Pioneer hasn’t released new in-dash navigation systems in the Western Hemisphere in a few years, although it’s been busy with new products in Japan and elsewhere. It looks like some of those new products and technologies are finally showing up in North America, as the company has rolled out four new in-dash sat nav systems in its AVIC product line, ranging from $599 to $1,600; the systems are slated to hit store shelves in July.

At the top of the line is the AVIC-Z110BT; the $1,600 unit features a motorized, 7-inch customizable touchscreen display, along with voice recognition, CD/DVD and multimedia file playback via a USB connection or  Secure Digital (SD) flash memory card slot ( both behind that movable display), Bluetooth connectivity, and iPod/iPhone control. It also has access to optional location-based services, such as traffic, weather, and local event information via MSN Direct (isn’t that Bing, or some such, now?), available in 134 cities across the United States and Canada. It’s satellite-radio compatible, as well.

As for its navigation options, the Z110BT features Tele Atlas (the same folk that power TomTom units) mapping and route guidance with spoken street names for the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada, along with 12 million points of interest (POI) organized in more than 150 categories, according to Pioneer. Other features include:

• Drive Report, which calculates and displays trip costs for multiple routes based on the fuel price and mileage input by the driver. Are you a hard core greenie? Then you should be riding your bike. But if you’re not so hardcore but still prone to guilt, Pioneer says Drive Report can estimate the vehicle’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions based upon actual driving habits and fuel consumption. You can then transfer the data generated by the system to Pioneer’s AVIC-FEEDS PC software (via a USB thumb drive or SD card), to obtain more detailed information that you can use to improve fuel efficiency and perhaps assuage some eco-guilt.
• highway sign boards/junction view, which displays simulated highway signs when a major junction approaches. This highlights the sign and the proper driving lanes for major interchanges and exits.
• map view modes, which includes 2D (north up and heading up), 3D, street view and rear view map modes. In the 3D view map mode, more than 1,300 icons are displayed in 3D illustrations, including buildings and historical landmarks, according to Pioneer.
• detailed city maps, which includes a detailed city view for 65 major cities, as well as brand icons — brand logos overlaid onto the map to identify hotels, restaurants, banks, gas stations, and specific chain store locations.

Next up is the AVIC-X series, comprising the AVIC-X710BT and AVIC-X910BT, which will sell for a suggested $900 and $1,100, respectively. These two models have smaller screens than the Z110BT at 5.8 inches, and eschew some of the more whiz-bang features, such as the customizable touch screen and voice recognition. The MSN Direct services also aren’t available on the X710BT. But you still get a CD/DVD player and multimedia file playback via a USB drive or SD card, as well as iPod/iPhone control, Bluetooth connectivity, and compatibility with satellite radio.

Last but not least, we have the AVIC-U310BT, which will retail for a suggested $599. It has an even smaller-yet-still-adequate 4.3-inch screen, and keeps the Bluetooth, CD/DVD player and multimedia file playback, Bluetooth connectivity and satellite radio compatibility. It has the same navigation features but with only — heh — 500,000 points of interest, and apparently skips the detail city maps

A couple of things to note: while the Z110BT houses its USB port and SD card slot in front behind the movable display, the other units put the USB port in the back of the unit with what looks to be a permanently attached cable for hooking up a thumb drive or MP3 player (the U310BT doesn’t even throw in a cable — just the port). This is a major drawback in my eyes — not a deal breaker, perhaps, but still pretty “meh” — but I suppose there is only so much stuff you can cram into the front of a 2-DIN-sized deck.

Personally, I’d be happy to forego a CD/DVD player for a USB port on the front of the unit — Compact Disc is so … Twentieth Century — but that’s just me. As for the SD card slot, it is up front on the X710BT and X910BT, it resides behind the detachable display on the U310BT.

So, if you pooh-pooh gizmos attached to your dash board or windshield, with cables running hither and yon, but you still want navigation goodness, Pioneer will have more options for you come July. And before I forget, someone asked me this the other day: how do these systems get a decent GPS satellite signal lock with the receiver buried in the dash? The same way they get a satellite radio signal, if so equipped: there is an external GPS antenna mounted somewhere on the vehicle.

You can get more details on the Pioneer AVIC product lineup in North America here. Just a note — the prices I quoted above come from the company’s press releases; they don’t jive with what’s listed on the product pages. You’ll probably have to wait until next month to see for sure what they are retailing for, but usually what happens is the price gets lowered between the time the products are unveiled and the time they hit store shelves — especially with the economy the way it is. If anything, the prices may even be less than what is stated in the press releases.

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