HP TouchSmart. Touch the future now.
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 69 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"very good deal for the money"
Pros: accuracte, good maps, good directions, small size
Cons: screen fades in direct sun, no PC connectivity
Summary: Bought for US$199 from Staples + US$25 for 2 year store warranty.
The good:
For the simplest tasks, like get me to a certain address, the C220 is very easy to use. In one week of testing in in the Los Angeles suburbs, and checking areas in Hawaii which I am familiar with,the directions have been right on. Obviously, there will be some areas of the US where it works less well. Many Forest service dirt roads, including some closed to the public, are marked in light grey on the screen and the C220 followed road, but was unable to give directions (not surprising). The c220 is so small and light weight that I initially attached it with rubber bands to the rear view mirror. The receiver is much more sensitive than my old Garmin 12. For more complicated task one has to carefully read the manual and experiment. Lots of options to zoom in, read the maps in north orientation or in the driver direction and more. Lots of space in memory for saving routes and points of interest, including in groups. Fits comfortably into shirt pocket for walking. I verified that internal battery lasts for more than three hours continuous on without using the suspend feature, five hours usable away from the car is not unreasonable. Charging the battery with the included car charger takes about one hour. There is a speed limit alert and a warning for camera equipped intersections.
The not so good:
The C220 has powerful features, but the menu is not intuitive. After enough use this issue may become less important. The screen is virtually unreadable in the bright California sun (for use away from the car). The c220 connects to a USB output on a PC (cable not inclued, but most digital camera cables fit) and can be charged this way in about 4 hours. New maps and key software can be reloaded this way (runing a program on the included DVD), but there is no obvious other connectivity, like downloading tracklogs or waypoints.
Mio C220:
