Mio C310 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigation (Electronics)
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Mio C310 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigation (Electronics)
Mio C310 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigation (Electronics)
ok, so i got my unit on black friday. but even if i had paid twice as much as i did, i would still give it 5 stars.
i have a 2005 infiniti g35 coupe, with a factory-installed GPS system, which was around a $1000 option. i have stopped using it in favor of this little gem of a unit. i have also played around with a tom tom go 700, and a garmin c320, which are also great systems, but cost much more and aren't nearly as portable as the Mio.
PROS:
-- the screen is beautiful with extremely sharp resolution.
-- although the interface is a little complicated at first, once i played with the unit for an hour, it now seems quite intuitive. there are a lot of customizable options. one thing that is difficult to figure out was how to save my address book. you actually have to do it under 'My POI'.
-- it locks on quickly and gets a strong signal even inside my apartment.
-- the small size, and the fact my system came with a AC adapter. also the rechargeable lithium battery lasts a pretty long time between charges. this is one of the few GPS systems that i would not be embarassed to carry around while touring a new city on foot, because it is so thin that it looks like a PDA. It seems like that Mio designed this unit with this in mind because there is a "on foot" setting which takes into account the slower speed, and avoids freeways, etc. This is unlike most of the other units i have seen (Garmins, Magellan, Tom Tom), which are way too bulky to carry around. i have been carrying my Mio around on my waist in a PDA case. i plan to use it when i visit a new city to get around--it will also be extremely helpful to find stores, restaurants, hotels, gas stations (see next comment)
-- the Points of Interest function is awesome. i can search for nearby businesses by 'category' (for example, nearby japanese restaurants, or nearby gas stations, or nearby shopping malls), OR i can search for nearby businesses by 'name', for example, the nearest Best Buys, or Targets, or Disneyland. this is awesome, and is my favorite feature because in my Infiniti, i can only search nearby businesses by 'category'. (in my infiniti, if i want to find the nearest Best Buy, i have to choose 'shopping', and then scroll through tons of stores before i find it.)
-- the rerouting is almost immediate once it senses you have passed the suggested turn.
-- as the last reviewer mentioned, the zooming function also works wonderfully smoothly and quickly.
-- i have been using it in Los Angeles, and i have had no problems at all with the TeleAtlas maps. it has consistently chosen the best routes all over Los Angeles.
CONS:
I have to think long and hard to think of some cons...but there are a few
--when i turn on the unit, it sometimes freezes and becomes unresponsive while it is searching for the satellite signal for 15-20 seconds. at first i thought the system crashed. but just be aware of this.
--although there are 15 or so voice languages, there are two voices for English and they are both male! (one is an american accent, one has a english accent) it would be cool to have a british lady accent.
--the mount is a bit on the larger size, but it does work extremely well, so i guess i shouldn't complain.
--no bluetooth, but i don't think any GPS systems less than $300 have bluetooth.
all in all, an awesome little piece of equipment. i couldn't be happier with this baby.
Mio C310 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigation (Electronics)
BUY Now Mio C310 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigation (Electronics)
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