gadgets and technology devices: Clarion's MiND finds a home in LA-area Nissan Cubes

Clarion's MiND finds a home in LA-area Nissan Cubes

With the whole “direct to consumer” approach failing epically, Clarion has evidently resorted to pushing remaining inventory of its largely unwanted MiND mobile internet device onto Nissan dealers in Los Angeles. In all fairness, we do suspect that these are moving more briskly than, say, Celio’s REDFLY, but we can count the amount of MIDs we’ve seen in public on two or three hands. At any rate, Nissan has signed on to offer the multifaceted Atom-powered device as an optional accessory in its Cube, but at least initially, it’ll only be made available at select dealers in the LA area. For those opting to outfit their new whip with one of these, Nissan will include a dedicated docking kit harmonized to the vehicle’s instrument panel, and the user interface will also be tweaked for in-car usage. Look — this is absolutely better than those lackluster, overpriced NAV units shoved into most dashboards, but at $799 plus installation, it’s not like you’re getting the steal of the century here.