the more i think about the navi, it just makes me want to get a handheld one. because with all the fancy all in one navi's out there, i just want to have a navi installed in the cubby area. i don't want to touch the stereo and all that stuff. i just want a basic navi for my car without all the dvd stuff.

If you beat me to it, I'd love to see what you came up with. If not, I'll post up pics and as much about the install as I can.

As for blue ray in cars or not - I'd love to see larger hard drives become the standard. It boggles my mind that 9 GB is presented as an awesome feature. 50 GB and I'd be more sold. Cars are waaaay behind the technology trends when it comes to in-car entertainment.

I also wouldn't ignore the market share and sheer brand power that Blue Ray has, useful or not.

I went the cheap route. Don't think that looking down at a nav in the radio spot is a good idea while driving. These Nuvis have the Garmin maps and database, and line of sight is good in this position. Doesn't look bad either imo.
I ran the cord down behind the speedo and behind the center to the ac plug in the passanger footwell (unscrewed the bracket and placed it up under the dash so it's hidden).

I agree, I really don't like looking down at mine because the road isn't even in my peripheral edge vision when I look down. That's where text-to-speech is a godsend.

that actually doesn't look that bad. can you post pics on how you've hidden the wire?

Actually... no. Because I can't see it. As you can see in the one picture posted, the cord drops straight down behind the guage pod and dissapears. It comes out in the driver side footwell below where I simply routed it behind the center console and out into the pasasanger side footwell. I unscrewed the bracket that holds the ac plug-in and after pluging in the cord, placed it up behing the dash in that area where it is out of site. A couple of zip ties and everything is secure and invisible.
The nav comes on with the ignition and the really nice thing is the touch screen is right there at your fingertip off the steering wheel. The screen is plenty big enough to read easily that close and you never lose your vision of what's up ahead when you look at it.
The possible downside is that the disk that you need to stick down on the dash is likely to leave a mark if you remove it after it's been there for a long while. Those things really stick so it's best that you consider the disk as permanent.
Also you lose the use of that ac plug on the passanger side so the one in the center glovebox will be the only one left unless you opt to hardwire the cord into a ign hot source.
Doing it this way is pretty much instant gratification as it was basically plug n play that took all of about 15 minutes.

^ okay i think i know what you are talking about. i think i'm sold for a handheld navi like garmin nuvi 885t. looks good and it's got voice command. but i dont' like to have that little remote controller thing for the voice command on the steering wheel. hopefully i can find a better place for the remote controller.

You should also check into the Navigon 7300t. It has a built-in mic I believe. It's not out yet but should be out this spring. They have quite a few others as well. Some mixed reviews but I love the UI.

Products - Navigon USA

hmm interesting. i'll wait for some reviews of the product. i need voice command. and if the new one is a lot better than the previous models, i guess i'm sold.

does anybody know if they came out with the double din dash kit for the non nav with bose system yet?

Looks like you can just buy the double din bezel, from Nissan, the one that would go on a base model. See other threads where people have done that, including the Kenwood install thread.

Here's a simple, handy mount I just whipped up. I only use my Nav when traveling so I don't need it mounted all the time. This Installs/removes in seconds and puts your Nav exactly where you want it. It would be nice to mount it in the Cubby, but the angle of the lid when open is kinda goofy.....I'm going to refine this a bit as I make Nav holders for Audi's and have some other hardware to play with . This is just the first pass...

More pics at the link below..

http://images49.fotki.com/v1489/phot...MG_1436-vi.jpg

http://images49.fotki.com/v1459/phot...MG_1430-vi.jpg

http://images44.fotki.com/v1486/phot...MG_1432-vi.jpg

Real quick:

I have a Touring 370z with No Nav. I absolutely hate the Bose Stereo system and I figuring on killing 2 birds with 1 stone and install an aftermarket Nav/Stereo.

I know as of right now I would have to get the Non Nav/Touring Dash Kit for my Touring Z. My question is, anyone know what the exact size opening it is? I'm looking at a few different Nav options (Pioneer AVIC-F900BT) to be exact and the specs are 6.5 x 7 x 4 inches.

Does anyone know if this will fit flush?

I ended up deciding to save the money and went with a cheaper solution. It's not as clean but after talking it over with friends, I don't want to have to get the work redone when I decide I want a different nav unit somewhere down the line.

Costco has a good sale on the Magellan Roadmate 1412. It does pretty much everything I need it to and looks decent to boot. Hard to beat for $100.

I did play with the Navigons, and while the display is sexy as hell, the UI is just too cumbersome.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3332/...1249c963_b.jpg

I need to work on hiding the wire a bit better. Any ideas on what to tack it down with?