Reviews

I would say about 3 years old navigation unit with no software or drivers to link to your computer for updates and no online support via Alpines website for the product makes this a hard option to buy. Its around the same price as a handy garman but with the hiccups of not being able to update the NVE-P1 software. I'm sure there are other kinks I'll discover along the way.

I bought this unit to add to my Alpine IVA-W505 which was the best Alpine head unit at the time. I'm very disappointed with the quality!!!! The graphics are worse than the original Nintendo!! Map information is from several years ago and no updates are yet available. The nav system crashes and resets itself often. And if you plan on traveling out of town it takes forever to load guidance info. It does work as a basic nav system but it really cheapens the look of your 1000 plus dollar head unit. If you have the money buy Alpine's dvd nav set up or if your on a budget get a standalone garman you'll be much happier!!

The idea behind this is great. You can either use this or the Blackbird. I went with this unit because I heard a LOT of problems with the Blackbird. This navigation is pretty easy to use and pretty accurate. My one complaint about this is that if you miss a turn, or decide to take your own route for a portion, the navigation will continuously try and reroute you BACK to the missed turn. This goes on for many miles, rather than just rerouting you AHEAD. But I am very happy with the ease of use. You can see the directions in list form and change the method (shortest route, highways, etc) while driving. The Bluetooth works pretty well too. No complaints there. But for some reason my address book couldn't be uploaded in full. It would take 75 entries then stop. Alpine offered NO help with this.

Reviews

Pros Price - Very Solid and functional GPS. Good screen and easy to use. Acquires Sat Signal typically in 30 seconds or less. Bluetooth works fine with my phone however no address book transferred. It does seem to handle calls well. Clear and Loud enough on both ends. Fairly intuitive to use. Intuitive typing is a real plus. Windshield mount is solid and well built Again, for the price, cant go wrong. No much more than some spend on Map updates on other models. Called Cust Service before purchase. Quickly got to a rep . Talked generally about the PND-K3. Said it is a current model that will continue to be supported. Cons Battery? Not sure. Will typically have it plugged in. Routes? Not always the best routes if you know where you are going. Not bad routes but not always the absolute best. Some missing POI's but haven't noticed any missing streets. I have played around with all aspects of the GPS. It is fairly intuitive, but the best way to learn is just by playing and touching the screens in various places.Plugged it in to my computer and it found a software update. No problems. Installed fine. Having used other GPS, it seems that they all calculate some routes that you may disagree with. Again, if you don't know where you're going, the routes seem fine. No routes were just totally wrong. Most GPS use the same mapping company so I imaging the routes and POI's are similar. One poster mentioned that the voice was too low to hear. There are 2 audio settings. One is in Audio settings the other is thru up and down buttons on the top of the unit. My guess is that the other poster did not use the buttons as the voice is loud and clear when turned up. At half volume it is very low. I did not get the MSM version although after the update and MSM icon appeared. Sure that this could accept MSM with and add-on. Noticed other expert reviews that were good. But there biggest drawback was the initial price. Would imagine that it would be rated very high based on today's price