CNET Editor's rating: 7.0 out of 10
Reviewed by
Bonnie Cha
Review date: 06/19/07
The good: The Mio C520 GPS device offers a thin and sleek design with a spacious touch screen. The system also has text-to-speech functionality, integrated Bluetooth, and multimedia capabilities.
The bad: The C520 was slightly off the mark when tracking our location, and route recalculations weren't always efficient. In addition, the Bluetooth and multimedia features are slightly limited in functionality.
The bottom line: The sleek Mio C520 is a good-value GPS device, packing in advanced navigation features, a large screen, and other extras for an affordable price. However, you can get a better user experience and smoother performance from competing systems.
The last portable navigation system we reviewed from Mio Technology didn't fare so well in our tests. It's a shame, because the Mio C220 had so much going for it--affordable price, good performance, compact design--but its screen was a complete wash. Fortunately, Mio's latest GPS device, the Mio C520, delivers a better experience and packs in even more features at a wallet-friendly price of $399. For that money, you get a large 4.3-inch touch screen, integrated Bluetooth, multimedia capabilities, and accurate directions. It's certainly a better value than the Magellan Maestro 3100. That said, the C520 has its downfalls: the Bluetooth integration is limited, and real-time tracking and route recalculations could be better. If navigation and usability is of the utmost importance to you, and you can find a good deal on the Garmin Nuvi, you'd be better served by that device instead.
Design
The Mio C520 is one of the best-looking portable navigation systems we've ever seen. The charcoal-gray-and-silver color scheme is attractive, but even more alluring is the thinness of the device. At just 4.9 inches wide by 3.2 inches tall by 0.8 inch deep and weighing 6.7 ounces, it's extremely sleek, so much so that of all the multimedia-capable GPS models we've tested, the Mio C520 is one we'd almost consider using as a portable media player--almost (more on this later).
There's also beauty in the simplicity of the design. Aside from a power button on the top of the unit, there are no other external controls cluttering the device. Instead, all functions and text are entered through the C520's spacious, 4.3-inch touch screen. It displays 65,000 colors at a 480x272-pixel resolution, making the maps and images look vibrant and text sharp. Also, much to our relief, we could still read the C520's screen under sunlight, unlike the Mio C220 whose screen washed out to the point of being unreadable. We still wish there was a bit more brightness and contrast to the maps, but still, it's a much improved experience over the C220. We should note that some address and POI listings are hard to read since the font size is pretty small.
The interface and main menu system are user-friendly, with clearly marked and bubbly icons. For the most part, we were able to use it without having to crack open the manual, but things do get a little less intuitive as you dig deeper into the applications. For example, there are a number of tabs on the map screen that open and hide various navigation tools that require some time to learn and master. Also, some of the media player controls are hard to discern since their functions aren't identified. On a brighter note, thanks to the larger screen, the virtual keyboard is easier to use than the C220's, and it's also in QWERTY format, so you get the familiar layout and feel of your computer's keyboard. In addition, like Magellan's GPS devices, the C520's keyboard has a predictive function, which will gray out any letters or numbers that don't match street names or numbers as you begin to enter an address.
Other mentionables include an external antenna port and speaker on the back, and a mini USB port and 18-pin power connector on the bottom. There's also an SD expansion slot and 2.5mm headphone jack on the left spine. We are a bit puzzled and disappointed that the C520 isn't equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack for a better multimedia experience.
The Mio C520 comes packaged with a car charger, an AC adapter, a vehicle mount (windshield and dash), a USB cable, and reference material. The windshield mount did a good job of securely holding the unit in place, although we think the cradle felt a bit plasticky and cheap, so take extra care when attaching and removing the system.
Features
The Mio C520 is equipped with a 20-channel SiRFIII GPS chip and comes preloaded with TeleAtlas maps of North America and 6 million points of interest. The basic navigation features are similar to the C710. The system can create directions by fastest, shortest, or most economical route; with or without toll roads, highways, u-turns, and so forth; and in various modes, including car, bicycle, and pedestrian. Other goodies include route recalculation, 2D and 3D map views with day and night colors, route simulations, and safety camera warnings. You can get read our Mio C710 review for a more detailed description of the Mio navigation system, but for this review, we'll concentrate on some of the unique and new features to the C520.
One welcome feature is the addition of text-to-speech functionality. This means the Mio C520 will now speak actual street names, allowing you to pay more attention to the road rather than the map screen, because you get more precise audible prompts. You also have your choice of 14 language and voices, but you can only get text-to-speech directions in English. To complement the voice-guided directions, there's a new split-screen view that displays various details about your trip. You can cycle through several views that give you the distance and direction of your next turn; a list of upcoming turns; nearby gas stations; current time; estimated time of arrival; speed; and more. There's an option to hide this panel altogether if you find it too overwhelming and just want to rely on the map and voice prompts.
With the integrated Bluetooth, you can use the Mio C520 as a hands-free speaker system for your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or smart phone to receive and make calls. For outgoing calls, you can use the onscreen dial pad or select a contact from the device's phone book. Also, if a POI has a listed number, there's an option to dial out directly to that business. Unfortunately, you can't wirelessly transfer contacts from your mobile's address book to the C520, and call history synchronization isn't available on all phones. (See Performance for more.) A nice and unexpected bonus is that the unit works with Bluetooth stereo headsets (A2DP profile).
The Mio C520's media player is basic (though you get equalizer settings and playlist creation) and as we mentioned earlier, the interface is somewhat confusing and bare-bones. Still, you can learn to work with the player; the bigger problem is that the system doesn't always work with all supported formats. Mio says the C520 can play MP3, WMA, WAV, WMV, AVI, and MP4 music and video files, but we weren't able to view any WMV or AVI movies. Mio does include Ulead video converter software, however. Clearly, the most important function of this device is its navigation tools, but with the sleek design and large screen, we could have seen ourselves occasionally using the C520 as a portable video player, so the limited support is disappointing.
Performance
We tested the Mio C520 in San Francisco, and from a cold start, it took about three minutes to get a satellite fix under cloudy skies. Subsequent starts took anywhere from a few seconds up to two minutes, but once locked on, the GPS receiver did a good job of holding onto the signal as we drove throughout the city. We did notice, however, that the system was about half a block behind us when tracking our location. We also entered our standard trip from the Marina district to CNET's downtown headquarters, and the C520 quickly returned with accurate directions. The text-to-speech voice directions were helpful and detailed; the female voice was a bit robotic but we had no problems understanding her. We also missed several turns to test the route recalculation rate, and while the system was fast to give us a new and precise itinerary, we didn't find it to be very efficient. There were times when we knew a more direct route than the one recommended by the C520, but if you're completely new to an area, the C520 can be a lifesaver, getting you back on track to your destination.
For Bluetooth compatibility, we connected the C520 with the Palm Treo 755p and HTC S710 smart phones. We had no problems with the pairing process, and we were able to make and accept calls. However, we couldn't synchronize our call list from either phone. Multimedia performance was mixed. Music playback through the unit's speakers was surprisingly good with plenty of volume and richness, but again, we wish the C520 had a 3.5mm jack so we could plug in a nice pair of headphones. Watching an MP4 video clip was a less satisfying experience, as images often looked pixilated. The Mio C520's 1300mAH lithium ion battery is rated for up to 4.5 hours of GPS use and up to 8.5 hours of MP3 playback with the backlight off.
Intro:
The MiTAC Mio C520 is a 20 channel, automotive global positioning device.Compared to other automotive GPS receivers on the market, it is relatively inexpensive at around $270.
Noteworthy Features:
Has navigation instructions and warnings alerts, which is considerably more favorable than some similarly priced GPS receivers.By way of comparison, the typical cost of a product with a comparable set of audible alerts is $335.Also, this GPS receiver has a 4.3 in screen size, which is more favorable than some similarly priced GPS receivers.By way of comparison, the average cost of a product with this favorable a screen size is $360.Provides verbal navigation instructions.Utilizes WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) technology to achieve an error margin of 3 meters or less.USB computer interface makes it possible to add new programs and maps as well as store previous trips and data.Store trip history and map databases on a standard SD memory card.Its removable memory allows for almost unlimited storage of routes and other data.System includes MioMap v3.3.
Weaker Features:
None noted, given available product data.
Suitability:
An automotive GPS receiver, suited for location monitoring and trip-tracking.Designed for use in land-based vehicles.Has an internal antenna which is desirable for activities where an external antenna would get in the way.This unit is somewhat heavy, weighing in at 6.7 oz.
Value:
In view of its relatively inexpensive price, this GPS receiver has great features for the money.
6 out of 10 - Good MIO C520 Review after One Month of Ownership
I have been using a C520 (purchased from Circuit City in Mid-May, paid $338 after AAA discount coupon) for over ...
I have been using a C520 (purchased from Circuit City in Mid-May, paid $338 after AAA discount coupon) for over a month. I replaced a Garmin Nuvi 360, which was OK but lacked the options and customization that Garmin has had in the older ColorPilot series. Plus I wanted a bigger screen.
The MIO unit is great for the price, BUT they have several issues that must be fixed. See below. I have sent these issues to Mio and iGO (SW supplier to MIO). Mio has not responded. iGo has responded and claims they will look at the issues for an upcoming software release in summer.
Until they fix the high priority items, I still recommend Garmin for the entry level user. Experienced nav users, willing to overlook the following bugs, will enjoy the vast customization and advanced features. Great detour function! Garmin take note: Your detour function is useless on the NUVI 360!
High priority must be fixed: 1) When approaching the destination, there is no indication if address or POI is on the Left or Right. This is a BIG, BIG issue. When you have shopping malls on both sides of the street, you don?t know which way to turn to find your POI or destination!!!! 2) No selection to find POI along the current route. Add ?Along Route? to Change Reference selection screen. This is a great option when traveling on a highway route and you want to find your favorite restaurant or brand of gas or Rest Area on the same side of the highway. You don?t want to travel miles off your route if there is a POI directly ahead on your current route. It saves time and money (gas). 3) When sitting still at a traffic light, often the map ?auto rotates? sometimes up to 90 degrees and shows your position at an angle to the road. You have to drive about 100-200 feet before the icon straightens out and shows you traveling parallel to the road. If the unit had a gyro, I?d say the gyro was getting out of calibration, but the unit does not contain such a device, so I have no idea what causes this issue. 4) Can?t find a way to repeat the last voice command. The speaker icon is not showing on the map screen. I think this is a Software bug, as the manual shows a speaker icon on the screen. 5) The voice commands stutter often. It seems worse on the female voice. ?Fa-fa-fa-follow the current road.? ?Turn Ra-ra-ra-right.? It?s really annoying.
Highly Annoying and should be fixed: 1) We have several major roads in Michigan that are divided with a median and have left turnarounds every 500-1000 feet to facilitate reversing directions. They also allow for ?Michigan left turns? where instead of using a left turn lane, you must turn right on your target road and then take a quick u-turn to head left. I was working at Bose in Framingham, MA until last October, so the road that sort of exemplifies this situation the closest in Route 9, except you exit right to turn around. The Mio C520 issues commands almost continuously in these situations: ?In 500 feet, keep right?; in 900 feet, keep right, in 600 feet, keep right, in 500 feet, keep right??.? It?s really annoying to the point where you either turn off the unit or you start ignoring it and finally miss a real maneuver. No other GPS unit I?ve tried does this, so I think the iGO engineers must not encounter this situation in Europe where they develop the software. In the map screen, the turnarounds are labeled ?connecting roads? so it must be some logic tied to this road classification. 2) After calculating a route, it should say something, like ?Please proceed to the highlighted route and route guidance will begin?. Or, something shorter: ?Ready to navigate?. Or, a simple chime. 3) After calculating a Route and you are in a parking lot (not on the route) the Info screen does not give you the Route Information (arrival, distance, etc.). You have to get on the route before the information pops-up. If I am trying to evaluate different routes or estimate an arrival time, it can?t be done. 4) The Arrival time or Distance cannot be found for Vias in the Itinerary List. So, if you set-up a via point for lunch ahead on the route, you can?t find out the distance or estimated time of arrival to the via point in the Itinerary List. It only gives the arrival time and distance for the final destination. 5) The screen gets washed out in sunlight. The need for thinness and battery life probably drove the compromise. 6) It is very difficult to ?drag and drop? to move the map around without the C520 triggering the cursor to inquire if you want to enter it as a destination/POI. This is really aggravating while driving. Change the sensitivity to make the touch of the screen longer before you pop-up the cursor so it is easier to pan the screen. 7) The Lock-On-Road option too strongly ties the current position icon to the road and turning it off is too loosely associated and the icon drifts too far off the road while in a route. When it?s Locked-On-Road, it doesn?t do a good job of vehicle icon orientation in a large parking lot to help you maneuver back to a digitized road. It locks you to the closest road and you have no way of knowing which direction to head out of the parking lot to get to the highlighted route.
Annoying: 1) I prefer the Garmin method of displaying the scale. Keep it one width. It?s too confusing to have the bar changing size AND scale simultaneously as you change the zoom level. 2) After calculating a route, it should say something, like ?Please proceed to the highlighted route and route guidance will begin?. Or, something shorter: ?Ready to navigate?. Or, a simple chime. 3) The screen has poor contrast and gets washed out in sunlight too easy. The need for thinness and battery life probably drove the compromise. 4) In the POI list, if two POIs are the same distance away from your current location, the two POIs will swap positions in the list constantly. When you try to choose one, it?s like shooting at a moving target. You might get the one you want or you might not. Suggestion: Order the list by distance first and then alphabetical order so no swapping back and forth occurs.
Personal preference: 1) The HMI (Human Machine Interface) is a bit cluttered for big fingers. The Clarion implementation of the same iGo software might be better. Plus, the Clarion has the speaker icon that the Mio 520 is somehow missing.
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by navuser1 (see profile) -
June 20, 2007
3 out of 10 - Poor $25 for new maps when they come out
MIO does not offer free maps, or even downloadable inexpensive map updates. You have to shell out $14.95 + $9....
MIO does not offer free maps, or even downloadable inexpensive map updates. You have to shell out $14.95 + $9.95. Be ware of ongoing map update purchases.
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by jetmaxj (see profile) -
July 27, 2007
5 out of 10 - Average Mio C520 - Nice but...
I purchased the Mio C520 as it seemed the best price/value on the market. Garmin's seemed much more ...
I purchased the Mio C520 as it seemed the best price/value on the market. Garmin's seemed much more costly and the others less reliable. So I settled in between.
My opinion is while it seems to be a nice neat package it has flaws that you have to decide whether it is important or not.
Suction cup mount...Right out of the box, I tried to use the suction cup mount and discovered it will not hold on flat surfaces other than a windshield? It loosens and falls over if you attempt to use it on say a table top. They include a funny little black plastic coaster which you are supposedly to stick to your dashboard (not my car thank you). Regardless I tested it and it will not hold to that either. However I stuck it to the windshield at it holds! Go figure??
The power switch...is quirky, you have to hold it down to get a screen that indicates shutdown or reset...I tap the shutdown but it seems to reset as the date and time are always wrong after you do it. If you tap the on-off switch, it just goes into sleep mode. What the true issue is I am not sure but I did report this odd behavior as maybe it is just my unit.
Bluetooth...Tried to bond with my brand new Motorola RAZRv3 and it goes off into some Mio never-neverland. The phone indicates it bonded, but the Mio just has this cryptic "..waiting for device.." message that you cannot get out of unless you shutdown...and of course it resets! I have asked their tech support but I am sure it will be my phone that they will claim is the problem or "atmospherics". Not a big deal to me since it seems a lot more work to set up than to just flip open the phone and use it. Did not try using it with headphones (don't have any) so perhaps that works better.
Accuracy...It was very accurate as far as I could tell locally. The speaking voice was ok for the most part. The display was crisp and relatively uncluttered. But the menus and logic I am struggling with. Trying to enter a destination seems to be a chore and not straightforward and confusing. But in fairness I have had it less than a week so we shall see. SImplicity it is not as others have indicated.
The manuals...come in two parts, 1 for the hardware and 2nd for the software Mio Map. Both are on the CD so you have to print them or read them on a PC. The Hardware is better but both are obviously translations that sometimes make no sense. You'd think by now that someone who is more fluent in the particular language would proof it as this is clearly a European product.
Accessories...if you are looking for a case or another mount, forget it. Nobody seems to carry anything for Mio's. I asked (tech support) about this and they directed me to a couple web sites and Mio has one but be prepared for sticker shock. I had to calculate from Euro's but it seemed that the cheapest, case they had amounted to $43 whereas you could get one for a Garmin or Tom-Tom for $10..everything was very pricey and mostly out of stock on there own web site. Something tells me that it is a work in process but why anyone would put a product out there and no aftermarket support escapes me.
Overall in some areas this could be a terrific product, but in others it seems lacking. I'll see how the tech support deals with the bluetooth and power switch rest issue. Price is aggressive but the aftermarket support is not there at all. So I put this on the borderline. If Garmin meets them in price you are probably better off with the Garmin but it is good to have some competition. Perhaps the next generation will solve the problems but usually if you have less good experience, you are not likely to try it again.
Updated After a couple of weeks with the unit my basic opinion remains unchanged. This could be a terrific product but it needs some work. Tech Support was not very helpful and no follow up even when asking for additional info. I am not sure why, but they really do not seem to interested. They also like to refer issues to some other department (aka sounds a little like the run around) to evaluate your problem but again, no follow up so I submitted the same complaint again. Perhaps the big issue is no N America support.
Updated After several calls to the customer support center and explaining in detail the issues I encountered (battery life 60 minutes, cannot be used when the car charger is plugged in, bluetooth inoperable, Mio agreed to give me an RMA...but the catch was you had to get it in an email and of course they never sent it. Called back a couple of times, but it was obvious that it was a game..So I went back to the retailer who gladly accepted the return and credited my purchase towards a Garmin nuvi 350. Not as many features, but hopefully a better experience. BUY THIS PRODUCT AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU NEED SUPPORT YOU WILL FIND IT A FRUSTRATING, UNPRODUCTIVE EXPERIENCE!
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Best Value for the Money by Far
This is my third Mio. I have owned the C310X and the C710. The C520 is my favorite by far. ...
This is my third Mio. I have owned the C310X and the C710. The C520 is my favorite by far. I love the widescreen display and the Texct to Speech. It comes with newer maps (2006.10) and you can't find any GPS with the same features for any price close to this. I am hoping that Mio USA updates the maps frequesntly and that they start selling the TMC cradle. Overall a great unit!
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by mikefromnj (see profile) -
June 7, 2007
6 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Nice Gps, good price, 4:3 sreen
I was thinking of getting a Gps as a gift. I read several reviews about this product and also the ...
I was thinking of getting a Gps as a gift. I read several reviews about this product and also the Garmin Nuvi Gpss. Now i am not taking anything away from Garmin, but the Mio c520 rocks. I got this for 320 off ebay and i couldn't have made a better choice. I am having a blast using it. It is very accurate. It also speaks the name of the street, not just "Turn LEft in 30 ft" but the actual street name. I paired it with my bluetooth phone and was able to make and receive calles thru the unit. The volume is loud. If you are a first time user of GPS the learning curve for it will take a bit longer than traditional GPS. But the end result will be the same. Also the screen is great 4:3" and with a touch can be converted to a 3:5 with the the rest showing information E.G speed, distance ....
I have only used the nuvi 660 for a short time over a freinds house, but this Mio takes the cake hands down. When one compares the price to the amount of features. This is a good deal. The only con as i said before was that with the Garmins it took me around an 1 hr to become comfortable using it. With this it was 3 hrs. After the 3 hrs it was smooth sailing.
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by radiculus (see profile) -
August 22, 2007
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Features Rock!
As being a previous owner of the Mio 310x, I thought an upgrade to the 4 inch model would be ...
As being a previous owner of the Mio 310x, I thought an upgrade to the 4 inch model would be nice to try. Well I was right, this just adds to my excitement of the Mio brand and format. Overall, I just love this GPS unit. My favorite part of the C520 is the voice guidence, same voices from the C310x but it includes one more... Text-To-Speach, a womans voice, which gives it the ability to be more precise, telling you road names(not always perfect pronounciation but works well) as well the distance. 3D mapping makes it sweeter, as you get closer to you next turn or change it zooms closer in, when you turn, it zooms back out and arrows point your direction out, 2D is a option too. The unit can display your distance, speed, time, and time to arrive at your destination. Since it has a larger screen, it will display either your speed and time or you can have it give you the next four Points of Interest, like gas stations and points a arrow compass from your current location to them. Night mode is a great feature, it turns the screen dark black, roads blue and guide in red, very cool.
This unit also has 2GB of memory built in as well a SD card slot, so you can add and play videos, music or load pictures to view, Calculator and Currency exchange tool. Bluetooth included to, havent tried since I dont have it on my current cellphone.
My only negitive part of the unit, same with the C310x, is if you turn it off at night and go back to it in the morning, it can take 30secs to a minute to link back up to the Satallites, not a huge issue but enough to point out.
5 out of 10 - Average There are better units
I have to admit that the Mio C520 is very sexy. It is thin and light and looks like a ...
I have to admit that the Mio C520 is very sexy. It is thin and light and looks like a mini plasma screen on my windshield. The C520 is also loaded with tons of extras and it is value priced at around $300 street. Sounds sweet, but?
My unit froze after a day of use, so I can?t comment on the MP3 player, etc. I can comment on the GPS functionality.
The GUI is initially very cool looking. Tons of information on a bright screen. In short order I realized that I had too much information. Panels on the right, panels that would appear when I would touch the screen, buttons on the screen, etc. None of this is terrible, but other units reduce the clutter which makes for a more useable interface. Now you can turn off some of the screens, but then you lose other important info, like the distance to your next turn.
I had the machine route from an office to my home, about 14 miles. The unit directed me to the expressway. This would normally be the fastest route, but not in rush hour traffic. There are many alternatives and I chose one of them. Where most other units (Garmin, TomTom, etc) would simply re-route, the Mio kept on insisting ?turn around? over and over again until I passed the freeway (about 2/3s of the trip). It then told me to ?keep to the left? over and over. This was because two intersecting streets were very close to each other (less than 1/4 block) the second one being my right turn. Immediately after I passed the first street it commanded me ?turn right!? If I didn?t know better, or if I was less familiar with the area I would have had to slide over from the left lane to the turning lane (3 lanes) in rush hour traffic. The turning icon was no help here, it looked more like a letter from the Klingon alphabet than a clear directional arrow.
I have used many other GPS units and never had this sort of problem with units from Garmin, Magellan or TomTom. In fact the only other time I had a similar problem was using a unit from Holux (the GPSmile 52 +). That unit gave similarly confusing direction, which makes me think that both units use the same routing software (although they have totally different GUIs).
I think most users would be happier with a unit from the big three. Another alternative is the Nextar brand which offers a very nice product at a very nice price. Sure you won?t get all the bells and whistles, but you will get a unit that does its primary job well.
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by kunaland (see profile) -
August 21, 2007
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Go for it!!
I upgraded from Mio C310x. it was more than I expected --- it was a lot better! packed with extra ...
I upgraded from Mio C310x. it was more than I expected --- it was a lot better! packed with extra features (some are not even available from the more expensive ones). for the price you pay - $250-$300 you can never go wrong with this GPS. the thing with MIO is you just have to play with it to get the hang of using it, familiarize yourself with the functions and before you know it - you'll thank yourself you bought it! =)
Updated - i just called customer service to confirm what others say that Mio's CS sucks --- i dialed 1-866-MIO-4-GPS & after 2 rings a tech. representative answered (not a machine recording like the other companies) and he's been really patient and helpful to all my questions... - my unit doesn't stutter / freeze - GPS locator/icon doesnt rotate when i stop on an intersection.. - i dont know whats wrong with the other guys having these problems! you guys just probably need a software upgrade OR you own a more "popular" and expensive brand which really sucks and are just sourgraping. this GPS really works!
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Best value for the money
I have been using a GPS receiver with a laptop for a couple of years. Therefore I am a little ...
I have been using a GPS receiver with a laptop for a couple of years. Therefore I am a little picky on my first handheld GPS. I did a lot of research and almost decided to buy Garmin Nuvi 350 which has great reviews from hundreds of users, when I went to a local Fry's and saw Mio C520. I was overjoyed by my finding because Mio C520 delivered all functions and more I considered missing on Nuvi 350 at about the same price (online). A 4" LCD is also a big plus. Now I have been using it for about two weeks and my experience is mostly positive. Below is my review, plus some tips on how to use this great gadget. I will not repeat common features such as voice instruction, 3D map view, night display mode, etc.
The good:
1. Tons of convenient functions - almost everything you can ask for from a car GPS. This is the biggest advantage over the easy-but-over-simple Nuvi. To name a few, - Mio C520 allows virtually unlimited user points of interests (POI) which can be organized in user defined folders. - It supports virtually unlimited vias (comparing to only 1 for Nuvi). - It tells you your coordinates (longitude, latitude, altitude) together with a nice satellite chart showing each satellite's signal strength; you can also enter your destination or POI location using coordinates without a street number. This truly blows Garmin Nuvi away! Many GPS beginners may think such coordinates have no use. I'll just give two examples: One application is for emergency - either roadside on a lonely highway not close to any exit or on a mountain trail, as long as your cell phone still has signal, you can call for help with your exact location. The other is for difficult POIs such as the McWay Fall near Big Sur - try finding its street address! My approach: find the tag on google earth (thanks to google community), read its coordinates, input them into your Mio, and you are set! In fact google earth + Mio can be a very powerful travel planning tool as you can see the surrounding of your destination, read reviews, or even watch guide videos, and input any interesting spots you find as a POI into Mio without worrying about the street address at all! In this way, I "discovered" Hollywood Bowl for my southern CA trip (hey, what's that funny round architecture?). - The history function is great - if you lose track of your POI in the process of zooming/panning, just find it back in history. If you find on Mio some place you want to visit tomorrow but do not want to bother saving it as a custom POI, no problem. Just find it back tomorrow in the history. - The POI database is great! I can even find my company name (a small start-up). The ability to change the "reference point" while searching a name is fabulous - you can search near your GPS location, near the cursor, near an address, near a history point, near a coordinate, etc. One tip for searching: computer prefers exact spelling. I once tried finding the closest Walmart and got shocked that none had been listed. It turned out that the correct spelling is Wal-mart. Mio does not allow you to input "-", but you can simply use a space as substitute. - It can record your trips in track logs and replay - i.e. the popular "bread crumb". This would have been perfect for a casual hiker if the battery life was longer. In reality, you cannot afford having your Mio on all the time, but I imagine with the custom POI function you can still plan your trail ahead of time by storing waypoints or track your location by occasionally turning on Mio and saving the current GPS location as a POI. However, serious hikers should buy GPS designed for hiking and outdoor. - Worried about losing your whole custom POI data in an accident? With one button you can backup your precious data onto an SD card, or restore it after such an accident.
2. A slim nice build with amazing visual presentation. The map looks very nice, even better than Nuvi. Details are just right. Want to see the big picture before following the GPS? There's an easy overview mode. The large 4" LCD provides enough space to display extra info if you like - either your current status (speed, time to arrive, etc.), or the list of turns ahead, or nearby gas and food, etc. I found these very helpful, but with one click you can also hide them and use the whole screen to show map.
3. Extra value by integrating bluetooth, media player, and expansion card slot. I didn't use bluetooth, but I can imagine if you have a compatible cell phone it'll be very convenient to find a restaurant and tap one button to call them directly from your Mio. Picture viewer is great with 4" LCD - I already used it to describe hard to find items to the assistant in an office store. A picture is more than a thousand words! If you have a digital camera with SD card, Mio would be a great photo preview tool so you don't have to take your laptop out. Your SD card shows as an external drive when you plug Mio into your computer, so you can even save a card reader. Not advertised, but you can play music while voice guidance is on, and when Mio wants to tell you an instruction it will mute the music temporarily just like Nuvi.
4. GPS receiver sensitivity is good - if initially locked ouside, I can still get signal indoor, sometimes even far away from any window. Re-locking satellites when resuming from stand-by mode is super fast, as long as you have not travelled far from the location where Mio has entered stand-by, and it is the same day when you turn Mio back on. Mio support says some programs are still running in stand-by, but my experience shows almost no power consumption in stand-by. So, you do not have to shut it completely down unless you are done for the day. The only disadvantage about stand-by is that the power button can easily be accidentally touched turning the unit on and wasting power.
5. GPS antenna is beautifully built in. In contrast, Nuvi users must flip the antenna out to enable the GPS, which is neither convenient nor robust.
6. The price is very good. Much much better value comparing to Nuvi 350/360/650/660.
The bad:
1. Battery life is tooooo short. With GPS initial locking + GPS guidance on + LCD backlight always on + full volume, a 30-min trip consumed about 40% of a fully charged battery. The advertised time is longer, but that may require you allow it to dim the LCD when no turn is coming up soon, etc. This is the main reason I don't give it a 10. Luckily Mio can be charged by cigarette lighter in the car, by 110V wall plug, or by a computer (cannot use it when plugged into a computer). So for a prepared trip it won't be a big problem. Just it's a pity it cannot be conveniently used for casual hiking.
2. Mio's instruction simply says "arrive at your destination" without saying if it's on the left or right. Other uses have pointed this out before. It's very inconvenient if you have to look left and right and either change lanes in the last minute or miss it. Luckily, most of the time you can see which side your destination is on by zooming into the map. Sometimes Mio will also guide you to make a U-turn to access a POI on your left. So it's not too bad.
3. Picture viewer and video player do not have very good resizing algorithm. So if your photo or video do not fit the LCD pixel size exactly, they will appear somewhat grainy. Don't misread - the LCD resolution is good; just there's not enough computing to make the resized photo or video still look nice. It's merely a little annoying, but OK for the price. If I have to pay $500 or more I would have expected iPhone experience. J
4. Audio output phone jack is smaller than 3.5mm, so normal stero headset does not plug in! This is bad design.
5. The unit does not come with a carrying case (Mio C520 sold in Europe includes one, but not in the US). I bought a very nice leather case on eBay for $25. It's a little annoying but OK.
6. No way to mute the master volume in one click.
7. The operation is a little complicated, and you need some learning time to master all the wonderful functions. Not for grandma/grandpa or technically-challenged users.
The wishlist:
1. Wish the European maps can be available to the US users soon. Hope by a reasonable price I can purchase future updates to US map, as well.
2. Wish the live traffic service can be available in the US soon.
3. Nuvi has a nice feature which can trigger corresponding audio playing when you move very close to a preset location. This has been used in creating audio tours. Nuvi also has other travel kits that're nice, such as dictionaries, travel guide, etc. Mio should add these as well - they are purely softwares and by adding these this wonderful gadget will be more attractive.
All-in-all, Mio C520 is the best value I found in handheld car GPS. Enjoy!!
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by zhopan77 (see profile) -
July 20, 2007
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Awesome Buy for the Money
For those giving this lower than a '7', get a life. You only paid $400 (or less) for this device. ...
For those giving this lower than a '7', get a life. You only paid $400 (or less) for this device. The nearest competitor is well over $600. This thing is accurate to within 9 feet (I know I've tried). My wife is a florist (I'm white collar), and I deliver on major holidays and weekends. Entry of destinations is quick. When you enter a street name it's very intuitive. Delivering over 1,000 floral deliveries annually, I can tell you, you can't get any better than this. It beats looking at a map book by miles. Those giving it a 1 and a 5 are the 80/20 people. 20% people give 80% of the most inaccurate reviews. Get this unit. I'd recommend it to anyone.
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by OCBrad21 (see profile) -
July 2, 2007
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