how is startup time, ipod support, and glitches on the new kenwoods

I replaced a JVC with a Kenwood 7160 and it's light years ahead. Startup time is about 4-6 seconds. It does take longer to start than the car does. But if you have a backup camera and you've already put the car in reverse, the image will appear on the display with no additional effort on your partg. It's pretty fast on iPod too. I have a 16 GB, 1/2 filled Nano. There is a little, annoying delay on all the gestures you might use on the Kenwood screen however. No voice recognition on the 7160, however.

 

I've have a 6960 Kenwood in my Prius II for about 6 months. I commute about two hours a day, so it's had a lot of use so far. I don't know what to compare it to. I would say it's between "good" and "very good," but definitely not great. The GPS is great. The GUI engine is ok. It's a lightyear short of something like iPhone, but it works. I play music from a USB stick. It browses a little slowly, but it plays just fine. AM/FM radio work fine. The "Parrot" Bluetooth is probably it's weakest part. It often fails to connect automatically, and I'll have to use the phone to connect. The Bluetooth has crashed a few times, requiring a power off/on. This could be the fault of iPhone 4, not Kenwood.

Overall, I still recommend it. It probably is the best out there, and it's a very enjoyable product.

 

I have to say I agree with Rebound. The Kenwood products are probably the best out there and would be world-class if this were 1997. Kenwood (and to a certain extent JVC and Clarion) all wanna be just like Apple with their slow processors, bad user interfaces and poorly implemented gesture activities. It's not like the iPod is new- you would think that one of these car audio guys would figure it out. On the other hand, nobody else has really figured out how replicate Apple except, its looking like Android, so maybe that's what needs to happen.

 

I noticed DNX6960 tries to connect to the phone only on the startup. Once you break the connection (walk away from car) and get back inside, it won't try to connect again.

I got my iPhone 4 a few months ago and it actually works better than my BlackBerry Bold. The phone dials faster too. I have not had Bluetooth crashed on me. Automatic connection has been solid for me (not counting the reconnect failures or the lack of).

BTW, my iPhone 4 is still on 4.0.1. What is yours? What case are you using? It may be a factor.