Mio C-250 Digiwalkerr Review
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Today we are testing an entry-level device from the Mio range, the Mio C-250 DigiWalker.Unlike more advanced Mio devices this one doesn't have any other features besides the basic navigation and Mp3 Player.
Mio C-250 was not design exclusively for use in a vehicle, so you can use it as a pedestrian or on a bike,and if you are going to use it outside a vehicle size and weight are very important.The device has the dimensions of 11x8x2 cm and it weights 150 grams.
The device has a Samsung CPU running at 400 Mhz, 32 MB Ram, 256 MB internal memory,and you can add a SD/MMC memory card , but you don't really need more space because the device has all the maps preinstalled and if we take in account that the Mio C-250 has no additional functions 256 Mb are enough for any user.
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The phone comes in a retail package containing : In-car Charger, Mount,USB Cable,Device Holder and User Manual.
Mio C-250 has a 1200 mAh Lithium battery,and according to the manufacturer
it can last up to four hours, but during our tests it didn't last more
than two hours before we got the "Battery Low"message.A drawback
is the built-in battery which is not replaceable.
The design is simple and functional , on the front side we can notice the LCD touchscreen with a 3.5 “ diagonal and a QVGA resolution (320x240 pixels ).It can display up to 65 000 colors.On the right side we can see the SD/MMC memory card slot and a 3.5" Earphone jack.
On the top side the power button is housed and the connector for
the external antenna,and on the back side we can find the speaker.The
bottom has the Mini-USB connector which is used for connecting the device
to your PC for updating Maps , uploading songs..etc. Pc.
Once you start the device , you'll see a menu composed of 3 icons , MioMap , Mp3 Player and the Settings.
Let's talk a little about the three menus that appears when you start the device.
In the “Settings" menu you'll find all the settings for the device , like language ,backlighting, Power Settings..etc.
The next menu is the “Mp3 Player", here you can see a standard Mp3 applications , you can have a play list , it has shuffle mode , repeat mode..etc.
As for the software part , the Mio C-250 device comes with the application MioMap which has maps for Europe.The MioMap is similar to the iGo application , on the Mio C-250 everything is managed through the touchscreen because the device has no buttons.At first you may find the menu a little bit complicated but in a few days you'll get used to it.
Here you can watch the device at work :
Once you access MioMap you can choose between “Map" mode or
"Cockpit", in Map mode you can select between 2D and 3D views , it would be wise to select 2D because the device will work much better in 2D than 3D.In Map mode the map is displayed on the whole screen.Cockpit mode is similar to the Map mode just that on the left side of the display you'll have a few informations displayed in a sidebar like Time , Speed, Remaining Miles and on the map will be displayed on the right side of the screen .
On the right side of the screen you'll notice three indicators for GPS signal,Battery , and Sound.Also you'll get the possibility of choosing between Night Mode and Day and the colors of the map will change according to this setting,so at Night you won't be buttered by bright colors on the map.
Once you have selected your destination it usually takes around a minute for the device to connect to the satellites , the GPS signal is in most cases pretty good, and I you miss a street the device will quickly recalculate the route.There are moments when the device is a little left behind , for example it shows that until the next turn are 50 m but in fact there are only 10, but all in all we can say that it does it job pretty well.
At a price tag of 150-200 Euros , Mio C-250 Digiwalker is a device that is worth looking at if you want to buy an entry-level navigation , and we're sure that you'll be more than satisfied with it's performances.
