MIO C320T PND Test

With Christmas fast approaching, temptations for mobile devices are especially strong, particularly in the autonomous GPS market. While TomTom and Germin sit at the top of the tree (both will sell more then 10 million GPS devices in 2007), here we have found Mio Technology, a distributor of the Taiwanese Mitac devices.

Even if its production capabilities are not at the same level as the two leaders, Mio has nevertheless strengthened their positions in Europe thanks to regular updates to their range of PND products (Personal Navigation Devices) and PDA’s with GPS functions.

Each year, Mio announces a new series, generally at the CeBIT show in Hanover in March, which adds to the features already released over the course of the year. And in 2007, it was the Cx20 range which took the honours, made up of the C220, C320, C520 and the C620 all running the MioMap 2008 software and which are capable of displaying elements of the décor in 3D.

The C220 is the entry level device, while the C320 is middle and the C520 and C620 is their top of the range offerings, with the price ranges consequently changing. The best compromise between price and functions can be found in the Mio C320, which we will be looking at in detail, with the version that is compatible with traffic info (Mio C320T).


Characteristics of the Mio C320T:

• Dimensions: 126 x 81 x 14.5mm for 190g
• 4.3” large tactile screen with a resolution of 272 x 480 pixels
• GPS SiRF Star III 2à channel receiver
• 400 MHz processor
• 64Mb of SDRAM
• 1 GB of ROM
• SD/MMC Port
• 1300 mAh battery (not removable)
• MioMap v3.3 navigation software

We see with the characteristics that the Mio C320T is rather compact and thin, with technical characteristics that meet a lot of devices on the market. The device has a large 4.3” screen which is capable of displaying the map in 2D or 3D, with a location on the right hand side capable of displaying additional information.

 

The device, representative of the whole range, has a minimum number of external buttons: there is one to connect it to the holder, a port for the SD memory card and a headphone port to the left. At the bottom, a USB port and connector specifically designed to link the socket which contains the TMC/RDS traffic info (but this is absent in the C320 model).

The dock contains an arm with an attachment system, so there is nothing surprising here, with it being possible to place the arm in either the horizontal or vertical position. Once you have found the optimal location, you simply need to tighten the two screws to hold it in place.

You should also note the effort put into the packaging. This isn’t necessarily the most important thing, but its presentation is correct, so that right from the moment you open the box you can see that it is a quality product. Here, to the right of the box, you will find multiple compartments with each element being identified.