Customer Reviews

Mio C230 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I have the Mio C230 for about a month now. I have to say it was not very easy to use, but after a couple of hours, I was able to find my way around it. This is my third GPS, I have a Garmin C340 for almost two years, and a Nuvi 370 for about eight months; so I can say that I have a bit of experience with the Garmin products which considered to be one of the best GPS in the market. The only reason I got the Mio is the ability to add multiple stops to your final destination (Via Points), and the Mio's ability to optimize the route for you, a feature not available in the Garmin products. My girlfriend is a realtor, and she makes numerous stops to show houses to her clients; with the Garmin, she had to enter one stop at the time, which means that she might be going back and forth or zig zaging around; with the Mio, all she has to do is to input as many addresses as she needs to, and then the Mio will optimize the route and guide her around, cool.

You can enter address either by state / city / street; or you can use zip code / street; very nice feature. Any address you input will be automatically stored in the history and you can retrieve it at any time; you can also copy everything to the SD card and store it in your computer or use the data in another Mio, cool. If you don't have the address but know where your destination is on the map, you can touch that point on the map, and the Mio will take you there.

There is also an icon for "Home" where you can store your home address, by clicking it, the Mio will take you home, a similar one is for "work". You can rename both if needed.

The detailed information available on the screen in "cockpit mode" is impressive, on the upper left corner it shows the next maneuver (an arrow going right or left), below that it shows the distance to that maneuver and the estimated time of arrival to your final destination. Next to that you have four icons to zoom in and out on the map, and to change the view from 2 to 3 dimensions and vise versa. Another nice feature is the pedestrian mode, in that mode; the Mio will take you thru the shortest route ignoring the traffic direction of one way streets. You can customize the Mio for brighter screen or to get louder if you reach a specific speed; routing can be customized to shortest, fastest or economical. You can avoid Toll roads, U turns, unpaved roads, Highways, etc.

The Text to Speech feature is also a definite plus. The only thing that I really don't like in the Mio C230 is the very limited number of POI's (about 900K), you will hardly be able to find anything in there, Mio needs to do smoothing about that limitation. However, you can add you own POI's to the data base if you know the address.

In short, if you don't need the MP3/Photo player, or the blue tooth; then the Mio C230 is the one for you. It is a great basic GPS, loaded with features that may not be available on other big name brands. Impressive signal reception, bright screen, clear TTS voice, nice design, pocket size, at an unbeatable price.

Mio c230 Portable Car Navigation System Mio DigiWalker C230 GPS Portable Car Navigation Mio C230 Digiwalker Portable GPS

I picked the C230 for the following reasons:

1. The price was right. It was on sale for $175 at Circuit City plus I had a $15 coupon.

2. It's the cheapest unit with the "text to speech" feature that I could find.

3. It improves on C220 with a better brighter screen and is louder.

4. All the GPSs on the market (expensive or not, "name brand" or not) have mixed reviews, so I figured I'd take my chances...

5. I like the way you can "tilt" the view between 2D and 3D and stop in between.

6. You can set up multiple waypoints between point A and point B. Not sure how many you can have but it's better than a similar model, say Garmin 300 which you can have a start and a destination with one via point (3 waypoints total).

7. It has a "map panning" feature so you can draw the map on the screen in any direction for a what-if scenario planning.

8. Maps are August 2007 Tele Atlas.

This is my first GPS so I have nothing else to compare it to.

Pros:

1. Responsive. If you don't follow the driving directions the unit's given, it will recalculate fast.

2. Enough features for a basic GPS.

3. Suction cup is excellent! I installed it on the windshield. It's not going anywhere. The unit snaps on and off easy without much effort.

4. SD memory slot for future expansion.

Cons:

1. Not very user-friendly. Need time to learn how to use it.

2. Doesn't have Canada maps.

3. If you have large fingers or can't program a VCR, it won't work for you.

4. No Bluetooth connectivity, no MP3, no pictures.

5. Map upgrades seem elusive and/or expensive. With some digging, I found the 2008 North America map upgrade (includes both U. S. and Canada) for ~$180 on the official website.

http://www.mio-tech.be/shop/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=703

6. POI is on the low side. But I don't go shopping at A GAP or go to a post office out of town.

7. User manual could be better. But I learned how to "program" it without reading through the manual.

8. Lack of a USP cord (or charging via a pc)

I was playing with it really hard to see if I could "break" it. The only time that the unit restarted was when I:

1. Set up with the "Pedestrian" mode but I drove on the high way. It kept on recalculate (because a pedestrian can't get on the highway so it kept on taking the frontage roads) then finally gave up and restarted. And

2. Keep tapping on screen fast and don't wait until the recalculation is finished.

Other than these two scenarios, it works fine. I've owned it for only 2 weeks. I purchased a two-year service plan for $25. Thought it was a small investment in case it goes down for whatever reason plus I may buy a different unit anyway in about 3 years.

Tips:

1. Check off "unpaved" roads so the unit will recognize roads that were unpaved by the time of mapping but now maybe paved anyway.

2. Tilt the unit a bit downward so the sunlight won't shine on it directly.

3. Adjust the distance when the overview changes (between 2d and 3d etc. default is 1 mile and 3 mile) to make gas stations/food etc. show up quicker.

4. Set up a round trip via waypoints and try the "optimize" bottom.

5. Change the color schemes to fit your fancy.

6. Make sure all POIs are not hidden but shown.

7. Change GPS reference point for POI location or trip planning.

8. For planning an out-of-town trip, make sure you have "Home" as the base, then add stops or tourist spots along the way.

9. Understand the difference between the "Map" view and the "Cockpit" view. "Map" is for planning. "Cockpit" is for driving.

Hope this helps.

I have owned it for about 10 days. Everything seems working fine. Signal reception is great. I had a Garmin StreePilot c340 for a few days more than half a year ago. Garmin c340 could not receive signal as soon as I took it away from the dashboard. In contrast, Mio c230 has no problem at all wherever I place it in the car.

Mio c230 is thin, much lighter than Garmin's c340. Touchscreen works fine. Menu is generally good (it took a little bit time to figure out what is what since I did not have much experience with GPS in the past).

Used it today to go to Gilroy Garden (in northern California). The address given at Gilroy Garden's website is 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy, and Google's maps found it easily. When I input the address into Mio c230, it said there was no such address, but nonetheless calculated the route for me. I decided to follow its route, and it led to me to a county park on the same Hecker Pass Hwy, about 3 miles away from Gilroy Garden. So, it was not as accurate as I wished, but not terribly wrong either. A possible excuse might be that the particular address is in the rural area. For the price and all the features I wanted (such as text-to-speech), I hope Mio c230 is a worthy trade-off.

This product works very well in most situations. The graphics are great, the screens are bright, the voices are good, the volume is excellent, the user interface is easy to use except that I found that the buttons are on the small side unless the unit is in your hand, satellite acquisition on startup is slow but rock solid once established, the points of interest are very out of date, route performance on long trips is great but poor on short trips.

Route performance is a big deal because it is the reason that we buy a GPS. My experience over the past month of using the product in 3 different states and on many local trips in the Chicago area have been positive except for the beginning and ending of routes. The program logic without fail, no matter what the settings used, always routes the shortest route. Sounds good right? In practice it is not so good because this means that the route leaves the main roads and highways with higher speed limits and fewer stops and takes off on local streets, zig zagging around local neighborhoods with speed limits of 25 miles per hour and stop signs at every intersection. For example the first time I set the route from my home to work and followed the route it took 27 minutes on a trip that normally only takes 15 minutes.

This strange performance may be the result of the map database being incomplete for all coverage areas. The C230 handbook documents that fact under "Frequently Asked Questions" that the speed warning program function in normally disabled because the speed limit information in the data base is incomplete for all areas. If you remove speed limit information from the route calculation, all roads would have equal weights in the routing decision and would therefore come up with the routing answer that us usually very wrong. This is a deficiency no mater what the cause, is one that Mio needs to address to make the C230 a winner.

I will continue to use the Mio C230 on trips that take me into the unknown but I seldom bother to turn it on, on local trips unless I need a good laugh.

This is the second GPS I have used, the first one is Garmin ique 3600, which is pretty decent one except no text to speech function and awkward dashboard mount. After the experience with Ique3600, I want my next GPS to have text to speech feature (this is important to keep your eyes on the road all time, withou looking at the GPS while making turns) and be affordable. Mio C230 falls in that catagery. I bought through Amazon.com about one month ago and have driven about one thousand miles in different area (NY, MA, PA). The map is pretty accurate for these areas and route recalculation is fast. The only complaint is: the POI has limited number, it does not have the Walmart and Costco near my home. If POI does not bother you as much, I think it is a great buy.

Good product, with text-to-speech. A lot of features without the clutter of non-GPS thingies that one finds in higher-end, much higher-priced models from the "better" brands. A friend brought his Garmin Nuvi 660 along on a trip, and I compared my c230 to it. Obviously the Garmin 660 is better, but I didn't need the extra features and even the extra size. The c230 fits in neatly into my pocket and I am good to go. Update: the lack of sufficient POIs has now become a bit painful so I am hoping MIO or the user community will come up with upgrades.

The Mio c230 is a lot of navigator for the money.

1. Its 3D street/hwy display is impressive: looks pretty and is bright.

2. It verbally tells you the street names.

3. It can simulate your planned trip but the trip speed is somewhat slow.

4. It allows some variable control over the callback volume.

5. It allows you to put in multiple locations and to optimize the order of

your destination arrivals.

6. You have control over statistics displayed: arrival time, time to next

turn etc.

7. QWERTY or Alpha keyboard - your choice.

8. GPS carriage is sturdy and easy to manipulate.

9. Suggests alternate routes.

10.It is almost full-featured. Exceptions include:

*No voice-recognition of user commands.

*No address storage by name (only limited past history).

*No recall of last voice command.

*The POIs are limited, but not a deal-breaker for many.

*The small 3.5" display may be hard to operate for fat finger folks.

*Arrival announcements don't specify which side of the street.

*The learning curve on this unit may be daunting to some - but it is

worth the wait.

*Map chipset doesn't know where some on ramps are, and it won't

always tell you which direction to go (e.g. Fwy Northbound). As a

result, you have to plan ahead by getting a visual on the map.

*Getting a GPS signal from a cold start will take between 1-2

minutes, other starts during the same day will be shorter.

*Sometimes the unit will reboot during long trips, but it picks

back up in about 30-45 seconds without losing a beat.

*When there are fast turns, one after the other, you may have to

slow down while the Mio catches up.

*Alternate route flexibility needs improvement so unit will follow

your lead if you take a different path. (Problem on most units)

Be careful of reviews based on limited user experience - tell-tale signs include words of euphoria as well as absolute statements. The excitement is understandable because of the adrenaline rush you get when one of these babies navigates you correctly on your first trip.

However, most GPS units have some limitations like real-time traffic that isn't really real-time, maps that aren't 100% accurate, or the tendency to get confused in parking lots. The science is still being developed and is getting better over time...

The Mio c230 has many features often found in larger, more expensive units and is a good deal for less than $200.

To start, I am very new to GPS technology. After seeing my friends MIO c220 I was fascinated and decided to get a GPS myself. I was mainly deciding between the Garmin and Tom Tom. After evaluating both the pros/cons of each I thought about that first MIO my friend had and came across the MIO C230.

Now you ask, what can this little guy do:

1. Very compact - I would say the screen is a little bit bigger then a playing card. I was surprised how easily this unit fits into your pants pocket.

2. Multi-point routes - Meaning that you can set multiple routes to progress one after another. For example, suppose you want to go from your current location, to the gym, then to a restaurant. You can program this unit from the start so one route will follow after another in order.

3. Signal - the signal is VERY strong.

4. Text-To-Speech - Yes, it will say "Turn left on YONGE St in 500 M"

5. Canada Maps - The standard unit does not come with these maps. However, You can easily download these from the net (use google).

6. Customizable - Search google.

7. Cost - A text to speech GPS for as low as $100. Well worth it.

The drawback:

The internal memory of this unit is listed at 1 GB. Due to this limitation, there are only about 900,000 POIs and no Canada maps. However, it does come with expandle memory (SD) and you can purchase a card to add your own custom POIs and maps.

Highly Recommended to the new GPS consumer, especially if your the consumer only comparing TomTom Vs Garmin.

******Mio 230C Pros********

- Small enough to fit in your pocket

- Text to speech is great to have at this price

- Auto route calculation when you miss a turn,

- Allows you to input your own POI's and create subfolders for them,

- Cockpit view has all the info you need to see what maneuver is coming next and when,

- Very customizable map color themes

- Uses the SiRF Star III chipset for quick and very accurate satellite lock

- Auto night mode uses time and time zone to adjust itself

- Auto zooms when you are nearing your destination (configurable)

- Charges using USB cord,

- Allows you to remove certain maneuvers and or roads from your route,

- SD memory card slot allows you to save your personal POIs and settings

- Window mount is rock solid

- Uses 2007 maps

- Allows you to input latitude and longitude coordinates this comes in very handy when getting coordinates from other sources like Google earth or POI listings on the internet.

- Price - got it for $172.00 on sale in Nov 2007@ CC.

******Mio 230C Cons*******

- Needs a stylus unless you have needle fingers,

- The SD slot is not used for anything else other than saving your POIs and settings,

- Battery life is short (like 2 ½ hrs, 4 hrs if you use the smart screen feature),

- Very limited POI database (less than a million),

- Menu system does not flow intuitively,

- No map update available as of this review (Nov 2007)

- Found a two year old road missing from the maps,

- Most of the roads on military base in town had wrong names, not sure if this is done on purpose for security reasons or Tele Atlas is just sorry.

- No hard copy manual, it comes as a 92 page PDF file that you have to read from your computer unless you want to spend the resources to print your own,

- GPS gets confused when off road and in car mode (parking lots is one example).

I bought the MIO C230 based on much research and reviews and I have to say after two months of use that I'm quite satisfied with the purchase. The learning curve is almost non-existent. You can learn most of the commonly used features by playing around with the on-screen menus without going through the instrucation booklet. More importantly, it does what it is supposed to do and does it well which is to give directions. The text-to-speech feature is a must - that's the exact reason I bought this unit besides its low price. I drove one time with a friend with the C220 model without such feature and got lost by not turning at the right street, becasue when two streets ahead are close by, and when your GPS tells you to turn right or left in 300 yards, who knows which street the GPS is referring to.