Kenwood DNX8120 Car GPS Receiver
Written: Aug 26 '08 (Updated Aug 26 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Large feature set.
Does everything.
Cons: Clunky interface.
Problematic iPod integration.
Has issues with iPhone.
Difficult to operate while driving.
The Bottom Line: If you are willing to put up with its shortcomings, this seems to be the best (only) game in town. If you can, wait for someone to get it right.
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| jrm21's Full Review: Kenwood DNX8120 Car GPS Receiver |
I went into the store looking to buy a portable vehicle GPS unit. After listening to the feature set of the 8120, I took the plunge and purchased one.
It was installed with a rear-view camera, Sirius module and iPod module. Bluetooth is built-in.
After using the system for about a week I am very disappointed. Yes, the using does just about everything it is supposed to. For the price however, I expected a bit more.
The interface leaves a bit to be desired. There are various levels of menus on each screen and it could take several "taps" to perform what should be simple tasks. Too much to do, especially while driving.
The navigation system - a Garmin - is the biggest letdown. From a functional perspective, it does what it is supposed to do. The routing and accuracy is actually very good. Again, it is the interface that is the problem. Like the rest of the system, there are too many buttons/menus to go through for simple tasks. While this is a bother, the bigger problem is the map display.
There are so many colors on the map that it is like a garish cartoon. At night, the rainbow of colors on the black "night color" background is both confusing and blinding. It is almost impossible to make out what is on the display. Decreasing (or increasing) the display detail does not help. Decreasing the display detail can make things worse as many streets (even fairly major ones) quickly disappear from the display once detail is reduced. This includes the street you are on.
I haven't used the POI features yet, so cannot comment on those.
A final pet peeve with the GPS involves a completely unnecessary extra key press. When you leave the main map to change a setting you are offered a "back" button to navigate back to the map. However, clicking "back" will eventually take you to the main screen, where you must choose "map" to get back to the original map display. Maybe I am nitpicking, but these extra clicks get to be rather annoying, especially while driving.
iPod integration is nice, but is not without its issues. It does allow complete control of the iPod via the 8120, but doesn't always work. I have an iPod mini that worked fine for a few hours, and now will not be recognized by the 8120. The 8120 shows "disconnected" although the audio will still play if controlled via the iPod itself.
I also have an iPhone. This also works intermittently. Sometimes it will play for hours. Sometimes it will stop working and generate an error message.
For phone calls on the iPhone, the audio quality is horrible. I can hear the caller, but there is so much static and breakup on the other end that the caller cannot hear me well at all. Reading various online forums, this seems to be a "known" issue with the iPhone. Most people are hoping that this will be fixed in an upcoming software update. This wildly popular phone has been available for over a year and Kenwood is still working on software compatibility?
The unit is designed to be controlled from the touchscreen. While nice from a techie perspective, some real buttons would be more useful. The unit does have some _very_ small buttons along the bottom which let you control volume and some other functions. These are really too small to be looking for while driving. A real volume knob and a few buttons for common functions would make more sense. Not only would this make the unit easier to use, but reducing the number of times the user must touch the screen it allows the screen to stay cleaner (and more visible) longer.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jrm21
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Reviews written: 1
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