The guys at Mio must have been working flat out as they have managed to design a device that gives you so much more for your money compared to the top brand sat navs. The highly specified Mio C210 has got a list of features longer than your arm and is a top performer on all fronts.
The C210 comes with the Tele Atlas map of the UK, it has full door-to-door coverage for the whole of the UK and also maps major roads in 24 European countries too. You get to choose between 16 different languages and what we really liked is that you can choose a type of voice that you like the most (or find least annoying).
The C210’s has a sexy, curvaceous design which goes well with most car interiors. It has a crystal-clear 2.7in touch screen and a range of user-friendly features making it really easy to use. You have the choice of charging it up using the in-car charger - which is provided - or you can simply stick in 4 AA batteries, just next to where the SD card with 512 MB flash memory is located. We found the on-screen buttons and clever predictive keyboard made it really easy to enter a destination, whether it was a name or a postcode. A nifty little trick you can also do is save frequently used addresses in a list of Favourites so you don’t waste time re-typing them in.
Navigation viewing is good, as we drove along we could clearly see all the journey information, estimated time of arrival, distance, battery and signal status. Speed limits are also shown when available too. If you are like the majority of people that frequent on the roads - you’ll appreciate the speed camera warnings - telling you the likely locations of both fixed speed cameras and mobile, you can choose whether you are alerted visually or by audio alert. You can download new speed camera locations when you register your device on the Mio website.
What makes the Mio C210 such a good performer is the SiRF star Processor and New Fast Processor. It uses the latest SiRF star III GPS receiver which picks up satellite signals faster and holds them better. This means that no matter where you are in the country, you will receive signals accurately. The 400Mhz processor helps you calculate the route much quicker too.
Because Mio has managed to offer this device at such a reasonable price - we expect it attract family-orientated users mainly making the Points of Interest feature very useful. Arranged in easy-to-use categories, you’ll like the impressive list of POIs that are ready to access. They include restaurants, hotels, petrol stations, cash machines, parking, shops, etc. Even more impressive is that many of the POIs have telephone numbers so you can even call ahead and book in to a restaurant, for example.
If you fancy leaving the car at home you can use the C210 by foot thanks to the pedestrian mode. It navigates you around the streets making your favourite European city streets easier than ever before.
Overall, Mio have really hit the nail on the head with the C210. It is reasonably priced and offers much more than some of the overpriced big branded Satellite Navigation Devices. After using this piece of kit we wouldn’t consider going for any other model.
Lisa Malyon
