Alpine's new PND-K3 GPS unit does it all, just like everybody else

There's nothing wrong with Alpine's new $550 PND-K3 Portable Navigation System, which was first unveiled at CES this January, there just isn't anything too stand-out either. The unit runs a 4.3-inch screen, sports maps of North America and related islands, includes a 3D view and 6 million points of interest, vocalizes turn-by-turn directions and street names, does Bluetooth hands-free and has moderate MP3 and WMA capabilities off its SD card slot. The "big" feature here is menu and map customization via 8 selectable color schemes, but the lack of live traffic info this price range isn't winning Alpine any points. If you're finding all this appealing, you should be able to pick one up as of today.

[Tim @ Aug 12th 2008 7:27PM]

What the hell is a Tunl? I think I'll stick with my garmin, for now.

[EskimoPie @ Aug 12th 2008 7:31PM]

A Tunl is apparently nothing like a Tunnel which is something which normally prevents GPS navigation units from acquiring a signal.

[Tim @ Aug 12th 2008 7:36PM]

Well in that case, impressive signal acquisition, but you have to admit its an odd spot for a photoshoot, no?

[morcheeba @ Aug 12th 2008 7:49PM]

I was thinking maybe they were using the car speed sensor, but this is a portable unit. Instead, Alpine says: "Three Advanced positioning sensors yield more accurate vehicle position so your navigation can pinpoint where you are and get you exactly where you want to go, even when driving through tunnels and around tall buildings. "
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=PND-K3&view=Navigation

[George @ Aug 12th 2008 7:33PM]

That is really ugly.

[Wolfticket @ Aug 12th 2008 8:04PM]

Surely it is far too meh to be considered ugly.

[ac14 @ Aug 12th 2008 7:47PM]

apparently, to find out what a tunl is you should look in the meru

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Aug 12th 2008 9:25PM]

honestly..... completely WEAK how HD radio isn't included inside of the "do it all" radios..... wtf.

PITA external adapter add-ons just to try to squeeze more $$ out of already expensive units.

[Tim @ Aug 12th 2008 10:31PM]

Haha I was really going for the sarcasm there, but yeah, use of accelerometers would certainly make sense - I wonder if that's a unique feature to this unit, or of its common throughout other GPS manufacturers?

[nDee @ Aug 12th 2008 11:23PM]

Apparently what people really want includes:
BR-RW(with changer)
GPS with street view
OLED screen
Auto Pilot?

[IsLNdbOi @ Aug 13th 2008 1:44AM]

Where's the iDA-X100M? It's still not available for sale anywhere. It was supposed to be out and available by the time boating season came around. Boating season is coming to a close soon and it's still not available.

Same thing with the TUA-T550HD tuner of theirs. It was supposed to be available for purchase back in March.

Alpine and their "support" sucks.

[MValpreda @ Aug 13th 2008 1:35PM]

You can say that again. I got an error on my PMD-B200 BlackBird II that is docked in my W505 about the maps being out of date. I called Alpine for an update (like everyone else does) and they said I have to send it back and get my unit back in 2 weeks. Wow. Just wow.