Polaroid's MGX-0550: GPS and DVD combo
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 24th 2006 9:00AM
posted May 24th 2006 9:00AM
You know, it's still hard to get used to a new Polaroid product doing anything other than snapping pics. Well those are days long gone, so blot your eyes old timers and check the new MGX-0550 -- Polaroid's new SiRFstar III, WAAS-enabled, 12-channel GPS and DVD / CD playin' combo device. That 5.6-inch touchscreen delivers your choice of kid squelching vids or the most relevant of the pre-loaded maps covering the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. And yeah, the MGX-0550 will interrupt your media fix to provide the latest navigation instructions over its built-in FM transmitter through your car stereo system. When you arrive, be sure to drag the MGX-0550 along since DVDs will play for another 3 hours off rechargeable battery. No pricing or availably yet, but then again, how much do you care?
For a second there, I thought it was a camera.
hmmmm.... Did Polaroid finally do something right?
Dont buy this , I have had two.
Returned two.
Waiting for my money back now.
They are bad.
I bought one of these and loved it. Except for the weight, it did everything it was supposed to. And then it stopped charging and died about 2 months later. I contacted Polaroid and sent it in to be repaired and was told it would be about 2 weeks to get it back. That was over 6 MONTHS ago.
I have called and emailed Polaroid numerous times and was told they were out of stock and I should wait. Now they want me to jump through hoops in order for me to get a refund check instead. After dealing with their incompetence and dismissive emails, I've concluded that they've lost my return and are doing nothing to rectify it.
I have contacted the Better Business Bureau about this, and Polaroid never responded to them, either. This is the WORST customer service I have ever had, and now I will have to take legal action in order to deal with this.
Do NOT buy from Polaroid! Save yourself the money and time that you will have to spend dealing with customer service once your product stops working.
Quit reporting on Polaroid junk. Every Polaroid-branded product I've seen anyone buy the last 2 years has been DOA.
Yeah, i thought it was a camera too. I was stoked about a camera, dvd player, GPS system. Add a phone, Outlook syncronization, push-email, Skype, Bluetooth, UPnP, WLAN, MySpace integration and a coffee maker and I'll buy one.
Yaeh, I'm waiting til they come out w/ one that prints pictures...
Target B&M has them for $600. I saw them this weekend and thought, "oh yeah, that's smart". I wonder how many idiots will wreck their cars while being distracted by GPS and DVD.
Treo Snappies:
http://www.saucycg.com/pics/0550_1.jpg
http://www.saucycg.com/pics/0550_2.jpg
HI MY NAME IS RANDY AND I SAW THAT YOU SAW SOME POLAROID GPS MGX O550 AT THE TARGET B/D . I JUST WONDER IF YOU COULD TELL ME IF YOU BOUGHT ONE . IF YOU DID I WONDER IF YOU HAVE THE TARKET ITEM NUMBERS .I WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE ONE BUT I NEEDTHOSE NUMBERS OR THE CITY AND STATE THAT YOU SAW THESE AT.ANY OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION WOULD BE APPERICARED.
HI MY NAME IS RANDY AND I SAW THAT YOU SAW SOME POLAROID GPS MGX O550 AT THE TARGET B/D . I JUST WONDER IF YOU COULD TELL ME IF YOU BOUGHT ONE . IF YOU DID I WONDER IF YOU HAVE THE TARKET ITEM NUMBERS .I WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE ONE BUT I NEEDTHOSE NUMBERS OR THE CITY AND STATE THAT YOU SAW THESE AT.ANY OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION WOULD BE APPERICARED.
Have you ever noticed how many GPS/map images in product photos are of San Francisco? I guess the bulk of graphic designers are in SF, so it makes sense they display a little civic pride.
Think Polaroid licensed their name to Chinese Companies so that they can sell their products in the US and Europe using the Poloraid brand.
Not really Polaroid. You are really buying from some Chinese company like Chi Mei with a small percentage going to Polaroid inc.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5154330.html
I purchased this unit from my local Sam's Club a couple of years ago and its worked very well for both GPS and DVD until recently.
Its easy to defeat the "No DVD" feature while mounted in the suction cup mount by merely clipping the plastic peg that is on the bottom of the bracket. It actuates a switch when mounted that disables the dvd.
Be careful and listen, don't watch. Your passengers can enjoy!!!1
After about a year of using the dvd for commutes, it started acting up and losing the picture with an error message about the dvd cover being open. It would usually reset and continue on where it left off, after pushing on the cover, but recently it began skipping and now will not read any dvd's. the GPS still works fine.
B
Not kidding here, I understand that the 'Roid won't allow DVD play when it's mounted to the window mounting arm. I only pegged into the unit when I saw them hanging inside a Target store. Since they have a return policy, I may just check one out for a couple weeks to see what's up.
Only thing I wonder... What about map updates? That may loom as a bigger issue, but who knows...until you get one?
I bought mine at Sam's Club. It is a very good product with many usable features. I travel a lot and it is indispensible.
Sams Club has it for $366.00 and worth a look due to Sams liberal return policy.
Anyone get the the unit to change to 4:3 aspect when watching DVD ? I go went to the setup menu and tried it but to no avail. My 4:3 movie still look stretched...