November 8, 2004 The AVIC-N2 from Pioneer may be the most advanced in-car navigation and entertainment system on the market. The motorized, 6.5" touch screen display puts everything at your fingertips, including memory navigation (with route guidance, electronic mapping and points of interest), DVD video, multimedia audio/video, a rear camera and even a virtual dashboard to monitor your vehicle's performance all in one device for approximately US $2,200. The screen even folds away, allowing the driver to follow voice prompts to their final destination once they have the hang of it.
The AVIC-N2 is meant to replace the existing in-dash car radio as a solution for drivers who spend more time than ever in their vehicles and update the AVIC-N1 model (show here in the main picture). The system offers step-by-step instructions to get from point A to point B, with a choice of multiple different routes and millions of points of interest, alternate routes to avoid traffic jams and a full entertainment package.
"Consumer acceptance of navigation has grown dramatically - 63 percent year to date. We're responding to consumer demand by adding and combining unique features that are most important to drivers today," said Michael Townsen, vice president of marketing for mobile entertainment at Pioneer. "The AVIC-N2 bridges technologies and features never seen before in a single product."
Consumers may indeed be hungry for GPS style navigation units in the ir vehicles, and manufacturers are happy to give it to them. Recent gizmag articles have looked at the Sanyo HDD Gorilla as well as a car navigation system with 3D aerial imagery, but the The AVIC-N2 from Pioneer is state of the art and blows all other models off the dash.
Some of the key highlights include:
The Navigation System
The AVIC-N2 provides accurate detailed route guidance for the entire United States and Canada including Alaska and Hawaii. Within seconds, the system's extremely fast processor calculates multiple routes and provides directions to any destination via electronic map and voice prompts.
Powered by TeleAtlas mapping, the system uses a massive 12-million points of interest (POI) database with more than 248 different categories so consumers can search for the nearest gas station, ATM or restaurant. As users are guided along their route, points of interest are overlaid onto the map, which is particularly helpful when driving in unfamiliar areas. Utilizing 7.5MB of flash memory, the system can store miles of mapping information allowing users to utilize its internal disc drive for audio or video entertainment to play DVD movies for back seat passengers or listen to an audio compact disc. Further aiding drivers, the AVIC-N2 guidance screens are graphically enhanced to look like highway exit signboards, communicating visual directions quickly and safely. Users can choose from five enhanced modes that can be displayed on the screen, including a standard map view mode, a driver's view mode (3-D view of map), a route view mode (split screen between map and list of upcoming streets) and a rear view split screen (split screen between rear camera view and overhead map).
Traffic Data
The AVIC-N2 multi-function navigation system and XM NavTraffic service also display traffic incidents and road flow conditions to keep you up-to-date 24 hours a day. The system graphically communicates traffic incidents by means of traffic icons to quickly identify road events relative to the vehicle's location, keeping drivers in touch with their surroundings at all times. In advance, the system suggests alternate routes around major traffic incidents and heavily congested roads.
Traffic flow is displayed on the navigation screen with different colours - green, yellow and red. Green indicates traffic moving 40 mph and above, yellow from 20 to 40 mph and red at less than 20 mph. Additional icons represent scheduled incidents such as road construction and road closures.
XM NavTraffic, a subscription service of XM Satellite Radio powered by NAVTEQ Traffic, provides the Pioneer AVIC-N2 system with in-depth traffic data for 20 major metropolitan cities across the America, covering cumulatively 50 percent of the population in the U.S.
Entertainment
The Pioneer GEX-P10XMT data and audio receiver, AVIC-N2's optional traffic tuner, offers both the XM NavTraffic service and XM Satellite Radio's more than 130 digital radio channels of commercial-free music and premier sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming. The expected subscription pricing will be US $13.99 a month for a bundled offering of XM NavTraffic and XM Radio.
The state-of-the art audio/video entertainment system provides full dual zone capabilities, as well as DVD video playback, single CD, MP3 CDs and AM/FM/XM satellite radio all with maximum power and sound performance.
Much like its top-line headunit counterparts, the AVIC-N2 is a high quality audio system with MOSFET50 (50 watts X 4 amplifier), three pre-amp outputs and three band parametric equalizer. The system can be expanded with other sources such as XM satellite radio, CD changer, DVD changer and TV tuner. All sources are direct access using its touch screen display.
The Vehicle Dynamics Monitor
The vehicle dynamics monitor offer an easy, fun and accurate method to assess a car's performance with stock equipment versus aftermarket parts. The rich navigation features enable the system to monitor key performance attributes, provide users with vehicle dynamics in real time and perform peak holds so users are able to see and track their vehicle's performance. The Vehicle Dynamics Monitor allows you to measure forward and backward G-Force acceleration, lateral G-Force to measure maximum cornering force, angular velocity to measure turn rate and slope to measure the incline.
Safety
The AVIC-N2 is rear-view camera-ready with the optional ND-BC1 Rear View Camera. When in reverse gear, the display will automatically switch to the rear-view camera in full-screen mode, to make backing up easier and safer. The rear-view can also be engaged while driving, to allow you to view a towed boat or vehicle during transport.