badstang123 10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
I had been searching for a decent Navigation unit to replace the factory one for a little while and finally settled on the Pioneer Premier AVIC-F90BT. It's been installed with a full system in my 2009 Avalanche for around a month or so now giving me plenty of time to get some experience with it.
At first the unit can be a little overwhelming. It has many features and quite a few screens to navigate through and settings to adjust. Within a week or so everything becomes relatively easy to use. The main thing that drew me to this unit, however, was the features:
Pro's:
Playback Flexibility - the unit can play all kinds of formats of music and video files. As many as any unit I have seen thus far. In addition, it can play most of these files from an Ipod, a USB flash drive, and external USB hard drive or an SD card. This gives a great deal of flexibility. I love changing music daily on the USB flash drive clicking it in and being ready to role with a new set of songs for the day quick and easily.
Screen and Video Playback - The screen is a little smaller than others like the Eclipse models but has an extremely good picture. I have played videos from both an Ipod in mp4 format which looked great as well as actual DVD's. Both have great pictures and seeking adjustments so you can change seens throughout the movie if needed.
Navigation: The navigation works great has many points of interest and also has a 3D option which is great. There isn't too much else to it but it does it's job and does it well.
MSN Direct - Another great feature is the MSN Direct. This service does cost money but it was free for 3 months and $19.99 for the next 6 months. If you opt for this you then have traffic information, movie times, weather reports, and local gas prices which you can click on and get a navigation route instantaneously. It's a nice addition.
Bluetooth - The bluetooth is built into the unit and comes with a microphone. It syncs automatically when I get in the car flawlessly every time. In addition, you are able to store all of your contacts on the Navigation unit and can scroll through them using the touchscreen. It makes calling very easy. There is also a number pad if you need to call a number not stored in the unit, so you never need to touch your phone. When recieving calls the music stops and the unit displays who is calling you. You can then either accept or decline the call. The caller's voice comes via the speakers and is crystal clear. During the call there is also a convenient volume adjustment on the screen should you need to increase or decrease the volume. The microphone setup is great as well as everyone I've talked to using it said they couldn't even tell I was using bluetooth or in a car (My Avalanche is very quite inside though)
AV Source Display - I am also very impressed with the display screen for CD's, USB cards, and the Ipod especially. Very user friendly and for the ipod it shows the circle of the ipod on the screen and even imports the picture of the album covers onto the screen of the song you are listening to as well as the song, album, and artist if the files are tagged. Also display the song, album and artist for the USB flash drives but not album covers. There are also a few different options for the display of songs which making switching through thousands of songs easy and quick.
Con's:
EQ - I really dislike the EQ on this unit. It is similar to the older AVIC Navigation units and really does not have the flexibility I like. You can make it work with a little playing around but I think it could be set up better. It's a 3 band EQ with some flexibility in emphasized range and width that the setting will affect frequencies around it. That makes it workable it just takes some time to get things just right since an adjustment in one range will often times affect frequencies in other ranges. It really feels like a balancing act.
Boot up Time: The unit does take a good 20 seconds or so to boot up. It's a little annoying but not too big of a deal. When you are getting in and out of the car a lot it can become annoying though
USB Flash Drive - I haven't really figured this out but if you leave a USB card plugged in for a while, sometimes when you start the car it reads it as off and you have to unplug it and plug it back in. That can also get annoying.
Overall Feelings:
Overall I'm happy with the unit. I especially like the 3D Nav, Ipod setup, and the fact that so many features are packed in without having to buy add-on components. It a great unit for a retail of $1299 but I got mine from Sonic Electronixs for $699. In my opinion, well worth the money overall. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to add it to this post are make an additional reply.
- Justin -
At first the unit can be a little overwhelming. It has many features and quite a few screens to navigate through and settings to adjust. Within a week or so everything becomes relatively easy to use. The main thing that drew me to this unit, however, was the features:
Pro's:
Playback Flexibility - the unit can play all kinds of formats of music and video files. As many as any unit I have seen thus far. In addition, it can play most of these files from an Ipod, a USB flash drive, and external USB hard drive or an SD card. This gives a great deal of flexibility. I love changing music daily on the USB flash drive clicking it in and being ready to role with a new set of songs for the day quick and easily.
Screen and Video Playback - The screen is a little smaller than others like the Eclipse models but has an extremely good picture. I have played videos from both an Ipod in mp4 format which looked great as well as actual DVD's. Both have great pictures and seeking adjustments so you can change seens throughout the movie if needed.
Navigation: The navigation works great has many points of interest and also has a 3D option which is great. There isn't too much else to it but it does it's job and does it well.
MSN Direct - Another great feature is the MSN Direct. This service does cost money but it was free for 3 months and $19.99 for the next 6 months. If you opt for this you then have traffic information, movie times, weather reports, and local gas prices which you can click on and get a navigation route instantaneously. It's a nice addition.
Bluetooth - The bluetooth is built into the unit and comes with a microphone. It syncs automatically when I get in the car flawlessly every time. In addition, you are able to store all of your contacts on the Navigation unit and can scroll through them using the touchscreen. It makes calling very easy. There is also a number pad if you need to call a number not stored in the unit, so you never need to touch your phone. When recieving calls the music stops and the unit displays who is calling you. You can then either accept or decline the call. The caller's voice comes via the speakers and is crystal clear. During the call there is also a convenient volume adjustment on the screen should you need to increase or decrease the volume. The microphone setup is great as well as everyone I've talked to using it said they couldn't even tell I was using bluetooth or in a car (My Avalanche is very quite inside though)
AV Source Display - I am also very impressed with the display screen for CD's, USB cards, and the Ipod especially. Very user friendly and for the ipod it shows the circle of the ipod on the screen and even imports the picture of the album covers onto the screen of the song you are listening to as well as the song, album, and artist if the files are tagged. Also display the song, album and artist for the USB flash drives but not album covers. There are also a few different options for the display of songs which making switching through thousands of songs easy and quick.
Con's:
EQ - I really dislike the EQ on this unit. It is similar to the older AVIC Navigation units and really does not have the flexibility I like. You can make it work with a little playing around but I think it could be set up better. It's a 3 band EQ with some flexibility in emphasized range and width that the setting will affect frequencies around it. That makes it workable it just takes some time to get things just right since an adjustment in one range will often times affect frequencies in other ranges. It really feels like a balancing act.
Boot up Time: The unit does take a good 20 seconds or so to boot up. It's a little annoying but not too big of a deal. When you are getting in and out of the car a lot it can become annoying though
USB Flash Drive - I haven't really figured this out but if you leave a USB card plugged in for a while, sometimes when you start the car it reads it as off and you have to unplug it and plug it back in. That can also get annoying.
Overall Feelings:
Overall I'm happy with the unit. I especially like the 3D Nav, Ipod setup, and the fact that so many features are packed in without having to buy add-on components. It a great unit for a retail of $1299 but I got mine from Sonic Electronixs for $699. In my opinion, well worth the money overall. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to add it to this post are make an additional reply.
- Justin -
