# Pioneer AVH-X2700BS HU



## Skelshy (Jan 21, 2010)

This HU is a double-din, 6in touchscreen, no-navigation piece with smartphone integration.

Right from the start, I noticed volume and forward/back aren't buttons, they are flat surfaces covering three buttons. There are no gaps or ridges which would let you reliably hit them while driving. There is also no physical on/off button, need to dig in the menus to turn it off. The need arose because the radio starts playing the factory default sample tune from the phone every time you start in the car. This was driving both of us nuts. I think it's an android bug though.

Generally, the premise of a larger touchscreen works well, more stuff fits on the screen, and the screen is easy to read. Calls over BT go with appreciable volume and clarity. I didn't test sound quality, we have factory speakers in our CR-V. The USB connection works (after firmware upgrade) and charges the phone.

It does sync contacts but it doesn't show all the contacts although our Galaxy S4 phones are explicitly supported. What's missing is the merged contacts.

Smartphone integration

The device has Apple integration as well as MirrorLink and Pioneer's own AppRadio. Because we have Android devices and they are not on the very short MirrorLink compatibility list, I am using AppRadio. Here, I had a laundry list of concerns:


Even just showing a map (we're not even navigating yet) turns off the radio playing music. Apparently doing these things are asking too much from the poor radio!
Can navigate to points of interest but no functionality to enter an address
No voice guidance in navigation
AppRadio on the phone takes up two permanent notification slots just to tell you it's ready to connect
AppRadio navigation not covered in manual at all
Can't use voice input with the phone (physical button would have been nice)

I was half expecting the smartphone integration to be half-baked. A little disappointed my intended use case, using the phone's nav on the radio screen, basically missed the mark entirely. 

I don't understand how a Pioneer product can fail basic use cases like adjusting the volume while driving. Are we going to hit up, down, or "mode"? Let's play a game...

I got in trouble with the wife by installing this in her car.

Price paid: 270, from Sonix Electronics


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