I was just wondering what you guys think of both units.I have been looking at tons of all in one head units today and my brain has turned to mush.I am looking for something that is an all around good performer and it has to have red/amber illumination.I have narrowed it down to either one of these two but I am not disregarding any other candidates.I am trying to keep the price below 700 or in that ballpark.I am also not going to run a subwoofer this is mainly going to be used for navi,phone,ipod use.I am also looking for a double din unit thanks guys

 

As far as price goes, i think the kenwood is gonna be out of your price range. Something to keep in mind if you mainly want it for phone/nav/ipod...
1)Bluetooth is bluetooth...no one brand is gonna have any better reception than the next
2)just about any aftermarket hu has an aux input for ipod
3)Navteq makes the nav software for just about every gps you see on the road...whether its tomtom, kenwood, pioneer, nuvi, whatever, its the EXACT same map. the interface might be slightly different, but no one brand is gonna be any better than the next as far as nav capability

As far as Pioneer goes, they might have the worst customer service I have EVER seen. I wont clog your thread with off topic rants, but if you are seriously looking at the pioneer unit, pm me and ill give you the details. After having a AVIC D2 and the problems ive had with it and the way pioneer treated me to fix them, ill likely never buy one again

 

I have the F90BT in my CL and since the 3.0 firmware update has been released, it's now a pretty solid unit. It still takes about 40 seconds for it to boot up and another 20 seconds for my phone to connect. Music will start playing 5 - 8 seconds after it's turned on depending on what audio source you had it last set to. The back-up camera also starts working after about 5 seconds.

The buttons response is much better than before, but will lag from time to time. The voice recognition never worked well for me when I had it with firmware 2.0. I haven't tried it yet since I've upgraded to 3.0. My only other gripe, is that the street names no longer display in 3D map mode unless you zoom into 500ft. This is a little too close for me, so I now leave it in 2D map mode.

You can change the illumination of the hard buttons to just about any color. I have mine matched to the green of my dash lights, and it's almost identical except for being a bit bright. The iPod interface is very nice, the bluetooth works great, the navigation graphics are very sharp and MSN Direct is pretty nice as well.

I don't know much about the Kenwoods except for the fact that they're easier to bypass than the Pioneers. If you want to research more, check out avic411.com and kenwoodforums.com.

 

Well I have heard horror stories about every model thats just the way the internet works.I have heard that the pioneer takes a while to boot and that it has a problem locking up/freezes.The kenwood has been said to be very simple or the menus seem outdated.I have also heard that the kenwood has a much better display but this is all hear say thats why I am asking on here for your opinions.

 

I sell both units. The Kenwood has a GARMIN navigation interface. Very simple to use,but no bluetooth or voice recognition as standard. The pioneer has its own nav interface,has bluetooth and voice recognition..but as posted the system boot up times and voice recognition leaves much to be desired (even with the software update)

Its your money...find a retailer with both on display and try them out. And please buy from an authorized dealer that way you have some type of support. Good luck.

 

I had a problem with my D2 failing to load the navigation dvd, and the touch screen being out of calibration. Both the dvd drive and the screen were replaced by pioneer last time I sent it in and its worked flawless since, but as ive learned with pioneer, only time will tell...

 

I forgot to mention that I picked up my F90 for $604 shipped from an authorized dealer (Fifth Ave on Amazon). Some people have recently got them for as low as $480 from the same vendor.

Also, about the people who complain about "bricking" the F series, those are probably the ones that are hacking their software in test mode.

 

I have been looking to see if there is a retailer near me but I havent even found one that has a single unit on display.I am going to stick to authorized retailers but the prices mentioned above look really good.