Canon Puts Efficiency On Press
Entered CNET Catalog: 02/20/2004
SKU: MIO168
Manufacturer: MiTAC Industrial Corp.
Manufacturer description
The Mio 168's amazing GPS capabilities gets a fix on your position within few seconds, even if you've just come out of a tunnel or parking garage, to keep you on track toward you destination. And even when you're not driving, the portable Mio 168 can present you with street directions as soon as you come out of a subway, so you never need worry about losing your way. The Mio 168 uses a TFT LCD screen, providing benefits-such as clear visibility in strong light, high brightness and contrast, superior clarity, and exceptionally crisp image quality - that traditional STN or other 4096-color low-end color displays cannot hope to match. The Mio 168 also integrates LED backlighting technology that protects your eyes through brighter, more uniformly illuminated screen images, while conserving power to extend battery life. The thoroughly integrated design of the Mio 168 spares you the need to buy multiple devices. And the built-in GPS receiver is simple to install and keeps the inside of your car tidy. Used with appropriate GIS map software, the Mio 168 lets you know immediately where you are without having to thumb through bulky atlases or pore over clumsy foldout maps. The Mio 168 uses Microsoft's Pocket PC 2003 operating system, and with its sleek, ultra-light form factor, is the ideal PDA, in addition to being the perfect GPS navigation system when you're behind the wheel.Product summary
The good: Compact; excellent mapping software; includes car mount and charger; MMC/SDIO slot.
The bad: Problems acquiring signal in cities; no way to adjust volume within mapping program; windshield mount too wobbly; no synchronization cradle; no removable battery.
The bottom line: The Mio 168 hits a couple of roadblocks in the city but still drives off with a winning PDA/GPS combo.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 04/15/2004
 Get out of town with the travel-friendly Mio 168. |
Everything else about the Mio 168 is fairly standard in terms of PDA design, from its 3.5-inch, 65,000-color screen to its four application buttons, three of which arrive preprogrammed to launch GPS app, though you can change them back to their PDA defaults. A five-way joystick handles scrolling and navigation, but it's too small to give the Mitac a gaming edge.
There's a Secure Digital Input Output/MultiMediaCard (SDIO/MMC) slot and an infrared port on top of the unit as well as recessed power and voice-record buttons on the left side. Like most Pocket PCs, the Mio has a built-in speaker and microphone (located on the front of the device) complemented by a headphone jack. But the latter accepts only 2.5mm plugs, so you'll have to use Mitac's fairly decent included earbuds or buy an adapter for your favorite headphones.
 Leave the paper trail at home and store your maps on an SD card. |
The Mio's battery isn't removable, which is disappointing from a PDA standpoint but not as critical for in-car GPS operation since Mitac supplies a cigarette-lighter power adapter. With no reserve power, it will retain memory for a minimum of 72 hours after low-battery shutdown. We're more disappointed by the lack of a desktop cradle. Mitac bundles a synchronization cable with the Mio 168, but a desktop cradle must be purchased separately (the price hadn't been determined by press time). The Mitac Mio 168 has a 300MHz Intel XScale PXA255 processor, 32MB of ROM, and 64MB of SDRAM. You're left with about 53MB of available memory out of the box, even though the preinstalled programs reside in the ROM. You'll still want a spacious SD card for storing maps, which range in size from 36MB for a state such as Michigan to 210MB for a seven-state region. You can also cut maps into smaller chunks using the desktop software if you're short on memory.
The Mio 168 uses a SiRF chipset to lock on to GPS satellites, and you'll need a minimum of three satellites to determine your actual position. However, that's of no great use without the maps, which is why the Mitac comes with a two-CD set of mapping software.
The desktop Mio Map Console application, which includes street-level cartography for the United States and Canada, allows you to cut maps and load them onto your Mio 168 or SD card. Mio Map uses data from the NavTech map source, which offers updated information on address ranges, one-way roads, turn restrictions, and more.
Better still is Mio Map itself, the navigation program that comes installed on the 168. It provides real-time turn-by-turn navigation, complete with verbal and visual prompts, automatic rerouting, and a huge points-of-interest database. You can route to any address in your contact list using fewer steps than with the Garmin iQue 3600. For example, the Garmin requires you to designate a contact as a Location before it provides a map. In contrast, Mio Map provides a shortcut to your contacts list, and after you select an address, it will either give directions based on your current location or let you plot out a driving route. The software will even alert you when you're speeding (with limits based on NavTech data), though its verbal warnings get old fast if you tend to drive at the legal rate. You can disable this function through the Alerts Settings menu. We particularly like Mio Map's choice of 2D, 3D, and bird's-eye views; the last two are ideal for getting the lay of the land.
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| With its included windshield mount, the Mio 168 has no problem riding shotgun. |
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| You are here: Get the lay of the land with Mio Map. |
In addition to Mio Map, the Mio comes with Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC and its corresponding suite of Pocket apps: Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Reader, Pictures, and so on. Mitac also throws in a few worthwhile extras, including a tab-based program launcher (eMenu), a battery-optimization utility, and rudimentary backup program (eBackup). You can't make backups to ROM with eBackup, but the app supports memory cards.
Although Mitac doesn't supply a carrying case or a screen cover (you can purchase them from Mitac, but prices were undetermined at posting time), the Mio 168 comes with a bendable mounting arm that suctions easily and securely to your car's windshield. However, a dashboard or vent mount might be a better option. In one car, the Mio 168 wobbled noticeably while we were driving, making it effectively unreadable on bumpy roads. The effect was less pronounced in a smooth-riding SUV, but it still proved annoying. Mitac says it will offer vent and dashboard mounts in the future as optional accessories. The Mio 168 performed decently in CNET Labs' tests. It topped the chart in CPU and ActiveSync performance among the midrange Pocket PCs equipped with Intel's 300MHz processor. On the other hand, the Mio's graphics performance wasn't as impressive, making it more of a personal organizer than a multimedia player or a gaming device.
In our battery-drain tests, where we let the device run a video clip repeatedly at 50 percent brightness until the battery dies, the Mio lasted a disappointing 3.32 hours, less than the Toshiba e400. Mitac says the handheld's battery should last up to 5.5 hours with the backlight at 50 percent and GPS in full power mode. In informal tests, however, under normal PDA use, the Mio 168 lasted about 10 hours.
The main story here, of course, is the GPS functionality. We tested it in San Francisco and Michigan with mixed results. As we drove around San Francisco, the Mio 168 had trouble locking on to a signal. We often got a voice alert saying, "Signal too low. Check antenna," and it took a few minutes to latch on to a signal. This may have been largely due to the number of buildings blocking the satellite transmission, but if you're lost in the city, you still need a more reliable product. On the open road, however, in both San Francisco and Michigan, the 168 proved an excellent navigational tool. Mio Map is refreshingly easy to use, and it's extremely quick at looking up addresses and calculating routes. We selected a destination 120 miles away, and Mio Map plotted it within a few seconds.
The Mio 168's transflective display is bright and colorful, but it's no friend of the outdoors. When driving during daylight hours, we found it hard to read. We resolved the problem by switching the backlight to its lowest setting. At least we had no trouble hearing the Mio; its verbal driving directions came through loud and clear. It was so loud, in fact, that we had to venture into the Windows Mobile settings to lower the volume. Mio Map lacks--but sorely needs--a volume control within the program. After we adjusted the volume, the pleasant female voice provided us with real-time directions and even replotted our route when we veered off course.
Performance analysis written by CNET Labs project leader Dong Van Ngo.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39out of 39 user reviews
The battery life is too short!
Pros: GPS map and windows mobile OS
Cons: Battery does not last very long before it becomes unchargeable. Poor customer service.
out of 39 user reviews
Mitac Mio Blows Up!
Pros: Destinator Software Great!
Cons: Where do I start?
I received the Mio unit along with the two chargers, one for home and the other for the car along with the holder for the windshield. Attaching the holder to the windshield so that; a) it didn't fall off b) I could easily attach the PDA c) it wasn't in my face d) I could easily attach the charger without all the other things happening at the same time was very stressful but I finally found a location on my windshield where all these things were possible.
The first thing that I noticed were that the prong for the charger wasn't all well designed. The prong (the bit that goes into the Mitac) was flat and made out of plastic on one side with two metal bits at the ends designed to hold it into place in the unit. I kept having to push it back into place because the metal bits almost immediately got loose and would half slide out. And me having to remove the unit from the windshield every time we stopped wasn't doing it any favours either (I didn't want to give anyone a reason to break into my car).
The Destinator part of the package was quite good for the most part. The biggest thing that bothered me that I eventually removed was the TTS (Text to Speech) function whereby the American announcer Jill would announce the name of the street as I was about to drive onto it. Frankly, I think someone should have given Jill a couple of French lessons (and Italian ones too as I soon discovered after I'd crossed the border) because what she was saying didn't sound like any recognizable language I'd ever heard. Emily the English announcer didn't fare any better either, mind.
After I removed the TTS function, the unit worked much better and seemed a lot faster at giving directions. I soon discovered that the name of the street can be displayed on the bottom of the screen which makes the TTS function a little redundant anyway.
The other unnerving thing Destinator occasionally did was to send you down really out of the way roads or even, in one case where I was trying to find a restaurant in the South of France, one that didn't exist! Unless, of course, I was prepared to drive through an olive grove and over some raised train tracks to get there. The other lesson I learned is that no matter how much you want to trust your GPS unit to send you in the right direction, it always helps to have a backup map to consult, just in case.
The biggest drawback is that you can't tell Destinator where you want to go. If you've decided which way you want to go by looking at a map for example, or if you know there's a traffic jam, there's no way that I've found to put that on the unit so it follows your directions rather than its own. Unless, of course, you do it in stages which means a great deal of fiddling around and stopping when you're driving.
As for the Mitac Mio, yesterday the car charger broke and then the unit decided to die. Naturally it was the prong that broke. The plastic bit covering the metal flew off when I was trying to jam it in there and then the spiky bits underneath sparked when I attached it to the unit and then everything went black on the Mio. I was upset to say the least. Especially seeing as I was on the road again and that I only ever use the unit when I travel.
What was even more upsetting was talking to the Mitac Mio people (Totalpda having absolved itself from all responsibility 30 days after you give them your money). Apparently there are no shops where you can bring the unit to be repaired (or replaced--as it should be--with an HP model that doesn't break down after a mere 7 months of usage) in the UK. They're sending me a prepaid envelope for me to put it in and have it sent to Manchester whereupon I should receive it TWO WEEKS LATER! Who's the lucky girl then?
Evidently not moi. All I have to say is way to go Mio! There's nothing like making a defective product along with defective customer service to go along with it. I guess I should consider myself lucky because they're fixing it for free but I can't help but wonder judging by how readily they were to repair it (they didn't even ask me when I'd bought the unit) if the Mio blowing up is an all too frequent occurance.
out of 39 user reviews
Hardware very good, software abysmal
Pros: Great Pocket PC; good GPS reception
Cons: bundled Destinator PN software obsolete and buggy
Futureshop - the retailer - washes his hands.
out of 39 user reviews
Great, until...
Pros: All the features you could want in a very functional package.
Cons: Terrible customer service especially if purchased throught Handango/MobilePlanet
Thank you everyone who has written to me. Most everybody has the same question, can I recomend another unit? Here's what I did and highly recomend doing...
I purchased a Pocket PC phone edition from my cellular provider and added the $3/month insurance. Sadly the unit did not come with GPS but I added one. Now the fun part, I have had a problem with my new unit which is also under waranty, however, Cingular sent me a replacement right away because THAT IS HOW YOU DO BUSINESS. Thank you Cingular! Mobile Planet has had no interest in helping me out so I just sent it to them anyway. At best they'll send it to Mio for waranty repair and at worst they'll throw it in the trash as it is no good to anyone as is. So, don't throw away $450 like I did. Mio is not going to take care of you and do not buy from Mobile Planet as they only take care of you up to the point of sale, then you're on your own. Go with your cell provider who is interested in your on going business.
Good luck and if you still wish to contact me, go right ahead. I'd be more than happy to help in any way.
out of 39 user reviews
Cheap and cheerful but falls to bits
Pros: Low price and in-built GPS receiver
Cons: Mine had to have a new main board and it took ages to get it back. The sync port is not robust enough and is easily damaged.
out of 39 user reviews
A GPS Users Dream...
Pros: Great Visibility even in daylight... Long battery life...
Cons: Obscure task manager
I use this it with Pocket CoPilot automotive software instead of MioMap. This is just a personal preference... I was familiar with the interface having used it with my previous GPS (IPAQ w/ NavMan sleeve).
I also use this GPS in a Cessna 172 with CoPilot aviation software (Yes, similar name but different product.). I've found that the GPS locks on quickly in both rural and urban situations. Urban canyons are always difficult, and the Mio locks on much quicker than my old NavMan in this situation.
Battery life has been an impressive 4-6 hours with backlight and GPS on vs. 1hr for IPAQ 3650 w/ NavMan sleeve.
The backlight allows for full-sun readability and the vibrant colors make for easy reading even in the coclpit.
The only drawback I've found is that the task menu requires several steps to access, where the IPAQ has a dedicated key for this.
All in all, a great product I recommend without hesitation!
out of 39 user reviews
Fabulous
Pros: Used it it France for three days. As good as or better than in-dash systems for accuracy, readability and overall use. AND, it's PORTABLE!
Cons: Tinny Speacker, but hey, you can feed it to the radio if you like
out of 39 user reviews
I LOVE MY MIO!
Pros: I've had it for five months now and I can't believe how much I still love it. The GPS is awesome (no problems with signals...I'm in LA). When I went to Florida for the election, I was able to canvas strange neighborhoods like a pro. And it's a great Po
Cons: None
out of 39 user reviews
The best all in one GPS/PDA tool.
Pros: I have the Mitac mio 168 pin 300 with the Navman V3 software. The GPS/PDA is very reliable and the battery life keeps on going. I had previously sold my 02 XDA2 for one of these babies as the battery life on the XDA2 was terrible.
Cons: No integrated WI_FI, or BlueTooth plus they removed the cradle and earphones. The earphone jack is a 2.5mm type which is hard to get hold of in the UK. But thats all so get one.
out of 39 user reviews
good for this price
Pros: Easy to use, comparable to similar product, but cheaper,pocket PC, not a palm;all assessories are supplied; good resolution
Cons: poor sound and speakers, no wifi, no free updates for maps; earphone plug is .8mm, not for music;
out of 39 user reviews
good gps, good pda, good price: I'm happy with it.
Pros: I'm using it Europe. Easy to use, very clear and loud voice, no cable problem of GPS antenna, fast enough (compared it with a lot of other brands like HP, Dell, Acer, Asus etc.)Strong enough. It was fallen for two times on the gorund, but nothing happened
Cons: The GPS software MIOMAP is not very functional. It confuses the driver. At least the one in Europe. I gues it is made by Destinator. On a straight highway it tells you take the exit to left, but what it means drive straight a head. Hearing the same thing
out of 39 user reviews
Nicely done
Pros: Great product, not the fastest but gets the job done. You will need a SD card to store maps. The GPS works great, very accurate. If you can find it for $400 it's definately worth the money.
Cons: No Wi-Fi but not a huge problem considering you can get an adapter for around $60
out of 39 user reviews
Great product, old map software
Pros: compact, quick start-up, initial price
Cons: Bundled Map software outdated, new software must be purchased.
out of 39 user reviews
I Love my Mio
Pros: Full featured PDA, good battery life, complete package including car charger, PC link cable, window mount.
Cons: Needs an SD card, but so what. I got a 1GB and I've forgotten it.
out of 39 user reviews
What Did I Do Before My Mio???
Pros: Clear screen, very lour speaker, audible turn-by-turn gps directions, fast processor, full PDA functionaly.
Cons: Unit is easy to turn on in pocket, but turns back off in a couple minutes.
out of 39 user reviews
Good but could use improvements.
Pros: Great for getting you to your final destination. Easy to read screen.
Cons: Windshield mount way to wobbly. (Look at Arkon.com). Routing to area is very suspect (takes you in a roundabout way).
out of 39 user reviews
Fantastic tool that you can't put down
Pros: Small, compact, feature rich, very long battery life, not that you need to worry with a car charger included. excellent nav software, works to within 3 meters the junctions. amazing!
Cons: Protective case, not that great, chucked it for a nice inclusive wallet job. What happens if you lose your telescopic sylus?
out of 39 user reviews
Portability and its best!
Pros: Light, GPS, MP3 and nice screen for videos. Good for the car.
Cons: Plastic, Bulk on the back.
out of 39 user reviews
Nice map, that's it.
Pros: The bundled Mio Map is great and user friendlier than other PDA maps I've used. Powerfull PDA.
Cons: Froze up on me while doing backup and has never unfroze even after hard reset. Tried to return it to manufacturer but despite leaving 3 messages a day for a week, they never returned my call. TBD.
out of 39 user reviews
good gps, good pda, good price
Pros: gps
Cons: no wifi, no bluetooth, limited updates, sa conector as ipaq sync/charge but ipaq cables dont work for sync, limited accessories
out of 39 user reviews
Powerful but occasionally loses signal
Pros: low cost powerful software easy to read display in no to light sunlight.Can store multi state maps with sd card.The 3D view at an angle is awesome. Tells you how fast you are walking or driving. would still buy, even knowing all the study it will take to
Cons: locks up about one out of 8 uses.When using predictive mode and it guesses a street wrong, you can't change it..have to start over. extremely slow to bring up recent loacations...it should bring up names then do rest of address search only for the choosen
out of 39 user reviews
this item a nice touch to the large gps systems
Pros: the ease of use and the nice graphics on the maps
Cons: does not give you the quickest way, put pretty much will get you were you want to go
out of 39 user reviews
GREAT GPS
Pros: The GPS is great. Tracks even when I'm indoors sometimes, or module is on the passenger seat. Does fairly well in the cities w/ high buildings compared w/ other GPS units.
Cons: No cradle to sync with computer. No replaceable battery.
out of 39 user reviews
Winning Combination of PDA & GPS
Pros: Great GPS with good screen and extremely good voice guidance Fast, especially for this type of processor
Cons: When handling like putting back in case power switch is easily pressed by mistake No Cradle
out of 39 user reviews
Cool GPS + Pocket PC PDA function
Pros: 1. Accuarate and great sound quclity for turn-by-turn voice guidance when routing 2. Affortable price for GPS + PDA 3. The lightest portable GPS 4. The longest battery for GPS running with car charger 5. Great navigation map appearance.
Cons:
out of 39 user reviews
Try the ebackup feature
Pros: convenience
Cons: 1.The unit froze after Restore a backup file that I created earlier. (After I installed some 3rd party’s software to the unit, I chose “Backup all data on your device” by using EBACKUP. Power off /on the unit by using the battery switch. It will set the u
out of 39 user reviews
COOL DEVICE I LIKE IT
Pros: Cool calculate road say you where you must go, software is O.K. definetely will be better if this device have 128Mb memory instead 64mb. But it has all what you need I enjoy with this PC Packet
Cons: If you want to listen MP 3 you can't find headset for this device plug is too smal then standart and headphone not coming with device!! Tech Support no good, can't answer tech questions
out of 39 user reviews
Simple, Efficient and Effective
Pros: Your standard great quality Pocket PC functionality. After updating the mapping software via Destinator, the accuracy is excellent. I haven't had any problems getting sat. connectivity in the Bay Area yet (including SF financial district, Oakland, Downtow
Cons: If it weren't for the tutorial in the store, I would have been lost for awhile. The in-box GPS documentation is non-existant. Nice that they included the suction mount holder, but after the trial and error of eliminating wobble, it became wobbly again in
out of 39 user reviews
Fine for PDA, GPS is "Brain Dead"
Pros: I like the look and Feel of the Mio, and I bought it for the GPS functionality. Antenna and GPS status is great, locks on quickly and has several means of choosing a "go to" point.
Cons: GPS map is brain dead, database must be old. I Live in Maryland, and it doesn't know half of these highways between Baltimore and D.C. exist, keeps trying to get me off of them on to side roads (I guess). THey need some more selection criteria, like use
out of 39 user reviews
This is the best GPS-antenna I've tried
Pros: You always have your GPS with you, when you try to find things in the city. Even with big trees and houses it find satelites.
Cons: I haven't found any yet.
out of 39 user reviews
Incredible value for moneyCompac
Pros: Compact, sturdy design. Excellent battery life. Pretty good loudspeaker.
Cons: No manual on navigation
out of 39 user reviews
Perfect compact navigation
Pros: Compact, all-in-one..... Buy It
Cons: For me: none (If you want a great part of Europe on it you have to buy a large SD-card 256-512 MB)
out of 39 user reviews
Compact GPS solution, but needs Wi-Fi and 400mhz
Pros: Nice size Loud speaker Great battery Bright Screen Comes with car accessories You CAN adjust volume in map mode (click on speaker icon)
Cons: Only 300 MHZ No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth No user replacable battery
out of 39 user reviews
Good GPS and PDA combo unit
Pros: GPS works well when it locks into a signal. Has many navigation features found in expensive units. Comes with all the accessories you need to get up and go. Good use of battery life.
Cons: Takes a long time to lock into a signal, between 3 - 5 minutes. Recording button is ackwardly placed. Average PDA features.
out of 39 user reviews
Longest GPS battery life by now
Pros: GPS on for 5 hours or more Additional car charger included with car holder Easy install map Navigation to outlook contact feature
Cons:
out of 39 user reviews
The best all-in-one GPS Pocket PC device
Pros: 1.Light, Compact, Powerful mobile 2003 with SiRF GPS chipset built-in. 2.Easy to install the map 3. Voice guidance to have turn-by-turn, and wrong way recalculation when you are missing the way.
Cons:
out of 39 user reviews
Super all-in-one GPS solution
Pros: 1.Bilt-in GPS, and no hassle to configure the setting 2. portable, light, with full function Pocket PC mobile2003 3. Sharp and vivid screen ever 4. Lound and human-like voice guidance with turn-by-turn map (US and Canadian map) 5. User friendly than Gar
Cons: 1. No WiFi 2. No GPRS for phone
out of 39 user reviews
Try to find a better PPC w/good GPS...
Pros: Afforable, Expandable, awesome GPS. Rate nearly as high as 400MHZ PPC for gaming.
Cons: No integrated WI_FI, or BlueTooth, need to get an SDIO card...
out of 39 user reviews
GPS + PPC
Pros: The battery of mio 168 is much better than Garmin ique 3600. Also, they will release backup battery soon. I want to buy one
Cons: Need additional SD card
