October 1, 2008 4:30 PM PDT
Review: JVC KW-NX7000 navigation receiver has us grinning all the way
Read the full JVC KW-NX7000 review.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)The JVC KW-NX7000 isn't cleverly named like its sibling, the El Kameleon, but it is just as cleverly designed. With its smart features, such as the proximity-based interface or the flash-memory-based navigation data, we found the KW-NX7000 extremely easy to use. We didn't like the sluggish iPod navigation or the omission of Bluetooth technology. However, the solid performance and fun little touches, like the custom greeting messages, ultimately made us fall in love with this receiver.
My experiences of using this unit has been a mixture of both good and bad. The good points are down to the features & functions available and also it being a detachable panel. Sound output is great. My HTC Tytn 2 PDA phone works great with the bluetooth module. Good playback of DVD's and DivX and the rear view camera option is pretty cool. Overall I am happy with the device however...
On the not so impressed feedback:
1. USB Ipod Support is sluggish - takes a little while to read from the IPOD and accessing the Playlist on screen. its not majorly bad but performance needs improvement.
2. The Satellite Navigation is my biggest complaint and is not as great as what JVC promotes. Im not sure how this unit compares to other places in Europe and the USA but Satellite Navigation is no comparison to Tom Tom in my opinion. First time using the unit driving to London was an interesting experience. Getting from motorways to A-roads and vice versa was ok but once getting into Central London was completely rubbish. Often the Sat Nav would take me in the wrong direction, onto the wrong road and no-where connected to my destination and even wanted me to make a U turn on a dual carriageway! In the end I used Tom Tom on my phone and that did a far better job. Very dissapointed with this device for Sat Nav use. The map data is also way out of date and was suggesting taking roads that were blocked off or not available. One locally off a major A-road has been closed for 20 years! TomTom knew about it ok but not the JVC!
Also i found the voice navigation irrirtating and often says something completely different to the visual directions on the screen. A last complaint was that i was driving to pick a friend up from the local train station and guess what! it wasnt listed! its not that uncommon - again TomTom to the rescue!
I did an experiment and used TomTom alongside JVC NX7000 on a number of routes over the last few months - sorry JVC but you guys have lots of work cut out if you are to rival TomTom in both map data and guidance. I expect more from a device that cost me £1,400 to fully install! If you are a TomTom user and are used to TomTom then unfortunately this NX7000 unit dissapoints big time in comparison.
3. The detachable panel function even operates with the engine switched off! doh! surely you need the engine running to prevent theft if you decide to leave the unit in the car for a short amount of time like popping into a shop? alternatively im amazed that you cannot set a 4 digit password to lock the device in place. yes its nice having the option of detaching the panel but also have some security to keep it in place which dosent seem to exist!
Hopefully future updates will resolve the above but the last updates were from October 2008 since I last checked. Map updates dont seem to be that often as compared to other Sat Nav sources.