First I would like to say that this GPS looks great and is small and compact. The screen is extremely bright. And is made by a reputable company: Pioneer. Here's how I break down this GPS:
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br /PROS:
br /case looks great, high tech and modern
br /the screen is very bright
br /fast SIRFstar III gps reciever
br /built in lithium battery
br /has a variety of interesting wallpaper on the menu screens
br /only 7/10 of an inch thick
br /lightweight at 7 ounces
br /hardware buttons: Menu, Map and unusual scroll wheel
br /bluetooth for handsfree calling and answering
br /has great carrying case, AC power cord, car cord included
br /made by pioneer: one of the worlds top technology companies
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br /CONS:
br /has a limited amount of POI (1.5 Million total for US and CANADA) compared to millions more with others such as tomtom and garmin
br /silly POI categories such as car dealerships
br /no phone numbers on POI
br /unsatisfactory battery life (I only get about 2-3 hours at half brightness)
br /windshield mounting kit vibrates the device while driving
br /small fonts on info such as miles to next turn
br /screen touchscreen is not as responsive as tomtom gps'
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br /Conclusion: I am satisfied with this unit even with its shortcomings. I find myself using my tomtom 300 for long trips and using this device for shorter trips and walking around town. All in all its a beautiful device. Recommended if you can find it for $400 or less
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Just bought the Pioneer Avic-S1 and absolutely love it. I looked at several othe portable GPS products and for the price you can't beat this. It worked right out of the box and knew my location. Easy to use and love the different views of your route. If you go a different way the GPS will recalculate the route and give you the correct directions. The size is perfect and easily fits in my purse. I like that I can take it with me and use it in a different car if I want. I purchased for $329 and the other models sell for $500 or more.

very pleased with mine so far. as others have said - its a shame tel #'s arent included with the POI's. also other gps apparently have more POI. speakerphone is pretty good, i was driving a SUV at 50mph and person on other end couldnt tell i was using hands free. settings are easy to adjust and you dont really need to study the manual to get the most out of it. the car bracket is also pretty good, mine sticks firm with no rattle/vibration and i have it at 90 degrees (stuck the enclosed plate on the dashboard). the tomtom one had a flimsy mounting plate (plastic) and it didnt reach as far from the windshield if that is how you wish to mount it.
br / another good feature is its size. it comes with a wallet so you can take it with you when you leave your car, other products are too bulky to do this, and thieves see the bracket in the car and assume the gps is in the glove box if not on display.
br /i picked mine up for $352 including shipping on ebay. $600 at best buy, you do the math.

Negatives:
br /- Very poor routing software. Takes you off the freeway onto local roads when the freeway would be much, much faster. Doesn't matter whether you have 'fastest route' or 'shortest route' selected.
br /- No turn list. I'd like to be able to preview all of the turns on my route BEFORE I start navigating to that route.
br /- Postition updating is slow and, at least on my unit, inaccurate by tens of feet. I'll pass an intersection and the unit's display shows I haven't even gotten to it yet.
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br /Positives:
br /- Price - I paid only $280 shipped
br /- Small size, good mounting to the windshield.
br /- Accurate maps
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br /If I were to buy again, I'd try a different brand as the routing algorithm is a show-stopper for me. I'm comparing this to my built-in Nav system in my Lexus LS430 and the Lexus blows the doors off this unit in all areas. 'Course it's much more expensive.

GPS navigation system suppose to navigate and position you on the map and/or route giving you maximum information possible about place you're on, surroundings and that information should be updated frequently. All other functions are useful additions, but secondary conveniences. Sadly, in all counts except maybe hardware ways, this forgotten by otherwise very good name company toy stays way behind all competition offering worse features, poor (nonexistent yet) updates, poor customization, worst POI, no external internary planning nor map view and if you going to go anywhere abroad (Canada's part of NAFTA), no map upgrade (you have to buy another unit at your destination). You can't even switch it to compass view because this simple feature isn't included. How many reviews are there? Not many and that say it all: there are better choices.

The Pioneer AVIC-S1 GPS is an intuative, read easy to set up and use, GPS.
br /Programming destinations is easy and the unit actually helps with spelling, by leaving out letters that it has no names for. The unit is accurate, and thousands of POI's show up while you are driving, Restaruants, Gas Stations, Hotels etc.
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br /If you don't know an address, a Crossroad can also be used as a destination.
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br /The unit is way smaller/thinner than most others, and has a very light and easy to use Window Mount.
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br /All needed acessories are included.
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br /The only thing that this usit is below excellent on is the battery life. which at 3-4 Hours is acceptable for walking around sans 12vdc car.
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br /I recomment this over EVER purchasing the navigation you can get with a new car. The advantages are:
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br /Equal Quality at a far less cost
br /Portability
br /Canadian and USA Maps preloaded
br /Ease of upgrade via SD Card

Nice little package. I like the hands free Bluetooth feature. I also would like to have seen phone numbers with POI's.

Snappy little item with lots of demonstrated potential, easy to use, and with just the right kind and amount of travel info displayed at all times without requiring accessing different page levels while enroute. A few quirks that future software updates should certainly take care of. Not very readable in aunlight.

This is a very nice unit that works well. It even tracks satellites from the car deck of British Columbia coastal ferries!
br /Having said that, it is a device which will have a short life. It is more than a year overdue for a map upgrade and there is still no sign, I ordered mine months ago. With widespread discussion about this on the internet, I can't see sales being sufficient to support a second upgrade (even if the first ever makes it out).
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br /So, nice try Pioneer, but you can't sell a product of this type on quality alone, you have to provide continuing support.

I am trying to find out how to upgrade the map system. I did not receive a manual with the GPS when I bought it over a year ago. Now it is telling me to upgrade map system since it is over a year old and to refer to the manual to find out how . At the moment it will not even let me enter my home address. Can you HELP?????? Jacqui

Nice GPS..Very Easy to use; however there are some features that i have not been able to figure out how to use such as phone directory..
br /It's a pretty fair product for the price paid..

This is my first GPS and so far, I'm satisfied.
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br /Found it easy to use right out of the box. There is a SFW download to update the unit and I did that right away. I live in the sticks and have had no problem when traveling to Richmond, VA it knew when to turn, etc and rerouted when I went detoured in another direction.
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br /There very well may be some flaws in the big metro areas however I purchased it for $209 and with that price I don't expect it to be as good as a $700 unit.
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You should buy a GPS system based on 1 primary criteria, accuracy of directions. The Pioneer system is fast and provides logical directions without constantly providing needless information. Beware of off brands, they can give you illegal directions. I tested a cheap MIO handheld and was being directed to make left turns when you are required to make a right and use a jug handle. This mistake causes potential traffic accidents and longer than necessary trips when being rerouted. The PIO feature is nice, but I do not use it as often as expected. The bluetooth speaker option is awesome, and worth at least $100 for the safety factor.

the purchase was prompt and i'd purchase from this seller again. the GPS works very good. i also purchased from someone else an external range antenna which gives me a stronger signal from a 50 mile radius.

I'll keep it short. The navigation on my nextel phone is more accurate and easier to find address.Also it crashed lost of times requiring a reboot.
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I bought this item based on the Pioneer name but I think they should stick to just audio. The interface between the device and the PC is just a windows CE plug in that is incapable of doing anything useful with (like planning a trip.) I recommend not buying this product if you want the convenience of planning a trip on your pc. You have no idea what route you are going to take until you are on it. Their avoidance of blocked roads a couple of miles ahead doesn't change your course at all. It is good if you only care about getting from point A to point B without any idea of what is between and don't care about planning the route on your pc.

The software with the Pioneer will get you lost faster than a blind navigator. Worst one on the market.

My order has NOW been postponed twice. The company that is shipping Needs to send it overnight! I am very dissatisfied at this time! I purchased a 2 year warranty for this item that started almost a month ago!