Mio DigiWalker C220 Automobile Navigator
Mio C220 Digi-Walker - Portable GPS System - 3.5" Touchscreen

I bought the device in November. In August during a trip, while driving, it stopped functioning. After reboot the screen would come up but the touchscreen would not respond. Sent it to MIO for Warranty Repair. Mio sent message "Out of Warranty". Since it is a one year warranty I knew it wasn't out of warranty. I called and left several messages at the California repair location and never received a return phone call. When I called to get clarification the answering service, located off shore, told me they don't know why it was rejected for Warranty service in California but there was nothing they could do about it. I wouldn't purchase another MIO device based on the poor quality of the device and the lack of ownership to service the device.
 
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I bought this unit for my wife for Christmas. 8 months later and I'm wondering why she isn't using it and always borrowing my Garmin. So, I ask her what's up and she tells me that it's too hard to use. So, last week I took the Garmin out of my car and replaced it with her Mio. I have to say I don't blame her for not using it. We live in NW Arkansas and the map coverage is really bad. We can't even set up our home address in a large neighborhood that was established 6 years ago. The touch screen controls are really tiny and there is a much longer learning curve to remember the right paths around the menus than the similarly priced Garmin unit I have and use. Battery life is very short. I estimate 4 to 5 hours at maximum. The unit also has opportunities with locking up that requires a complete reboot and loss of all your previously saved settings. This might be a solid unit for walking around in big cities, but it's not the right unit for a mix of city walking and suburb/country in car navigation. I did go on-line to the mio website to download the latest operating system and maps before my trial. I even contacted Mio about a map update and was told they have no future release date for a map update so we're now looking at replacing the unit with another brand (garmin) that has more updated maps. So, when I bought this based on the glowing reviews of others on this site I thought I was doing the right thing. Now you know the rest of the story. This unit doesn't even come close to the reviews posted here.
 
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really nice gps, very user friendly interface
 
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this unit was pretty good for the price, but the big flaw that has me looking for another unit is that the directions stink! when i am going somewhere that i know how to get to, i like to see where the unit will take me. it's almost NEVER in the same direction i'm going, even when i change the route settings (fastest, shortest, economical, etc). and if i keep going the way i know will get me there, it continuously wants me to turn around & go back, even if that means back-tracking almost 50 miles!! so, i just end up turning the stupid thing off because it aggravates me! it's a good thing i already knew where i was going, because this thing would have taken me on back roads & unpaved roads (even if i have that setting turned off). i would hate to see where it takes me if i'm really lost & don't know where i'm going.
 
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Voice is not loud enough. (I did check to see if while it was not in use it had gone back to defaults.) Is not as intuitive as I was lead to believe. Price was pretty good. And perhaps some of these things have been rectified.
 
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I was disappointed it did not include a map of Canada. It keeps losing satellite signal. Hard to add an address or POI.
 
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Once I figure out the options, and I'm pretty sure I have not found them all yet, it was pretty easy to use and VERY accurate. I would recommend this product to all novices as the more high tech ones are at a higher price tag. Great product for its price.
 
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Love this GPS! It is so easy to use and it is small, so you can bring it anywhere! It is great for traveling! Best part are the maps, they are very accurate. I love that I can just rely on the GPS to take me where I need to be!!
 
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I bought a C220 last spring to use on summer vacation. It was my first GPS, so I didn't really know what to expect. But I did notice and appreciate its accuracy and speed in calculating and recalculating routes. It is WAAS enabled and has a remarkably complete set of POIs built in, to include small hometown pizzerias. Fast forward to the present and I wanted to get a second GPS because they were so cheap during Black Friday sales. I tried the TomTom One 3rd Edition and returned it the next day because of primitive graphics, slow calculations, and weak POIs. I got the Magellan1200 as a replacement and returned it for much the same reasons. I even looked at the newer C230 and found it had a different (weaker) POI database from the C220. Now I am back to trying to find good deals on the C220. If you can find one of these, grab it!
 
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The product is easy to use. Sometimes it will tell you to turn left but on the map shows to turn right. This has happened about twice but it corrects itself automatically. The product is easy to use, do not need to read the manual. Only draw back is that there are no other voice options and the volume is not very loud.
 
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Great product. The only concern is the one well known with this unit. That is the sound is a little hard to hear over the road noise at high speeds. Other than that very good and I recommend.
 
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It take a million year for the device to detect GPS signal
 
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The MIO C220 is great for the first time user who has not had any experience with a GPS. Like some other reviews, the sound is not up to par, but it gets the job done. I too have had the GPS hang on me, but just reboot the GPS and your on your way again. Minor things are, the software or interface with user. You don't have other ways to find your destination or POI's as us do with other more costly GPS, but you get what you pay for. I too wish it had more POI's. This is my second GPS for the second car and I am happy with it. A basic GPS with a Great value.
 
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The points of interest are amazing 4 million or so. it shows the smallest little stores near my neiborhood. It talks and does everything most people need it for. unless you need it everyday (then get the expensive ones with extra features really good ones will cost about 500-600$). I bought as a gift and got to use it on several occasions i would reccomend this product to a friend.
 
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This GPS unit has worked great. I used it while on vacation and didn't have any problems. What I really like is you can ad way points just by touching the map on the screen. This becomes really useful when you want to alter the directions that the unit has calculated. The only thing I didn't like about this unit is the map data is not always accurate. I tried to type in my home address and it said that my street didn't exist in my town. I later found out it classifies my street under a different town. Other than that small thing this is a great inexpensive GPS unit.
 
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Only complaint I have is that the audio is a little low. Often at highway speeds you can not hear the audio.
 
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I bought one of these at Staples being attracted by the features and price as compared to a TomTom One. It's would have been a good deal only if it worked. I played around a bit with it and found I could get it to crash with a suspiciously Windows 95/98-like "faulting application" error message just by tapping around randomly on the screen. Thought it was just a defective unit until I tried the same on the in-store model and found the same behavior. Thanks but no thanks. When you're in your car driving to an unknown destination the last thing you want to have is a flaky GPS unit. I bought a TomTom One and have been very pleased with it. As a matter of fact, I bought two additional units as Christmas gifts for family members.
 
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I travel as part of my job and this little GPS is great. I program my destination on the plane and when I get to the rental car, I just plug it in and go. It gets me to my hotel and then my destination and back again almost flawlessly. It has only let me down twice so far. It took me into the wrong side of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport (the maintenance entrance). Another time it directed me to a seafood restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky that had gone out of business. Other than those, rather minor inconveniences, it has served me well. I like it better then the "Neverlost" system the rental company charges me extra for.
 
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I bought the Mio C220 just before going on a trip for our annversary. It worked right out of the box and easily planned the route for our trip to our destination. I like everything about the unit except the volume is a bit low in some situations. It quickly recalculates the route to get back on your intended track if you make a wrong turn or make a side trip to find food or services along the way. I've been using Garmin handheld GPS's for over 4 years and found this unit to have much better GPS reception than my 2 Garmin units.
 
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First off, I'd like to say that Mio is a very good company, it's just that this particular unit is not very user friendly compared to their other units. I (like many others) purchased the Mio C310x and love it (even got the map updates, but do not notice much of a difference...whole other story) and another family member purchased the widescreen Mio C520 which works very well as well. The main problem with the C220 is this... psss psss psss... I CAN'T HEAR A DARN THING!!! The volume is so low on this unit, you can't make it out if you have any kind of sound in the car (be it wind or radio). The unit's display is not as bright as the other two GPS units as well. There is also no external volume control (which is a bit annoying). The plus side is that this unit is cheap. Where can you get a GPS for less than $170??? If you can spend a few more dollars, buy the C520. You won't regret it.
 
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This is a great GPS. I already have a Garmin, but wanted a smaller, thinner unit, and this one fits the bill. The only reason I did not give it a 5 in performance is that I use it in a convertible and in full sunlight, it is a little hard to see. However, with the top up, there is enough shade so that is not a problem at all. The price of this unit makes it an outstanding buy, and the size makes it perfect for someone who travels and wants to take a GPS along to use in rental cars, etc.
 
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I am a field tech with a well known Computer consulting company and have to find addresses and get to them without problems. This unit has done the trick and is very easy to use. It took very little setup out of the box and the only short coming is that some of the maps are slightly out of date. I am in an area that has grown rather rapidly in the last year or so.
 
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The Mio is a very nice product. The battery life is about four hours. It is a very feature rich product. The touch screen is sensitive. Now, it is a GPS so, it doesn't always provide the best possible routes for long distance driving and the volume is a bit low if your window is down. Those would really be my only complaints. The 2 gig memory stick comes included which is very cool. I like the record mode which records your trip and gives data regarding it. It also reports altitude which is cool. I highly recommend this product.
 
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Awesome functions for the price. Unbeatable deal and great service from buy.com!
 
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Hmm, for a GPS device that is supposed to get you where you want to go, I am still somewhat lost in trying to figure it out. Sometimes the screen appears black and blue, other times it is bright and multi-colored, sometimes it is showing me where I am and where I want to go, other times it is showing me a previous location with no directions or positioning of my current location. It is not very intuitive at all and maybe I need to read the CD manual more carefully, but the basic instructions that come with it are quite insufficient! I often have to fiddle with the buttons, reboot it, etc. to get it to show me where I am. It is the 1st GPS device I have ever owned but I am fairly technology-commpetent. This puzzle of a device is ALMOST good!
 
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I found the MIO all I expected and more. Most of the negative items contained in other reviews I had read were not a problem in my unit. Perhaps the product has been improved. This has been a great product for me.
 
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Great product, does what you need right out of the box. Easy to use and value priced. Very happy with purchase. I have a blue-tooth & MP3 Player already so why would I want to use a GPS to do something I already have? Hope I get a couple years service from this MIO 220. Would like to have a couple more options for voices... Only one in American English.
 
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I would like to compare this with Magellan 3100 and Garmin Nuvi 200. It is about the same price with Magellan 3100 but less expensive than Nuvi 200. It functions better than 3100: faster, more options or settings, and more POIs. With Nuvi 200, Mio has more settings, about the same speed, but less POIs. I also think Nuvi has better display. I still don't see any problem with Mio C220, but I wish I had an address book, instead of History. Because it has a lot of options, the user might misunderstand the efficiency of Mio C220. For example, if the user sets up FAST instead of SHoRT in the user settings, Mio C220 will show freeway directions instead local directions, and in this case, the local directions turns out to be more efficient. It is very important to understand the user settings with Mio C220. Some say the screen display is not clear in the sunlight. It is true if you compare Mio C220 with Nuvi 200, but you should keep in mind that Nuvi is more expensive. The Mio C220 screen display is not as bad as what Cnet has described. I would say the Mio C220 screen is alright. Above all, Mio C220 is the best at this price in my opinion.
 
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I bought the C220 for my wife because she does a lot of regional travel for work, sometimes to rural areas. This is the best item I have bought her in a long time, she loves it! I shopped around and looked at all different makes and models. My wife's sister has a GPS unit in her vehicle, one of those $500.00 models and the MIO out-performs it. Don't waste your money on some high dollar GPS unit.
 
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I had mine for about 3 days before I took it back and got my money back. Everything you hear about the sound, believe it, you can hardly hear the thing, it's somewhat above a whisper. The other issue was the screen which can hardly be seen in the daylight in Nevada. For those 2 reasons I returned it. One thing I found in the Mio which I miss dearly that cannot be found in 3 other units I owned for a day or two then took back is the fact that you can make categories under points of interest. All these other models you must stick all your favorites in one cotton picking folder like Favorites and it drives me crazy. That was a really nice feature of the Mio. I know it's hard to believe that Garmin has not figured that out yet as well as the other two I took back which were Magellan Mystro and something else around $400. Not only this feature was great but the maps where very nicely detailed in the Mio instead of these cartoonish looking things found in the Garmin Nuvi200 and Magellan. Yes, I had to pay some re-stocking fees but needed this program to work my-way on the highway.
 
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the c220 digiwalker is a unit that has been outfitted by mio with substandard volume. the company upon my notification readily admitted that there is a problem but they are working on a remedy. that's great except it does not help me. the previous model the c220 replaces has a substantially higher volume . mio created a unit that instead of improving on its previous model developed a product that is worse. this is a definite no buy.
 
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I bought this GPS the minute I knew I was going to get a car. I am a new driver so I like how having a GPS lets me concentrate more on driving than trying to figure out street names and signs. It is great because it allows me to go anywhere I want, whenever i want, without having to stop at a computer for mapquest- and i never ever have to be scared of getting lost! Some faults of this machine is that its POIs are not always accurate (On several occasions I wanted it to direct me to some store or restaurant and when I get to the destination the desired facility is nowhere to be found!) and sometimes it is slow at getting gps signal. The GPS also has a tendency to want to direct me onto the highway whenever possible when it may not be the quickest route- you may have to play around with the settings then. Overall- this is my best purchase ever - it is cheap but reliable, very basic but very useful. Definitely worth every penny!!!
 
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The Mio C220 corrects the route almost immediate after you do. It's easy enough to use just by reading the quicky printed guide, but it does help to look through the users manual if you get the time....it's 87 pages!!! Luckily, as I said, it's is easy enough to use that if all you are doing is setting it to go from A to B you will never need to read it. I have never owned a GPS before, and this seemed like a good starter based on the price....can't beat $175 from Buy.com for a GPS that works, and looks, similar to TomTom costing much more. Only complaint is that if you are not paying attention, and don't have the sound up, you could miss a turn since it's not spot on as to where you are, but I doubt any GPS is, and it corrects almost instantly. Other than that I can't complain, and would definitely recommend it with it's multiple views, 2D & 3D map options, and the extensive POI's available, not to mention all you have to do is turn it on and go!!!. If you are looking for your first one, or just an inexpensive second for the wife or gf, this is it!
 
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This navigator is the best value I have seen. It meets my basic needs which include: ease of use; quick response; small size (fits in pocket); long battery life; bright screen for daylight and night mode for night time; logical layout of needed data; lots of and easy-to-find points of interest. If your needs are basic, you can't go wrong with this navigator.
 
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I had my MIO C220 for almost two month, amazing. It has other features than other GPS, user friendly, easy to use. Have a friend that has a GARMIN, expensive, he could not believed how much I paid for this. You can not find a price like this anywhere else. Overall, the best choise if you want a GPS. Thanks BUY.COM
 
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This GPS is definitely worth the $175.99 that I paid. A few drawbacks with the unit are: 1) The POIs do not include National Parks and National Historic Sites. 2) The mapping software has crashed a number of times in the 2 weeks that I have had it but starts up again fine after a re-boot which then requires you to adjust the date/time again. 3) The max volume is quite low when driving with the windows open.
 
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Good product, with good features. Value for money. I have checked this with both walking and using in my car, performs really good. I don't go with what ever is said on CNET review(this product alone). Recalculation and POI is really amazing.As I mentioned earlier it is good product just because 1. It takes time to get on with the product. Little complex while using. 2. Specifically in NJ, this does not guide for Jug handle turns, so need to be little care full. 3. Voice does not prompts you about street name while taking turns, but only mentions about the turns in terms of yards. For ex: Take left turn on Tyler Ave(Expected) Take a left turn in next 200 yards(Actual) so you need to know have an idea about yards.
 
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For the price, it's a nice device (although my first GPS). Great advantage is can be modified to play videos, music and pictures. Look up this device at www.gpspassion.com forums. Not for the faint hearted when modifying. Pros great price, modified to play multimedia. Cons - really low sound for a car and headphone attachment to car was not much help.
 
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I travel alot and have enjoyed my MIO for about a month and have to say that its a very dependable product. It hasn't given a bad direction yet. Its recovery time when going through tunnels in the mountains is within a couple of seconds. The screen clarity and lighting is very good. The screen selections can be a little awkward to navigate at first but gets easier the more I use it. The voice navigation only gives standard directions (right, left turns, etc.) instead of street name directions, but remember this is not a high end product. I highly recommend the MIO for its quality and the price.
 
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Unit rerouted me numerous times in larger City taking us through many side streets unnecessarily. Overall, We are pleased with the performance and Price.
 
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This is my first GPS but not the first one I looked at buying. The price along with it's features it what sold me on it. When I received it, the unit worked right out of the box. It takes a couple of minutes to acquire the satellites when you first start it up, but recalculating when you make a wrong turn is almost instant. The unit is easy to see in the daylight and at night. It is also plenty loud. Points of interest are great and accurate even in small towns. No real down side to the unit, just a couple of annoyances. It takes a while to figure out the menu and the manual it came with is no help. Also, when calculating a route if you pick the shortest it will take you on backroads and through suburbs for the straightest line. If you pick the fastest route, you may drive many miles out of the way to stay on major roads. Neither problem is a big deal, you just have to learn how to use it. Overall, I am very satisfied with the unit and would suggest it to anyone.
 
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Although it is possible to fault this GPS for not having the capability to speak street names and other fancy stuff that all GPSs will have and do in the future, for the price, this GPS is not only good, it is great! I have yet to figure out how much updates will cost, but there is no early indication that they will be exorbitant, as are Garmin updates. Definitely worth purchasing and using for the next few years until the next wave of super-capable units arrive for a good price.
 
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The unit works very nicely in areas for which MIO can supply maps. I live on the US/Canada border and there are no maps available for Canada as yet. Hence, when I cross into Canada, I'm on my own. Also, there is a plethora of MIO websites and navigating them is a PITA.
 
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I drove from Dallas to DC, and then DC to Pittsburgh, and this device is amazing! I was able to get faster routes than either mapquest or regular maps using this device. The POI features are great to see where things are at, and the directions are easy to use and audible. I wanted an excellent device to give me directions and locations of nearby shops, and this has far exceeded my expectations. At the price it is selling at, I would not hestitate to recommend this product to any of my friends. The touchscreen is very big at 3.5 inches, and it is user friendly.
 
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Very easy to use. Picks up satellites in less than thirty seconds when first activated. Voice commands are pleasant and easy to hear, even in traffic. Contrast is great; easy to view position of vehicle. Doesn't identify name of street on voice command, but this is a minor point. I can't believe the number of POI. As far as I can tell, the latest maps are incorporated (2007?) I was able to use this GPS within 20 minutes after opening the box. A few very minor problems: 1) Jughandles are generally not identified. It will tell you to make a left instead of directing you to make the correct turn either before or after the intersection. 2) If you do not turn at an intersection and proceed beyond it, most of the time, it will direct a route to get you back to the original intersection even after you've travelled about a mile. This is no big deal. But many times, there are alternate routes within a mile of the intersection which are acceptable. It won't redirect you to an alternate route until maybe more than a mile past the original intersection. For the price, this is the best bang for the buck. I waited 8 months for this unit to come down in price and incorporated the latest maps.
 
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This is the best GPS among the sub $200 GPS units.. after doing lot of research in various places.. I decided to get this one.. only gripe for this unit is that the interface is not very obvious and takes some time to get used to.. otherwise.. it's very sensitive.. I have used to for my trips to DE, PA, MD from NJ and it served me well and I was not stranded at the middle of road.. now no fight with my better half on why she didn't tell me in advance about the exit.. no head breaking if you miss exits, turns or end up in an unknown road or deviate from your route printout. A great buy indeed
 
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I've owned this Mio for about two weeks now, and it always gets the directions right. Bought it because I was so impressed by its performance when I visited my daughter, who has used an identical unit since April. Route is always clear on screen, whose visibility is good even in bright sunlight. Instructions that come with the Mio could be clearer, but learning to use it is very intuitive. Price is good. DC onboard charger. Just key in city or zip, then street, then street address numbers. Press "route" and it tells you where to go with both color motion video -- all street/highway names are shown -- and audio -- NO street/highway names are spoken. For another $300-$400, I think you can buy one that says the names, too. I'm super pleased with what I got for the money.
 
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Over all a good GPS for the money. Pros: Its fast on basic GPS functionality. One of the cheap and best GPS found on the market. Cons: Very Week sound even at high volume. Problem looking on screen with direct sunlight even at high brightness level. Unable to identify U turns at some places for left turns.
 
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In a few words - easy to use (never read the manual, beyond the quick start)...USUALLY gets a satellite quickly (within 5 seconds of being turned on) though sometimes had several minutes in areas with heavy tree coverage. Received this unit 1 week before an 800+ miles trip from NY to SC. Directions (while simple) were great, POI worked great for calling hotels when we decided to stop for the night, and got us right to the hotel as well. Few issues - once in a while, it put us on the right street but not the right spot (missed by a half mile for a Subway store) and once tried to tell me to turn where no turn existed. All in all, I'd recommend to anyone, and don't believe anything about the screen being tough to read - that's completely untrue.
 
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The Mio C220 is a great little GPS. It is much thinner than my older Garmin Stree Pilot i2. The best thing I found about this GPS unit is that the windshield mount is very well designed, it sticks (unlike the i2 which fell off every hour) and you can rotate the screen left and right. I also agree with the previous reviewer in regards to the screen brightness. Cnet must have had the screen on "smart mode" where it turns off the screen unless you are approaching a turn or need to get off the highway. I even put on a screen protector and had no problem reading the screen in my car. The volume DOES get low, it may be a problem with some units and not others. My unit did have the volume problem. The problem I noticed is that if you ever adjust the main volume control, no matter what you do afterwards the volume will never go back to full - even if you try to set it to full. All you have to do in that case is reset the device. Now I can use it in my car on the expressway ~70mph without problems hearing the voice guidance. However the interface is a bit complicated, Mio did include a ton of features for a low priced GPS but I had trouble for about a full day before I figured out most features. For example, I did not know that I had to switch to "c*ckpit mode" to see the time of arrival information. It is impossible to save a personal point of interest if you are in c*ckpit mode, you had to switch to map mode etc etc. Not a big deal anymore since I know whats going on now. The signal is AMAZING compared to the Garmin i2. It locks signal within 2 minutes of cold start, less than 10 seconds when the device was used recently. It also gets good signal indoors inside my house The points of interest database is very strong. From what I feel, I felt like it had a better database than my i2 (has 6 million but is slightly outdated). Best thing about this device is that even though it has 3.5 million POIs the maps are the newest. I did hear people talk about TeleAtlas vs Navteq and how we should avoid teleatlas in the United States. I do agree that Navteq (garmin) was better in calculating routes than my Mio but it really didn't make a difference at all. In this C220 system you can chose between the shortest routes, fastest routes and the most economical routes. It may take an extra 5-10 minutes to travel 100 miles but it will get you to your destination without getting you lost. My last complaint is the "speed limit" warning. It may not be available in Michigan or something but I tried setting it so that it would yell at me if I went 5 mph over the limit but it never even said a word or gave me a warning even when I was going way over the speed limit. But that is not a standard feature in most GPS so it may not be a big deal. Overall I would recommend this to everyone over older models like Garmin i2/3/5 series. I do not know about the Magellan Maestro series (I tested the units and the lower end units like the 3100 did not have enough POIs - could not find Staples where I was trying out the GPS and it was much slower than the Mio) or the new Garmin Nuvi series but I think the C220 is well worth the money.
 
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This GPS really does have it all! The touch screen is great and the interface is user friendly for the basic functions. It has tons of POI's and the directions with voice are fantastic as well. I was very surprised (and happy) with how well the window mount works also, it really holds on! For the money and the features it would be very hard to beat this GPS...I totally would recommend it to anyone.
 
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