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"Can't be beat for the price." on by nate_vo
Pros: Great screen, intuitive software, great signal, easy to use but loaded with features.
Cons: Plugs on the bottom instead of on the side prevents flush mount on dash and volume buttons. Not a big deal though.
Summary: It's interesting that CNET Reviewers rave about this screen and criticize the C220 screen since they are IDENTICAL! (I have a C220 as well). This GPS continues the tradition of packing in useful features and leaving out useless features in order to offer a great price. If you want MP3's and videos you need to buy a media player. This is a GPS and as such it has everything you could want in an entry level GPS and many options only found in more expensive GPS units.
In a GPS the most important features are the GPS Receiver/Chip, the Maps and the interface...in that order.
C230 has a Sirf III chip. This is industry standard and has been shown in independant tests to be superior to most other chips.
Teleatlas maps have made incredible improvements over the last few years making them as good if not better than Navteq. Of course as with any map, some things will be missing. But I have found just as many complaints about Navteq missing things as I have with Teleatlas.
Interface is easy to use, very intuitive. Considering the number of features and settings available, the menus are incredibly simple.
I would recommend.Updated
Just wanted to add...yes, everything is a bit 'cramped' on the screen, but it is a 3.5 inch screen...they can't expect to fit a fill size keyboard on it. Every device I've seen with this size screen has a smallish keyboard, it comes with the size. If you want to have a huge GPS you can't take with you just to have a large keyboard, be my guest. For me, I'll take the small size and deal with the keyboard. Which, I might add, is better the what the Nuvi has. -
"One Heck of a GPS" on by MrMylesG
Pros: Small size, easy to see screen, very easy to use. Very nice for first time GPS user.
Cons: None so far that I can tell
Summary: I have a bluetooth GPS that I use with my Pocket PC but I really needed something that was a standalone unit. The MIO C230 caught my eye with its great price. The reviews I found were very positive so I bought it. The route calculations are very fast. Initial satellite acquisition takes a minute or two and stays locked on pretty well.
You can change from 2D to 3D views by pressing the up/down arrows on the display. And also zoom in and out with the magnifying glass symbols.
I had a chance to try it out in flight recently and was very surprised. I checked the GPS screen and it showed my elevation at 7 miles, 149 yards and a speed of 476 mph. Additionally it showed the streets below whizzing by. After I landed, I noticed it has a button for views from an airplane, very similar to the inflight info available on many long haul airliners.
This is a terrific little GPS and with all the features and great price (under USD$200) it is definitely worth a look. -
"A disappointment" on by bobsco60
Pros: Good display, TTS, excellent mounting system
Cons: Very diffucult to edit a route, Route Simulation is so slow that it would take hours to simulate a 500 mile trip
Summary: I have been looking for a good medium priced GPS for months now. I bought a Garmin Nuvi c350 and a Tom Tom One and sent both back because I could not live with their odd, quirky navigational systems. The Garmin kept wanting to route me via back streets when there was no need to do it, and there was no way I could find to get it to stop. The Tom Tom would allow me to avoid a particular route, but then would not allow me to save the route that I had so painstakingly put together, so that I could use it again in the future. Reviews I read of the Mio C230 were enthusiastic. So I was hopeful that this unit would be the answer.
Unfortunately it was not. I have been using GPS's for 15 years or so. I found the interface between laptop and GPS was so bad years back that I just stopped using a GPS. Now things are much better, but there are lots and lots of problems remaining.
The main problems are whether or not the maps are up to date, and whether or not they are accurate. The next problem is how well does the GPS software use the map information, coupled with user input, to provide a satisfactory route.
With this unit, when I started out setting it up, it did not clearly tell me where I was. I want a GPS to start out by saying where I am. You are at 1200 East Kingshighway, Atlanta, Ga. Is this correct? Etc. And then I want it to ask me for the destination I want. And once I have entered it, to tell me : "You have entered 1450 Distrolio Court as your destination. Is this correct? " And after I have clicked OK, I want it to calculate the route and then show me that route. both in text and visually. And then, when I see that they have routed me over an old bridge that was torn down 2 years ago, I want to be able to edit that route in order to avoid the bridge.
This is almost impossible with this machine because the text description of the route is totally inadequate -- you can't tell which part of the route you are editing, and the things you can edit -- "maneuver" and I think "route" are meaningless to me, and are not described in the quick start booklet or the longer .PDF user's manual file. And when I clicked on these categories to change the route, nothing happened. I could not tell what this machine had done in response to my request.
I can understand that each GPS has its quirks, that each will create a route using criteria derived from user input and from its factory software settings, but being able to alter the route is, to me at least, the single most important quality of a GPS. Of course it will make mistakes. Of course some its maps will be out of date, or simply wrong. But it absolutely has to allow the user to change the route and make it easy to do so.
This unit fails miserably in these regards.
These GPS companies IMHO need teams of frequent travelers to serve as their beta testers. Any grade school beta tester would have told this company what to do in about 5 minutes.
To end on a positive note: The windshield mounting system is the best I have ever seen for a GPS. It is simple to install and remove, very rugged, and very well designed so that the GPS unclips easily when you want to store it in the glove compartment.
One further problem is that, apparently because of recent map updates, the amount of space available for POI's went drastically down. I am not up to date on this, but although this unit accepts an SD card, and some other kind of card as well, it was not clear to me how to use it. -
"Superb introduction to GPS !" on by davebenj
Pros: inviting, easy interface; text-to-speech (!) with street names; VERY portable; generally VERY accurate; Value ! $199 @ J&R NY;
Cons: No easy volume control, no paper instruction manual, some categories of points-of-interest missing (no "churches" category ?),; no maps for the Caribbean
Summary: I got this for $199 @ J&R, New York and I've been extremely satisfied with the amazing value.
I've looked at several GPS units at widely varying prices. I knew that I would be giving up some features at the lower price point, but as a new GPS user, I wanted something appropriate to my expected usage (I was never impressed with media-playing functions).
I ended up using it to guide me around Orlando and Miami - I was new to both the unit and the city. Fantastic experience. Attractive interface, clear maps, very impresive positioning (SiRF III, WAAS), text-to-speech. The latter was so useful that I don't know if I can recommend that anyone buy a unit without it.
I was disappointed that I couldn't investigate all of its capabilities without a computer (no paper manual), but it was interesting that I was able to do all that I wanted to without it so far.
In the silence of night, the default volume can be a bit too loud. Adjusting the volume was buried a few levels deep into the menus. Not something you want to try while driving. -
"Good, basic GPS with some shortcomings" on by eoyore67
Pros: Low price, text-to-speech capability, multiple via points along route, nice screen and maps, fast recalculation of routes, nice mounting hardware
Cons: Limited POI database, route not always optimized, slow route simulation, UI not initially intuitive
Summary: I had been living with a Garmin Streetpilot III for 4 years and suffering with a bad UI (no touchscreen) and extremely slow recalculation.
The Mio C230 GPS is a joy to use compared to this older model. It has a very compact form factor, nice looking screen, different views that cover every practical view you'd need. With text-to-speech (speaking street names) and a $175 price point, this is a great deal. But it's not perfect.
The biggest practical shortcoming is the limited (<1M) POI database. From what I can tell, it has many smaller, single stores/restaurants, but not many of the big chain franchise stores/shops (Starbucks, Target, Walmart, etc). I knew that going in, and you can compensate by adding POI's as you visit them. In doing this over time, you can effectively have your frequently visited shops in your own datasbase, but if you're in an unfamilar area and looking for the closet Target, you're out of luck.
Other negatives: It can tend to take you through obscure routes locally, through neighborhoods with stop signs versus expressways, etc. So far, I've used this in my familar local area, so I notice this. The bottom-line, you will eventually get there, but you may take the scenic route. As mentioned by another reviewer, the route simulation is SO SLOW, it's useless. Seems like 2x real-time! One more thing: The distance is a bit off. 100 yards seems like 150 feet to me, so you have to be prepared to turn more quickly than the stated guidance. I've found I can easily compensate. Minor quibble: I did need to read parts of the 92 page manual to understand the options - maybe spent an hour. Would've liked for the UI to be intuitive enough to not need the manual for basic operation, but this wasn't the case for me.
Bottom-line: I like it a lot and am willing to accept the compromises associated with a budget GPS in exchange for the low price. I am optimistic that they'll have POI add-on options via the available SD slot.
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