Bought the Alpine Blackbird Nav unit this past weekend (impulse - needed it for a road trip). Here's my take.
Pluses:
I liked the interface compared to the Garmin/Magellan/others - it's very similar to the Acura/Honda units (Alpine OEM's for them). It works quite well - easy to pick a destination, change routes while driving (codriver of course), and is quick to recalculate.
Has a speaker and an FM transmitter - I used the last feature, you can hear better through the cars' speakers and it sounds like you have a built-in unit.
Has the ability to display GPS coordinates, elevation, etc. (Garmins don't)
Has a 'trail' feature - shows little dots on non-mapped roads - again similar to Honda/Acura navs.
If you buy the optional docking unit, it can be controlled by an Alpine Head Unit - the one I'm interested in has DVD/bluetooth/Ipod, etc. This way the NAV becomes built-in, but if you need to use it any other car, just take it out of the dock.
Minuses:
No 3-D view, but I saw some pictures in their marketing lit with a 3-D view, so perhaps they'll have an update soon.
Has a FM Traffic receiver, but is not activated yet - would like to see how this works.
Screen is hard to see in bright sunlight - not sure how the others are.
It's made pretty well, and compared to the others its slim - not fat and bulky.
Used it to find some places to see in SoCal, made it easier to plan the trip.
Pluses:
I liked the interface compared to the Garmin/Magellan/others - it's very similar to the Acura/Honda units (Alpine OEM's for them). It works quite well - easy to pick a destination, change routes while driving (codriver of course), and is quick to recalculate.
Has a speaker and an FM transmitter - I used the last feature, you can hear better through the cars' speakers and it sounds like you have a built-in unit.
Has the ability to display GPS coordinates, elevation, etc. (Garmins don't)
Has a 'trail' feature - shows little dots on non-mapped roads - again similar to Honda/Acura navs.
If you buy the optional docking unit, it can be controlled by an Alpine Head Unit - the one I'm interested in has DVD/bluetooth/Ipod, etc. This way the NAV becomes built-in, but if you need to use it any other car, just take it out of the dock.
Minuses:
No 3-D view, but I saw some pictures in their marketing lit with a 3-D view, so perhaps they'll have an update soon.
Has a FM Traffic receiver, but is not activated yet - would like to see how this works.
Screen is hard to see in bright sunlight - not sure how the others are.
It's made pretty well, and compared to the others its slim - not fat and bulky.
Used it to find some places to see in SoCal, made it easier to plan the trip.
