For those of you wondering about the factory steering wheel controls, the shop that installed my D2 also set me up with an adapter to connect them to the wired remote jack behind the head unit. It's from a company called "Peripheral." I think they make Ipod2car products.

Anyways, it works great. No delay in communication and am VERY happy I opted for it.

 

Anyone with the Z1 know if it has the RDS reature? Meaning when listening to local radio stations, it gives the song name and artist if available.

Duke

 

It doesn't appear to.

mikebaby

 

what does the satelite radio display look like? in the picture of the mp3 you have playing i cant tell if it scrolls the artist and song title or does all the characters of the song title and artist just pop up on the screen?

 

can we use the antenna that is already installed for the Z1 for both sat and nav?

 

Sorry I don't have the XM option installed. I'm not too clear when it comes to the second question. Essentially it's just like an iPod: You search through Playlist, Artist, Song, Album, Genres. Then it goes to the next menu where you scroll through your collection organized according to what you chose (i.e. Artist/Song/Etc) And then once you find Britney Spears you tap her name. And then you select "hit me baby one more time" and then the iPod playing menu pops up with that picture you saw. Well maybe not Britney Spears

The Nav has its own antenna. XM/Navtraffic comes with its own if you choose to purchase that option.

 

Steve-

I appreciate your feedback as I consider whether to get the Z1 or Alpine's IVA-W200i.

I'm curious about the Bluetooth functionality though. Is the single microphone used for both phone conversations and voice control? Are all functions handled through the headunit, or is there an external place/end call control button? Finally, does the Bluetooth functionality have the logic and power to allow you to fully voice dial, or can you only say the names of contacts that have previously been stored in the system?

Thanks,

Jason

 

You're correct Jason, the Z1 uses the single mic that handles both the phone conversation and voice control...i'm certain that all H/U do this (OEM and Aftermarket). All functions are handeled through the headunit. Although you don't have a physical button, technically there is a designated voice activating "icon" that is on the lower left-hand side of the touch screen. Once you activate the phone feature you will see a hangup "icon" on the top right hand corner appear.

I'm not going to lie, but using the Z1 voice feature takes some practice. I can assure you, however, that once you get the hang of it...you'll like it. You can dial phone numbers by names but they must be saved in your address book (note this is seperate from the telephone book where numbers from your cell phone are stored). Nonetheless you can dial phone numbers through the voice feature by saying "dial (number)".

The Alpine IVA-W200 is a very good product. I would highly recommend this product if you are very particular with using an Ipod. However the Z1 has a lot of features that include NavTraffic and built in navigation.

 

Thanks for the detailed response, and also for sharing your opinion. I'll be honest, iPod functionality is what has me on the fence right now. All of my media is on my iPod, but I just recently down sized to a 4 gig Nano, so I'm optimistic that the Z1 and adapter will do a decent job of allowing access to individual songs and artists.

From what I've been able to find about the W200, when paired with the NVA-872A and Bluetooth module, you actually have two mics, one for the nav system and one for the car kit. Additionally, functionality of the car-kit is still controled through the external control panel (visible here: here). That alone may be enough to sway me towards the Pioneer, even without considering the (substantial) difference in price.

Either way, at least we're finally starting to get some really decent choices in the aftermarket ICE segment.

Thanks again,

Jason

 

Oops I apologize for giving you the wrong info on the mics. The iPod was the ONLY thing that kept me from swinging for the Z1 as soon as it came out. Like you, I store all my music on my iPod. I admit it is a pain getting through over 20gb of music, but if you are using a Nano you shouldn't have a problem. Let us know when you make your decision and remember to post pics once you've installed it.

 

Looks good. I'm still holding out for StreetDeck.

 

Your installation looks awesome. I will be receiving my AVIC tomorrow and can't wait. I have a couple of questions for some antenna experts here. I spoke with pioneer, and they tell me that if you are going to use XM you will ultimately have 2 antennas on the roof. I really don't want magnetic antennas on my roof. So I orderd the GM permanent mount XM antenna found here http://www.xm411.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=10688 Now I have been trying to track down an integrated antenna that does both like the ones on an OEM car. I have tracked down a couple of manufactures, my favorite being Hirschmann. My question is, what is active GPS. Some of these antennas state "Active GPS part integrated in the antenna base", and "Active GPS part not integrated in the antenna base". Everything that I read, tells me that these antennas would work with the Z1, but I am not 100% sure. Does anyone know the answer to this question. To my knowledge active GPS is where the head unit supplies 3-5 volts to the antenna. And does the Z1 do this?

Thanks
Fireman603

 

All GPS antennas are active. You don't know need to specify that in your search. I'm not sure if they make 5V active antennas but you'd be hard pressed to find any. Everything is 3.3V CMOS. Look at Laird Technologies. They make lots of integrated antennas. I believe they make the GM model XM/GPS antenna.

 

What mounting brackets did you use? It says use the factory mounting brackets? What installation kit did you use?

Thanks

 

Has anybody tried mounting the gps antenna under the passengers side wiper cowl? I used to have my satellite radio antenna mounted there in my 05 and it worked great! I like to keep things as stealth as possible, just wondering if gps still works. It should work fine, I have gps on my pda and I can put the antenna in the middle of my vehicle (no direct line of site) and it sill picks up all the satellites.