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OTACORB
USA
72 Posts |
 Posted - 13 juin 2007 : 01:24:42
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Has anyone compared the Clarion N.I.C.E 430 to any other AIO? It appears to have the latest TA maps. It also supports the same iGo software as the Mio's, especially the c310x. I have one of these on order for my son. Not sure if we'll keep it or not, but he was leaning towards the Nuvi 200 and decided this one for the same price offered more features.
I was reading the manual and it clearly has some features and configurability that the Mio with the same software doesn't have. But then again Mio may have taken a lot of those features out while Clarion left them in. I just don't know.
I'll post more about it once I test it out on Thursday when it arrives from Crutchfield. I got it from there so if we decide it isn't for us, we can return it with no questions asked and they will even pay the shipping back! |
Garmin Nuvi 350, GPS18 and Mio c310x. (Mio C520 Returned) |
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OTACORB
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 13 juin 2007 : 01:31:35
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Here is a picture of the Clarion NICE. Does it look like you've seen this display before? Well you have, but this one is 4.3 and not 3.5 and its not a MIO.
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2007/020/h020NiCE430-f.jpeg |
Garmin Nuvi 350, GPS18 and Mio c310x. (Mio C520 Returned) |
Edited by - OTACORB on 13 juin 2007 01:33:00 |
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OTACORB
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 14 juin 2007 : 23:26:22
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We got the Clarion GPS this morning. I've used it all day, but I can tell you right now Clarion has totally screwed up. I am in shock that this device was released to retails in late May of 2007 and yet it comes with 2005 maps. In fact the exact same 2005 maps that the Mio c310x comes with. Totally not acceptable in my book.
The device has a brite screen, the voice commands are loud and clear. Overall I was really pleased with it as was my son, who is the one that actually purchased it. I think if it had updated maps he probably would have been please enough to keep it. But Clarion much like MIO has terrible support and trying to get a straight answer is like pulling hens teeth.
What I don't get is they used the latest version of the NavNGo software, with all the added features like the Mio C520, but then opted to go with old maps. I guess they did this to save money and make more profit, but in my opinion this was a mistake. My son has already called and got an RMA. Crutchfield tech support was shocked as well that this new GPS has old maps. He said they planned to contact Clarion and if this isn't corrected they may pull it from stock and just not offer it for sale, since the returns would more than likely be high.
So there you have it. |
Garmin Nuvi 350, GPS18 and Mio c310x. (Mio C520 Returned) |
Edited by - OTACORB on 14 juin 2007 23:30:00 |
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OTACORB
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 17 juin 2007 : 08:19:42
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Here is a little update... Not that anyone seems to care! LOL
I contacted Crutchfield about this and they were pretty baffled that the Clarion had the early 2005 maps. What is even weird is that in further testing on my part, I have found the PIO's pretty update to date. So, what and heck did Clarion do? Buy the older maps with updated PIO's? Apparently that is indeed the case. Crutchfield is contacting the Clarion Rep to find out what is going on with this and they will get back with me. They fully understand I am not willing to pay for updated maps and when talking to the sales manager he is telling me they may evaluate rather to continue selling the N.I.C.E 430 if they don't get a satisfactory answer from the Clarion rep. They are hoping they just got shipped an early release that mistakenly had the older maps on it. But we shall see.
I have used this thing on several trips and I have to say if I had a choice between it and the Mio C520, I'd have to go with the Clarion. Though in reality I can't compare the maps, so that is purely based on the NavNGo software. Clarion did a much better job implementing the latest features. The only thing Mio seems to have done is just add a skin with split screen and then stripped out some of the features. One thing that I noticed is that the routing is much improved over the C310X with the same maps and older version of NavNGo software.
There are just little subtle changes, like the clarion theme for day and night are just GREAT compared to the MIO theme. I honestly think if this GPS had the newer maps, I might even buy me one.
Over all with the exception of the older maps.... this GPS has grown on me big time! |
Garmin Nuvi 350, GPS18 and Mio c310x. (Mio C520 Returned) |
Edited by - OTACORB on 19 juin 2007 21:40:56 |
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madchild
1 Posts |
Posted - 28 sept. 2007 : 19:53:29
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Can anyone give anymore feedback on this GPS? I'm trying to decide between the Clarion 430 and the Tomtom OneXL.
From reading the above comments, is Clarion's map updated poor?
Any more advice and help would be appreciated. |
Edited by - madchild on 28 sept. 2007 20:07:04 |
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Snowstorm
Canada
3 Posts |
Posted - 20 oct. 2007 : 01:48:37
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New maps and system upgrades are available from Clarion. Give their service department a call. If your unit is less than 6 months old the upgrades are free.
As far as service goes, the guys do as much as they can, but Clarion needs a web page for user comments so that map/systems problems can be sent to them.
They need to take a look at Garmins setup.
Snowstorm |
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lilngineer
10 Posts |
Posted - 29 oct. 2007 : 16:48:39
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Snowstorm,
Did you actually obtain the update from Clarion? I contacted them and they said there wasn't one available at this time.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
lilngineer |
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Snowstorm
Canada
3 Posts |
Posted - 04 nov. 2007 : 23:38:06
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lilngineer,
After getting my unit back from Clarion, I am not totally satisified. The new firmware fails to support the new daylight savings schedule, voice directions are still confused, and there has been a fairly large decrease in the number of pre-defined POI's.(susposedly needed the room for the firmware update).
It is too bad that the high quality screen display's are wasted on an operating system that is not user friendly, not easily updated, and lacks a viable customer/user support orginization.
I used the unit is the US over the weekend, and the maps definitaly need upgrading.
Regards
A Disapointed Snowstorm
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SUPERTRAMP
Canada
5 Posts |
Posted - 21 janv. 2008 : 18:46:25
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Well here in Canada future shop is clearing them out..
Just too many dumb problems... like old maps, local POI are directed into the U.S. from Canada, states are used instead of provinces, misspelled street names/cities/provinces, rolling information screens that you CAN'T STOP TO READ, unless what you want to know is ether at the top or bottom of that page.
If you have a history of destinations or addresses you cant delete one entry you have to delete all of them...?
There is NO favorite destination list only home and work, and why would you need that? Wat, ya dontz nowz wher ya livz or workz evry day?
There is no way to remove those 8 or so stupid round icons from the screen making the screen a 1.5 from a 4.3.
There are many more that make me think that the person who wrote the software was a 10 year old pimple popper and has no experience in driving...
The WORST PROBLEM is the unit uses U turns in major intersections to navigate!! even if you turn it off or play with the settings on one of the many sub categories that the 10 year old has provided for your poking and prodding pleasure to figure things out, why would you even have that in the system since it is against the law and against common sense everywhere!
Try before you buy, and then don’t buy it. Don’t trust the store deadhead sales reps they don’t know anything about anything that you ask them. I had mine for a week and used it yesterday for navigation it told me 14 times to do U turns before I turned it off because the battery that Clarion advertises as good for 4 hours only lasted for ½ an hour then died… One of the many problems this unit has, it needs a SERIOUS SHAKE DOWN AND SOFTWARE UPDATE!
But then again what would you expect from a company that makes cheap car radios too…
Buy an INVION 4.3 or a 5 at Factory direct they are much better I have one and have had NO problems. It is easy to operate and very sensible in the functions you need as a driver, a pleasure to use. Some people have had issues with them but I’ve found that if you CANCEL THE ROUTE or make sure that there is no route active before you turn off the INVION so that it is not writing to the SD card you will be fine, this is what I do and have had it for a month without any problems of card corruptions as others seem to have. The only thing that the INVION needs is the option of selecting the vehicle your driving, a car is not a big, high truck especially when you come up to one of the low bridges in Chicago that you cant fit under.
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Snowstorm
Canada
3 Posts |
Posted - 24 janv. 2008 : 23:31:32
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Clarion has teamed up with Horizon Navigation www.horizonnav.com to offer an updated map dvd for North America.
Check out their E-Shop under MAPS for more information.
Regards
Snowstorm
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joegrind
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 23 févr. 2008 : 04:13:07
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| can some one help me just bought a clarion n i c e 430 but it cannot find no tmc . please help me |
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lordfly
6 Posts |
Posted - 09 mars 2008 : 19:28:30
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I don't know why everyone is bitching about the Clarion. I have one and I think its a fantasic unit. I will admit that if you just bought one recently, that yes, the maps are a bit out dated. Althought I've noticed in the real world, that in 2 years, they don't move every street in the city around. I took mine on a 5 hour trip north, and occasionally I was off the road, due to the fact that the highways had changed, but it really wasn't a problem.
You must realise that Clarion does not make the maps, or the software running on the device. The software is by iGo (with a Clarion skin), and the maps are from Tele Atlas. The most likely reason that Clarion did not update the maps is that newer maps are almost always larger (more streets, more POIs, etc.) and the free space on the device was practically nill, so without upgrading the device itself, there was no where to put newer maps. For example, the 2005 map of Canada was about 68MB, while the 2007 map is about 110MB. Do the same for all of the USA and you run out of space pretty quick.
Heres how you fix all that :) New map files are available to download off all kinds of places on the internet, just look around a bit. I've got mid to late 2007 maps for most of the world. But the license.db file on the Clarion doesn't like them. And since the License file seems to be hardware specific, you're not gonna find one that likes the new maps AND the Clarion unit. Solution: New software. If you found new maps you can also find new software. I'm running iGo My Way 2006 Plus. Its practically the same software, but updated and cracked, so you can use any map you find. I've got maps for more than 120 different places. You'll need an SD card (you can use a 4GB as long as its not an SDHC), to put all these maps on. The only downside is that you'll lose the Bluetooth feature. Seems to of been a feature Clarion added (through scripting files that I haven't entirely figure out yet), so it may be possible to add it back to the new software, not sure.
And if the U-turn thing is pissing you off, from the settings screen, click on Route Parameters and uncheck the U-turns. Not that hard.
With updated software and maps, this is a fantasic unit, and I'd probably buy another one before I bought anything else. |
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lilngineer
10 Posts |
Posted - 10 mars 2008 : 16:38:01
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Lordfly,
I saw your post on the gpspassion forum regarding the Clarion NICE 430. I have one also, and would like to change to the iGo MyWay Plus just like you did to be able to update maps/POIs.
I am sure I can probably find the actual software package, but how did you load it into the device? I could never figure out how you can do that with the Clarion unit (all guides I've found are for the Mio).
I would really appreciate if you could help me out.
Thanks,
lilngineer |
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lordfly
6 Posts |
Posted - 10 mars 2008 : 22:03:54
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lilngineer,
Its not that hard. Download a copy of Microsoft ActiveSync, its free. I dont' know what version they're up to, but I'm running 4.2. Plug in the USB cable that came with the unit and ActiveSync will connect to it and let you browse the device. It will come up as Mobile Device in My Computer.
Go to Mobile Device > My Flash Disk and rename the "Clarion" directory to "Clarion2", or delete it since you won't need it anymore. When you get the new software rename its main directory from "iGo" (or whatever its called) to "Clarion" and put it in the My Flash Disk directory. Now go into the Clarion directory and rename NavnGo.exe to Clarion.exe
Now for the maps. Download all the new ones you can find (or just the ones you want). You can put some of them in Mobile Device > My Flash Disk > Clarion > Maps , But you'll run out of space quick. Buy a 4GB SD card and put the rest on there. I don't know if SDHC (High Capacity) cards work with it, but I have a feeling they won't. If you try one and it does, let me know :) Do yourself a favor and buy a USB2.0 card reader, because the USB port on the Clarion is NOT USB2.0, and will take you about 3 days to transfer all the maps to the SD card.
You're done. Reset the device and click the big Navigation button when it comes up.
You will be missing the bluetooth button in the new iGo software. I'm working on putting it back in, even though I never used it, its just nice to not lose features. Other than that, everything works perfect.
Enjoy! |
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lordfly
6 Posts |
Posted - 14 mars 2008 : 01:42:15
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One thing I forgot. You're probably wondering why you're not picking up and GPS signals. Open the file SYS.TXT and change this part:
[gps]
port=6
baud=9600
To this:
[gps]
port=2
baud=4800
Now it should work good. Sorry about that. |
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Fjord Explorer
Canada
3 Posts |
Posted - 02 avr. 2008 : 20:14:22
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| I have used the Clarion N.I.C.E. 430 since it's release in Canada (March 2007). There are some legitimate complaints regarding this GPS Unit. However, the majority of complaints I have heard are related to ignorance on behalf of the user. There is an issue related to outdated maps and there is a legitimate beef with respect to the battery life. That being said, I make adjustments in terms of screen brightness and backlighting and it has made a huge difference for battery life. Alternatively, since the GPS is a 'car' nagivator, I usually just leave it plugged in to DC Power. With all due respect to SUPERTRAMP, I can tell you that 95% of the problems he's described can be easily dealth with with proper setup of the machine. Don't like U-turns, turn them off. If you want to leave them in as an option, you can set the distance correction control option that will make a differential decision between U-turn or a new route calculation depending on the distance gain specified. So, this is only one example of what I am talking about. My wife has a Magellan Maestro 4040 (she needs text to speech !!) and it is a very competent navigator. Still, the Clarion NICE 430 is every bit as competent and functional. Anyone having problems with the Clarion needs to take the time to understand the purposes of the settings and the tremendous functionality they imbue into the navigator. That being said, CLARION support sucks catastrophically and the maps update from HORIZON still lists as 'coming soon'. Cheers and happy navigating to one and all! |
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