Reviews

I purchased this item due to its reasonable price and functionality. While the GPS feature is generally good, most of the other applications require web accessibility. When in a Hot Spot, the web can be easily accessed, but the capabilities of this device are weak at best. So, my recommendation is to purchase a stand-alone GPS device and simply use a netbook for other features.

This piece of equipment is handy to have on a road trip. I love the USB connectivity to play music from my flash drive. I have it set up to work through the car stereo speakers and was surprised when the turn by turn directions were audible even though music was playing. We enjoy most of the features on the Mind and people who have seen it at my house all want one too. I would recommend the Clarion Mind over the Garmin anyday.

It is not worth the money. I purchased because of the supposed possability to use Internet on the Road using a Link with My Mobile Phone, as it states via blue toot. the system is slow, locks up and has maps that are defenitly not up to date. and I purchased this for 160 dollars, and three days later it went to 120. In my opinion it is not worth 50 if You are looking for a GPS get the Tom Tom. don't waste your money with this model.

I had purchased this at the end of Dec and had used it for a few times. I used the Navigation twice and the Web more often. Although it is a GPS/Computer Tablet I use the Computer side more often and so far it has been good and vivid on the screen side. Performance is lacking a bit-when watching the Youtube widget and trying to type something on the web browser the Video/Sound is lagging with every keystroke u punch in and also when the pages are loading the same happens-maybe they will come up with some fix for that in the new firmware update. The Videos are very clear on the screen and so are photos too-good job on that part. The Speaker is located on the back so hearing is a bit of a challenge-might as well use an earpiece. I dont really like the QWERTY keypad because it is difficult to scroll through if you want to input letters. numbers and symbols-they are all in different screens so youd have to tap twice to go and use numbers and twice more to go back to letters-just anoying not having them all at once. Battery life-naaahhhh, there is no battery life, i always have it plugged in when i use it because it drains so quick. The touch screen is very responsive and typing is very easy with the included stylus. I found it very difficult though to COPY a text-it wouldnt allow me to copy just a phrase (or maybe I need to play a bit more with it) only ALL was possible-strange but true. I wish they release a Bluetooth update so we can use the cellphone to dial numbers and receive calls as well as file sharing between the devices. The bottom docking connection gets HOT so be advised that you might accidentally touch that part and feel the burn :) . All in all the device is a no brainer good for the buck ( I paid $130 shipped) wouldnt even think about paying the full retail price cause its not worth that much. So with the Atom Z530 and 800mhz bus speed 4GB SSD, micro and full USB, you get a NETBOOK for a chunk of change-well done. I bought it for the Navigation but use it as a Netbook more often. If your clock is not correct and u try and use the Web browser u will get an Error message about Certificate expired-just make sure your clock is adjusted to the correct time and time zone.

This Mind is a neat little MID that can run any x86 operating system with some tinkering. I've had several OSs on it so far and it's performance wasn't bad for a 800MHz CPU. The shipping operating system really wasn't my cup of tea, the only thing it did very well was GPS/maps/guidance. I figured for the price i purchased at, it was well worth it just for a toy to play with.

Reviews

I've had this unit for about 2 months now and I have to say I'm not as happy with it as I hoped I would be. This unit was listed as the only model that could provide GPS in a single DIN size, which is why I purchased it. The other selling feature for me is that it supports the steering wheel controls. I did have some trouble getting everything working correctly, but that did get worked out. The GPS, on the other hand, leaves quite a bit to be desired IMO. I hate the fact that I cant just enter a zip code to find a location - I have to enter the state first. That seems stupid to me. Also, I have tried to enter several locations in my city, and the street isn't listed. When the screen is up, during the day is is often difficult or impossble to see, so that doesn't do much good. I still rely on my handheald GPS which I can position so I can see it and it's much easier to use. As far as listening to the radio or music when the display screen is retracted, it's annoying that I can't set the clock and have it be the default display. I have to push the display button to show the clock, and then if I adjust the volume, the display reverts back to the radio station or the CD track. That's also stupid. There should be the capability to set the preferences I want. I do really like the USB interface and I can have thumb drives that will play for days without having to repeat (I don't own an iPod). Another good point is the sound is great. The remote control is funky in that it has to be almost straight in front of the unit to work. I was riding in the passenger seat of my Dodge truck and I couldn't just point the control from my lap - I had to hold it right in front. I'll (have to) keep this unit for a year or 2 as it was pretty expensive, after which I'll be looking for a replacement. I wouldn't recommend it.

The good; Sharp video, easy install and works very well with the additional Sirius radio. Does all that it says it will do. Easy to bypass the DVD park thing. Seems to be reliable. GPS antenna very sensitive even when located under large rear window. The bad: Just doesn't do it real well. Except the Sirius. GPS has neat features, but will take you on some really odd routes. Try it on some familiar routes to see how it thinks. Maps are lacking, especially for rural detail. Really brief and vague install manual, in many many languages. Has one wire from the receiver whose function is never revealed. Never used, don't see any ill effects. Sirius info when display is closed is very brief, no title or artist. Should have a panel for aux a/v, usb inputs, instead of just loose wires, very tacky. Rather deep chasis, wire package. Make sure you have plenty of room in the dash.

I just received the NZ409 and elected to have it professionally installed instead of doing this myself. Everything I've read online said that the 2003 Honda Civic is pretty "tight" and it may not be easy to do this as an amateur. In addition to the head unit, I also had a backup camera, Sirius SC-C1 Satellite Radio and Blue Tooth installed. The good news: The Clarion's menus are pretty intuitive and easy to navigate through the different levels. The radio doesn't need any additional hardware adapters for Sirius. The SC-C1 receiver plugs right it. The receiver display provides nice options for saving the radio and satellite presets. My iPod iTouch was recognized immediately and I was able to navigate through the different playlists easily. I tried the DVD feature and it seemed to work well. The display is sharp and bright (although I probably won't use this much). The GPS works well and the guidance seems to be accurate. It acquires a signal quickly and has a very bright and understandable display. The bad news: You'll need a USB extension cable if you plan on using this feature of the phone. I got a 6' long extension and leave the wire coiled up in my glove box. The fact that it plays DVD's is nice, but unless you're planning on sitting in your car for 2 hours burning the battery or your gas, you won't get a lot of use from this feature as the parking brake has to be on for this feature to work. I understand it's a safety feature, but it's still something you'll have to deal with. I had some issues with the BLT370 working with the head unit. Both are Clarion's products and switching the blue tooth unit didn't yield any better results. The book is still out on this feature as no easy answer seems to make this work. Another weird knock on the GPS is the voice of the guidance director. It seems very "electronic" and has the same kind of sound as the box used by people who have had radical throat surgeries. It also takes a bit longer than other units I've used when recalculating your route after a mistake. All in all, I think it's a great value for all of the features it has. As of right now (2 days after my installation) I'm really happy with my choice of an aftermarket radio selection.

Pro: the price was right with the nav and it is well integrated. The sound is right up there with the Alpine I had before. It does run my iPod Nano as advertised. When I played a DVD, it played the music but not the video (because the parking brake was not on)...that was cool. Con: I tried as hard as I possibly could to find a DVD player that would let me search through the iPod titles...this unit is down near the bottom of that capability about the best you can do with the iPod is put it on shuffle or make some good playlists. It may be that the next generation of gear will do this, but for now, you're almost better off getting a unit with a aux jack on the front and using the ipod itself. The Nav is good but is very different than the Garmin Nuvi I have. It gets a fix very quickly, but got totally confused yesterday when I tried to go to a nearby town using backroads. I had to turn the nav off after I made one turn it didn't like. The Garmin seems to recover better and recalculate your trip when something is wrong (like the road it wants to use is closed for construction). The voice sounds like one of those answering phone synthetic voices that reads your credit card number back to you, not near as nice as the Garmin. Once I get over how cool it is having it all-in-one, I will starting thinking about how much I spent to have a stereo that sounds about as good as the one I had before, plays an ipod almost the same as the one I had before, and has a nav almost as good as the one I had suction-cupped to my windshield that I could put in any car I drove.....it is cool having a touch screen and I guess that is the feature I really paid for.