ClarionMiND Atom-Based MID to Hit US and Europe, 3G Version to Follow

As some of you might remember, Clarion, one of the world's best-known manufacturers of car infotainment systems, announced back in August, at the Intel Developers Forum, the ClarionMiND, a MID (Mobile Internet Device) built on Intel's famous Atom CPU and offering GPS navigation, high-speed Internet connection, digital content access and management.

Practically, what we're dealing with here is a modified ultra-mobile PC, which runs Linux and is capable of carrying out various Internet-related tasks, as for example checking one's e-mail or visiting various websites. Speaking of which, it's very important to mention the fact that the MID is YouTube and MySpace optimized, can easily navigate Google Maps and even comes pre-installed with the RealPlayer application used for playing just about any type of Internet multimedia format, as for example RealAudio, Real Video,MP3, Windows Media 9, AAC, HE-AAC, Ogg, H.264, H.263, MPEG4,VC-1, JPEG, BMP.

The ClarionMiND also doubles as a PND (personal navigation device), since it incorporates a SiRFstarIII GPS Module with 20-channel GPS Receiver and comes pre-loaded with complete navigation maps for Europe, US and Canada. Moreover, the available navigation options are the same as the case of any decent PND out there (and sometimes, even better).

In order to be able to carry out all of the aforementioned functions, the MID has been equipped with an Intel Atom CPU (running at 800 Mhz), accompanied by a 512MB DRAM module and a 4 GB SSD, for storage purposes. Furthermore, it incorporates WiFi (IEEE802.11 b/g) and Bluetooth (2.0 + EDR DUN - Dial-up Network Profile) modules, which allow it to connect to the Internet wherever the user might be, either on the go or within the radius of a certain hotspot.

The device from Clarion has also been equipped with a 4.8 inch WVGA (800x480) LCD Display with touch screen, plus a Li-Ion battery, available in two versions (small – two hours; large – four hours).

Clarion's MiND will arrive in stores across North America in November 2008 and will sell for around 650 US dollars, while the European version is slated for a January 2009 release, for an estimated price of 650 Euros. Moreover, Clarion also informs us that we should expect a ClarionMiND Premium Model, with a built-in 3G module, to arrive at some point in the spring of 2009 (CeBIT?).


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