Pioneer AVIC-F500BT 5.8-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been using the F500BT for a few weeks after using a Nuvi 760 for years. I already upgraded to Firmware 2.0. Here is how the F500BT compares to the Nuvi

Cons:
- Routing engine not as good as the Nuvi. Very prone to give U-Turns when I miss a turn even though I disabled them. Worse is that it doesn't know if the U-turn is illegal or not. Besides the U turn issue, most routes offered are not that bad in "Economical"
- Touchscreen not very responsive. Not as good as the Nuvi.
- Not as easy to use as the Nuvi in general.
- MSN does not work unless you use a big ugly harness. You also need to connect a ebrake signal for to avoid the menus getting locked out.
- Battery life of 30mins
- Does not auto dim the screen when switching to night maps.
- Does not tell you the side of your destination. The Nuvi does.
- Only 1 TTS voice in English. Not great, but not horrible either.
- Voice recognition doesn't work very well

Pros:
- Nice glossy look with a big screen. Looks way more expensive than $199
- Map and menu hard buttons are very convenient to have
- GPS reception seems to be as good as the Nuvi. I get reception indoors
- A lot more information is displayed on the map compared to the Nuvi
- Plays AVI movies
- Lane Assist on freeway junctions. A MUST HAVE.
- Maps are very smooth map animation when routing. Much better than the 760, which was always 2 seconds behind and when making turns it would lag for 3-4 seconds
- Voice does not stutter unlike the Nuvi 760
- Very easy to hack and goes from good to almost great after hacking. I also have TomTom Navigator and Garmin XT loaded (more on this later)
- 3D buildings are pretty cool.
- Pairs with my Palm Centro with no problems. My phonebook does not dissapear. BT performance way better than that of the NuviYou can head to avic411.com forums and learn how to modify the Pioneer software aka IGO8 (its very easy). You can also add new maps schemes, and enable speed camera warnings, add extra 3D buildings, load international maps, etc. You can even hack the unit so it runs Tomtom and Garmin XT. However, these 2 don't have the same software as the PND counterparts, so I use the Pioneer software anyways. With the hacks I now get the current house number at my position, so I can easily know which side of the road my destination is on. I also increased the font size of the data displayed on the map. Overall, its a very good deal at $199.

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Product Description:
The Pioneer AVIC-F500BT on-dash navigator offers an advanced, all-in-one solution for adding large-screen navigation, multimedia capability, and hands-free calling to your vehicle - without removing your factory radio. Simply mount this road-ready travel companion on your dashboard and exercise convenient control over your music, phone, and navigation.

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Garmin nuvi 885/885T 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Speech Recognition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Excellent features and very good GPS.It gets a satellite lock inside my house!!!The voice recognition is the gem in this thing.It really works and once you start using it, it is very useful and functional.You don't have to push buttons.

Positives:Voice recognitions, lots of POIs, on-line sites like POI-Factory to add custom POIs (easy to do), and a very good set of features.I have tried (it works) but not extensively used the bluetooth hands free and mp3 player yet (8GB microSD card ordered) but I think it will be useful.MSN Direct is the way to go and works very well.I am getting helpful traffic updates in Louisville.

Negatives:I have to say the volume on the unit should be higher.I realize the FM radio option is there, but sometimes you are listening to the radio or a CD and it is hard to hear the Garmin.On a trip do they expect you to only listen to the Garmin?I figure if I use the mp3 option on an FM channel that maybe that is a way around the CD because I assume it will give voice prompts through the music audio (have not tried).Also the few hands-free calls I have taken have given very poor sound on the Garmin speakers making it not useful (maybe a software update?Not sure they are using the A2DP or a good profile.).They must fixe these two issues.They should already have this perfected. One other small potential issue.The band for the voice recognition button barely fits my steering wheel (last notch), on some others that are larger it could be an issue (but I think this may be minor)?

I will post more as I use it.I should give it 4 starts because of the sound issues.I will come back and re-review as I use it.It is worth buying.My brother and siter have Tom-Tom and another Garmin (780) and this is definitely better.The voice command and satellite lockreallydistinguishes it.When you are driving you don't want to have to reach and push buttons on it.Garmin, please improve the audio ASAP.

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