Pioneer AVIC-S2
Coming soon to a car near you is the Pioneer AVIC-S2. We’ve been getting details about this new device for about three months now, but the picture is starting to come together. The AVIC-S2 will have many of the common GPS features and share several similarities with the AVIC-S1. Maps of the continental contiguous USA plus Canada, a 3.5″ touch screen display, a SiRFstarIII chipset, and Bluetooth are all traits that the Pioneer AVIC-S2 has in common with the older S1. So what’s new?
So far the only features we know will be above and beyond that of the S1 is an MP3 player and an optional traffic receiver. The traffic receiver will be of the TMC variety. It will be connected to the AVIC-S2 via its own car cradle, connecting to pins on the back of the S2.
We expect to hear full details plus pricing and a release date within a few weeks.
Has anyone tried this GPS ? I am thinking to buy this product but I read that the review for its sister product (AVIC-S1) is quite bad. Is there anyone who can give me a quick update on the advantages & weakness of this GPS ? Thanks
Does this unit have “text to speech”?? In other words will it announce the upcoming street name or just announce “turn left at 300 feet”?
No, there isn’t text-to-speech on this model.
This unit is awesome! I travel quite a bit and it hasn’t let me down yet. No text to speech, how lazy are you anyway? I have read many reviews on this product. The people who are writing bad reviews probably don’t know how to operate thier TV either or just don’t know how to read. I started using GPS in the Military and the Pioneer blows away what I used to use. My only complaint is that the information that came with this unit was lacking a bit but the info online definately made up for that. Great product!
I just got one last week, and I have a few questions:
1) I wonder where I can get updates for the maps?
2) Can I copy and paste the files in the SD card come with the device to another larger SD card and use it?
3) Can I add/remove the pre-loaded POIs?
(I want Wal-Mart and Target’s location in the “shopping-other stores” section, but not those never heard companies)
Thanks!
RayRay - (1) Pioneer would be the one to offer them. (2) I haven’t tried it with this device. Some devices you can, others have copy protection that doesn’t allow you to do that. (3) I haven’t seen a way to mass import them like on other devices, but there could be a way. I don’t have a ton of experience with this device.
RayRay.
1. I was told no updates. Indeed the maps on AVIC-S2 do not cover 5-years old streets in my city.
2. The answer is yes. I have bought a new 2GB SD and loaded it only with the (only the needed maps) from the MAP directory, and it works fine. Now I could add lots of audios on the left memory.
3. I did not try this one, but the PIOs are not on the storage (SD) card, any way.
does thisunit come ith a cradle for your windshield or any othe rcradle, and can I buy maps of Europe for this gps. First unoit I have ever I have concidered buying. Got a deal for 259 USD and have a 88USD gift card toward the purchuse
I love the prioneer avic-s2 it’s very practical and usefull. I recommend it.
I use the MP3 player of pioneer. It works fine. My propblem is however with the playlists. I can creat new playlist with any set of songs, but I can not therafter add more to the same playlist. Does any one have the same problem?
I like this portable nav unit (GPS).
Pioneers units will always be worse than a mainstream company like Garmin. Not because Garmin is a better product (it is but..), but because Garmin realizes that streets, POIs, and such CHANGE. If Pioneer doesn’t figure this out and release UPDATES to the maps and POIs (like I don’t know…new shopping centers or restaraunts), they will never take much of Garmins market share.
Have just bought one of these units and while the unit itself works fine, it does have some serious (to me anyway) flaws.
First and foremost the maps that came bundled with it are woeful (Sensis).
I tried to enter a street as a destination only to be told the city had no streets! However, when I actually got to the street it miraculously appeard on the GPS screen!
We have 7 different GPS units at our company, 3 x Marbella, 2 x Navman and 2 Tom Tom’s. All of these units could find the street in question but not the pioneer! I’ve only had it a couple of days so will give their tech support a call tomorrow and see if the unit will work with other map sets like Destinator. If anyone knows if it will run other software, please post as it would be very helpful.
One more thing, again about the maps, it seems to have virtually no coverage for anything outside of cities. This is very sad as all of our work is in country areas and while all the other GPS units mentioned find these streets easily, the Pioneer has a habit of coming up with no streets at all for smaller centers, it just shows a blob on the screen which I guess represents the boundary of the city/town in question. Go figure!
I would like to purchase a map of western Europe for the avic-s2, where would I be able to get one?
I’ve got the AVIC-S2 as Christmas gift from my son and had been using it for a couple of weeks around Ottawa, Canada. Here are my experiences with this gps:
Strengths: Like all other Pioneer products, it is well built and well designed. Finding destinations is very convenient and easy, by street address, by postal codes or by intersections. For unnamed streets or streets with no addresses such as a POI inside a National Park, you can use coordinates (get it from sources such as Google Map). . Graphics presentation, especially the “smart zoom” (ie, zoom in and out of a map and tilting between 2D and 3D automatically as you drive around) is superior. It ensures that you know what street is coming up next even if you turn the voice off.
Positioning is very accurate, even in very bad weather or between tall buildings, to about within two car lengths. When you are looking for a house, say at night in the middle of a snow storm, often it comes within one or two house number. However, once turn into a parking lot (say in a mall), you are on your own.
Locating the satellites is very fast. In the open area with a clear sky, it takes less than 30 seconds to give you a location. Once you start to drive, it gives direction almost instantaneously. It takes longer to locate itself in bad weather (about one minute) and up to several minutes in the basement of my house. No signal is received inside malls or multi-level parking.
Choosing route is very good. In my opinion, the routes chosen make more sense than the ones chosen by Yahoo map or Google map. For example, if you choose “short” route, it really goes through short cuts you never thought of before and is usually shorter then the ones chosen by either Yahoo map or Google map. If you do not want to drive through short cuts (eg, through unplowed side streets in the winter), you can choose “fast” route. The device will put you on the main roads. Route re-calculation (if you miss a turn or come to a road block) is very quick and instant. Route planning is highly flexible — it does not force you to start where the device is. You can start anywhere, go anywhere and pre-view your route by “flying over” it.
The MP3 player sounds really good, very typical of a Pioneer product. As you play music, the name of the artist and the song title scrolls on the screen. I suggest playing music via the car stereo (with a FM Transmitter brought separately, or simply plug it into a Pioneer Car CD Deck.). However, unlike the Pioneer in-dash GPS, you cannot navigate and listen to music or use blue tooth at the same time.
The weak points: The map provided by Tele Atlas is not very accurate (from about 99% for the mature part of the City of Ottawa to 0% on new developments). For example, it once tells me to turn left into the Trans Canada Highway via a non-existent ramp. A visit to the Tele Atlas site shows that the Pioneer map on the AVIS-S2 is the same as their current on-line map, which is also wrong. Thus, I cannot blame Pioneer. I check the satellite images on Google Map, which is more accurate, and report it to Tele Atlas, who promises me to correct the error.
The software is fairly complicated and may be difficult for the non-technical driver to learn (takes me three or four days to know the menu). The POI’s provided by Tele Atlas is strange and laughable. I expect “artificial landmark” to be things like CN tower, hydro dams, castles, Rideau Canal, Parliament Buildings or some other tourist attractions, but it turns out to be a list of cemeteries. However, you can create your own POI and back it up to your SD Card.
The “mode of transportation” is useless for the Capital City of Canada. The map supplied does not include bicycle paths and therefore choosing “bicycle” is meaningless. Likewise, even if you choose “car”, the device will take you through OC Transpo’s Transitway which is off-limit to cars. I do not know if it’s useful to choose “bus” or “trucks”.
The 1G SD card provided by Pioneer is full. To play mp3 and to backup your data, you need to get a bigger SD card (say, 2G) and copy the maps onto the new card from the DVD provided. Then you can copy about 300 songs onto the new card and use it in the device. Keep the original SD card in a safe place as backup.
Map update is uncertain. Map updates for their in-dash models are expensive, and update for their earlier model AVIC-S1 is still unavailable (probably because Pioneer signed a partnership with Tele Atlas). And, unlike the more popular Garmin or Tom Tom, there is no third party software, databases, maps, etc. for any Pioneer products.
This unit really lets me down ….. I travel quite a bit and it tells me to turn at non existant roads and as i drive a truck and have the unit set for truck routes it still takes me in no truck routes and takes me on unnecessary turns through subdivisions when there are much shorter routes to take! A big fat F- for pioneer for me and I am big fan of pioneer! And where the hell are the updates??????
In response to Dave:
As a tax auditor, I travel quite a bit too (yes, it is tax-deductible if the device is used for business trips).
You should report non-existant roads to the map supplier, Tele Atlas, to correct their database. You see, many other GPS devices use the same map, and therefore there is no reason to believe that they will do better than Pioneer. I have friends using Garmin getting the same problem, which leads me to say something about……
MAPPING MISTAKES: Recently I went to see a client. When I arrived at his house, the Pioneer AVIC-S2 told me that I still had half a kilometre to go. Many of you will got pissed off at Pioneer right away. With curiosity. I went to Google map and typed in his address. The result is the same —- it shows that his house is half a kilometre away at the other end of the street. I try Yahoo Map. Same thing. So, BOTH major map vendors (Tele Atlas and Navteq) get the position wrong!!! This means that, whatever GPS brands and models you use, Garmin, Tom Tom, Mio, Microsoft….., you will not get to his house. BUT, I am the taxman….
I think this unit is designed originally for multiple use, but the map provided by Tele Atlas is primarily for cars. The map does not include things truck routes, bicycle paths, hiking trails, recreational paths inside parks, private roads, parking lot details, lakes, rivers and water ways. So, the several other modes of transport is of no use (for now). Unless Pioneer/Tele Atlas (they are partners in this) sales maps for other purposes, get something else if you go off-road, cycling, hiking or fishing.
In my opinion, their route algorithm is really smart. When you choose “short” route, it does choose the shortest possible route for you, usually through side streets and subdivisions (of course!!). To avoid side streets, choose “fast” routes. Route choosing is also highly flexible. You can enable or disable route features such as “unpaved roads”, “toll roads”, “ferries”, “cross-borders”, “U-Turns”, as you please, and preview your routes by flying over it. It never asks me to turn to dangerous things like railways or drive down a river. It will NOT tell you to swim from Vancouver to Hawaii.
However, for each different routes (fast, short, highways, unpaved, U-turn, ferries, etc.), suggested by the device, it gives you the actual distance to be covered. You then make the decision yourself.
As for updates. Pioneer and Tele Atlas had entered into a partnership agreement last year to provide map updates for all Pioneer devices. Right now, the map on the AVIC-S2 is exactly the same map on the current on-line map at the TeleAtlas website. It it up to BOTH companies to fullfil their promises. (The older model AVIC-S1 had Navteq Maps — good luck to its owners because of corporation divorce).
I have figured out a way to download POI databases (*.csv format) on the internet into AVIC-S2, just like any other GPS devices. Any Pioneer owners interested in knowing how to do it?
i am currently looking at many different gps models. There is no PERFECT model(at least i can’t find one). anyway the GPS system i am looking for: 1. you can add personal POI’s (without using a computer) 2. you can talk on cell phone via bluetooth through the GPS 3. you can store phone numbers in GPS system.
If you can help me find this type of GPS system your helping me alot. THANKS
Eli - You might need to elaborate on what it is you are looking for as I think many GPS devices offer those three features you mentioned. (Most of the TomTom and Garmin auto devices for example.)
I am interested in getting the information about the downloads of the poi databases. Would be grateful for your advice. Ps I also have a navman unit and would like to be able to use the maps on that, can you help?
thanks
I was just about to press CONFIRM PURCHASE on my Futureshop order for this unit. albeit it’s low sale price, bluetooth, mp3,,,yadayadayada is far appealing, further research convinced me to reconsider. I have no quams with Pioneer and one of my coleagues highly recommended a predecessor of theirs, but my opinion is that the deal signed between Pioneer and Tele Atlas is the Achilles heel…the root of effective GPS is “updates”. If the company supplying the mapping info can’t get their act together, you can have the best device on the market. Unfortunately, content is everything in this world!! Eventually even the music business will someday also realize that one.
OK…me again
So the plot thickens…further research indicates that TomTom has purchased Tele Atlas in Dec.2007 (a $2.9 billion US deal) and promises to update the TA maps on a “daily” basis, according to TT’s CEO. This means that the outdated TA maps will finally be getting refreshed, so my purchase is back in the swing…
Once I receive the unit, I’ll do some testing and post my findings. Keep your fingers X’d.
(living in the outskirts of Ottawa, Canada)
Marcus, you might not want to give your credit card a workout quite so fast if that is what you are basing your decision on. TomTom has made an offer to purchase Tele Atlas and Tele Atlas has accepted, however the deal is still pending regulatory approval and the results of the inquiry won’t be known until probably March/April.
Tele Atlas already updates their maps on a daily basis. They provide their updates to clients on a quarterly basis, and I haven’t heard anything indicating that release cycle would change. The TT quote you heard about daily updates might have referred to TomTom’s new MapShare program which lets users make corrections they see need to be made and share those corrections with other TomTom users on a daily basis.
Tim, that is great industry insight and is much appreciated. My “gut” feeling is that I am willing to go ahead with the purchase and jump through the hoops. It isn’t treated as an “open software package” so worse case, I can return the unit.
I’m still going on my coleague’s experience with his Pioneer (which he swears by…especially from his glitch-free trip recently from Canada to Mexico). I have an enormous respect for his opinion, so this is my driving “gut” feeling, so to speak.
OK, here is the way to download virtually any POI format into the AVIC-S2. Because it shares the same iGO platform as MIO devices such as the C310X, you can use any tricks that MIO owners suggest.
First, download the software iGO POI Explorer from here: http://inetcom.hu/mick/igo/
and install it on your computer.
Next, back up your custom POI onto the SD Card with the User Data Management menu. It will be stored as iGO_backup.db on the root directory. Copy it onto your computer’s hard drive.
Start the iGO POI Explorer and import the iGO_backup.db database into the software. The details of your iGO_backup.db will appear as a spreadsheet, from which you can edit it as you wish.
You can import more POI databases that you have (say, from Garmin, Tom Tom, or from POI Factory) into the explorer, or delete POI that you do not want anymore.
When you finished, export the spreadsheet into the iGO_backup.db file (rename your old file if you do not want to overwrite it!!!). Then copy it onto the root directory of you SD Card.
Restore your new data into your AVIC-S2 using the User Data Management Data menu.
Enjoy your new POI database.
Folks: Pardon my ignorance but I just bought the AVIC-S2 having been a Garmin man all my life. My question is this: “what is the site to update the maps protocols?” Can I use MS Streets, Delorme, or Garmin maps? What is the web site if not to update?
Nathan —- There is no North America updates yet for AVIC-S2 from Pioneer. The maps are about 12 months old from Tele Atlas and so they should be good for most people (unless you live in a boom town). Pioneer now has an update for the older AVIC-S1 though. You will have to be patient for the nwer AVIC-S2. When I go to find a friend in a new subdivision, I simply look up the newest paper map. I have no problem with new houses built one year ago in Ottawa, Canada. But thing may be different if you live in a boom town like Calgary, Alberta.
You will not be able to use the maps you mentioned because they use different navigation platforms.
Mio (and several other manufacturers) uses the same Pioneer AVIC navigation software from iGO and so some readers are able to use Mio maps, but you will have to beg or copy or buy the licence.db file somewhere. I do not know if Mio will sell maps to Pioneer owners.
You may also try to contact iGO directly at http://www.i-go.com/en/ to see if they will sell you map updates for Pioneer gps.
I need to update the POI to my AVIC-S2. The webside where i get the files have for several navigations, but Pioneer not mentioned. (It is in Swedish). Can anyone tell me what file pioneer will take.
Koordinatfiler till de vanligaste GPS:erna.
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Hello,
I will really appreciate if someone can advise on How to download external POIs into AVIC s2, so that they can be accessed through the device interface.
Thank you!
I used to purchase a lot of Pioneer products, but AVIC-2 was the last thing i bought. Even though the menu gave me a bit of hell since it could be simpler & more understandable, (talking about the GPS part since i dont care about the other features) the maps were never updated so far and there’s no official response from Pioneer or Tele Atlas… Great work .. NOT
I would advice anyone to try find any other product except the pioneer ones, since they usually do the job easier and they actually update maps :/
P.S. : Even though it is probably not Pioneer’s fault, I still credit Pioneer for the crap support on the specific product.
I would say that it is Pioneer’s fault… It is ultimately their responsibility to purchase map updates from their vendor and provide those updates to their end consumers. The maps are available to them– they just need to buy them.
The Pioneer portable GPS unit is a good unit but Pioneer Inc. discontinued it. If you call them like I did and ask if they still support it they will say “Yes” but in reality there is no support on this unit and no map updates. The maps are 3 years old as it is with no updates in the forseable future. It’s a shame because I really liked it. It was good and accurate, I liked the features and customazation but in the end it’s all useless if Pioneer is just leaving it to die and pissing off a whole bunch of ex customers
this thing is dumb. i cant figure out how to use the gps someone please e-mail me step by step instructions seeing that the box did not come with them.