[blamus]

I would like to know if anyone use USB hard drives such as this:

Western Digital My Passport Essential Hard Drive - WDMEB3200TN - Buy.com

with the AVIC F90BT. I have searched quite a bit but havn't found anything. I know it has USB, but I wonder if thats only good for USB thumb drives or works with 3.5" USB hard drives.

And feel free to tell me anything you like/don't like about it. Any feedback is great.

 

[dbiegel]

I originally considered this unit to use a USB drive on it as well. Based on what I read on avic411, I decided to stay away from USB hard drives with this unit and just get an iPod. I couldn't be happier with that decision. It's not that USB drives don't work, it's just that the F90BT has awesome iPod controls and features that you don't get with USB. In fact, the iPod control is one of the main reasons I went with this unit. I've also read that the F90 loads USB drives very very slowly compared to loading an iPod. Based on my research, the 5th gen ("ipod video") has much better SQ than others, and are cheap now even in 80gb, so I bought one on craigslist and use it as my hard drive.

As for my thoughts on the unit itself -- I tried most of the units on the market before getting this one and it's the best value out there IMO. It's amazing how much cheaper it is than other units by Alpine, Eclipse, etc. because everything is built-in and included. You don't get nickel and dimed for accessories and cables. Try pricing an Alpine with all the adapters and cables needed for these features and you'll see what I mean!

The main reason you don't see people use this head unit around here is because it's not an "SQ" unit. There's no time alignment or anything like that (I use an external processor, the H650). The F90's sound quality seems to be very solid. I guess I'm in the minority here in that practicality is my #1 priority. In other words, I'm willing to give up a little sound quality for stuff like nice GPS, bluetooth cell phone integration, and a great iPod interface. I also really wanted something with a rotary volume knob -- I HATE pushbutton volume -- but thats just my personal pet peeve. I haven't compared this unit with an audiophile SQ unit in the same install so I can't comment on the actual difference in SQ.

Other Cons --
doesn't recognize my iPod about once every 10 days (have to unplug/replug the iPod to fix, annoying)
takes at least 30 seconds to boot up
once in a while routing glitches (at the same couple spots -- probably map errors)
very limited sound processing built-in
bluetooth call quality is mediocre

 

[blamus]

Thanks for the insight. I've been looking around and came to the conclusion that the F90BT is simply the best price/features. I actually try very hard to tell myself not to get it, and take the Clarion DXZ785USB instead which will give me all the processing I need. I don't actually NEED all those fancy things on the F90BT, like, I have my own GPS, etc. But everything about the F90BT is just so perfect for me - the hackable OS, IGO8, high resolution (god I hate the low res on others, looks so bad), double din, backup camera (I don't need one but I have one sitting around without a screen to attach to!), and the rotary volume indeed!

I have an iphone 3G, and according to sonicelectronics I'd need additional adapters for that? Thats why I was thinking maybe I'll just hook up my old USB drives and call it a day.

I was very torn between the F700BT and the F90BT though. The F90BT will be only $100 more and it includes the ipod cable, which is already $50, but I wonder - if I can just use my own USB ipod cable that came with my ipod/iphone. It looks like the same cable. But then the F90BT has 4v output, so I guess I'll just get that and call it a day.

Thx again!