Mio C220 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Amazing little unit for the price. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of more expensive units but then it doesn't cost as much either. I was looking for a small, stand alone unit that was actually big enough to use (unlike the H610 which is so small you could never use it in a car) and this fits the bill. It is small enough to fit in my purse or pocket and has no bulky cable on it. There is no MP3 player but then I have an iPod for that. The instruction booklet doesn't explain everything at all but after you play with the unit for a while you can figure things out. The display is easy to read and the voice is loud enough to hear. I also like the pedestrian mode. All in all, I love this thing!

The unit is nice and a great value however the map data is so old you will often not find your destination, which is really frustrating. Also don't bother with this unit if you are going to Canada ever. You may be better served by spending a little more and getting current maps. After all that is the reason for a nav system right?

While not a Garmin Nuvi, this GPS is incredible for the price. Pros: Extremely fast screen refresh rates for navigation and route recalculations. It came out of the box ready to go with the entire US database already loaded on the SD card. No need to do anything other than insert the card, turn on the device and go. The battery was even charged enough to use it for a while. Audio is very good considering it's compact size. Very good high contrast screen resolution even in bright sunlight. Cons: Inability to store canned routes. All in all, a no-brainer. Highly recommended!!!


Pros:Preloaded US maps, decent POI database

Cons:No text to speech, very low volume, usage not intuitive

Recently purchased the MIO C220 from Staples. They had it on sale for $199, with an additional $25 for a two year replacement plan. I bouth this unit for my trip to Southern California. My heart was stuck on the the Nuvi 360 for its text to speech, but couldn't afford the price tag.

The MIO actually surpassed my expectations. It's very accurate and route recalculations were right on. The device came with a 1GB memory disk that has the US map and POI database pre-loaded. The POI database is decent and well categorized.

The feature I found most useful and that mitigated the lack of 'text to speech' was the display of next maneuver on the top line. So when the voice says, "Take right in 100 yards", you can glance over the top line and know what street is being referred to.

Not the best GPS out there, but definitely the best GPS for that price.

I bought this product without reading reviews and am loving it. I used it for few destinations and it's very accurate. Moreover, the processing is very fast that leads to faster recalculation of route if you lost a turn. Mio c220 takes just 15 seconds approx. to recalculate the route and you are back on track. I also liked the screen and resolution. Great product of reasonable money!!! Strongly Recommended.

I have owned Mio C220 GPS for about 6 weeks now. It has been working great. It's inexpensive and accurate, and it takes me where I want to go. I like it.

I will begin by saying I loved this product when it worked. It was easy to learn and use and had a bright screen that was easy to view. I never really got a chance to use the navigation features, however.

I had significant issues with the performance of the product. After working well for two days, mine stopped reading the card with the maps and just showed the default/demo view of Arizona. I tried reloading the maps on the card but without luck. I exchanged it for another. This one would only show what I would call a "blue screen of death" (this is a Microsoft platform, afterall) when I tried to boot it up. I exchanged it for a third which worked for another couple of days, then had a "fatal error trying to read memory card." I rebooted it and it worked for another day before it again stopped reading the card and just showed my location on a map with no streets. I tried contacting technical support, which I won't get into other than to say it was not helpful. I gave up and returned it.

I just bought one today, was very difficult to get it going as per the instructions, which are just terrible.
Got it going myself, which was not too big a job.
When I took it out of the box the cable to attach it to my computer,s usb port for charging was missing, the battery was at 58%, It took a little doing but I was amazed at how accurate it was, dead on.
Its very touchy when you input where you want to go, fingers are too big, use the back of a pencil eraser, works just fine.
I know have the second unit next to me now, hope the battery charger cable is there, if not back to staples regardless, price is way too high and will reorder from Amazon.



SUCKS!!! SUCKS!!! SUCKS!!! I have three c310x's and like them alot but was getting tired of waiting on the "supposedly" spring map updates. Thought I'd try the c220 or c520 but finances dictated the c220. It was a little more accurate than my c310x but Holy Cow.... you could hardly see the screen or hear the voice prompts. The reviews at the CNET website chew it to pieces. I am in awe of the people who say this a great unit. If they ever update the maps of the c310x, it may be the best MIO ever gets. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT AT CIRCUIT CITY!!! They wanted to charge me a $30 restocking fee for a crummy unit. The best they would do is set me up with another crummy unit. I got another c310x, walked away and kicked the dust of my shoes.

I have been using this unit for several hours a day over the last week to make many short (1-6 hour) driving trips in a new region. The paper instructions that come with the unit don't describe the detailed features, but there is a little '?' icon on most screens with detailed help info. Getting everything to work took 5 minutes, it's very intuitive for a gadget of its complexity. Most importantly we found the basic functionality easy to use right away, and over the course of several days we slowly found additional advanced features and parameters that can be used to customize the unit to our preferences. This lets you get started without frustration, and gives you more to think about once you're familiar with the basics.

As far as navigation and maps, the unit reroutes very quickly. The TeleAtlas maps are supposed to be one of the best, but there were a couple of places (3 over many many hours of driving) in which information was not up to date or was incorrect. I bought the unit in May 2007, the maps for where we are are from November 2006 according to the unit, so pretty recent but still containing a couple of mistakes.

We've also taken the Mio on a hike by using the pedestrian mode, marking the location of the car, and turning on recording of our walked route. On the way back we were able to see where we had been and where the car was. The battery lasts about 6 hours if you turn the screen backlight down.

As far as sound quality, the instructions are easy to hear and understand. Unfortunately this unit is not able to read the street names, it can only say "turn left in 100 yards", which is less useful. But it does display the street name on top of the screen, so you can always look over quickly and read it.

Compared to other products, it's of course missing the mp3 and video functionality, as well as the text-to-speech I just mentioned. I feel that these features are less important, and having a unit for under $200 was great. I like the interface, it's pretty intuitive and contains a lot of features. And I've also used the Nuvi and I like the Mio just as much!

Overall, this has been a great buy, it has greatly reduced the stress of driving in a new place and has allowed us to do more enjoyable things than staring at a map.

Found this unit at Circuit City on sale for $179.99! I've been wanting a GPS unit for some time, but the prices are just to high for my meager budget. But prices have been dropping and when I saw this, I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did. This is a very basic unit with little in the way of "frills" but a solid unit none the less. First off it does the job of getting you there very well. With no streets being voiced you have to pay attention, but I've not had many problems with this. And it recalculates very fast. Some of the menu's are a little hard to figure out, but with time, everything is smooth. The sound is fine if you don't have your radio on. It gets a little hard to hear with the radio on and up loud enough to hear well. I saw the review on cnet that said the screen was weak, but I've been using this for 2 weeks and I've had no problem even in bright sunlight. I think the screen is very bright and clear. I've seen brighter ones on unit that cost 600 dollars and up, but, this unit is less than $200! Come on. And who needs video and bluetooth and mp3 players built in. Buy an I-pod for heavens sake. This is a GPS unit and it does it darn good and it $200 dollars!! If you can afford it, you will find better units but for this money, I don't see how it can be beat! No problems with reliablity or battery life. Both have been fantastic. I am enjoying this unit very much. Best purchace I've made in a long time.

Let me start by saying how great this unit is, for its price, design, and ease of use. I never leave home without it when I drive. After using the mio c520x from my brother, I decided to buy one since its $199 at Circuit City. in my opinion, Mio is one of the best GPS nav companies out there. Maybe not for overall design..

The only REAL problem that I get from this unit is the maps. It is not the most updated map. I did a side by side test with the mio c520x, did the same directions, and found that the C520x's are more accurate. It doesn't make that makes the unit better though. As it shares it own problem. Another one is the POI. Its really outdated. Some business dont even exist anymore and yet its still listed. I really wish that Mio would update the POI's and Maps for this unit. No updates is listed yet on their website.

The price is decent, I got this from staples for 170ish....the GPS is very accurate and it recalculates the route very Quickly(Sirf III)...i went to Chicago for the first time alone and it took me to all my destinations very easily...
The voice could have been louder and I would have loved TTS but still I think its the best that you can get in this price range

I bought the Mio C220 for $179 and have used it for about a week. The maps are very up-to-date (April 07) and it hasn't guided me wrong yet. The CNet review warned that the screen was difficult to read. I have had no problem even in bright sunlight - perhaps their reviewer just got a bad one? The only improvement I would like to see is a more convenient way to enter custom Points of Interest. I have a large customer base and would have liked to have either imported my contacts or at least had a slightly easier interface for enter them individually. Other than that the C220 has been an excellent buy.

I had the Mio 310x, and also got (...) off the Nuvi 660 from Costco. But this is the best. The Mios are generally very configurable (you can set up cockpit mode to tell you ETA or DTE for example, change the colors etc). The Garmin 660 only tells you ETA and you have to touch the screen to get any other info. But what really pissed me off about the Garmin was its POI database. Indian restaurants are under "International", some even under "Italian", and it is also completely outdated (The Indian Palace restaurant in Fremont/Newark, CA for example, has been closed since over 3 years --- tell Garmin that someone). The Mio has very get categorizing and is up to date. It has a separate category for "Indian" food. It also boots up and reroutes in a blink, much faster than the Garmin 660 for sure. To think Garmin tries and succeeds in charging $800 for their lousy product. Even the Mio sound quality is far superior. I am truly surprised at the quality+performance versus price. The C220 is the best bang for the buck out there, dont get fooled by the sticker.

First, let me say that our whole family is "direction challenged". It actually happened once that I left Houston for Dallas and found myself arriving in San Antonio. As a result, having something to help me navigate is a godsend.

I frequently have to go somewhere I've never been before. As a magician, it's not uncommon to be hired to perform in someone's home, and finding my way there can be a chore. I bought the Mio C220 last week, and used it for two gigs over the weekend. Before the end of the day, I was in love with it. Easy to use, every essential feature I can imagine, and has a price tag that doesn't break the bank. Highly recommended.

It's real a good GPS to use.But I still think it need some progress in software. For the begining user generally First they want to know is where I am now. Then is the destination. C220 can do this but somehow not directly. Its operate system is not easy to use for green hand. Another prblem is when you enter subway or channel you will lost your GPS signal, there are so many lanes under the channel in fact. which is the right way? The only thing I can do is follow my institution. But luck is not always beside you.

I bought this unit after looking at my friend's 310x. The C220 is sleaker than the 310x. When I received the box, I found that there is no USB cable or charger to charge the unit. It only contained a car charger. Never mind, the unit was already charged and the battery icon in the unit said more than half the charge. The Motorola RAZR/Blackberry Pearl charger is compatible with this unit. So, if you want to charge it at home, use these. And also if you would like to charge these phones in your car, use the Mio car charger.

I was able to get started without reading the manual. Each of the screens in this unit have a help screen which is very helpful. It was amazing to see the unit picking up satellites even inside the house. But, it found hard to pick the satellites when inside a multi storied apartment. It displays street names on the map when navigating. The voice commands does not say the street names. The street name to turn next is displayed on the top of the screen and the street you are currently in is displayed on the bottom of the screen. This gives an idea where to turn next. The voice is louder enough but is lower compared to the 310x. The voice might be low when the radio is on.

I took this unit to a long trip to Chicago. The routing was accurate. The unit recalculates quickly when I missed a turn. But, it did not work as expected when in downtown area. It kept on recalculating thinking that the car is at a behind location. But it worked perfectly elsewhere.
The brightness of the screen is little low when compared to the 310x model.

The POI database on this unit is decent. It also have the phone numbers of the businesses. But, it could be much better. We searched for a restaurant in the POI which is nearby the hotel we stayed in Chicago and drived to the location. We did not find any restaurant at that location and when we called up the phone number on that address, they said it is not a restaurant. At other instance, when was looking for a u-haul location, I could'nt find u-haul in the POI. All other major rental companies were listed but not u-haul.

This one is a dedicated GPS navigator without MP3, Video and Photo viewer. But, the Windows CE running on the unit is hackable. You could add MP3 and Video player. Search on the internet.
Overall, this is a good GPS considering the price.

I have just begun to use the C220 so I haven't been able to test all the features. So far it has been very accurate and the routes it chooses are good. Some of the routes around town are not the most direct or quickest, but it quickly recalculates if you don't take its route and will generally pick the route you intend to take. The POI database seems very good. However, this is the first time I have used a product with a POI database, so naturally it has been very helpful.

The graphics are very good IMO and the 3D view is very helpful at showing the up-coming streets so you can get a "bird's eye" view of the area...helpful for taking detours etc.

Anyways, for $185 to my door, it is certainly worth that.

I bought it for 2 reasons: brand&design. I really like the industrial design, slim and simple. I did lots of surveys, and I found C220 is worth buying in $200 GPS. In this price, you can't find products in the same level from Tomtom&Garmin. Other brands maybe cheaper but don't look solid.

The only thing I'm not satisfied is the ROM size(US version=256MB, while Taiwan&French version=512MB). However it's not an issues for ordinary users. This GPS package only comes with the car charger. So you'd better get a AC charger by yourself(any kind of mini USB charger works. I bought a RAZR charger for $5.99)

The other great thing about C220 is it's hackable, although harder to do compared with other MIO's PND. But even you play it in original ways, it won't let you down.

Had pretty much decided to go with Nuvi 350, but when I went in to store I found this cute little GPS for half the price. I bought it thinking would return it even if I find flaw, but I must say mio has surpassed all my expectations. The user interface is intuitive, but dont try to learn how to use the product from the manual. The manual sucks. The POI database is decent, infact its on par with all the other GPS's if you exclude the 3+ mill POI boasted by other manufactures that applicable to canada and europe :). Took this for my boston city and I am home back safely. Highly recommended

My first GPS, no previous experience.

Pros:
* One of the very few current models under $200.
* Works pretty much right out of the box.
* Performance (routing and tapping the screen) is pretty snappy.
* Includes maps for all 50 US states. (Nothing else.)

Cons:
* Mapping data is a bit off. Roads and houses and such seem to be displaced by about 50-100 feet (real world versus the Mio). (Mine came with the 2006.10 maps from Tele Atlas.) It doesn't know my parents' house by address, although it knows other addresses on the same street. Entering coordinates manually gives a spot three blocks down.
* No easy way to update the maps. Apparently it'll cost somewhere in the ballpark of $50-100 to download the current maps from Mio - when they become available "real soon now".
* No easy way to upload POIs of your own (including traffic cameras).
* No easy way to pick an address and name it as a POI while using it.
* Mio support/website has minimal content; I can't even register as a new owner to access the support.
* Screen is bright enough for use in the car (late afternoon/night). It was pretty washed out in direct sun (as expected); makes it tough to walk around with it in the daytime.

Conclusion: It's a great little device for the price, it's definitely sold me on having a GPS navigator at all. If you're willing to just enter street addresses as addresses (every single time), then it should work quite well. Personally, I'm planning to return it for a Garmin nuvi 350.

Pros: Price, 3.5 million POIs with phone numbers. Lightning fast reroute. Auto night mode. Modes for walking, biking, transit and emergency vehicles. Route history, fly by mode. Headphone out jack. Excellent case size/design. Customizable screen gauges, POI display and colors.

Cons: Menus take some time to learn, Only one voice option. Not enough preloaded police cams. No MP3 (If you care about that), No text to speech.

This unit is easy enough to use out of the box, but to learn the multitude of features you will have to read the rather lengthy manual on CD. For instance, this unit IS EASY TO ADD POI's to, just point at the location on the map, hit the add POI button and chose the category. The problem is that to get to that information, you have to read a hundred pages. The unit also seems to have issues calculating yards vs. feet. Feet seems dead on accurate, while yards does not, but is the default on the device. The last negative is the fact that while predefined POI's have a phone number, user defined ones, do not. Negatives aside, this unit is a solid GPS contender. The route calculation is blazing and reroute speeds, amazing. I've used this device for almost a month now and have had no issues getting to where I needed to. It has been in 5 states and has not had a problem anywhere It has been. A quick tip for those who have this unit. Even though there are only 2 default favorites, you can add unlimited POIs to a favorites category.
My unit did come with the 2007 vers. of the maps.

I have owned this unit for about 2 weeks, and have been VERY impressed with it. It is small and light, the screen is bright and crisp, the voice is clear and loud, and overall, the product works great. It lacks some features that other, more expensive GPS systems offers, including: a) Text-to-voice, which enables the voice to name actual roads. b) Detailed driving or trip statistics. It does offer total driving time, distance, and average speed, but does not provide other statistics that I have seen on other units. c) Fewer POIs than other units, but still quite adequate. Other than that, this unit offers just about anything a user would need in an entry-level GPS system. The only minor complaint is that the unit does not easily snap into or out of the mount.

After reading countless reviews and trying a Garmin Streetpilot I3 series, I decided to ignore the warnings of the Cnet reviewer and follow the input of fellow reviewers. I am very glad I did that and got this unit. Here's what I found out:

Pros: quick Satellite fix, accurate navigation, legible touch screen, price.
Cons: Volume could be louder but it's still fairly audible. If you have a need for loud volume, you can get a mini speaker plug-in or use headphones. In my opinion, while not the best, the screen and volume level are decent.


Its worth buying for the price. I never had a GPS before so can not comment on comparision. I have this for 3 days, its bit confusing initially.
how to enter an address -
this is the simplest thing. go to menu, click address, select a city (if it was added before, otherwise enter once to use in the future). enter street name and number. then it will take you to map.

store an address -
- store as favorite, but can store only home and work.
- see in the menu->history, but clear will delete all history at once.
- Add as POI - open the map of address. click the up arrow on bottom right. this should have "add POI" or POI(then new option). sometimes this option is not available in cockpit mode. use map mode in this case.

Its lot convenient if you store them in my POI. I can search by a friend name to get directions. POI database is excellent. unit is very fast, never freezes.

So far I hate clear button, this will delete entire list in that category.

Another useful tip is if you have a Razr charger you can use it to charge this unit at home.



MIO-C220. This stuff is good. It dose not play mp3's videos or picture files but it does what it's made for and that is Navigation.

I got my Mio on Friday and used it on Saturday to drive from my apartment in D.C. to my friend's apartment in Crystal City. This is a bit of a confusing drive for me, as I don't do it very often, but it was made effortless with the C220. No getting lost or weird routes - the Tele Atlas maps were very accurate. I ended up making a detour on the way home to go to McDonald's and the device recalculated my route in a matter of seconds. Very cool!

Highly recommended for its value and accuracy. Also, it was insanely sunny outside and I could still see the screen very clearly despite the glare.

I did alot of research into purchasing a GPS system for a couple of road trips this summer. I was first drawn to Garmin of course since their models are highly rated and I know a couple of people who love them. But, the price tag on the newer models like the nuvi 200 and 350 were just too high for my wallet. I was familiar with the Mio c310x after following it's introduction last fall through the holiday season. It got a lot of great reviews with the caveat that there were some real problems with the maps. When Mio introduced the c220 this Spring with updated maps I thought this could be a great combination. So far I've been proven correct.

Satellite acquisition is very fast and connection is strong. I get a connection in about 30 seconds from a cold start and less than 10 seconds if the system has only been off for an hour or two. I even get a good satellite lock inside my house. Routing by the system is pretty good if you select the "Economical" option. Of course it's not perfect, but I don't think any GPS system is perfect in this regard. Recalculation of your route is done in less than 5 seconds after you miss a turn, this is exceptional. Don't let anyone scare you away from this product because of "screen washout in direct sun"...it's just not true! And while the volume is a bit low at max, this is really not that big of an issue to me.

Is this the best GPS on the market? Of course not. Is it the best in the $200 and under price category? You bet.

Pros
Clean design
Fast interface
Good touchscreen implementation
Satellite acquistion very fast and stays locked
Nice crisp 3.5" screen
Almost instant route recalculation after missing a turn
Excellent 3D map view in cockpit mode
Auto switch to night mode

Cons
Max volume a bit low (only an issue if the windows are open at 55mph)
Some minor quirks in the maps
POI database good, but not great


MIO-C220. This stuff is good. It dose not play mp3's videos or picture files but it does what it's made for and that is Navigation.

I got my Mio on Friday and used it on Saturday to drive from my apartment in D.C. to my friend's apartment in Crystal City. This is a bit of a confusing drive for me, as I don't do it very often, but it was made effortless with the C220. No getting lost or weird routes - the Tele Atlas maps were very accurate. I ended up making a detour on the way home to go to McDonald's and the device recalculated my route in a matter of seconds. Very cool!

Highly recommended for its value and accuracy. Also, it was insanely sunny outside and I could still see the screen very clearly despite the glare.

I did alot of research into purchasing a GPS system for a couple of road trips this summer. I was first drawn to Garmin of course since their models are highly rated and I know a couple of people who love them. But, the price tag on the newer models like the nuvi 200 and 350 were just too high for my wallet. I was familiar with the Mio c310x after following it's introduction last fall through the holiday season. It got a lot of great reviews with the caveat that there were some real problems with the maps. When Mio introduced the c220 this Spring with updated maps I thought this could be a great combination. So far I've been proven correct.

Satellite acquisition is very fast and connection is strong. I get a connection in about 30 seconds from a cold start and less than 10 seconds if the system has only been off for an hour or two. I even get a good satellite lock inside my house. Routing by the system is pretty good if you select the "Economical" option. Of course it's not perfect, but I don't think any GPS system is perfect in this regard. Recalculation of your route is done in less than 5 seconds after you miss a turn, this is exceptional. Don't let anyone scare you away from this product because of "screen washout in direct sun"...it's just not true! And while the volume is a bit low at max, this is really not that big of an issue to me.

Is this the best GPS on the market? Of course not. Is it the best in the $200 and under price category? You bet.

Pros
Clean design
Fast interface
Good touchscreen implementation
Satellite acquistion very fast and stays locked
Nice crisp 3.5" screen
Almost instant route recalculation after missing a turn
Excellent 3D map view in cockpit mode
Auto switch to night mode

Cons
Max volume a bit low (only an issue if the windows are open at 55mph)
Some minor quirks in the maps
POI database good, but not great


Its worth buying for the price. I never had a GPS before so can not comment on comparision. I have this for 3 days, its bit confusing initially.
how to enter an address -
this is the simplest thing. go to menu, click address, select a city (if it was added before, otherwise enter once to use in the future). enter street name and number. then it will take you to map.

store an address -
- store as favorite, but can store only home and work.
- see in the menu->history, but clear will delete all history at once.
- Add as POI - open the map of address. click the up arrow on bottom right. this should have "add POI" or POI(then new option). sometimes this option is not available in cockpit mode. use map mode in this case.

Its lot convenient if you store them in my POI. I can search by a friend name to get directions. POI database is excellent. unit is very fast, never freezes.

So far I hate clear button, this will delete entire list in that category.

Another useful tip is if you have a Razr charger you can use it to charge this unit at home.



After reading countless reviews and trying a Garmin Streetpilot I3 series, I decided to ignore the warnings of the Cnet reviewer and follow the input of fellow reviewers. I am very glad I did that and got this unit. Here's what I found out:

Pros: quick Satellite fix, accurate navigation, legible touch screen, price.
Cons: Volume could be louder but it's still fairly audible. If you have a need for loud volume, you can get a mini speaker plug-in or use headphones. In my opinion, while not the best, the screen and volume level are decent.


I have owned this unit for about 2 weeks, and have been VERY impressed with it. It is small and light, the screen is bright and crisp, the voice is clear and loud, and overall, the product works great. It lacks some features that other, more expensive GPS systems offers, including: a) Text-to-voice, which enables the voice to name actual roads. b) Detailed driving or trip statistics. It does offer total driving time, distance, and average speed, but does not provide other statistics that I have seen on other units. c) Fewer POIs than other units, but still quite adequate. Other than that, this unit offers just about anything a user would need in an entry-level GPS system. The only minor complaint is that the unit does not easily snap into or out of the mount.

Pros: Price, 3.5 million POIs with phone numbers. Lightning fast reroute. Auto night mode. Modes for walking, biking, transit and emergency vehicles. Route history, fly by mode. Headphone out jack. Excellent case size/design. Customizable screen gauges, POI display and colors.

Cons: Menus take some time to learn, Only one voice option. Not enough preloaded police cams. No MP3 (If you care about that), No text to speech.

This unit is easy enough to use out of the box, but to learn the multitude of features you will have to read the rather lengthy manual on CD. For instance, this unit IS EASY TO ADD POI's to, just point at the location on the map, hit the add POI button and chose the category. The problem is that to get to that information, you have to read a hundred pages. The unit also seems to have issues calculating yards vs. feet. Feet seems dead on accurate, while yards does not, but is the default on the device. The last negative is the fact that while predefined POI's have a phone number, user defined ones, do not. Negatives aside, this unit is a solid GPS contender. The route calculation is blazing and reroute speeds, amazing. I've used this device for almost a month now and have had no issues getting to where I needed to. It has been in 5 states and has not had a problem anywhere It has been. A quick tip for those who have this unit. Even though there are only 2 default favorites, you can add unlimited POIs to a favorites category.
My unit did come with the 2007 vers. of the maps.

My first GPS, no previous experience.

Pros:
* One of the very few current models under $200.
* Works pretty much right out of the box.
* Performance (routing and tapping the screen) is pretty snappy.
* Includes maps for all 50 US states. (Nothing else.)

Cons:
* Mapping data is a bit off. Roads and houses and such seem to be displaced by about 50-100 feet (real world versus the Mio). (Mine came with the 2006.10 maps from Tele Atlas.) It doesn't know my parents' house by address, although it knows other addresses on the same street. Entering coordinates manually gives a spot three blocks down.
* No easy way to update the maps. Apparently it'll cost somewhere in the ballpark of $50-100 to download the current maps from Mio - when they become available "real soon now".
* No easy way to upload POIs of your own (including traffic cameras).
* No easy way to pick an address and name it as a POI while using it.
* Mio support/website has minimal content; I can't even register as a new owner to access the support.
* Screen is bright enough for use in the car (late afternoon/night). It was pretty washed out in direct sun (as expected); makes it tough to walk around with it in the daytime.

Conclusion: It's a great little device for the price, it's definitely sold me on having a GPS navigator at all. If you're willing to just enter street addresses as addresses (every single time), then it should work quite well. Personally, I'm planning to return it for a Garmin nuvi 350.

Had pretty much decided to go with Nuvi 350, but when I went in to store I found this cute little GPS for half the price. I bought it thinking would return it even if I find flaw, but I must say mio has surpassed all my expectations. The user interface is intuitive, but dont try to learn how to use the product from the manual. The manual sucks. The POI database is decent, infact its on par with all the other GPS's if you exclude the 3+ mill POI boasted by other manufactures that applicable to canada and europe :). Took this for my boston city and I am home back safely. Highly recommended

I bought it for 2 reasons: brand&design. I really like the industrial design, slim and simple. I did lots of surveys, and I found C220 is worth buying in $200 GPS. In this price, you can't find products in the same level from Tomtom&Garmin. Other brands maybe cheaper but don't look solid.

The only thing I'm not satisfied is the ROM size(US version=256MB, while Taiwan&French version=512MB). However it's not an issues for ordinary users. This GPS package only comes with the car charger. So you'd better get a AC charger by yourself(any kind of mini USB charger works. I bought a RAZR charger for $5.99)

The other great thing about C220 is it's hackable, although harder to do compared with other MIO's PND. But even you play it in original ways, it won't let you down.

I have just begun to use the C220 so I haven't been able to test all the features. So far it has been very accurate and the routes it chooses are good. Some of the routes around town are not the most direct or quickest, but it quickly recalculates if you don't take its route and will generally pick the route you intend to take. The POI database seems very good. However, this is the first time I have used a product with a POI database, so naturally it has been very helpful.

The graphics are very good IMO and the 3D view is very helpful at showing the up-coming streets so you can get a "bird's eye" view of the area...helpful for taking detours etc.

Anyways, for $185 to my door, it is certainly worth that.

I bought this unit after looking at my friend's 310x. The C220 is sleaker than the 310x. When I received the box, I found that there is no USB cable or charger to charge the unit. It only contained a car charger. Never mind, the unit was already charged and the battery icon in the unit said more than half the charge. The Motorola RAZR/Blackberry Pearl charger is compatible with this unit. So, if you want to charge it at home, use these. And also if you would like to charge these phones in your car, use the Mio car charger.

I was able to get started without reading the manual. Each of the screens in this unit have a help screen which is very helpful. It was amazing to see the unit picking up satellites even inside the house. But, it found hard to pick the satellites when inside a multi storied apartment. It displays street names on the map when navigating. The voice commands does not say the street names. The street name to turn next is displayed on the top of the screen and the street you are currently in is displayed on the bottom of the screen. This gives an idea where to turn next. The voice is louder enough but is lower compared to the 310x. The voice might be low when the radio is on.

I took this unit to a long trip to Chicago. The routing was accurate. The unit recalculates quickly when I missed a turn. But, it did not work as expected when in downtown area. It kept on recalculating thinking that the car is at a behind location. But it worked perfectly elsewhere.
The brightness of the screen is little low when compared to the 310x model.

The POI database on this unit is decent. It also have the phone numbers of the businesses. But, it could be much better. We searched for a restaurant in the POI which is nearby the hotel we stayed in Chicago and drived to the location. We did not find any restaurant at that location and when we called up the phone number on that address, they said it is not a restaurant. At other instance, when was looking for a u-haul location, I could'nt find u-haul in the POI. All other major rental companies were listed but not u-haul.

This one is a dedicated GPS navigator without MP3, Video and Photo viewer. But, the Windows CE running on the unit is hackable. You could add MP3 and Video player. Search on the internet.
Overall, this is a good GPS considering the price.

It's real a good GPS to use.But I still think it need some progress in software. For the begining user generally First they want to know is where I am now. Then is the destination. C220 can do this but somehow not directly. Its operate system is not easy to use for green hand. Another prblem is when you enter subway or channel you will lost your GPS signal, there are so many lanes under the channel in fact. which is the right way? The only thing I can do is follow my institution. But luck is not always beside you.

I had the Mio 310x, and also got (...) off the Nuvi 660 from Costco. But this is the best. The Mios are generally very configurable (you can set up cockpit mode to tell you ETA or DTE for example, change the colors etc). The Garmin 660 only tells you ETA and you have to touch the screen to get any other info. But what really pissed me off about the Garmin was its POI database. Indian restaurants are under "International", some even under "Italian", and it is also completely outdated (The Indian Palace restaurant in Fremont/Newark, CA for example, has been closed since over 3 years --- tell Garmin that someone). The Mio has very get categorizing and is up to date. It has a separate category for "Indian" food. It also boots up and reroutes in a blink, much faster than the Garmin 660 for sure. To think Garmin tries and succeeds in charging $800 for their lousy product. Even the Mio sound quality is far superior. I am truly surprised at the quality+performance versus price. The C220 is the best bang for the buck out there, dont get fooled by the sticker.

First, let me say that our whole family is "direction challenged". It actually happened once that I left Houston for Dallas and found myself arriving in San Antonio. As a result, having something to help me navigate is a godsend.

I frequently have to go somewhere I've never been before. As a magician, it's not uncommon to be hired to perform in someone's home, and finding my way there can be a chore. I bought the Mio C220 last week, and used it for two gigs over the weekend. Before the end of the day, I was in love with it. Easy to use, every essential feature I can imagine, and has a price tag that doesn't break the bank. Highly recommended.

The price is decent, I got this from staples for 170ish....the GPS is very accurate and it recalculates the route very Quickly(Sirf III)...i went to Chicago for the first time alone and it took me to all my destinations very easily...
The voice could have been louder and I would have loved TTS but still I think its the best that you can get in this price range

I bought the Mio C220 for $179 and have used it for about a week. The maps are very up-to-date (April 07) and it hasn't guided me wrong yet. The CNet review warned that the screen was difficult to read. I have had no problem even in bright sunlight - perhaps their reviewer just got a bad one? The only improvement I would like to see is a more convenient way to enter custom Points of Interest. I have a large customer base and would have liked to have either imported my contacts or at least had a slightly easier interface for enter them individually. Other than that the C220 has been an excellent buy.

Let me start by saying how great this unit is, for its price, design, and ease of use. I never leave home without it when I drive. After using the mio c520x from my brother, I decided to buy one since its $199 at Circuit City. in my opinion, Mio is one of the best GPS nav companies out there. Maybe not for overall design..

The only REAL problem that I get from this unit is the maps. It is not the most updated map. I did a side by side test with the mio c520x, did the same directions, and found that the C520x's are more accurate. It doesn't make that makes the unit better though. As it shares it own problem. Another one is the POI. Its really outdated. Some business dont even exist anymore and yet its still listed. I really wish that Mio would update the POI's and Maps for this unit. No updates is listed yet on their website.

Found this unit at Circuit City on sale for $179.99! I've been wanting a GPS unit for some time, but the prices are just to high for my meager budget. But prices have been dropping and when I saw this, I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did. This is a very basic unit with little in the way of "frills" but a solid unit none the less. First off it does the job of getting you there very well. With no streets being voiced you have to pay attention, but I've not had many problems with this. And it recalculates very fast. Some of the menu's are a little hard to figure out, but with time, everything is smooth. The sound is fine if you don't have your radio on. It gets a little hard to hear with the radio on and up loud enough to hear well. I saw the review on cnet that said the screen was weak, but I've been using this for 2 weeks and I've had no problem even in bright sunlight. I think the screen is very bright and clear. I've seen brighter ones on unit that cost 600 dollars and up, but, this unit is less than $200! Come on. And who needs video and bluetooth and mp3 players built in. Buy an I-pod for heavens sake. This is a GPS unit and it does it darn good and it $200 dollars!! If you can afford it, you will find better units but for this money, I don't see how it can be beat! No problems with reliablity or battery life. Both have been fantastic. I am enjoying this unit very much. Best purchace I've made in a long time.

I have been using this unit for several hours a day over the last week to make many short (1-6 hour) driving trips in a new region. The paper instructions that come with the unit don't describe the detailed features, but there is a little '?' icon on most screens with detailed help info. Getting everything to work took 5 minutes, it's very intuitive for a gadget of its complexity. Most importantly we found the basic functionality easy to use right away, and over the course of several days we slowly found additional advanced features and parameters that can be used to customize the unit to our preferences. This lets you get started without frustration, and gives you more to think about once you're familiar with the basics.

As far as navigation and maps, the unit reroutes very quickly. The TeleAtlas maps are supposed to be one of the best, but there were a couple of places (3 over many many hours of driving) in which information was not up to date or was incorrect. I bought the unit in May 2007, the maps for where we are are from November 2006 according to the unit, so pretty recent but still containing a couple of mistakes.

We've also taken the Mio on a hike by using the pedestrian mode, marking the location of the car, and turning on recording of our walked route. On the way back we were able to see where we had been and where the car was. The battery lasts about 6 hours if you turn the screen backlight down.

As far as sound quality, the instructions are easy to hear and understand. Unfortunately this unit is not able to read the street names, it can only say "turn left in 100 yards", which is less useful. But it does display the street name on top of the screen, so you can always look over quickly and read it.

Compared to other products, it's of course missing the mp3 and video functionality, as well as the text-to-speech I just mentioned. I feel that these features are less important, and having a unit for under $200 was great. I like the interface, it's pretty intuitive and contains a lot of features. And I've also used the Nuvi and I like the Mio just as much!

Overall, this has been a great buy, it has greatly reduced the stress of driving in a new place and has allowed us to do more enjoyable things than staring at a map.

I just bought one today, was very difficult to get it going as per the instructions, which are just terrible.
Got it going myself, which was not too big a job.
When I took it out of the box the cable to attach it to my computer,s usb port for charging was missing, the battery was at 58%, It took a little doing but I was amazed at how accurate it was, dead on.
Its very touchy when you input where you want to go, fingers are too big, use the back of a pencil eraser, works just fine.
I know have the second unit next to me now, hope the battery charger cable is there, if not back to staples regardless, price is way too high and will reorder from Amazon.



SUCKS!!! SUCKS!!! SUCKS!!! I have three c310x's and like them alot but was getting tired of waiting on the "supposedly" spring map updates. Thought I'd try the c220 or c520 but finances dictated the c220. It was a little more accurate than my c310x but Holy Cow.... you could hardly see the screen or hear the voice prompts. The reviews at the CNET website chew it to pieces. I am in awe of the people who say this a great unit. If they ever update the maps of the c310x, it may be the best MIO ever gets. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT AT CIRCUIT CITY!!! They wanted to charge me a $30 restocking fee for a crummy unit. The best they would do is set me up with another crummy unit. I got another c310x, walked away and kicked the dust of my shoes.

I have owned Mio C220 GPS for about 6 weeks now. It has been working great. It's inexpensive and accurate, and it takes me where I want to go. I like it.

I will begin by saying I loved this product when it worked. It was easy to learn and use and had a bright screen that was easy to view. I never really got a chance to use the navigation features, however.

I had significant issues with the performance of the product. After working well for two days, mine stopped reading the card with the maps and just showed the default/demo view of Arizona. I tried reloading the maps on the card but without luck. I exchanged it for another. This one would only show what I would call a "blue screen of death" (this is a Microsoft platform, afterall) when I tried to boot it up. I exchanged it for a third which worked for another couple of days, then had a "fatal error trying to read memory card." I rebooted it and it worked for another day before it again stopped reading the card and just showed my location on a map with no streets. I tried contacting technical support, which I won't get into other than to say it was not helpful. I gave up and returned it.

The unit is nice and a great value however the map data is so old you will often not find your destination, which is really frustrating. Also don't bother with this unit if you are going to Canada ever. You may be better served by spending a little more and getting current maps. After all that is the reason for a nav system right?

While not a Garmin Nuvi, this GPS is incredible for the price. Pros: Extremely fast screen refresh rates for navigation and route recalculations. It came out of the box ready to go with the entire US database already loaded on the SD card. No need to do anything other than insert the card, turn on the device and go. The battery was even charged enough to use it for a while. Audio is very good considering it's compact size. Very good high contrast screen resolution even in bright sunlight. Cons: Inability to store canned routes. All in all, a no-brainer. Highly recommended!!!


Pros:Preloaded US maps, decent POI database

Cons:No text to speech, very low volume, usage not intuitive

Recently purchased the MIO C220 from Staples. They had it on sale for $199, with an additional $25 for a two year replacement plan. I bouth this unit for my trip to Southern California. My heart was stuck on the the Nuvi 360 for its text to speech, but couldn't afford the price tag.

The MIO actually surpassed my expectations. It's very accurate and route recalculations were right on. The device came with a 1GB memory disk that has the US map and POI database pre-loaded. The POI database is decent and well categorized.

The feature I found most useful and that mitigated the lack of 'text to speech' was the display of next maneuver on the top line. So when the voice says, "Take right in 100 yards", you can glance over the top line and know what street is being referred to.

Not the best GPS out there, but definitely the best GPS for that price.

I bought this product without reading reviews and am loving it. I used it for few destinations and it's very accurate. Moreover, the processing is very fast that leads to faster recalculation of route if you lost a turn. Mio c220 takes just 15 seconds approx. to recalculate the route and you are back on track. I also liked the screen and resolution. Great product of reasonable money!!! Strongly Recommended.

Amazing little unit for the price. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of more expensive units but then it doesn't cost as much either. I was looking for a small, stand alone unit that was actually big enough to use (unlike the H610 which is so small you could never use it in a car) and this fits the bill. It is small enough to fit in my purse or pocket and has no bulky cable on it. There is no MP3 player but then I have an iPod for that. The instruction booklet doesn't explain everything at all but after you play with the unit for a while you can figure things out. The display is easy to read and the voice is loud enough to hear. I also like the pedestrian mode. All in all, I love this thing!