Mio C220 review: good buy
May 25, 2007 gps navigation, mio, reviews
We’ve been testing the Mio C220 for a while now and it’s been working great. Recently we added the Mio C220 to our GPS navigation systems for $200 list. You can pick up the Mio C220 from Amazon for less than $190.
Our short review:
Hardware: Mio C220 has a very simple design with only one power button on top. All other user interface operations are taken care by the 3.5″ touch screen. Speaking of the screen, it is easy to see even under the AZ sun – unlike what other reviews may say. Oh, and we should also mention that it switches to night mode automatically depending on the time of the day.
Other important hardware spec you may be interested in a sat nav device is the battery life. Mio C220 comes with a 1200mAh rechargeable battery that Mio claims will last you about 4.5 hours. We haven’t tested the battery to its limits but we didn’t see the battery indicator go down after 1 hour of driving at mid range brightness.
Another important feature of car navigation systems is their windshield mounts. Mio C220 comes with a really sturdy mount but it failed provide me with the exact angle I wanted when I tried to attach it on my driver side window. On the windshield it works great though. After a few tries you’ll be able to remove it with only one hand. At the time of this writing we were still trying to perfect the one handed mount.
Before we finish off the hardware section we should mention the GPS fix times were really impressive.
Software: One of the things I liked the about the software was its speed. There was almost no delay between screens or even during POI searches. The graphics, even in 3D, were rendered quite fast including when you zoom in and out.
The menus were easy to get used to, except the volume control was not easy to reach.
Mio C220 lets you just tap on any point on the map and add it to your route immediately. You can also get directions for home after 3 taps.
Other software features of the C220 lets you get warning when speeding, or when approaching speeding cameras. However the map that comes in the SD card does not include the locations for these. You are going to have go to their website and download or add these as you discover them. Camera updates are free for a year.
16 different languages are offered on this machine. One of these has to be yours: English (US), English (UK), Dansk, Deutch, Cesky, Espanol, Francais, Italiano, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Portuges, Suomi, Svenska, Turkce, and Vlaams.
Bottom line: Mio C220 does a good job at all the features it promises. It is easy to use and has a great value for the price. We strongly recommend it.
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May 25th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
[...] Check out the full review [...]
June 6th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
[...] had read numerous reviews before settling on the Mio instead of the pricier TomTom One or a Garmin unit. At the end [...]
July 6th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
I keep hearing complaints about the screen during the day…say you had tinted windows (25%) would this eliminate the problem, or help it a little? Also if the volume is all the way up, is it able to be heard? Please answer my questions by responding to mkasurfer@aol.com
Thanks.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I bought this at Best Buy for $180. I tested it out right away and was VERY happy with the results. I tested it out the night I bought it, and the next morning during the day, and the screen was highly visible during both times, regardless of what that CNET review says. Software is easy to use, I learned it in a few minutes. Speech is loud and clear. Only drawback is that it does not say street names, but it still gives you good directions. All in all I’m very satisfied. Great product for a great price! Thumbs up!
November 11th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I live in Canada, have purchased this Mio C220s, I find this unit to be fairly good for that prize range. Works great in Canada. No unit ist perfect, but it will often take the longest way possible to get to the destination. It’s ok if you’re somewhere, where you don’t know your way around, but in your own city/town, its aggravating. But it will take you there eventually. In Canada, we have the metric system. On this mio 220, things are in miles and yards. I wish to know, how to switsch it over to metric system. There doesn’t seem to be an option to do this. Otherwise I like it.
November 16th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Go to cockpit view and click on the battery icon on the left and the Settings screen will appear. Choose Language and there should be an option for Units. I skinned my c220 so I’m not sure of the normal steps, hopes this helps.
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I bought the mio c220, my second GPS at Pep Boys in Kettering, Ohio for $70.00 after rebates and free gift card (door buster)on Black Friday! I read many reviews before choosing this one. Wow, Up to Date POI w/ phone numbers, Voice turn by turn directions, easy to use! Using record track, you can go back later and put in your own POI. Quick route re-calculation for detours caused by construction, traffic, or a coffee break. This has everything you want, without the add on junk + no subscription fees that the car manfacture’s want to charge you for. LOVE IT
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I have a mio C220 purchased recently I live in USA. The issue with mio is it takesus through difficult route when we know decent routes. This is ok; The biggest problem is that when we reaches our destination. It will not say if our destination (say a building) is on the left side or right side of the main road. It wont even ask us to turn left or right in the internal roads. This is difficult. I am not usre if this is due to some settings problem. If there are any experts please let me know how can I achieve this facility.
February 17th, 2008 at 12:57 am
I got this unit as a gift. It was free so of course I loved it. After doing research on it, I realized that it IS something I would have paid for (and did buy a second one for my wife)
They both are very good. I only paid $149.00 for hers (no tax, no shipping) and it works good also.
I have found a few streets and locations that it DOES NOT have on the map that was included and I am waiting for a response from their Support Dept. to find out if there are updates and all, but still very happy with them.
The things to watch out for are:
#1 Exits, on or off ramps and things like that. With this unit there are MANY times that your exit will be “coming up” on the unit and in reality you have just passed the entrance (or exit) that you needed. Sometime only by a few feet but there are times when it has been as far as a couple of blocks.
#1 Stop Signs, Lights, and intersections. Same as above, it will sometimes show you to be getting close to where you need to turn and you will already be there, (or sometimes already turned) And sometimes when stopped at a stop sign or light, it will show that you still have 30 feet or more.
I hope this helped.
Dan
April 12th, 2008 at 9:34 am
I agree with the positive comments above. Received mine as a xmas gift. We live in north rural alberta canada but do travel a fair bit. The map is very up to date – though I haven’t yet been able to find updates on the MIO site.
DH bought it for me as we take motorcycle trips and he knew I would like the gps location & 1 million POI (Points of interest) including emergency contacts like nearest hospital / dentist / hotels / restaurants etc including directions, address and phone #. The POI even works for our remote northern communities.
Screen is easy to see both day and nite – can switch between imperial and metric throught the setup mode descriped above.
Maybe it’s the mode I’m using mine in, but I found mine does tell me to stay right 300 m etc quite clearly and accurately even in multi off ramps (cloverleaf type off ramps).
You can also set the route mapped by most economical or fastest.
To check the US map portion I retraced a couple of routes we did previously (before we had Mio) in Montana and from what I can recall the route was accurate. (Coleville through Lolo pass to Butte Montana).
I’ve also taken it recently to remote camp locations around Wabasca and Peace River AB and it was accurate until I got about 10 miles off the pavement on an oilfield road – pretty darn good I thought.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I purchased this model in Canada and it does not have US maps nor can you purchase maps and use it on this model as any SD cards used on it will not work. We were told updates would be availabe in April, but still none.
I email them, I call them. I get no answers. Google this company and you will find many unhappy customers.
February 19th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Thanks for the info i was thinking about getting and i even have semi tinted windows.
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October 9th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
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