Any user reviews of the Alpine Blackbird II?

[Slammed01]

Got my Alpine 505 on order and can't wait to receive it. Been looking at Alpine Blackbird 200 for some time now. I get mixed reviews from stores and online forums. I figured hopefully some people have a hands on review on this unit? Pros/Cons? Is it pretty accurate? Thanks all!

[quality_sound]

You know we have a forum titled "Reviews", right?...

[Slammed01]

Originally Posted by quality_sound

You know we have a forum titled "Reviews", right?...

Yes....I saw one review and also used the search button. Not sure how long the review was done for since he just received the unit when it 1st was released.......

[s60rguy]

Here's my review.

I got mine 12/5/07. Got it home, took it outta the box, installed the external antenna to the radio, popped the BB2 into my w205 and was amazed. Loved every feature of it, easy to navigate the menu's, found how to sync it with my phone, did that, then I was mad. It would only load the first 7 or 8 names and numbers in my phone book (I have a Blackberry Curve). I figured since I have alot in there, it was just taking a while, let it sit there for 10mins or so, tried to scroll through them and nothing. Still only had 7 or 8 names and numbers in there.

So I go for a drive. Stays pretty accurate of where you are. If you are driving along with a road that runs beside you, your map position will jump onto the other road then back onto the road you are actually on. It will do this very fast, but you can notice it on the screen.

January comes around and now I'm really having problems. When I first got the BB2 I would pop it in my w205 (or start my truck), wait for it to "start up" and then I could select "Blackbird" in the Source Menu. This would take no more than 1 minute. NOW that I've had it for about a month, it takes my w205 ATLEAST 15 MINUTES to recognize the BB2 and show it in the source menu. Sometimes it won't even recognize it at all, and I gotta eject the BB2 hit the reset button, put it back in, and sometimes THAT DIDN'T EVEN WORK, and I'd have to reset it a few more times before the w205 would recognize it. Then while I'd be driving my "you are here dot" would go crazy and start jumping all over the map, and instead of showing what street I was on, it would show map coordinates!!!

Now Feb. comes around and I gotta take a Road Trip. Try to load up the BB2 and of course the w205 isn't recognizing it. So I get out my 5 year old Garmin Street Pilot that has NEVER given me 1 problem, EVER, and I use that instead of the BB2. Now on the Road Trip back to my house, I decide to see if the BB2 feels like working, and what do ya know!! It feels like working. So I just leave it on and use it along with my Garmin and everything is good.

Now in March I decide to use the BB2 around town, just because sometimes I like to have a Nav Map on my screen instead of the normal "music screen". Now the damn thing won't even load up. I get the caution screen about not using the BB2 while driving and yadda yadda, click that I want to use it in english and BOOM! Freezes right there. Eject the BB2, reset it, get to that screen again, FREEZES!! A few days later I try to use it again, I get past the language and warning screen, and it takes a while to find where I actually am and plot my "you are here dot". So it finally finds me and I try to zoom in. NOTHING. Try to zoom out. NOTHING. So now it's stuck on a 250ft zoom and won't zoom in or out. I eject it, about to throw it out the window, but I refrain. I get back to my house, put it in the box and go to my shop the next day and have them send it out.

So needless to say, if you get the BB2, it'll work perfect for the first month, then after that, it's all down hill.

[Foglght]

I haven't had those problems with mine. I love it for the NAV, which ironically wasn't what I bought it for. I never thought I would use NAV. However, now that my wife and I are looking for homes, it is invaluable when looking for houses that you've never been to before. It is extremely accurate IMO, and my only gripe is that I wish it would tell you sooner when you need to exit or make a turn.

HA, and I thought that was my only gripe. My second one is the one I can't stand and really pisses me off. BLUETOOTH! I have no echo on my end, but anyone that is talking to me has a horrible delayed echo that I can't get rid of. I literally can't use it, which was one of the main reasons I bought it, besides the fact I can use it as a portable MP3 player for work.

Other than that, I rarely ever remove it from the vehicle.

It feels slightly flimsy when inserting the unit into the W205. I just never get that warm fuzzy feeling that its connected right until it actually powers up. I've never used a NAV system before, but I really like it, and it automatially reroutes you when you miss an exit. KEY POINT HERE, when you choose another source after you have entered your destination, say going back to listening to your ipod, the nav will stay loaded and will give you crititcal updates as to where to turn, BUT will only do so for about 2 seconds. So, if you weren't paying attention you could miss it. Normally, if you were in the blackbird source it would have audio to guide you, but when you switch sources the voice no longer works.

If the bluetooth worked better, I'd say there is no substitute. It's portable, and it can dock. I've used it in my wife's car already, on its own.

[b's07hoe]

I've had mine for a few months now and I bought it for the bluetooth and only slightly for the nav. I have no problems with my bluetooth at all, no echoes, all numbers load, and generally works great. I don't always use the nav until I go on long trips. When I do, I don't have many gripes about it. You just have to know how to interpret what it's trying to do. If you are getting it strictly for the nav, you will be disappointed. I got it because it docked so well with my w205. As far as trouble with it not connecting to the w205, i have had this problem, it seems the best way to fix it is to push it back into the dock a little farther, works for me every time and I never have a problem ejecting. If it didn't go so well with my w205, I wouldn't have bought it, but since it does, I don't regret it.

[Foglght]

Hmm, where did you mount the mic?

[b's07hoe]

mine is right behind the steering wheel mounted on the column.

I need to get some pics up of my 07 tahoe with a w205/b200, pdx, type r 6.5, and w3 setup.

[Foglght]

Well, I don't know what the problem is with mine then. That's where I originally put mine, then moved it to under the radio. I don't know what would cause that echo.

[S2peed]

Any other reviews, I am interested as well.

[veloze]

Originally Posted by S2peed

Any other reviews, I am interested as well.

Here's a review I made when I first got the Blackbird II (see below link). I haven't had any problems with the GPS. I hear people complaining that the unit takes too much time to load, the screen is blank, etc. One of the things I always do is to keep the BBII always charged. I guess you'll have issues when the charge is too low.

My only gripe is that my Blackberry Curve is not able to display all the names in my address book. Only the first seven names are displayed & the up/down arrows are not activated. When I used to have the RAZR V3; all the names displayed. I think this incompatibility issue & some bugs are going to be fixed when Alpine launches the upcoming update.

For those who have the H701, H100 installed w/ the BBII you are not going to be able to listen to the NAV prompts on the other sources (ie: DVD, iPod, satellite radio) unless you install the KCE-900E. This module will allow to interface with the BBII (NAV) to extract RCA AV signals from the RGB output.

REVIEW:
The Blackbird II has landed!!!

Blackbird II video:
ALPINE BLACKBIRD II VIDEO