Mio DigiWalker C230 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
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Mio Digiwalker C230 Map Update – NO GPS SOFTWARE ONLY
Features
- Slim and compact car navigation system
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 0 x 0 x 0 inches
- Weight: 1 pounds
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1st one
This is our first GPS. The unit is great!! The issues that I have are probably more on an operator error side than on the unit’s side. I did accidently drop the unit from about 3 feet high onto the cement, I thought the unit was history. Outside of a couple of scratched the unit is still working. The mounting bracket sticks to the windshield too good. Overall I’m very pleased with my purchase.
Under-rated, superb performance and value
I bought the Mio C230 first for its amazing price(78.99+shipping) and for the operating system that runs the device. Knowing this thing is incredibly easy to mod and install additional program fully convinced me to pick this over the other Garmins and Tomtoms.
The device is loaded with US map, but I mostly use it in Mexico so I installed another very similar program called Igo 8, along with map of Mexico. Google gpsunderground if you like to know how. Igo 8 definitely runs better than the Miomap software in my experience. Better customization, better interface, and better functionality.
Performance wise, this thing is dead on every time. I checked the Mio in an underground parking lot and it showed 0 satellites tracked(no surprise there). Within 2-3 seconds of exiting the parking lot, it showed 3-4 sats and took another 3-4 seconds to be fully functional and guiding you on your way. It can even catch sat signals within the average buildings, albeit not 100% accurate like on the road.
With windows 5 CE as the operating system, there are so many other programs you can run on it also: notepad, media player, photo browser(you have to unlock the device first, though I unlocked in 2 minutes tops).
The included cradle seems to work very well. You have the option of dash-board mounting it, or mount it on the windshield. If you want to mount on the dashboard, you’ll have to use the adhesive patch included. Windshield mounting is much cleaner with the suction cup.
Also, the device can be charged over USB(chargin/sync port is micro USB). I have so many USB charger around that this is really convenient.
MIO digiwalker C230
Reasonable value for the price, but it does have its shortcomings. Example:Rather than stay on a particular street, directs me to take 2 turns, which puts me right back on the street. No obvious reason for this! Biggest complaint is the POOR QUALITY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. Repeated requests for a printed manual (for which I indicated I was willing to pay for!)resulted in grudging assurances BUT NO MANUAL.
Mio DigiWalker C230 Portable GPS Navigator
1. Very poor battery performance.
2. Very high current drain.
3. Small and nice
4. Good GPS performance, time to 1st fix is short.
Great price for good Navigator
there might be some better and newer Navigotrs in the market.
But this is a great price for a product that gives you what you need.
There might be largers LCD screens, more utilities,
but, hey, if 99% of your time – is navigating – then it is good enough
enjoy
Good simple GPS
The seller was very professional and efficient. The product has arrived on time. I am also using the GPS Mio c230 in Brazil and it is being a good experience. You can buy a specific program in Brazil easily install and every thing will work as expected. In details, the sound and also the video quality is very clear. The program is easy to use and navigate. I guess it is a good deal if you do not want to expend money in an expensive one or if you do not require it that much.
Perfect GPS for Me!
This GPS is one of the best out there for price. It has great maps and points of interest. I love the fact that you can enter either a street address or actual coordinates for a place. I use this a lot and have taken it to different states on trips and always gotten where I wanted/needed to be. I would highly recommend this GPS. Best value for the price!
Love it!
I love my little GPS. This is the first that i’ve ever used so i can’t compare, but i read all the reviews and decided on this one. For the price, it has everything i need and it is very cool. I love it!
Digital Navigator
Complex instructions, but unit works as specified when one learns how it operates in use.
MIO digiwalker C230 is a very good entry-level gps
I just got this GPS a few days ago and I am learning how to use it. I like the idea of turn by turn directions with actual street names. There is also a foot or yard measurement that is spoken to you when you get close to that next turn. The display is very good. The audio is very clear. You will have to open a couple of “windows” to adjust the audio if you do not like the default setting. The POI’s are adequate. Adding “Home” and “Work” is very easy to do. Pressing the “satelite dish” icon on your map opens up a new window that displays a satellite strength meter for each received satellite and a globe showing where each received satellite is located. There are also other important “boxes” of information that can be found on this page. I have only touched on a very few things about this GPS because I am learning as I go. In my opinion, the MIO Digiwalker C230 is a very good choice for first time users like myself.
Good GPS for the money
I have had this GPS for a little over a year. It was VERY hard to learn. In fact it was so hard to learn that I am terrified of purchasing a different brand (way to go Mio!). I would recommend using the GPS on routes you drive every day until you get the hang of it. You are not going to be able to hop in the car and completely rely on it right away.
After about 10 months of rugged use, the screen would blank out frequently and the GPS would have to re-boot. It always turned back on and kept working. I would have done maintenance, but the GPS does not include a data cord.
Now, the power plug-in area has pushed itself in the GPS itself & I am no longer able to charge it.
Summary: We had a good run together and I will buy another.
EXCELLENT LOW END GPS
I bought the MIO C230 for my girlfriend, and got the tom tom for myself. Not only was the MIO cheaper than the tom tom but the ease of use compared to the tom tom was amazing. I love that it talks to you and tells you what roads to turn on. Not very extensive list of POI, but for $85 you really can’t beat it. Hands down if I could do it over again I would have given away the tom tom and kept the superior MIO for myself
Awesome and I love it.
This item is a very good beginner GPS. The interface is very easy to use and simple to understand. The point to point directions are very clear and the volume is very loud(you can still hear it if you playing the radio in your car). My only draw back is that you can only set two favorite places (home and work)but it’s not a big deal because you can add on to the points of interest so I just put all my favorite places there. All in all I have had this GPS for two months now and I love it. It’s very helpful inside and outside of driving.
Non-techies Will Want Something Better
The Mio C230 is not an intuitive product. Can’t print out manual, which runs some 80 pages, from CD provided or from web site. Print manual promised long ago but still not available. Dissfunctional web site would be an embarrassment to any American company. As many have said, this appears to be a very good product for the money BUT it’s not intuitive and if you need help from the mfgr in figuring it out you won’t get it. After an 1,800 mile road trip we are still trying to figure it out. If you want a working tool up running, and readily understandable out of the box, you’ll want something else.
Everything you need, but occasional weird routing
I’ve had a Mio C230 for about a year now. I chose it over the Garmin, Tom Tom, or other “fancier” models as a price-sensitive customer. A year later, I have to say that I am pleased with my purchase decision overall.
The C230’s strenghts include:
- great price
- highly usable interface (not intuitive, but usable once you learn it)
- fast zooming and panning (especially compared to Garmin)
- highly customizable interface
- full feature set (spoken street names, custom points of interest (POIs), route optimization with multiple POIs, speed cameras, track logs, etc.)
- compact size and light weight
- expandable memory with micro SD ram (use explained below)
Weaknesses include:
- limited POIs (this can be rectified with a 2 GB memory card)
- suboptimal routing: the routes will always get you to your destination, but often not in the best way
- poor documentation and web site support
- does not come pre-loaded with Canada maps
Bugs
- When in text-to-speech mode (“Samantha TTS” with spoken street names), the device does not have enough processing power and map rendering will slow down, eventually causing it to crash and reboot. This may happen roughly every 60-90 minutes, more if it has to do multiple route recalculations.
- Speeding warning feature does not work.
- Occasionally comes up with impractical or even impossible directions.
Hacks
- This device has been extensively hacked. Google “Mio C230 unlock” and you can not only find more complete maps including Canada and 14 million POIs, but also alternative skins, a media player, games, and other PDA features which can be downloaded and added to this device. For this reason alone, I prefer it over the Garmin. Who else can say they watch movies on their GPS?!
Never received item
The item was apparently sent to Fl, and I live in Ga., so I can not review the item. Amazon gave me a refund.
Please do not bother!!!!!!!
My father bought one of these things for my brother and me last year for Christmas. I was so excited because I’d never owned a GPS system and now I could have the freedom of just plugging it into my car charger, typing in an address or selecting a favorite address and being on my way. WRONG. It’s almost a year to the date later and I still haven’t figured out how to get this thing working the way it claims to work.
I read the manual provided online for this model. Underneath a few of the instruction blurbs will be a note which says “depending on which model you have, the menu screen may not look like this.” What it should have read was “depending on which model you have, actual feature may not be available.”
I can’t save favorites. I can’t save POIs. There is NOTHING in the manual which explains how to use My POIs. Someone earlier reviewed that you can save POIs in My POIs but I have been sitting here trying to figure that out and I don’t think it is possible.
One other point I can make (because I haven’t really used it that much at all) is that I don’t think this thing has any idea where it is. On US Rt 9, I was “unable to locate” for a while. I decided to try to use it for the first time as a test. I typed in the address to my friend’s house to see if it would get me there the same way I have always gone. Like a previous reviewer said, it couldn’t really locate where you were at your starting point. Like, is my car pointed in the correct direction or which way should I turn? So I started going straight ahead because that’s where I was pointed. I knew I had to make the first left, go down 4 blocks and make another left. This thing told me to make my first left, but then to make the 2nd RIGHT onto some other street. Then again after that, it had me making a left onto another street in the COMPLETELY WRONG DIRECTION.
I know I really only gave this thing a few minutes of test time, but that’s about as long as I could stand it for. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. I will try it again today to go somewhere that I am familiar with and just use it until I get there.
But seriously, do not bother with this. My friend has the newest Garmin model and that got us to our destination precisely on time with absolutely no problems. I wish that this thing wasn’t a gift so that I could return it or just plain old sell it for $20 on Craig’s List.
Slow to start and poor POI database
It takes 2-3 min for the equipment to get updated coordinates upon start.
The built-in POI database is very unpopulated, making it useless. I have tried a Garmin GPS (nüvi 200). It update coordinates quickly (as long as there is signal of course) and the POI database is amazing.
Botton line is that it is preferable to expend a couple of dollars more in a Garmin GPS to have a much more useful product.
Mio DigiWalker C230
I bought the Mio DigiWalker C230 after not getting any new updates from Dell. Dell’s maps are old (2006) and I wanted to have an updated GPS system in my car because I do a lot of driving around as a local locksmith, Mark’s Locksmith, here in Beaverton, Oregon. The only thing that I didn’t like about this Mio C230 is that it does not tell you whitch side of the street the house is on, and that you are unable to change the time in the system after it was entered once. I wanted to change the time after having this for about a few months now but could not find a way to do it so I have to leave it as it is. This is a GREAT GPS unit for the price. I’m glad a long-hauler truck driver got locked out of his SUV because he showed me his GPS system, Mio C220, and I liked it, so I bought one the very next day.
I wouldn’t recommend it.
This is the worst GPS system I have ever interacted with. It took a long time to figure out how to set the system up, and eventually I just gave up reading the manual and experimented till it worked.
Other issues:
-Computerized voice is sometimes unintelligible
-Doesn’t provide street names in audio directions, instead gives instructions like “turn left in 400 feet.” Unless you’ve got a tape-measure on-hand, good luck. “Turn down Main Street” would be more helpful!
-Frequently gives inaccurate directions. Has told me repeatedly to turn (the wrong way) onto one-way streets, dead-end streets, and no-turn intersections.
-Takes forever to orient. Expect to wait 5 minutes while it figures out where the heck you are. In addition, it doesn’t give immediate directions after you input your destination. You have to choose a direction, start driving in it, and wait for it to figure out you’re moving and tell you what to do next (which may be to turn around at the earliest possible opportunity).
-Often gives contradictory directions, seconds apart. This almost lead me to throw the C230 out of my car window. Twice. Turn left in 50 feet. Turn right in 50 feet. Turn left in 50 feet. Literally 3 seconds apart. Have frequently followed the directions given, only to get either contradictory directions when I’m already en-route, or the “turn back” command seconds later. Not only is this a frustrating and confusing flaw, but it’s also dangerous, as being commanded to change direction unexpectedly can be a bit jarring when you’re driving.
-Turns off at random when driving. This has happened both while I’ve had it connected to the charger and not. I will be en-route, and after what feels like an unusual long silence, look over to discover it has turned itself off. Powering on and re-orienting takes a few additional minutes, during which necessary directions are missed.
-As another reviewer mentioned, if you frequent a certain business repeatedly, you can’t simply save that location in the system if the business is already in the system’s directory. You have to search, for example, for a McDonalds, input the city and state, every time, rather than easily access it in a favorites list.
-i live in Boston, and the system is really lacking in its business directory. i have had to look up addresses for popular businesses (restaurants, supermarkets, etc.) ahead of time, then bring them to my car and input them in, since the GPS was unable to find them using its search function.
-no way to edit information! the GPS consistently tells me to turn down one particular dead end street, and i would really like to edit the system to reflect that the street is, in fact, a dead end. but there’s no way to.
-plenty other issues to speak of, but the point is, there are better systems out there. Opt for one of those. Or buy this one and leave it on the freeway after a month.