Clarion MiND 4.8-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator (Black)

Reviews

1. O.K. for GPS, but Nothing Else

   by Raymond A. Grosswirth

   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.

2. Hackable, mostly workable.

   by Mike

   I wanted this quite badly around the 2009 Holiday season. Prices had dropped to about half of what they are now, and I’d learned that the unit had a Z-series Atom processor (far less powerful than the N-series found in netbooks, but still x86 compatible), booted from the standard USB port, and supported USB keyboards and mice, sort of.

   Unfortunately, the oddball touchscreen has kept me from immediately setting up a USB key with Linux. I’ve also avoided installing an alternate operating system on the built-in 4GB SSD because I do like the functionality of the existing installation.

   Used in its intended fashion, the suction cup mount is extremely well made and rugged, and both power cables are well made with ample cable length. The car cable includes a velcro strap, which I found to be a nice touch.

   The software included is a mixed bag. The browser is stuck at Firefox 3, while Firefox 3.6 is out on the desktop. Flash works well, and I’ve even used this device with Logmein. The phonebook stores numbers, but the button to call (through bluetooth handsfree) is disabled on this model. Apparently, this works on a different model sold as an option for the Nissan Cube. The email application only supports POP3 and is a bit of a dog’s breakfast. The Youtube application stutters – Youtube is best experienced in the browser. The built-in RSS reader and weather apps are nice, with an attractive bar on the homescreen allowing this content to be seen at a glance. The homescreen itself is moderately well executed, but switching between the left to right icon swipe mode and the circular mode (see the screenshots on this product page) is odd. Sometimes my attempts to rotate the ring or swipe icons left or right would be interpreted as an up-and-down motion, causing a switch between the modes instead of the desired UI navigation. I’ve never seen motion misinterpreted this way in other applications on the unit, so I think the error is in the home screen application, not the touchscreen or drivers. Wifi reception is strong, bluetooth is strong. The screen backlight is about 95% as strong as I’d like on the very brightest of Louisiana days, but is quite readable even then. Speaking of backlight, the backlight management is flawed in some way. I seem to have to constantly fiddle with the settings here. Setting it to automatic will cause it to go to one of two pre-set levels, based on, presumably, local time of day, and maybe the weather app’s dawn/dusk settings. The presets are too dark in the day, and too bright at night for my taste. On manual, it seems like the setting is always different than the way I remember it. It doesn’t seem to change while I’m using the device, but I suspect powering it off or something may change the setting.

   There have been occasions when little issues in the software arise. I’ve had to reset it while navigating, and I’ve even managed to open two instances of the navigation software. I’ve had buttons grey that should have been enabled, and had the buttons beside the screen light without the device booting, requiring a removal of power and battery. Clarion has released no updates since October 2009, which makes me think they’re just riding out until their existing inventory is sold and past warranty. I think they’re not interested in this product line any longer. Don’t expect new maps or bug fixes.

   On your desktop, you can use Google Maps to find points of interest, then use the Send function to send directly to your Clarion.

   The battery life is a joke. Paying a hundred bucks for an extended battery is a bigger joke.

   In the fall of 2010, a number of 7-inch android tablets are to reach the market, and those will likely make this device look silly. The mobile device market started moving very quickly around October 2009, and Clarion wasn’t ready.

   I think it’s an acceptable deal for around a hundred dollars. I couldn’t see spending much more than that. If you want a portable internet device, the Archos 7 8GB Home Tablet with Android (Black) or even the Apple iPod touch 8 GB (4th Generation) NEWEST MODEL look better. If you want a dedicated GPS, Garmin and Tom Tom actually care about this market. If you want a tiny x86 box with wifi, GPS, USB 2.0 and bluetooth that you can hack into a neat project, and don’t require more than an hour of battery life, this is a hard product to beat.

3. Clarion Mind

   by Dawn Miller

   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.

4. IT DOES WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO DO

   by RICHARD H HOOK

   I AM ONE WHO DOES MY RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING. THIS PRODUCT IS JUST WHAT I EXPECTED. IF YOU WANT A GPS AND PORTABLE WEB BROWSER THEN THIS IS THE ONE. BUT DO BUY THE EXTENDED BATTERY, YOU WILL NEED IT. AND BY THE WAY CLARION DOES HAVE A SOFTWARE UPDATE ON THEIR WEB SITE. GOOD PRODUCT.

5. Clarion Mind

   by Failsafefabrication

   The Clarion Mind is an interesting device as it doesn’t have much in the way of competition from others in it’s category. It handles mobile Email, text documents, PDF viewing and media playback all while also providing navigation services and WiFi access to the internet.
   
   Audio Playback: It should be noted very clearly that the Real player is mostly for show, it lacks a good deal of functionality and if it is going to be used for the primary audio playback source in a vehicle installation it should be considered as an interface only. It has no playlist or organizational ability other than the basics of Artist, Track and Album as well as it is very limited in it’s video playback capabilities. That being said, the device does work well to multitask with a browser, navigation and audio playback with minimal interruption to any of the three processes.
   
   File Management; there is a very intuitive file manager program embedded in the linux OS of the device which allows for file management on the internal as well as external storage. It should be noted that the USB A plug on the unit will support flash drives up to 8GB-at least that is as far as it has been tested.
   
   Navigation: The Navigation system is very intuitive and easy to configure, it allows for a good deal of options/flexibility in preferences. POI’s are limited so if there is a long trip ahead; plan ahead and utilize one of the more powerful options of this device and link google maps POI’s to the clarion portal site-you will need WIFI to the device to do this-the Bluetooth tether feature does not work with all phones. Specifically it will not work with a Samsung 837-A (Rugby) which tether’s to most PC’s with ease.
   
   Process Management: A very versatile feature has been worked into the device; the program manager key (center of the three hard keys on the right hand of the unit) will call up active processes into a window and give you shutdown options for each. This is a key feature to keep productivity at a maximum with an Atom processor and limited RAM.

   Overall Impressions: For the price it is available for; this is a stellar deal. You will not find a device which has all of the features that this unit does for less than $5-800. A tablet PC can do what this unit does, however the Boot Time, stand alone options and power management tie-ins make this an excellent value for those looking to check their email via WIFI once in a while on the road, but primarily use the GPS and Browser based news/weather services. Navigation is good, not excellent; it will get you where you need to go but don’t expect it to know where every business in the continental US is located by name. For what it does the MIND is an excellent value at $150.00 shipped, a niche market, but a good product nonetheless.

   Failsafefabrication

6. Clarion GPS

   by Victor M. Garcia

   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.

7. FOR THE COST-Not bad

   by b52martin

   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.

8. Neat little Atom toy.

   by L. Miller

   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.

9. a decent product for the price

   by jam

   I got this on sale for $130. I bought this mainly for the web feature. It works pretty well as long as you have a strong signal. The GPS starts up quickly and is intuitive when entering an address. The voice could be a little louder. Well worth the price I paid.

10. I wanted to like it. I really did.

    by ikt

    This thing could have been awesome. I had to return the first one since it shocked me when i plugged it in and quit working. However, the second one was functional enough for me to realize this wasn’t that great. It could be, and it’s not Clarion’s fault. This was mostly a Japanese market product, hence the lack of manual, butchered english support, and features that cannot be used in the US. Perfect example: bluetooth tethering. That would allow mobile internet browsing, live traffic, great stuff. But, that is disabled by US cell carriers. Lame.

    It has an Intel Atom processor, which is great, and overkill. Then you realize this is really just a linux tablet with GPS in it. Unfortunately, the battery only lasts 45 minutes, so forget the portable tablet idea.

    Browser is great, it’s Firefox. Media player, eh, not good, not bad.

    You can tell this is a few years old, since it has MySpace integration, not Facebook.

    GPS, worked okay. Navteq not my favorite, but it gets the job done.

11. Everything great except for battery life

    by A. K. Desai

    I like the features – internet connectivity, GPS, news, etc. it is easy to use and well built. But the battery life is horrible. A full charge basrely lasts 30 mins so need to have it plugged in to work.

12. A great GPS with HUGE screen and hacking potential

    by Bobby

    There are two ways to regard this device. First, it is a great GPS with a big, beautiful screen. The maps are 2008 Navteq, and pretty good. If you can tether your phone, you have access to Google Maps’ database of POIs along with 2 Million built in. If not, you still have the ability over wifi. If you find yourself on a road not in the GPS software, you could hop onto Google Maps [or Bing, Yahoo, Mapquest...] through the web browser. There’s a feature I’ve yet to setup which allows you to basically email coordinates and routes from GMaps in any web browser to the GPS.
    
    If you’re tethering your phone, you likely can do all this from your phone, so why buy the MiND? Does your phone have a 4.8″ screen? Didn’t think so. How about the ability to run various flavors of Linux and Windows? Device startup is faster than my phone [E75], as is GPS lock. The original MSRP was around $700 and while I would never pay that much for a GPS, this thing is far better than any indash unit I’ve used. Indash units tend to be more expensive than $700, and at about $130, this thing is a great deal, for the GPS usage along.
    
    Of course, the second way to look at this device is as a mini-netbook with a gorgeous touchscreen. I wish it were easier to add programs to the stock OS, but it will boot various other OSes from a USB stick. If I can get the GPS software from the stock OS into Ubuntu, then I’ll go install it to the onboard flash. Until then, I need to find a tiny USB hub.
    
    I used to bring my laptop on some trips just to be able to offload pics from my camera. Now I can use my GPS and a USB HDD. I can even recharge my phone through the USB and leave one more cord at home.
    
    The MiND will not boot from the MicroSDHC slot, but it will boot from a thumb drive plugged into a hub with a keyboard. There is a great community for these now that the price has dropped. I would urge you to grab one before they’re gone.

13. amazon very disapointing!!!!

    by Patrick Alain Nicod

    Well actually i wasn’t able to event try it since amazon send me a broken one and does not want to replace it for me.

    Amazon try to send working items so nobody looses time, mine is very precious i presume that yours too.

14. A Linux Geeks Dream

    by Richard Jerrido

    Overall as a GPS I pretty much agree with “Stan Matofu’s” review of the device above. However, I purchased this device in December primarily as a portable media player for my car. Everything else that this device offers was extra, especially considering that I purchased this device for a shade over $100. After having it for a couple of weeks and hacking on it for a while, I would say that I am pretty pleased with the device. Firstly, the device has an Intel Atom Z530, Intel GMA500 (Poulsbo) integrated graphics and 4GB SSD, which is pretty “standard” netbook/UMPC class hardware. With the standard USB port that is built in, one can attach a thumbdrive of practically any size for an infinite amount of music on the go. Additionally, by plugging in a USB keyboard, and switching to virtual console 3 (Ctrl-Alt-F3), you can login as the root user and hack the device to your pleasure (default password is ‘1234′). Wifi support is pretty rock-solid. DUN support over Bluetooth works well with my Blackberry Storm, which is great because I can use this device as a quasi-internet tablet while in the car(parked of course ) The device itself is based on Asianux Midinux Linux which is a offshoot of Fedora. Ubuntu’s netbook remix also runs on the device. Installing whichever OS you want on the device is pretty simple, as the USB ports are 1st in the boot order of the device. Heck, even Windows XP runs like a champ on this device. The hardware, according to its specifications, supports up to a 4GB microSD card. I’ve happily been using a Transcend 8GB microSDHC card with this device to store my music. At its original price of ~$600, there would be no way that I would have bought it. As a ~$100 GPS unit, it is quite serviceable. It has its quirks as all devices do, yet it has some pretty nice features, especially if you can connect it via PPP over Bluetooth so that it gets Internet in-vehicle. Finally, as a portable Linux based computer, it is very much worth the cost alone. I am purchasing a second one, just because it is so hackable.

15. great features for the price

    by M. Hung

    With recent price reduction, the Mind is competing in the household GPS range, and it competes very well.
    
    *The GPS antenna is sensitive enough to pick up sigal even in middle of the room. The Navteq software provides an easy and familiar interface.
    
    *The file explorer even displays chinese characters.
    
    *With the October update, the real player now plays most types of avi, mp4, and rm files. Most files played smoothly, but a few has pixel update problems.
    
    *The entire interface is fairly easy to use, with shortcut buttons for home, brightness, and volume.

    There are a just few minor imperfections:
    
    *Traffic is basically just a webpage, pretty useless.
    
    *Youtube video stutters.
    
    *The rims are too thick. It should instead house a 6″ screen.

    Overall, the Mind really offers a lot for the price. It competes with Q1 & Viliv at household GPS price.

16. Great MID Toy!!!

    by P. Roscom

    1st off, I use this device primarily as a “MID not a MIND”; can do without the GPS navigation, I know my directions well nuff and can still actually read a map.

    1. What I find are its outstanding qualities:
    
    - Amazon price for this product for what’s basically a miniature surfing computer spells out as a nice little cheap toy!
    
    - Wi Fi connection, this machine seems to instantaneously hook up faster than my laptop or hard rive.
    
    - Browser, surfing, e-mails, etc. as described; works just like a larger laptop or desktop. I understand you can surf with most smart phones now, but their screens are still way to small for my taste.
    
    - File manager and RealPlayer software for storing some important pics, those good enough that you can use for your Clarion wallpaper choices, other so-so pics can stay in the flash drive.
    
    - Good enough size LCD screen, clean picture resolution, vibrant colors. Audio good enough for this small device.
    
    - Real Player software good enough to use for watching MP4 movies while sitting around in a plane plus opening your picture files.

    2. Good: 4 GB internal memory only, however, I am always using USB 2.0 flash drives. One of my 8 GB flash drive hold ups to 6-7 full length DVD movies, MP4 files that is.

    3. Sucks: Battery life, charged and re-charged this a few times and I feel like I’m only getting 30-45 minutes life out of it. This in mind, I usually keep it plugged in while monkeying around with it in the sofa. I am getting a Duracell 100 watt mobile power source to use, see if this’ll get me an extended 2-3 hours more when I can’t find an outlet.

    Bottom line, for a $129 mobile internet device with Free Amazon Shipping, what’s not to like about this?! Gave this a 5-Star, discounting battery performance which I believe is totally independent of this device’s useful capabilities.
    

17. mediocre at best

    by Eddie Yee

    With the description of this product, it seemed almost too good to be true… Well, it was too good to be true.

    First and most importantly, the GPS itself is using 1st quater 2008 navteq maps. These are nearly two years old. I tried contacting Clarion support, and they said that is the latest they have. The GPS itself acquired very quickly for me, and seemed to route quite well and quickly. So if you intend to use this product strictly for GPS, and don’t mind 1st quater 2008 maps, I’d say it’s just okay. The speaker itself is really quiet. Don’t expect a loud turn by turn. If you just wanted to use the GPS only, I think money is better spent elsewhere– this unit is large, and the bevel is pretty thick. If you compare it to other GPS systems, this GPS is huge.

    As for the my.clarion.com, it picked up my account pretty easily– site seemed okay, but really there isn’t a whole lot there. Integration with traffic.com is neat, but in real practice it’s rather silly– there aren’t that many people with 3G USB dongles so the update you would run would be right before you head out of the house or office which doesn’t do most people a whole lot of good.

    As for the other internet connectivity, youtube stutters (tried about 5 videos, all the same… and it’s NOT my internet connection). Mozilla browser was half decent. Didn’t bother trying the myspace integration. But POI’s sent from Google seemed to work, but it’s really no big deal.

    All in all, I’d say this product isn’t ready for prime time… even if you just wanted to use it as a MID, don’t waste your money.

18. Worst Product in the Market. Product heats while charging

    by Murali Shanmugam

    Worst Product in the Market. Product heats while charging. GPS donot even find the near by location eg. Wallmart or Kroger

19. Clarion Mind

    by nsm105

    It is a great device. It would be much better if it was able to hook up to any available wireless or Wi-Fi connection automatically. Also the GPS is not as accurate as my Navigon unit. Maybe with a few firmware updates it can be an excellent all around GPS and internet device. It is a great device for the new price.

20. Traffic integration is not a strong point.

    by Phu

    I have used this unit for a few weeks. The navigation part is excellent. Google search is useless without Wifi. POI is a joke…it cannot even find Walmart down the street. In order to get any usefulness in searches, I had to setup Wifi in my car. Traffic integration is awful. The traffic applet cannot zoom. You have to switch screens to see traffic. This cannot be done if you mount the unit. Mounting the unit switches it to car mode. The traffic receiver NK1U works okay if you get a signal. See my review. Overall, the unit is still very rough. I am hopeful that with software updates, traffic can be updated via Wifi instead of the Docking station. I had a Dash Express prior to this unit, but it got stolen. The Dash Express had better traffic information…I miss my now stolen and dead (company is on skeleton crew) Dash Express.