JVC KW-NT3HDT is a car audio/video player having a huge 6.1 inch resistive touch screen. The manufacturer hasn’t revealed the resolution of the screen but we expect it to be around 480x234 pixels. One unique feature is that there is a detachable faceplate for security. Detachable faceplates aren’t anything new but they are unheard of in double DIN units. This is because its really hard to carry a big touch screen along with you. Diagonally measured, it is about 6.1 inches and the weight of the faceplate is the same as a SLR small camera. You won’t be able to fit it in your pocket easily due to the weight. Still, you get an option to bring the screen with you while you are parking on a street overnight and it is a welcome feature. The manufacturer has given a soft case for protecting the display during transport. Removing the faceplate will reveal a hidden SD card slot and this piece  [...]

Intrinsically speaking, Sony isn’t really a manufacturer of such devices even though it has made a few forays in this field. When it comes to GPS, the big brand that spring up to one’s mind is TomTom and Sony is more famous for its graphics and gaming prowess. Sony has used this in the XNV-770BT, an in-dash AV/GPS receiver. The device plays to its strengths and outsources any possible weakness to the external TomTom GPS module. There is crisp seven inch video display along with full navigation experience courtesy of TomTom. It is a novel approach done by Sony in order to avoid any trouble of making any proprietary turn-by-turn software and it gives the users a very familiar interface. Sony XNV-770BT sticks to double DIN car audio receiver standard and the front surface is dominated by the big seven inch LCD screen. This is a really gorgeous screen and has a big resolution  [...]

When I first purchased the TomTom XXL 540TM; I got a bit skeptical because the activation code and map updates weren’t operating well. So I started to do a complete backup of the explorer at the Windows level. This took 46 minutes after which I took a backup again with the Home software which again took the same time. After this, I deleted the voices which weren’t required on the TomTom XXL 540TM for freeing up some disc space. I got 30-40 MB for more extra space. The total free space now was about 400 MB so I didn’t delete any thing else. I then punched the activation code which was supposed to give me lifetime free of charge updates for map with my house software. TomTom XXL 540TM automatically detected if there any new versions of maps for downloading. Getting the new maps takes about 20 minutes and after that, you need to spare another half hour for updating  [...]

Garmin Nuvi 1390T weighs 5.7 ounces and has rubberized rugged housing. It has very slim chassis and is 2.9 inches high, 4.8 inches wide and 0.6 inch deep. The Garmin Nuvi 1390T has 4.3 inch touch screen with resolution of 480x272 pixels and it is quite similar to other devices in its class. A two piece basic mount makes it very to fix this gadget to a windshield on the car dashboard with addition of included disc which is backed with adhesive. However, the power cord connects to the 1390T directly which means you have to disconnect it manually each time you exit from the car. While testing, the Garmin Nuvi 1390T took some time to lock on to my location for the first time but after that, the things were pretty fast. Searching for POI here was easy just like other Garmin devices and it was because of the spacious on screen QWERTY keyboard, smart category definitions and  [...]

TomTom XL 340 S is a sequel to XL series from Tom Tom which have been quite successful in the market. There are features here like advanced lane guide, IQ Routes, TomTom Map Share and daily fuel prices. They work together to update the route mapping algorithm and map data. We expect this device to get better in the near future. The S in the model number relates to text to speech feature and this reads the point of interest streets and names. TomTom gives you EasyPort mount and this makes it easy to integrate the cradle of the device in to the back. If you want to attach the TomTom XL 340 S to the windshield, all you have to do is flip out the suction cup, place the gadget on the windshield and then twist the ring lock. The suction cup's twist lock feature does not feel as secure as that of Garmin's system and the XL has increased size so we were more  [...]

The Alpine CDE 102 is an entry-level single-DIN car stereo receiver. It can playback digital media through its USB port and optical drive on the faceplate. However, the CDE 102 does not have enough ports to connect the devices. You will need additional equipment to connect the iPod and Bluetooth enabled devices. It will be a great replacement stereo for old vehicles due to its more flexibility, features, and power than a normal factory radio. You can press and hold the volume knob for 2 seconds to enter in the Loudness mode. It is noteworthy that two-band equalizer gives little control on the sound quality. However, its 50watts output for 4 channels is respectable for a basic stereo. The four blue buttons for skip backward, skip forward, band (AM/FM), and source/power are located on the left end of faceplate. A metallic knob with rubber grip to adjust the volume sits next to above buttons.  [...]

The Magellan RoadMate 1700 looks like any other RoadMate GPS device. It has 7 inches wide-screen that is larger than 3.5 and 4.3 inches PND displays. The large touch-screen gives more space for accessing menus and maps. $232.94 priced the RoadMate 1700 is taller and wider than any normal PND. Noteworthy that it is one of the thinnest Portable Navigation Devices we’ve tested. On the dark side, it takes a long time to lock down the satellite and its battery life is short. The power slider is located on the top with settings on, off, and reset. A 10 seconds countdown screen with option to cancel the shut-down will pop-up while turning off the Magellan RoadMate 1700. The device will turn off if no option is selected. A similar 30sec countdown screen will be displayed after disconnecting the power and at low battery level. After that, the PND will enter into standby mode. The micro-SD  [...]

The El Kameleon JVC EXAD KD-AVX77 media player is a perfect audio player for the car. It features a touch-screen that allows easy customization options. The El Kameleon media player is a single DIN unit with detachable faceplate. However, the small display is not enough for DVD playback. 5.4 inches touch-screen of the El Kameleon JVC EXAD KD-AVX77 media player has 800×240 pixels resolution that has 3.32:1 aspect ratio. As only few movies are encoded in such a super-cinemascope image aspect ratio, so the DVD playback does not give much benefit. The videos played scaled down with dark borders, stretched and cropped on the screen. We like that the display features a proximity sensor that pop-ups the hidden onscreen controls while approaching the hand towards the screen. You can set the media player to blackout the inactive screen, hide the interface buttons, and respond to touch or proximity. The  [...]