ClarionMind MID / PND gets reviewed
By Donald Melanson 
posted Feb 16th 2009 11:03PM
posted Feb 16th 2009 11:03PM
Clarion's ClarionMiND MID / PND has been a long time coming but, with the first few non-3G-equipped units now out there in the wild, we're finally starting to get some reviews of the device, one of which comes from the folks at Mobile Tech Review. As you might expect, there's quite a bit of compromises to be found both as an MID and a GPS device, although it does seem to be considerably more well-suited to the latter task than the former. The biggest drawback on that front, it seems, is a weak built-in speaker that may not be powerful enough to overcome road noise. Things seem to be decidedly more lackluster when used as an MID, however, a situation that isn't helped by its underpowered 800MHz Z500 processor, its 850mAh battery, or its custom Linux distribution, which handles the basic internet-browsing tasks just fine but makes it difficult to install any third party apps. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown.
that thing looks like a fricken toy. orange?!
nope it's organe. =)
I think he has lysdexia...
i would call it more like unripe tomato / kool aid.
Yes, we want more colors, but only ones that actually look good.
Apple did a good job with the colors on the nano. The key is aluminum, not cheap plastic.
ahh. humor is lost on some... (it was a reference to a memorable piece of china-tech)
Surprised no one has said the avious. The apple touch will blow this outta the water and into oblivion. Just think about it,touch is outselling nokia tablets. Insane. By far the best browser on a pmp. Another industry iphone revolutionized, the pmp industry.
Philosopher,
I have a first gen iphone, and the capabilities of the NR1U far exceed it significantly in many respects.. A few things:
True multitasking - you can be navigating, listening to music, creating an email and surfing the web all at the same time, and task-swap between them.
Real web experience - the web browser supports flash and java menu's
Philosopher,
I have a first gen iphone, and the capabilities of the NR1U far exceed it significantly in many respects.. A few things:
True multitasking - you can be navigating, listening to music, creating an email and surfing the web all at the same time, and task-swap between them.
Real web experience - the included firefox web browser supports flash and java menu's.
Apple may catch up to these features at some point in time - but for now, they haven't.
The unit above is called the NR1UR. It is also available in black and white - red is its least flattering hue. The product category is ClarionMiND - alluding of course to future versions in development.
A feature that was not highlighted was the partnership between Clarion and Google. The NR1U will accept google POI downloads direct. Check out the send > gps function at maps.google.com. This, for me, was a key feature when I reviewed a prototype unit last fall for Performance Auto & Sound magazine.
it will accept Google POI's if you are connected to Wifi. I assume the 3G model will accept them over the air, if you are paying the typically absurd monthly fee.
It's a shame about the small battery and weak speaker, because otherwise it seems like a real killer device.
Real Player...are you serious? So it comes pre-broken? That's good because I do not have time to jack up my gadgets by installing jacked up programs on them for myself anymore. Thanks Clarion, you are the poo!
ClarionMind got PND!!!!
(Sorry, that's one acronym I don't see often enough to ignore potential puns.)
3rd line on the screen "healthy kidney removed through donor's vagina". Classic line to add to a product for a tech review.
Surprised no one has said the avious. The apple touch will blow this outta the water and into oblivion. Just think about it,touch is outselling nokia tablets. Insane. By far the best browser on a pmp. Another industry iphone revolutionized, the pmp industry
"800 MHz Z500 processor" but the pic clearly shows an Intel Atom sticker... I guess too much MWC news + little sleep + Dr. McGillicuddy's Mentholmint is just too much for one day.
Durr, the Z500 is an Atom processor.
Where's the XP? That's the only question that counts. I've scene some amazing video of a simplified XP install working well on these things. JKKMobile's XP install should be an industry standard!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkPcll4Re20&feature=related