Fletch
To be fair to Alpine, this is only their first attempt to introduce a portable PND devices. Give them time, they are a good company and I think they will do fine in a year or two. They are already better then a lot of these new comers that is trying to penetrate the NA PND market. It is not fair to expect Alpine to be as good as a Garmin, TomTom or Magellan in the portable PND market.
The unit functions well after the latest release of the firmware update, give it a go and I think for the $499 price, this is a great product at this price point.

i have the blackbird pmdb-100 and i need the hole car kit set were i can order it

I agree completely with the review.
I bought myself a Garmin Nuvi 660(upgrade from a gps60cs) and bought my wife the blackbird(upgrade from a street pilot 3).
The Blackbird is the hardest unit I've had as far as user friendliness!
The Blackbird is going on fleabay and the wife will get a nuvi of her own-I'm tired of getting yelled at!

I agree that the Blackbird is a terrible GPS device, even after the upgrades. Slow, poor interface lousy directions. Given the choice between this and a 4 year old Roadmate 700, I'll take the Roadmate.

I don't know... I have a Blackbird unit and I am quite happy with it. I feel as though these comments are quite bias as the user interface is wonderful. It has a lot of great features and route quality is just fine. Performance may be a little slower than others, but overall, I am very happy with mine and I would give it a strong recommendation. I came accross this review because I was looking for information on the new version that is comming out and I was really surprised at the comments here. I'm happy enough to purchase the new version after having the current version for less than a year. Enough said.

I don't completely agree with the review.

Routing problems are almost completely resolved with the update. I never use my Blackbird to give me directions to somewhere I know how to get to. Of course, it does test accuracy, but who really cares at that point?

The interface is easy to navigate, and the unit isn't made for day to day dummies.. it's designed for audiophiles, and normally we are quick on the draw when it comes to mobile tech.

The mount is a little gaudy. Mine actually broke at the suction cup today, I brought it back to Tweeter and the Alpine rep is replacing it for me.

There is one problem I had that annoyed me though. I went from Portland, Maine to Columbus, Ohio.

It tried to get me to take U-turns in the middle of the turnpike. It also froze many times during the 1,000 mile trek. Though all of this happened, it brought me directly where I wanted to go.

I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10... not a "Piece of Crap" rating.

I agree partially with the CRAP rating. The data entry is HORRIBLE and many times i cannot find my POI unless i know the exact address. The rerouting feature takes forever and routes you frequently on bizarre indirect routes. The docking winshield crade is cumbersome and HORRIBLY designed. In fact, mine broke from the sun actually melting and warping the plastic and suction cup until it fell apart. If you dont know how much money it costs to replace the winshield mount, just avoid getting this piece altogether. This is my first Portable navi device. If i had more experience with other units previously, im sure my rating for the Blackbird would be ALOT worse than i am alluding to since i have no frame of reference or comparison.

I completely agree with your review. 6.7 million poi's and this this could not find a pet groomer in Ocean Beach california which incidentally only has two listed in that neighborhood. I had a Magellen 4040 which i had returned back to Costco because i thought it was cool that the Blackbird fit into the my newly installed Alpine Stereo head unit.I wish i was better informed. The Blackbird is a black hole for $500.

I bought this unit when it first came out. It's worked well. I don't use it on a daily basis like a lot of people do. The real big test came when I used it to get me from my driveway, to the Radisson in Kissimmee, FL. No complaints with the routing itself. My major complaint since day 1 though, is the winshield mounting unit. It sucked from day 1, and Alpine even replaced it once. One thing's for sure, it's fallen off of the winshield a couple of times, and the Blackbird has survived! I am not disagreeing with the review, as you're the expert, but I would expect better from Alpine compared to other companies. I would not buy the Blackbird 2. Should have went w/ a Garmin or Magellan to begin with.

I disagree with the review. I've traveled all across the country with my Blackbird and it has served me well. Though I can't speak about dog groomers in Ocean Beach, my Blackbird located a charismatic Christian church in Cedar Rapids, IA without a problem during a recent trip through the mid-west. I like the integrated MP3 and FM Modulator. Pretty rough and quite biased review.

I wanted the Blackbird for XMAS and the wife was decent enough to shell out the $350CDN for it.

It goes great with my entire Alpine Stereo System, which is one of the reasons I wanted it over another GPS.

Complaints with me are:
Bad Bad Mounting Arm. Shakes pretty bad and is cumbersome to install in my Dodge Magnum and Pontiac GTP. If it is really cold outside it will NOT stay on the windshield at all unless the defrost is on full. And it gets really cold up here in the winter. -30 or worse in Feb. And so far it falls off at only -15C.

It was good at rerouting though as I have been heading to a destination and have to take an alternate turn do to traffic.

Canada does NOT get the Traffic monitor which in this day and age is major BS between CAN and US.

I think the information, screen and voice are bang on. I would like to see the the voice announce the street names though.

My hopes are that Alpine pulls it together or I most likely wont buy another one.

BTW the link on the Alpine site is a dead link to get to the update of the blackbird. THat is not acceptable for a company like this.

This is my opinion. Take what you need from it.

I hate this unit. I got it as an insurance replacement from my old Garmin. Wished I would have kept the Garmin. Has to be re-booted all the time, can't upgrade it, and the part that goes into the car window broke within 6 months. My street has been on mapquest for at least a year and is not on the GPS. Any home that is less than a year or two is not located on it and there is no way to update it. Streets/bridges that have been update are the same way. Looking to buy a new one to replace this thing. Can't stand this unit and at times want to throw it out my car window. It is a sad that Apline put it's name on it!!

Looks like Alpine has discontinued support for this unit. The software update page is out of service. The handwriting is on the wall. Do not buy this piece of crap.

I bought this GPS unit when it first came out (for a hefty price) and have been extremely dissatisfied with its performance. This model (PMD 100) is simply the worst GPS device I've used when it comes to its primary purpose - navigation. Alpine should be ashamed of itself for having released this POS into the market for for branding it with their name. Additionally, as another poster has pointed out, they have also discontinued software updates and support for the PMD-100 and are pushing the PMD-200. I'm in the market for a new GPS now and am willing to consider all brands EXCEPT Alpine. I'll never have anything to do with this company again - if I can help it.

This review is accurate and mirrors the frustration that you hear from most Alpine GPS users.

I purchased this unit when it initialy came out for approx. $600. It is far and away the worst investment I've ever made in my life (and I owned Enron stock-at least I got a crappy made for TV movie out of that debacle). Like many owners, I was lulled into making the purchase due to my prior experiences with Alpine car stereo equipment - simply the best. The thing that absolutely kills me with this unit is that it constantly shuts off for no reason and needs to be frequently reset. I feel like I'm handling a kitten the minute I put my hands on the Blackbird! As a result of this experience, I will never buy ANY alpine product ever again. This foray into mobile GPS has ruined their reputation in this consumers eyes.

you can get the new update (2008) for your blackbird here... https://store.alpine-usa.com/store/bbstore.php

This is hands down the worst piece of electronic equipment I have EVER purchased! To be quite blunt, I spent just under $500.00 canadian on this fancy paperweight, only to have it break down in 3 months. battery never holds a charge..constantly gives wrong directions, and now wont turn on past the warning screen!! JUNK!!! Do yourself a favor and get a map. My experience with this product and Alpines policies (my first GPS) has left such a bad taste, that I have no interest in ever supporting Alpine again... The icing oin the cake is that i am expected to pay $70.00 to upgrade a piece of crap that never should have made to store shelves. Stay away at all costs!!!

1) Central Park West is not a street. It is a park and ther is no number in a park!!!.
2) You should enterthe "Space" key after C-E-N-T-R-A-L to find the "Central Park West"
3)Please read the owner manual.

1) Central Park West is not a street. It is a park and ther is no number in a park!!!.
2) You should enterthe "Space" key after C-E-N-T-R-A-L to find the "Central Park West"
3)Please read the owner manual.

Actually Matt - Central Park West IS a street. And a very prominent one at that. It is lined with buildings with valid street numbers. How do I know? I live there. Check with a New Yorker...They'll tell ya.

P.S. Pressing the space didn't help find it.

Just returned from a 4,128 mile trip in our new Alfa Motorhome. First extensive use of the Alpine PMD-B100. Found it to be very annoying in getting us to our destination using common ordinary roads. Sure glad we had a road map with us. At one point it put us into a dead-end street at the entrance to an airport. Almost couldn't get turned around again to get out.
I'm going to check for updates on their navigation site and see what they have to offer. Not much good if you can't rely on it. Sure glad we were always "skeptical". We do like the features though, and on ours we can scroll states by the page by hitting the "double down or up arrow".

I am very disappointed with this unit too. I bought it 2 years ago when GPS was a novelty and it was priced USD 600 +

I bought it because the dealer said Alpine is the same manufacturer behind my in-car GPS (Honda Civic hybrid). The overall UI is nicely done.

However there are many shortcomings.

The battery life is too short. The unit frequently shuts down and requires resetting. After I got the firmware update it was not any better and I had to send it in for replacement. And now, after only a little over 2 years, it tells me the map requires updating, and I don't even know how to buy the update. I now have a very expensive paper weight. Avoid this product. As a result of this experience I will not do business with Alpine anymore. $600 down the drain.

I have a PMD-B100T and found it very reliable but I need to upgrade the US and Canada Map is there anywhere I can get the upgrades. Dan