Top Wifi Reviews

1. 

   Stan Matofu
   May 16th, 2010 - 05:34

   Review by Stan Matofu for Clarion MiND Mobile Internet Navigation Device (Black)
   Rating:
   6/3/2009 Update
   
   I’ve been using the device for a few weeks now. It has a lot of potential and things can be done, but many applications/features lack the quality of a mature product: inconsistent and unfriendly interface, missing features etc.

   Major issues:
   
   1. Small POI database. Only 2 mln POIs, and so far, no way to buy or import additional POIs. Big problem for me, and no easy way around. Finding missing POIs using Google at home takes longer than on a regular GPS unit with built-in POIs. You cannot use Google on the road (or it is much more difficult). Some GPS devices have 6 or more millions of POIs; you can really appreciate it after using the limited 2mln Clarion’s database.

   2. POI search speed can be from 10 seconds to 3 minutes!!! depending on user’s entry. 3 minutes – it is just an absurd number. It must be fixed.

   3. No Bluetooth hands-free calling. (The GPS is supposed to work with a phone. Why not hands-free calling? I need a BT headset? How many more electronics should I carry?)

   4. Bluetooth dial-up network (DUN) doesn’t work with my phone. I was surprised because it was one of the major selling points. Clarion provides only a list of compatible networks and my network is on that list. No list of compatible/supported phones.(My phone’s DUN works with my other devices)

   My hope is that Clarion will keep releasing updates and improving its functionality.

   Written before 6/3/2009
   
   The great:
   
   1. Integration with the Internet:
   
   a) You can send POIs from the Internet to ClarionMiND. Even with good GPS units finding POIs may be difficult: you either don’t find it or you find too many. ClarionMiND lets you plan your trip on your computer at home using Google Maps, and send POIs to the device. Great feature!!!
   
   b) Great desktop-class Internet browser. You will be able to do everything you can do on your desktop at home, including Flash videos.
   
   c) Google search, and it is integrated with navigation.
   
   2. Navigation (I will update this review on route quality after I use the unit more):
   
   a) So far routes look good.
   
   b) Lane assist. It shows which lane on a multi-lane road you should take.
   
   c) Nice job with voice directions. For example, it tells you something like, “go to the right side of the road” in order to prepare you for right turn.
   
   d) All info needed for navigation is on the screen: compass heading (N, NE, E…), arrival time, distance, next and current street.
   
   e) auto-zoom.
   
   3. POI
   
   a) Very fast search
   
   b) You can preview POIs on the map. This is something nice and unique. You can select a single or a group of POIs and see them on a temporary map.
   
   4. Address entry
   
   a) Very fast.
   
   b) QWERTY keyboard
   
   c) Predictable entry. Only valid keys are active. As you keep entering data, it shows what was found at the top of the screen.
   
   d) It remembers previous entry, and lets you re-start search from any level: state, city, street.
   
   5. Hardware:
   
   a) Gorgeous, high-resolution, large screen
   
   b) Touchscreen works well. It is responsive.
   
   c) Dedicated hardware buttons for Home, Top Menu, Music/Sound.
   
   d) Great to hold in hands
   
   6. Free Internet traffic. So far, I didn’t find if it is integrated with navigation. There will be an option for radio traffic which, most likely, will be integrated.
   
   7. Internet weather, news, email etc
   
   8. Fast GPS lock. Less than 30 seconds.

   The bad:
   
   1.POI database is small. I couldn’t find retail stores like, Walmart, Target, Costco etc
   
   2.The car mount is awful. It is a few 100s dollars device with a “$1″ mount. Very difficult to mount/dismount.
   
   3.After you mount the device, it automatically limits its Internet functionality. Result: you cannot use the Internet in your garage when the device is mounted. You have to dismount it 1st, check the Internet, mount it again. AWFUL!!! If they wanted to make it safe, they should detect vehicle speed from the GPS.
   
   4.Addresses are not displayed in the American format (number street, city zip), but as zip city street number.
   
   5.Keyboard
   
   a) Inconsistent keys. Sometimes, it is character-only; sometimes, characters and digits.
   
   b) Inconsistent behavior: to accept, sometimes you have to click “Back”, sometimes “Enter”; sometimes something else.
   
   6.Too many keystrokes needed to see the route overview.
   
   7.Current time is not displayed during navigation.
   
   8.The device gets very hot.
   
   9. Video player doesn’t accept many video formats.

   The bottom line:
   
   It is a great navigation device: very fast, detailed spoken commands, plenty of details on the screen, great map, good routes. The device could be a perfect GPS but they have to add more POIs, BT hands-free calling, and polish the interface. ClarionMiND works very well with the Internet: it will have more or less of a practical meaning for different people.
2. 

   Phu
   May 16th, 2010 - 06:28

   Review by Phu for Clarion MiND Mobile Internet Navigation Device (Black)
   Rating:
   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.
3. 

   Richard Jerrido
   May 16th, 2010 - 06:30

   Review by Richard Jerrido for Clarion MiND Mobile Internet Navigation Device (Black)
   Rating:
   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.
4. 

   nsm105
   May 16th, 2010 - 06:59

   Review by nsm105 for Clarion MiND Mobile Internet Navigation Device (Black)
   Rating:
   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.
5. 

   P. Roscom
   May 16th, 2010 - 07:03

   Review by P. Roscom for Clarion MiND Mobile Internet Navigation Device (Black)
   Rating:
   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.
   
6. 

   waderade
   May 16th, 2010 - 07:23

   Review by waderade for Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS and Free Vocie Navigation, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot–U.S. Version with Warranty (White)
   Rating:
   im 19 yr old male from texas.
   
   Got this phone for Christmas for 400$.

   If you are thinking about this phone but cant decide, over others, consider this. i previously owned the original iphone. great phone, nonetheless, but decided to sell it and go for a nokia. Most people dont realize it, but this nokia really can do just about anything (and more) than that iphone your thinking about. (save the apps on the iphone) But i truly am more happy now with my Nokia. its such a solid, substantial piece of technology, in every way i can think of, nokia made this thing of quality materials. not fragile at all.

   So what about the monthly internet (data plan) ?
   
   Well, with the iphone get ready to pay 30$ a month for data alone! that is a rough estimate of 720$ over a span of a two year contract with at&t.

   Why not get this Nokia, sign up for at&t’s “smartphone data plan” (also known as MEdia net thing) i pay literally 15$ a month flat rate for unlimited data. it takes no genius to realize thats about 360$ savings over 24 months. (that number covers the actual cost of the phone it self!)

   Do not be swayed away either by the e71’s business appeal. I am a college kid and very into electronics, and i can honestly say this phone has everything a person would need (business/just for fun/practical uses) and seriously has technology a year ahead of its time. in otherwords, i could see myself using this phone in two years and still be more than pleased with it.

   Buy also a micro SD card. i bought an 8gb card on here for around 20$ these plug into the phone and allow you to save your media on the phone. i.e. music, videos, pictures ect. this gives me a wonderful media device thats easily comparable to any ipod.

   one setback on the phone is the 2.5mm headphone jack. Standard is 3.5mm so your favorite headphones wont plug into the phone without an adaptor. i bought one on dealextreme.com for literally 1.26$ (no tax, and no shipping) the adaptor is a 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female adaptor, and works wonderful.

   Nokia did things right with this device.

   the iphone strays away from the fundamentals of what a cell phone is really about: making/ recieving calls. Nokia sticks to simplicity and makes using the phone for calls/texts VERY straightforward and easy.

   you wont be dissapointed, and at this price its really a deal that can save you a good chunk of change in the future.
7. 

   M. Kertajaya
   May 16th, 2010 - 08:01

   Review by M. Kertajaya for Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS and Free Vocie Navigation, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot–U.S. Version with Warranty (White)
   Rating:
   I have been a long time user of smartphone. Started with one of the first smartphones, Ericsson p800. Then some windows flavor as well as blackberry.

   This phone is by far the best phone I have owned. And I think this phone is probably one of the best looking phones in the market. Here are some of the things I love about this phone:

   1. It has a very strong signals.
   
   2. Call/voice quality is really good. Speaker is loud as well.
   
   3. Battery lasts a long time.
   
   4. GPS works really well and fast (this phone has 3G). GPS works especially well with google map/earth.
   
   5. It plays youtube out of the box.
   
   6. One hand handling capability from typing, taking calls, etc.
   
   7. Screen is bright and still usable under bright sunlight.
   
   8. Lots of applications available including a free SEVEN push email solution which is still beta version.
   
   9. Multi-tasking.
   
   10. FM Radio.
   
   11. An ability to subscribe to podcasts and download the only the ones you like.

   Some of the features that can be improved:

   1. Audio playback like play list creation and sound quality when using headphone are not as good.
   
   Creating a play list requires too many clicks. I am using a kingston 4gb and often my song list just disappear. I need to refresh it many times.
   
   I can hear a hissing sound from the headphone. From what I read many people experience this as well.

   2. Lack of task manager. I can not kill an application like I can on windows phone.
   
   Correction: The task manager came with the phone can kill most of the programs but not all. A media player for some reasons can’t be killed using this. And in my experience, this is the one that hangs often.

   3. Keyboard takes a little time to get used to. I don’t have big hands but I am still trying to adjust to this keyboard.

   4. Copy and paste only works in some applications. With windows phone, you can always copy and paste almost everywhere. Not with this phone.

   5. Headset output is not a standard size.
   
   I found ‘Shure’ makes an adapter which allows you to use regular size (3.5 size?) headphone of your choice. This adapter comes with a microphone. There are a lot cheaper one, but none comes with microphone. This adapter was made for Palm device but works well with E71.

   6. I like the FM radio but this feature only works when you attach the included headset. I think the antenna is actually on the headset.

   I hope this brief review helps. Some of the feature like camera, I have never really used. So I don’t mention it here.
8. 

   M. Dembski
   May 16th, 2010 - 08:02

   Review by M. Dembski for Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS and Free Vocie Navigation, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot–U.S. Version with Warranty (White)
   Rating:
   Based on all the reviews I had seen of this phone, I am really under whelmed by the actual product. I have used a Motorola Q9h and really wanted something that could connect to WiFi. While the E71 does that, it does not offer much more. It has a few nice features, but there are many things that make you wonder what Nokia was thinking.
   
   Pro:
   
   Build quality is great
   
   Easy set up, auto wizards did everything
   
   Browser is great
   
   Call quality and signal is good (better than some LG phones but no better than my Q9h)
   
   Menu system is very good (much better than Windows mobile which hides so much).
   
   Lots of option for pic taking
   
   PC Suite is a nice free app for syncing -integrates well with Outlool
   
   GPS with Google maps is very quick to pick up signal
   
   Nice to have a phone w/o all the garbage they put on the ones you get from the network operators.
   
   Syncs Outlook notes
   
   Cons:
   
   Sending and deleting emails should be easier, they make it a 2 step process. I do a lot of email and this is a major disappointment.
   
   When using IMAP for mail, no way to move emails to other folders.
   
   Categories for contacts does not carry over from Outlook
   
   No ability to filter contacts, you must use groups. Unable to set a default group
   
   Does not play quicktime or windows media video files
   
   Pic quality is just ok, color are really off unless the light is great
   
   Signal strength meter is almost impossible to read
   
   Limited ability to customize home page, no ability to add shortcuts to non original apps (lots of plug ins for Windows mobile allowed much more flexibility)
   
   Enabling call forwarding is a very involved process
   
   Alarms are not well done. You can not save an alarm turned off.
   
   All in all I like the phone but am not sure there is much of an improvement over the Motorola Q9h. Generally better menu system, but email is a weak point on the E71. If you are a light email user and are looking for a good looking phone, the E71 is a good choice. If you are a heavy email user, go with either a Blackberry or Windows Mobile phone such as the Motorola q9h
   
9. 

   aaronlws
   May 16th, 2010 - 08:16

   Review by aaronlws for Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS and Free Vocie Navigation, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot–U.S. Version with Warranty (White)
   Rating:
   This phone is possibly the best smartphone available right now (December 2008). I’ve had windows mobile, palm and blackberry phones in the past to compare this to.

   Very thin, sturdy (all metal casing) it feels solid in your hand, professional and sleek. Screen is good, keyboard better than most, camera, GPS, email….it essentially has it all. “Mail for exchange” software works flawlessly for “work” push email and calendar syncing. Battery life is outstanding (two days on one charge with moderate to heavy use…which is as good as it gets).

   Nokia makes everything customizable with many shortcuts available to get to all functions. Really a great thing about Nokias in general and this one is no different. Short press the dedicated calendar key (like on a Palm) for the calendar, long press for a new calendar entry. 4 dedicated keys for these types of things (calendar, messaging, contacts and a home key) and 6 on screen shortcuts, plus two more soft key shortcuts and even some keyboard long press shortcuts on top of that. That means one click access to just about everything you would want to do with the phone.

   OS crashes less than windows mobile, though not as good as blackberry (simply turn off / on to get back to normal – this happens once every two weeks or so if you use it heavily). There are many app’s available for download. Camera is good in good light, video quality is surprisingly good (even in bad light). GPS works great (download google maps).

   This is the best smartphone that I have ever owned and as good as any smartphone available on the market right now in terms of build quality, battery, features and certainly in terms of looks (slimmer than the iPhone 3G and as I said before – it is made out of metal). The metal gives the phone a certain gravitas, a certain feeling of quality that it generally not available in phones. It feels like a well made tool, it just feels good in your hand.

   Get a blackberry if you mostly just need email and don’t care as much about multi media and games and the like.

   Get an iPhone if you mostly want multi media and the like and not so much email.

   Get this phone if you are in the middle (though it handles email and calendar syncing about 95% as good as a blackberry – I use it heavily for work email and have no complaints).
10. 

    margo_tenenbaum
    May 16th, 2010 - 08:53

    Review by margo_tenenbaum for Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS and Free Vocie Navigation, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot–U.S. Version with Warranty (White)
    Rating:
    I used Nokia when they made the brick phones. I updated to all kinds of phones, and I still missed the quality of the Nokia, but I was too embarrased to carry around such an ugly brick of phone. This phone does everything! I have a hard time keeping track of events, when to take my vitamins, when exams are due, birthdays, everything. With other phones I had, there was the option to use the calendar and alarm settings, but none like this. Now, I don’t have an excuse. I used to be stuck by the monitor all day waiting for that email, myspace message, Google Chat, AIM, messenger, facebook photo tag, listening to Last.fm, and now, I can literally take all of that with me. And the best part is, it does not eat up the battery and I can go anywhere! I can scrobble music on here with my SD card, and I have a GPS and it tells me where the closest dry cleaner is and what not in walking distance that I never knew of before! It also has this really cool application called SportsTracker, and it tracks not just the miles, but your pace. It is a great tool for athletes. I can see how many calories I am burning on my bike rides, and I can see how far I go when I walk to places. It made me get a little competitive with myself and I try to beat my own record. I love Nokia, and I have seen and tested all kinds of smartphones, and I know this phone will be with me forever!!
    
    Me + Nokia = Common Sense

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