illwood
08-25-2009, 09:03 AM
This past Saturday morning, I decided to install the Pioneer AVIC F Series Upgrade that I received from Papa John.
This upgrade to a serious amount of time to do. The first SD card took about 10 min to install and do its thing (which is about how long the Pioneer updates take to install).
I wrote down my Device # and went to the Pioneer website with that and the Media # and got my password for the rest of the install. *Don't think that you can just install this and sell it to a friend with an F series*
Then on to SD card 2. The instructions said it would take about 40 min. I figured that was Pioneer's conservative estimate. Nope, it actually took about 40 min or so to install the whole thing.
Impressions:
Boot Time
I don't notice that it boots faster than without the upgrade. It's probably about the same.
Touch Response
I did notice a faster touch response than before the upgrade, so that is a welcome change.
Navigation
First off, I like that Pioneer put a solid background behind the clock when the map display is visible. That makes the time a lot easier to read. The street signs that show for highway exits are also a pretty awesome addition. The new Text To Speech (TTS) announces the street names (which I'm pretty sure it didn't before). Not to mention that it does a significantly better job at telling you how to handle an exit ramp that splits into multiple directions. I changed the TTS voice from Jason to Samantha (I figured it might be nicer to hear the simulated woman's voice), but her inflection is a bit unclear, so I will probably change back to Jason. Lastly, I was worried at first when I saw the heading-up 2D display but was glad to see that you toggle between the 3D, 2D (north-up), and 2D (heading-up).
Bluetooth
The Bluetooth seems to respond and connect faster than it did with the old OS. I haven't tried to use the Voice Activated control for the iPod yet (that was something that would freeze the unit if I did it before the Bluetooth connected).
Audio
The beeping is finally gone. :banana: (At least you can turn it off.) Previously, I had only heard of people ridding themselves of the beeping my modding the software or replacing the key beep with a less objectionable sound or a silent audio file. Thankfully, the upgrade kept my existing device connections and even my SIRIUS presets (I forgot to write them down before the upgrade just-in-case).
Summary
I like it!
This upgrade to a serious amount of time to do. The first SD card took about 10 min to install and do its thing (which is about how long the Pioneer updates take to install).
I wrote down my Device # and went to the Pioneer website with that and the Media # and got my password for the rest of the install. *Don't think that you can just install this and sell it to a friend with an F series*
Then on to SD card 2. The instructions said it would take about 40 min. I figured that was Pioneer's conservative estimate. Nope, it actually took about 40 min or so to install the whole thing.
Impressions:
Boot Time
I don't notice that it boots faster than without the upgrade. It's probably about the same.
Touch Response
I did notice a faster touch response than before the upgrade, so that is a welcome change.
Navigation
First off, I like that Pioneer put a solid background behind the clock when the map display is visible. That makes the time a lot easier to read. The street signs that show for highway exits are also a pretty awesome addition. The new Text To Speech (TTS) announces the street names (which I'm pretty sure it didn't before). Not to mention that it does a significantly better job at telling you how to handle an exit ramp that splits into multiple directions. I changed the TTS voice from Jason to Samantha (I figured it might be nicer to hear the simulated woman's voice), but her inflection is a bit unclear, so I will probably change back to Jason. Lastly, I was worried at first when I saw the heading-up 2D display but was glad to see that you toggle between the 3D, 2D (north-up), and 2D (heading-up).
Bluetooth
The Bluetooth seems to respond and connect faster than it did with the old OS. I haven't tried to use the Voice Activated control for the iPod yet (that was something that would freeze the unit if I did it before the Bluetooth connected).
Audio
The beeping is finally gone. :banana: (At least you can turn it off.) Previously, I had only heard of people ridding themselves of the beeping my modding the software or replacing the key beep with a less objectionable sound or a silent audio file. Thankfully, the upgrade kept my existing device connections and even my SIRIUS presets (I forgot to write them down before the upgrade just-in-case).
Summary
I like it!