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clarion

Clarion Next Gate puts iPhone control, app integration on your windshield

Clarion Corporation of America announced today at CTIA 2012 a new way to connect your iPhone to your car: the Next Gate.

Clarion's Next Gate is a 7-inch WVGA touch display that mounts on your vehicle's windshield with a suction cup, much like a portable navigation device. (However, at 7 inches, its size is only rivaled by the largest of PNDs, such as Magellan's RoadMate 9055-LM.) The Next Gate features a cable connection to the iPhone 4's or iPhone 4S' 30-pin dock connector for data and charging; meanwhile the Clarion unit itself is powered by a … Read more

ClarionMind may already be outdated

We had high expectations for the ClarionMind when it arrived at our offices for testing. Touting an Intel Atom processor, Web connectivity, and multimedia playback, the ClarionMind appeared to be a quantum leap in in-car navigation and computing.

There's just one problem. They seem to have forgotten the Internet connection.

The ClarionMind lacks a cellular antenna of its own, instead relying on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-tethered phones with data plans to supply its Web connection. This is a bit like bringing a knife to a gunfight when you're entering a market populated with connected GPS devices (such as the … Read more

Clarion shows in-car GPS/Internet device

At the Intel Developer Forum, Clarion launched the production version of ClarionMind, a portable GPS device with full Internet connectivity that runs on Linux. Clarion showed off a concept of the device at last January's CES. The full product launch reveals a device that looks similar to current GPS devices, featuring a 4.8-inch 800x480-pixel touch screen. And, like some current GPS devices, the ClarionMind offers media playback and Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

What sets it apart is Wi-Fi and software for various Internet applications, including a Web browser and e-mail. It includes viewers for YouTube, Google Maps, MySpace, … Read more

Clarion puts a little color in the dash

Even in the face of monumental change in the automotive industry, it's amazing how conservative automakers can be sometimes. While they've focused increasingly on electronics and entertainment systems to differentiate their products, built-in stereo receivers still look pretty much the same as they have for the last decade.

Not the latest line from Clarion. The car electronics veteran is in some ways breaking its own mold with boxes that look more appropriate in the kitchen than the dashboard. Not only are they departing from the standard black and silver, as is made plain by the photos on Akihabara … Read more

Waterproof GPS unit for bikes

In the hypercompetitive business of on-board vehicle electronics, Clarion is apparently trying to carve out a niche for itself in two-wheeled transportation. A few months ago it introduced a "Drip-Proof" CD player for Japan's scooter market, for example, and now it's come up with a waterproofed version of its "DrivTrax" GPS unit suitable for handlebar mounting as well.

The device, which costs about $172, can be removed so it can be carried around (and not stolen) while running on AA batteries. Akihabara News says it also includes a speaker, though we have no idea … Read more

A car cam that won't cause crashes

It may be a sad commentary on modern society, but we fully understand why people would want to install cameras in their cars specifically to document what exactly might happen in an accident. We just don't think the ideal solution is a model so big that it could obstruct a driver's view and possibly cause the very accident it's trying to monitor--no matter what Paris Hilton's parents have to say about it.

Clarion's "DriveEye" may be a good compromise, though Technabob says it's available only in Japan at present for about $412. … Read more