I said I would bring an update on the F- series units when I got more information on them. I got to actually use one in person yesterday and needless to say, Pioneer is really pushing the envelope with this unit. So here is my review.

First, I'm not going to bore anyone with the specs you see on their website and everywhere else. But I will go over some little tidbits of info you probably wouldn't know until you got your hands on one. The first thing you notice is the screen. It is 5.8 inch but the resolution is 480x800 so things come in a lot clearer and are easier to see. The F stands for the fact it uses a flash drive to store it's information. It's able to store all the navi information for the US and Canada in 2gb worth of space.

The one thing I was amazed with was the voice recognition. Keep in mind these were beta units and still had glitches here and there but for the most part could be put in any car and perform. The voice recognition is beyond even what the Microsoft SYNC system does. You don't have preset commands to learn, you just talk to it. "I wanna call Bob. If Bob is in your phonebook on your phone, it confirms and dials. You read off a phone number, go ahead and rattle it off at whatever speed you want and it picks it up. Same goes for the iPod controls. "I wanna hear the band ....." It is able to recognize where you are wanting to go with your command. So no more learning robotic commands to get anything done.

Some other neat little features if you have children, employees or whomever, you can set it up to track the vehicle so you can see where people have gone or track mileage between personal and business mileage.

The F500 and F700 units still base the navigation off of GPS and is accurate to about 30 ft of the actual position, the F900 uses a new speed sensing system that is accurate to about 3 ft of actual location.

MSN Direct is also available on the units so you can get real time traffic, gas prices, weather, and movie info if you want. I'm sure MSN has some kind of fee for this service though.

Last, but not least goes back to the graphics. 3D navigation... shows the buildings, landmarks, bridges, whatever on the screen. Oh, you're in a desert? It looks like the desert. Grassy hills?? Same thing. It's kinda wild really. It's going to take some work I think for the other companies to catch up with these units.

So overall, I give them a big thumbs up for pushing the envelope once again.

They did confirm June as being a release month for the units.

 

Good info, thanks!!
Is there away to play music on the SD drive or is it strictly for Nav?

 

You can use the SD card to play music along with any USB drive or of course iPod. The voice recognition will only work with the iPod though.

 

I see what the difference is in to 700 and 900, what is the difference in the 900bt and 90bt?
Also, where is the USB post, is it in the back or front?

Thanks for answering all my questions.

 

Difference between the 900 and 90 is the 90 is a Premier series unit which usually means a longer warranty time and a piano gloss black as compared to the flat black. The USB is coming from the back, so you just route the cable to so it can be connected somewhere.

 

MSRP on the 900 and 90?

 

thanks for the review

 

Pioneer is quoting the F90BT at 1200.00 MSRP and the F900BT at 1100.00 MSRP.

 

Very cool.

I am waiting for the Premier to become available to be the centerpiece of my nav replacement for my 08.

How is the sound quality? Is the preout voltage higher on the premier than the pioneer?

Can you store phone numbers directly on the unit or do you have to transfer numbers from your phone?

Thanks

 

The pre out voltage is the same (4 volts) on both units. Sound quality is up to standard on these units as well.

If I remember correctly it loads your phonebook or reads off your phone when you sync. I will check and see which Bluetooth profiles it supports. During the demo they were using a Razr and Iphone so I know for sure it works on those.

 

Team DCA are you a vendor or just a well-informed party?

 

Vendor, there was a training by Pioneer that I was at that had the units there I was able to mess around on as well.

 

Do you have a release day? My installer claims that they can't even take orders yet and I'm getting itchy for my new system.

 

Just sent an email out to see if they have a release day yet. You will know as soon as I know.


1st to 2nd week in June is what I have been told.