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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Lomita, CA on 2/19/2007
Comments about Alpine Alpine Blackbird Portable GPS Navigation System:
I purchased the Alpine PMD-B100 approximately 2 months ago and everything was fine until the GPS antenna connector inside the cradle broke. [...] I suppose I could have opted for a unit from another manufacturer or a refund, but this Alpine is just so cool, I think everyone in the market for a portable unit should give this serious consideration. It works beautifully, is beautiful to look at and easy to setup and use. I have recorded WMW music files onto an SD 1GB card and I listen to that over the built-in MP3 player through my radio while monitoring the GPS. When I exit my car, it is easy to just pop out the GPS and take it with me. I love this unit and the NAVTEQ traffic service. I highly recommend this unit [...]
from Torrance, CA on 1/22/2007
Comments about Alpine Alpine Blackbird Portable GPS Navigation System:
I installed this GPS in my car approx 3 weeks ago and at first, it was a learning curve to insert and remove the unit from its cradle. It has not been as difficult as others have experienced and I can now accomplish this quite easily. I did order and install the update and and am using the Traffic RDS. I find the unit easy to program and use. My wife was sceptical of the unit and thought it a waste of money initially, but after using it she has found it to be a valuable driving aid especially for nighttime driving. I have recommended this unit to others.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from JEFFERSON, LA on 1/2/2007
Comments about Alpine Alpine Blackbird Portable GPS Navigation System:
EXCELLENT PRODUCT
[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from Deerfield, IL on 10/30/2006
Comments about Alpine Alpine Blackbird Portable GPS Navigation System:
I have been using the Blackbird since last March. I do an incredible amount of driving - especially on the East Coast - The roads are extremely complex and fall on top of each other. The unit has done an admirable job getting me from point to point The unit has worked very well for the most part - and has the same issues as other GPS units have including "Never Lost" found in Hertz rentals. In big cities - Manahattan, downtown Chicago etc..where tall buildings block off the satellites navigation can be a bit more diffuclt - as it will be for any satellite based product
The new software upgrade that came out in Septmeber and is free of charge to exisitng owners has made a huge difference in my units operation. No more "freezing" while re-calculating and it does appear to work faster.
You have to remember they are buying maps from one of two services that everyone else is using so routing at times can be funky but it will get you to where you need to go.
The only serious negative is the abysmal battery life. It's enough to input locaitons before you leave, but i wouldn;t rely on it for more than a half an hour at a time.
[4 of 4 customers found this review helpful]
from Schaumburg, IL on 7/11/2006
Comments about Alpine Alpine Blackbird Portable GPS Navigation System:
Since I've had the Blackbird, I've had it replaced once. The screen has frozen up several times and you need a paper clip to reset it. When it's reset you don't loose any information. The problem is, if you don't have a paper clip in your car, your out of luck. When adding a new address, sometimes it doesn't show the range you need for the address number.
[12 of 12 customers found this review helpful]
Comments about Alpine Alpine Blackbird Portable GPS Navigation System:
It is a nice driving gadget to have especially when venturing to unfamiliar areas. Since getting this unit, I have cleaned out all the maps in my car. I hope Alpine can implement 3D view and text-to speech (read out street name) function in future update.