Doesn't display ipod album artwork etc. but not bad.

salayc

Just finished my install.
Not easy, but this is a pretty cool mod.

tgt40

Don't hold out on us. What's it look like and how does it work?

salayc

Maybe tomorrow I'll post some more info. It was mid 90s today with the car parked in the sun. Had to be at least twice that under the windshield for twenty minutes putting in the GPS antenna.

ivangene

I have an awesome stock 220 single disc and the other day my buddy at work brought in some new music and asked me to listen to it.... about 2 blocks down the road I realized I could not hear sh*t and turned it off....I hope to not use that thing again - ever -

I just hit the gas and listened to that flat six purr so beautifully... I thought.... no way I am going to miss a minute of this. I waited WAY too long to drive this car and someday I might not have one, I need as much imput as I can get so the memories last me until I get another one (or if I never do....)

No stereo upgrades for me