Mio C220 Review
Posted on May 29, 07 01:00 AM PDT
GPS units tend to pack more and more features including contacts, music and video but with the C220, Mio chooses a different strategy and creates a GPS unit that is very good at GPS navigation at a very affordable price. The look of the Mio C220 will blend with most car interior as it is fairly neutral. It has a decent display, which makes the maps quite readable. Although much cheaper than its older siblings this model is powered by a similar hardware (400Mhz processor) and provides the *same navigation experience* than the Mio C310x (Read Review) or the Mio H610.
To lower the price, Mio is using an SD card instead of the embedded memory. For practical reasons, the multimedia functions have been removed too. That’s a great idea because they have no impact on the GPS function (I don’t care about MP3 and video in a GPS unit, do you?). Also, I’m not sure that there is enough bandwidth to support playing media and streaming maps at the same time.
The Mio C220 has several advantages against the competition:
- The map animation is very fast (much faster than expensive units like the Garmin Nuvi 660 (read our review with video)
- The address entry is the fastest because it remembers the last few cities that you went to
- The UI is nice and friendly
- It’s cheap!
As with all GPS units, there are times when the device chooses a route that is not as smart/easy as you would like, but I don’t think that any GPS out there is really all that smart, including the pricey ones. Eventually, they (almost) always get you there.
Quick facts
- Cold GPS Fix: 2 minutes (tested)
- Hot GPS Fix: less than 30 seconds (tested)
- Screen: touch screen
- Maps: U.S maps preloaded
- Points of Interest (POI): 3.5 Million
- Voice: Turn by Turn voice (no text-to-speech = doesn’t read the street names)
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a no-nonsense GPS unit that does navigation very well, you should take a look at the Mio C220 – it delivers an incredible value for that price level (expect to find it at street prices of $179 - $199).
Link
Mio C220 home
Mio website
Related
Mio C310 Review, C310x update, Mio H610 Review (with video)
Your Comments
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Legacy Comments
By kerry , 15/06/08 12:27 AM (CommentID #726307)
Had mine since 12/10/07. It locked up on occasion but for the $150 price it worked ok. Now green charge light comes on, but never turns on no matter how long I hold button
By Louie , 09/06/08 2:18 AM (CommentID #718331)
I'm having the same problem with MIO C220, the outdated US maps, the company doesn't have updated maps for the US! isn't that so irritating?
By Michael , 03/06/08 8:23 AM (CommentID #710389)
I am in the same boat. I have even written to the company, and they have been up front about saying they don't expect to have any map updates!!! This is a shame, I have really enjoyed the product, but now its next to useless due to its inaccuracy.
By Patty , 01/06/08 3:16 PM (CommentID #708433)
I got mine for Christmas also, had it for less than a month and it quit working. I called the company and had to mail it to them (I paid) to be fixed. They said they had to replace the insides, I'm thinking why didn't they just give me a new one? Something had happened to the satellite and it couldn't locate itself. For the most part it works but, at least once a week the screen freezes. You have to hold the button down for a long time and it shuts off, same goes for turning it on, hold down for a long time and it will come back on. Then it resets itself. It's irritating, especially if you are lost. I wish I had spent a little more and got a better one. Also the volumn is very low and hard to hear over two kids and road noise.
By phildoat@comcast.net , 31/05/08 9:05 AM (CommentID #706882)
Like may of you, I have the c220 and live in the US, but need to find maps for Canada. Have a trip coming up in a few weeks, and cannot seem to get an answer from Mio as to who produces the maps for them, or if I can purchase the SD card with Canada. Will be happy to pay for a copy, just need to find out where
By Phil , 31/05/08 9:05 AM (CommentID #706881)
Like may of you, I have the c220 and live in the US, but need to find maps for Canada. Have a trip coming up in a few weeks, and cannot seem to get an answer from Mio as to who produces the maps for them, or if I can purchase the SD card with Canada. Will be happy to pay for a copy, just need to find out where
By Elaine , 27/05/08 3:59 PM (CommentID #700945)
Yes, I just received the C220 from my son and daughter-in-law as a gift. I don't want to tell them I used it less than a week when it quit working. The screen won't turn on. Like you said, the green light turns on, but nothing on the screen. She bought it at Christmas, but didn't give it to me until April and did not keep the receipt, so I guess we're out of luck. VERY frustrating!!!!
By miel , 27/05/08 10:16 AM (CommentID #700529)
You can re-load the complete US maps using the DVD disc that comes with the package and then transmit to the SD card using an SD card reader.
By FrustratedOwner , 26/05/08 5:58 PM (CommentID #699100)
There have been NO US MAP UPDATES in the more than 1 YEAR I have owned this GPS. It's now terribly inaccurate due to outdated maps, often indicating exits/entrances & turns that don't exist anymore and not listing thousands of new places in the POI. I absolutely would NOT recommend ANY device from this company.
By italian , 17/05/08 8:25 AM (CommentID #682654)
I'll go in California in August and i need USA map for my c220. Mio technology says that this map is out of stock until gen 09. Any help is appreciated !!! armuzzie@alice.it
By idjit45 , 04/05/08 1:42 AM (CommentID #663053)
HI, I am looking for maps for Australia. If you can help please let me know at idjit45@optusnet.com.au Thanks
By Jay , 24/04/08 1:48 PM (CommentID #650308)
Did you find a way in the meanwhile? I do have the maps as well, but it shows something like 'no license'. Any help is greatly appreciated !
By Definitely not satisfied , 24/04/08 12:34 PM (CommentID #650206)
Product is OK (get what you pay for) but if it breaks, is out-of-date, etc., know you're going to throw the device away. Our screen stopped working (no drops or major catastrophy) so we sent it in. 3 months later(!) they tell us we'll have to pay $100 for a new screen. Forget that - we'll buy a Garmin.
By dc_lady058 , 18/04/08 12:24 PM (CommentID #639234)
I need a map for Europe, can any help me, I have the C220. thanks dc_lady508@yahoo.com
By trixstal , 15/04/08 8:37 AM (CommentID #633517)
I've had my C220 for about five months and it's worked fine, 'til now. It won't turn on, even after showing a green charged light. It just won't turn on. Anyone else having this problem?
By jettaboj , 14/04/08 9:12 AM (CommentID #631652)
You can use your blackberry wall charger or Car charger for the blackberry to charge your Mio
By hayrus , 14/04/08 2:20 AM (CommentID #631018)
i have mio c220 first week drop in the car broken screan .where i can find new or secondhand cheap screan pls help thanks
By Obviousman , 08/04/08 2:38 PM (CommentID #618061)
I bought the C520, and yes Mio service sucks. The C520 works well. My problem is that I am from Australia but wanted to use it in the US before returning to Australia. I could have bought one there, then bought the US maps pack (about another 1/3 of the purchase price) we decided to buy a unit in the US. It worked well, but when we asked about buying maps for Australia they said they were not available.. what!? It seems that the software they use in the US is incompatible with the rest of the world software. The hardware is the same. Turns out I have a friend in Australia with a C520, so we can delete the current software and reload with the Australian software. I lose all my North American maps, but at least I can use it back home.
By Shawn Norris CAN , 27/03/08 7:12 PM (CommentID #593969)
Mine does the same thing. I haven't seen any fix for this. I find it happens more often when adding multiple POI's
By Balan , 25/03/08 10:48 AM (CommentID #586922)
Hi,
My GPS is freezing after being in use for an hour or so and the only thing I could do is to perform a reboot. Its hard while driving because I need stop and wait for the GPS to reboot and then have the GPS recalculate the route. All of the AVOIDs that I did, have to be done again. Anyone else having the same problem?
Thank you
By Diana , 23/03/08 3:53 PM (CommentID #581167)
POIs dont load into GPS; all that shows is the keyboard and when i press done, the light blue screen with lines, where i believe the POIs should be, appears. how am i supposed to enter information or how can i get my POIs to load?
By russell , 22/03/08 1:13 AM (CommentID #576704)
You need to insert the SD card that comes with your device so that you would have all the states inside your device
By I also have a mio c220 , 19/03/08 6:33 PM (CommentID #569931)
If you go to walmart and look in electronics ai think near cell phone equiptment you can find an AC to DC adapter that you plug into the wall and plug any car charger into it.I use it for my cell phone or my GPS. good luck
By Andrea , 18/03/08 9:37 PM (CommentID #567687)
I have a Mio C220 and I need a map for massachusetts the maps that came with my device are not the ones I need. The website says the map I need is out of stock. Does anyone know how I can purchase a map of Massachusetts....quiet_eyez@yahoo.com
By Kevin St.John , 09/03/08 11:18 AM (CommentID #543866)
I lost my sd card. I need an sd card for Canada. Can I load the info on my own sd card and have it work? Will pay someone $20 to help me figure this out online with what I can do.
905ef8@gmail.com
Thanks
By Joseph Marino , 05/03/08 8:26 AM (CommentID #534613)
can you share the canadian maps mine has us only
By Kevin , 04/03/08 10:25 AM (CommentID #531902)
I need Canadian maps for this unit. I can't believe the company doesn't offer this as a download. If anyone can tell where to find these maps and how I can put Canada maps on the Mio 220 it would be greatly appreciated.
By Christina , 19/02/08 11:36 AM (CommentID #497407)
Can anyone tell me how to add maps of Canada to my C220 which I purchased in the US?
By jayaraj , 05/02/08 9:08 PM (CommentID #468019)
I also have mio c220. The problem is it will never tell the actual turns. Suppose my destination address is on the left side of the main road it will never aske me to turn left instead it says "You have arrived at your destination" in the main road itself. This is too much difficult when you have lot of buildings and you are new to a place. does anyone know that how to achieve this in mio?? any settings change will help? Please send your advices to jayarajlcc@yahoo.com
By MioCustomerServiceSucks , 25/01/08 3:02 PM (CommentID #446878)
Does anybody know how to unlock maps for Europe for a US device. Mio states on the box it would support 22 countries but they don't sell the maps on SD cards yet. This is false advertising big time and can and will be penalized either by some lawyers or by frustrated ex-customers...
By Johnny M , 23/01/08 11:55 AM (CommentID #443348)
Broken right out of the box - had 4 state maps, none of which were mine. Not user friendly, difficult to understand reload procedures.
By GeoGuy , 18/01/08 8:10 PM (CommentID #436470)
I have the Canadian maps for C220. I find the unit to be pretty good. Haven't had any issues with it.
By T , 13/01/08 10:10 PM (CommentID #429107)
Just took my MIO 220 for it's test run. Seemed to work alright straight out of the box. Liked the smart zoom. Had one problem though... Dropped the unit in the parking lot of the hotel. Picked it up and it seemed to work fine. I didn't realize the SD card had flown out of the unit till we reached the next state. At which point it became useless without maps. Yikes. Once I got home, I found a 2GB SD card I had laying around, copied the maps folder to it from the CD, put the card into the unit and voila it now has the maps back. Whew. With that kind of simplicity, and the fact that I managed to pick it up for $99 on black Friday after Thanksgiving. I have to give it a thumbs up. Jason (the onboard voice) does have some problems overestimating distance to turns, and it's maps don't have some of the latest subdivisions in it.
Other than that I believe it will become a staple in the car.
By Nekura20x6 , 08/01/08 9:10 AM (CommentID #421959)
I got one before a road trip and LOVE IT! I've used it in Illinois, Colorado, and Florida. The POI database found some really obscure locations in Colorado (including a hole-in-the-wall vintage pinball repair shop). Once you lock in a destination, you can look at a turn-by-turn itinerary and tweak the route if you want. There's only a few times I wanted to do that (like when I had to force it to take me via a mountain pass in Colorado - once I manually got the road entered as a waypoint, it gave me the exact route I wanted). I'm most impressed by how quickly the GPS locks on, even after a cold start. Overall, this is a fantastic unit for the money.
By Eddie , 07/01/08 8:50 PM (CommentID #421395)
I bought this unit so that I don't have to rent-a-car with never lost. Well, I got lost using it and I am back to $$$/day Never lost navigation system on Hertz rent-a-car...
By Tanya , 04/01/08 9:14 PM (CommentID #417701)
I just got this as a christmas present. I am in South Carolina. I am from Michigan and I thought this would help me. I am going to NC and this thing dont even have directions to get somewhere thats 1 and a half hours from me.
By Mike , 28/12/07 7:48 PM (CommentID #409425)
Anyone have the Canadian Maps for this?
By dave , 28/12/07 11:31 AM (CommentID #409025)
Great system, love the mapping accuracy and poi's by tele atlas technology. love the UI as well
By Hubert , 26/12/07 8:03 PM (CommentID #407020)
RVSWENSON(CommentID #406843), In which region do you live? The information might be useful to see if other users in your area are seeing the same routing issues.
By RVSWENSON , 26/12/07 4:15 PM (CommentID #406843)
WARNING
Don't buy one of these!!!
I made the mistake of purchasing one because of the low price. What a mistake. Suction mount was defective. Directions were wrong about 50% of the times (told me to go straight, then make u-trun and then turn right onto the freeway. Why not just turn left to the on ramp. Sent me a totally wrong way even though I eventually got there.) Battery life is very short.
And to top it all off; When I called the tech support number listed on their web site the number is disconnected.
Spend the extra few dollars and buy a quality product.
By vito sarni , 24/12/07 5:27 AM (CommentID #404030)
i have the mio c220. its not bad. YES THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS. THEY SHOULD RATE THE PRODUCT ON CUSTOMER SERVICE FIRST THEN BUY THE PRODUCT anyway
i was wondering if anyone has maps for italy and spain... please let me know..
vsarni@hotmail.com
By Susan , 23/12/07 5:36 PM (CommentID #403550)
You can set multiple destinations by going back to your POI while driving to your last stop and adding other POI's by using the "Add Via" option.
By Chipoy , 21/12/07 1:41 AM (CommentID #400220)
YOHANAN, where did you get the maps for europe and canada? can you fit it in the sd card all together? i only have the US maps..
By Susie , 17/12/07 3:27 PM (CommentID #396775)
Sorry about typo in previous post. It should read "C220."
By Susie , 17/12/07 2:26 PM (CommentID #396738)
Have you been able to get your C22 working yet? The same thing happened to me and amazingly enough, my nephew got it working. First, make sure it's got a full charge. You can do the car charge thing but a camera 5-pin USB data cable connected to a pc will also charge. After it's fully charged, press the power button for 10 seconds, remove and reinsert the SD card, and press the power button again for several seconds. When he did this, everything came back along wth history and addresses.
Hope this works for you and good luck!
By Yohanan , 16/12/07 4:52 PM (CommentID #395739)
Hi,
I have got the C220 and download Canada, Europe, Australia.
How can I add this maps to my GPS, to work outside the US?
I already added a SD card with the European maps to the device, but unfortunatlly it didn't get this maps.
What can I do?
Thanks
Yohanan
By Hubert , 05/12/07 7:01 PM (CommentID #385536)
Michael, usually the maps are locked, no?
By Michael , 05/12/07 6:26 PM (CommentID #385521)
Hi,
Anyone have singapore Map for mio C220? Will share lastest Australia map. and714@yahoo.com . Thanks Michael
By doug , 03/12/07 10:34 AM (CommentID #383108)
MIO customer service is so bad I would never buy or recommend their product. Car charger burned out after only 3 uses. Impossible to deal with customer service, luckily I can get after market charger.......
By frankie d, np, ny , 01/12/07 3:03 PM (CommentID #381499)
i bought my GPS mio c220 as a $100 black friday deal. So far i have been extremely excited about this investment! No complaints thus far, very easy to use, although i think as my personal opinion, that it in some aspects out classes some of the "Higher End"models, Ex. Tom Tom, magelleon! My only complaint is that of my car, a 1994 Saturn in which i had no idea that the ciggeratte lighter did not work, so i need to charge it before i endeaver on my jurney!
By RoadWalker , 30/11/07 5:22 AM (CommentID #380323)
I bought this unit a week back as s BF deal for 100$. It worked great for me, navigated me through all inner roads within Atlanta city. It did not get me home address. I called customer support, they tried different ways and finally acknowledged that map was last updated on mid 2006 and asked me send a report about missing address (They have a website to do that), all infos will be verified and added to new edition due in I qrt of 2008. I tried the same address in Magellan (sold for 300$) and it did not accept my home addres neither. After all map softwares cannot be updated dynamically as the counties add new roads.
As far easy-to-use, I do not have any complains so far. Auto zomming, auto-backlight, selection of routes (toll vs unpaved roads), all worked for me. Good product for $100, on par with 300$ magillan.
By A disgruntled canadian , 28/11/07 10:06 AM (CommentID #378657)
I bought this unit because I assumed it would be like the Mio C310x that the owner of this website lent me to use on my California to Toronto roadtrip. It had maps for both US and Canada and worked great. I get a C220 because i don't need the mp3 player, and it has no Canada maps and even any illegal ones i've found are locked, and Mio says they won't provide any. So how is the Mio C310x had it!?
By Shaawin , 26/11/07 8:28 AM (CommentID #376445)
I just bout my MIO DigiWalker C220 on black friday for $80(had it for 3 days). We had to get to the next store before they opened and while we waited we set up the GPS right there in the car in about 10 minutes. I was pretty happy that we got it at such a low price, and we did get what we paid for. By that i mean, its a good navigation device if you can anticipate what its trying to tell you. Its about 100-50 yards off, and when you get into parking lots, stores, or your own driveway, it loses thought and doesnt really know where you are. Well, when you are at a store parking lot, the GPS shows that youre on undefined roads, and when it comes to setting a route, you dont know which way to exit to get to the right roads. Even in the driveway which is right next to the road, the GPS starts flipping around, and wondering where you are. And when youre in a garage it just loses connection for about 20 minutes. After reading all your comments, ive begun to realize how unsatisfactory the MIO website is. Now i realize that thier service and customer support must suck, and when they update roads in real life, the map will be the same. But i guess im going to have to use the most of it now before it becomes useless thanks to Mio's lack of updates and customer support. I guess it was my lack of thought that made me choose the way cheaper Mio C220 even though there was a perfectly good TomTom on sale for $149 with $200 off. I guess i shouldnt have trusted those ratings on circuitcity.com :(
By Jim , 22/11/07 11:46 AM (CommentID #373121)
Does this product has multiple destinations option
By RWL , 21/11/07 5:17 PM (CommentID #372461)
Hey Guys,
I've had it for several weeks and given everything else, it rates an A-. Given the price and that it is just a GPS, it's not perfect, but considering what others have paid for a Garmin, Magellan, etc., etc., it rates an A+ by comparison .. and it is fully portable. I've used it on my bicycle, doing rides of 50 miles plus. So, if you want to have a flawless operating device, you've got a problem. If you want one that works THAT much better, go out and spend $600-$700 for an almost top of the line Garmin. Bottom line, remember, "you get what you pay for" and comparatively you should expect to pay a couple of times more for a compatible device.
By Antony , 15/11/07 8:39 PM (CommentID #364902)
Beware!
MIO customer service is the worst, my touch screen stopped working and MIO service manager says it is customer induced damage and asking $100to repair. They suspect water damage, but even challenged them to open up the unit and check for evidence of water damage, as I am sure there were NONE. I am a technician who services laptops and exactly know what water damage/liquid spill is. It is just low quality touch screen which has gone bad.
$100, he must be kidding me, I would rather pay another $100 and buy a Tomtom or Garmin!... Watch out what you are getting!
By ETD , 14/11/07 7:43 AM (CommentID #362122)
Love the product, but support in the USA is non-existent. Even the Website for the US is broken.
Want a map of Canada? Good luck, The only places you'll be able to get extra maps are websites located in other countries, and then I couldn't find one that shipped to the USA!
By Jim , 02/11/07 4:19 PM (CommentID #351413)
A co-ordinate setting to the point of manufacturing should be included so one could, as described above, use it's aerodynamic features to to toss it back.
By Rod , 28/10/07 5:37 PM (CommentID #348988)
Conned by Mio! I purchased a Mio C220 on the representation Mio make on their Web Site that says Mio is for people on the go and .... is synonymous with portability. After buying hte unit I came to Canada and there are no maps available. You can't even download a map from their web site. Their tech people say that it is a licensing issue and that maps for other countries are not available for a while.... how long is a while.... they don't know. Don't get conned by Mio!! Posted by Pilot1957@lycos.com
By Steve , 21/10/07 7:18 PM (CommentID #342104)
i just bought this unit and out of 10 addresses we navigated to, the unit only got us to 6 of them. It was off by 50-300 yards 40% of the time. I am probably going to take it back to Radio Shack as I want a unit that actually gets me there!
By vahe , 27/09/07 3:12 AM (CommentID #314131)
can anyone tell me how to add other maps to mio c220,i have simple map of france but i cant add it to c220 , how do i do it ????please send info to vkotcharyan@gmail.com
By Ben , 16/09/07 7:53 AM (CommentID #302807)
I've had this unit for about 4 months now and for the most part, it's a been a good gadget addition to my SUV. BUT, the three most annoying aspects are;
One, the maps are more than 2 years old-Useless Mio support says they intend to have no updates for this unit until mid 2008(which incidentally has lead me on many wild goose chases). The maps are fine for northern states because there's no room to add more roads but here in the south, there's new roads/subdivisions added/changed every year.
Two, the battery, after fully charged, only lasts about 45 mins and
Three, the speeding notification options don't work here in Georgia/Florida. Well, at least, I can't get them to work.
Bottom Line, as always, you get what you pay for!
By jerry , 16/09/07 7:44 AM (CommentID #302804)
What about updates,to find recently built resturants
By Kelly , 16/09/07 1:19 AM (CommentID #302603)
My car charger overheated, too! The first time I used it! I'm really disappointed about that. Other than that, I love my Mio.
By JoeBlank , 08/09/07 2:54 PM (CommentID #295345)
Bought this GPS model couple of weeks ago. Took about a day to learn where all of the features are and how to use them. Very nice Unit i must say. easy to use, although does take a while sometimes to connect to a satellites. Speaker isn't loud enough. Wall charger would be nice, i just use my from ipod.
By Shameer , 25/08/07 11:20 AM (CommentID #281066)
I recently bought this device- (2 Weeks ago).
At first I wanted to return it as soon as I turned it on because the way it was advertised on ShopMSN was not what the way the device actually worked.
Anyway, I was going on Vacation so I had them do a 2 day delivery. It worked great for a few Hours. I was taking my kids on Vacation at Cedar Point in OHIO. On my way, the device stop giving me directions. Luckily I had my blackberry and google maps, because I did not know where to go. For three days I kept powering it on and off to see if I was going to get it to work, never worked. Keeps saying "No GPS signal found" I was so depressed, cause I am now on vacation and doesn't know how to get back home. I am one of those guys that just drives to the grocery store and back. The technical support stinks, you cannot get any support for this device once you buy it. I just returned it to the post office...
DO NOT BUY THIS DEVICE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET STUCK.
By theDubNutz.com , 25/08/07 10:37 AM (CommentID #281023)
My car charger overheated and no longer works only 1 month after purchase. It was very hot to touch and smells of burned plastic. This was in a new car. No fuses were blown.
Otherwise I am super pleased w/ the unit. Easy to use once you understand the menu system (play w/ it for an hour).
An included wall charger would have been nice. I use this in 2 cars and not bringing the mount in fine, but access to another cord or charger would be nice. *(now I have to buy 2). For the price of Ebay chargers, its just easier to avoid the warranty issue/drama.
Unit doesnt seem to switch btwn. day/night modes by iteself even though its selected.
Unit is not dim at all, even is sunlight. Just select the correct brightness levels in the master settings. Rear facing speakier is OK, It wil reflect off glass, my passenger hears it better than me. In a new, modern car w/ windows up, its fine for most. Its just easier to look anyhow.
No text to speech is alright. I can read the upcoming street name at a glance and also see how far away it is. The unit powers up, responds and updates very quickly!
I recommend this unit fot anything in its price range and $100 beyond .
By Mike , 19/08/07 12:24 PM (CommentID #275787)
I bought one a couple of weeks ago. It worked great for about a week (very good maps, easy to use, no problem with the speaker not being loud enough as long as the windows are shut or the radio isn't turned up real loud, and I really liked the ability to scroll and zoom the screen), then it lost and would never re-acquire a GPS satellite signal. This is the second product I've had with the "Mio" brand name, and both products failed fairly soon after buying them. As with my other Mio product, Mio technical support was no help in this case either; they said it must be the area I was using it in. But since my son's Garmin 330 acquired satellite OK, I figured the receiver must have gone bad. Since it was within the 30 day time limit, Best Buy refunded the money.
By J Castillo , 13/08/07 7:18 PM (CommentID #270636)
I tried to like this unit, but a basic flaw and customer support has made me wish that I spent more for Garmin or Magellan. I was even prepared to live with the dim display and weak audio.
If you forget to turn the unit off, don't be surprised to see a dead or dying battery. Regardless of whether you select never, 10, 20, or 30 minutes, it will only dim the screen after a few seconds("Smart Power Save," turned on), but it will never fully standby, with the screen off; something that even my bottom of the line Magellan unit(RM2000), any laptop, any Pocket PC, or even a 90's vintage Palm Pilot will do.
I've sent the unit in for examination, and Miotech simply returned the unit as-is with a note saying, "The device turns off automatically only if it's not charging." My issue with the device is that it will not "turn off" or even go into standby at all, ever. It also seems that maybe there's an english language problem at Mio Tech, as I've explained this to at least three techs and their supervisor. I've grown tired of telling the whole story over and over, resetting the unit, doing this and that, and waiting on hold repeatedly.
I've gotten a variety of different workarounds from Customer Support, including leaving the unit plugged in or exiting the MioMap software, which is fine if I remember, but I might as well just press the power button. It seems that when I forget to turn the device off and kill the battery, is also when I need to use it. Customer tech support has only made he hate this horrible device.
Pros: Acquires satellite signals quickly, "Smart Zoom," cheap, works as advertised if you remember to turn it off when done using it, compact aerodynamic form-factor will probably allow it to fly far when you throw it.
Cons: Tech support will make you regret getting this receiver, dead battery when you need to use it most, initial hunting around through the menus and backtracking to find certain settings, the usual complaints as other brands regarding inefficient calculated routes, and as mentioned by others, dim display and difficult to hear in a typical late-model sedan at normal highway speeds.
By andy , 29/07/07 1:07 AM (CommentID #257019)
re: wall charger - why don't you try using an iPod wall charger to connect the USB into? the Motorola V3 charger also delivers power via a mini-USB connector, it might work as well.
By Bill , 28/07/07 6:49 PM (CommentID #256824)
Wher can I get a wall charger for the MIO GPS C220. Thanks
By CP in Malaysia , 27/07/07 8:52 PM (CommentID #255935)
Hi,
Anyone have Malaysia & Singapore Maps for MIO C220 GPS, Please share it with me (limcp99@gmail.com), I can share with you my US maps as return
By Hubert , 15/07/07 1:34 AM (CommentID #244381)
I don't think that maps are available for Malaysia at this point, but check on Mio's website. Good luck.
By ALEX TAY , 14/07/07 9:30 AM (CommentID #243720)
HI, MAY I KNOW THE MIO C220 GPS CAN BE USED IN MALAYSIA. PLS EMAIL ME alextayyh@yahoo.com
By norwegian user , 06/07/07 4:36 AM (CommentID #233549)
While voice guidance is great on unfamiliar parts of a route, I mostly want to turn it off but keep the route active. This can of course be done using the "sound mute" button in cockpit mode. However, this also mutes everything else including audible speed camera warnings and speed limit warnings. Who would want that? If I wanted to disable speed camera warnings I would want to do this explicitly in the options menu. Mio better fix this annoying design flaw in the next firmware update.
By Joe Eakins USA , 04/07/07 2:47 PM (CommentID #231698)
I have had the unit for several months. Took a little time to navigate through the features. Now that I am familiar with the unit I am even more impressed. I recently bought my mom a Garmin street pilot C340 only because the display is bigger. After using both units, I would highly recommend the MIO over the Garmin for its functionality and price. If you are thinking of purchasing a GPS unit I would highly recommend the MIO. You won't be disappointed.
By James Owens , 28/06/07 1:10 PM (CommentID #224660)
My wife and I bought two Mio C220's from a store recently for $179. These are great units for people that don't need Bluetooth or MP3 capabilities. When moving around the map, the unit is very responsive. Other units we tested would update very slowly when moving around the map, but the Mio C220 moves are very quick and fluid. You can add your own POI's very quickly and easily and you can click on your route to avoid a road or avoid a road for a certain amount of distance. We found that some units are hard to understand, but this one is very clear and understandable when it is telling you where to turn. You can also change the colors on the map if you don't like the default colors. The good thing about this unit is that it can also be used while on foot. Most other units (that cost a lot more) can not be used outside of the car and don’t have a setting to change the unit from car to pedestrian mode. We have used this in our house and it gets a full GPS signal while inside. It has a ton of other options that are great as well. One complaint we read on-line was that it would freeze up when you hit the map to scroll around, because it would try to add the point where you touched the screen as a POI. The unit has never froze up on us, but it was a little annoying when you try to scroll around the map that every time you hit the screen a little dot would appear telling you the address where you clicked. You can quickly hit the "Lock" button which is on the screen to get back on track, so it isn't bad. You actually get used to it after a while. I just read on the Mio web site that there is a way to turn off this information feature, so it should stop this from happening. The "cockpit" view on this unit is awesome! You can select which items appear on the screen (time left to your destination, distance to your destination, speed, etc.) and it has the upcoming turn in the upper left hand side of the screen and even gives the name of the next street that you are turning on. It is also fast to recalculate your route if you take a wrong turn. It's a great unit for anyone and the price is perfect at under $200. However, anyone looking for Bluetooth or MP3 capabilities need to look elsewhere.
By Fred , 21/06/07 3:41 PM (CommentID #214870)
It can display altitude in meters, yards, or feet. That is one big reason I bought the unit It has all 50 states and Puerto Rico. I wish I could get it to display altitude with the maps and not just in the GPS mode.
By A Dutch Guy living in France , 29/05/07 11:04 AM (CommentID #187436)
I have one and it is great, it gets me where I need to go, by car, bike, or even on foot. And as said it is a very cheap unit, yet complete.
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