Customer Reviews

Alpine PND-K3 4.3" Portable Navigation System

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Pros
Price - Very Solid and functional GPS.
Good screen and easy to use. Acquires Sat Signal typically in 30 seconds or less.
Bluetooth works fine with my phone however no address book transferred. It does seem to handle calls well. Clear and Loud enough on both ends.
Fairly intuitive to use. Intuitive typing is a real plus.
Windshield mount is solid and well built
Again, for the price, cant go wrong. No much more than some spend on Map updates on other models.
Called Cust Service before purchase. Quickly got to a rep . Talked generally about the PND-K3. Said it is a current model that will continue to be supported.

Cons
Battery? Not sure. Will typically have it plugged in.
Routes? Not always the best routes if you know where you are going. Not bad routes but not always the absolute best.
Some missing POI's but haven't noticed any missing streets.


I have played around with all aspects of the GPS. It is fairly intuitive, but the best way to learn is just by playing and touching the screens in various places.Plugged it in to my computer and it found a software update. No problems. Installed fine.
Having used other GPS, it seems that they all calculate some routes that you may disagree with. Again, if you don't know where you're going, the routes seem fine. No routes were just totally wrong. Most GPS use the same mapping company so I imaging the routes and POI's are similar.
One poster mentioned that the voice was too low to hear. There are 2 audio settings. One is in Audio settings the other is thru up and down buttons on the top of the unit. My guess is that the other poster did not use the buttons as the voice is loud and clear when turned up. At half volume it is very low.

I did not get the MSM version although after the update and MSM icon appeared. Sure that this could accept MSM with and add-on.

Noticed other expert reviews that were good. But there biggest drawback was the initial price. Would imagine that it would be rated very high based on today's price

I liked the look and features of this unit.

Real life use though for about 9 mos has really jaded me on this nav unit. It continually takes me way out of the "way" going to destinations. Restraunts in Huntsville Alabama, well lets just say over 3/4 of them were no longer operating, OR not where the nav unit said they were. Took me to wrong airport once. Totally unacceptable performance. My friends $99 Nuvi is tons better. We only use that now on trips. My Alpine sits in the glove box :(. I tried to update it tonight thinking maybe they put out a fix. No dice. Must be too hard to fix all the faults of this POS.

This unit is a great buy if you're looking not to spend too much and get great features.

Pros:

Nice size screen
Screen looks pretty good in bright sun
Volume is EXCELLENT
Bluetooth pairs easily and transfers your phone agenda (I have a BB)
Mapping is made by NAVTEQ so its great.
Maps include entire US, P.R. CAN and US Virgin Island in case you travel
It plays MP3's just by inserting a SD card
COMES with A/C Charger (almost every other GPS does NOT)
LANE ASSIST is built IN!
Price is great


Cons:

Screen may sometimes mistype, (make sure you calibrate screen)
Cradle is a little bit bulky (does not impear your vision)
Battery life is not the great
Cradle should be separate from charging base




Bottom line:

Excellent purchase for the price and truly recommended.

I GPS unit from my husband last Christmas, 2009. I used it only a few times. It would really get hung up on country roads. After 6 1/2 months and using it only a few times, the GPS battery exploded in my NEW car!!!! The entire extend of damage to the interior of my car is not yet determined... The unit is still covered by a 1yr warranty. We'll see how Alpine addresses the issue...

I've used this about 3 times and now it doesn't even turn on. I've tried resetting it, charging in on the AC outlet, in my car and in my laptop but no success. I regret buying this.

i 've had three nuvi two for my cars and one for my rv. each one of them takes an exorbitant time to hook up with sattelites; that's why i just bought the low end of the alpine line. my wife's built-in alpine hooks up immediateley. I don't want another nuvi ALTHOUGH it did have just about everything i could want. but it was too quiet. now i'm waiting for the alpine. the drawback here is that it does not have a homecharger. i have so many charger that i don't want another one. i'll just use one of the old ones. can anyone help me on this? ron rgalleg1@san.rr.com