Review: Mio C710 satellite navigation device

We recently reviewed Mio’s C210 , and were critical of both the small screen and oft-confusing menu structure. The C710 is at the upper end of Mio’s range, offering far more features than its cut-price alternative.

To start with, the C710 has a different design, instead of the Tomtom -inspired triangular body Mio has reverted back to the design of their successful 260 series, resulting in a flat and far more compact unit a little larger than a deck of cards.

It also sports a 3.5in screen, a step up from the 2.7in C210; despite what sounds like a relatively small increase in size, it makes all the difference on the road.

Gone are the fiddly and awkward controls and the extra inch of screen effectively doubles the usability of the device; the qualms we had about the smaller version have all but disappeared.

The structure of the menu system still takes a bit of getting used to, but everything is far more visible and accessible with the C710, which in turn makes the navigation process a whole lot easier.

The new Mio Map software is the most detailed around and can be smoothly manipulated with zoom and elevation controls while on the move. You’re also given a lot of information about your environment – fields appear green, rivers and lakes blue and built up areas red, making your surroundings seem so much more real.

Everything is fully customisable from choosing what information to include on the cockpit display (such as distance/time to destination/waypoint, current time, speed etc.) and you’ll find a handy speed limit sign reminding you of the limit of the road you’re currently on.

It’s not just the fast and adaptable mapping software that really impresses about the C710, what makes it an outstanding GPS is the sheer range of extras that are built in.

Although Tomtom can crow about their online Plus service, which is great once you’re set up with a subscription, what you get built in with the C710 is even more impressive.

The Mio retails for about £360, which makes it a direct competitor to the Tomtom Go 510. However, the Mio C710 offers you much, much more for your money.

For a start you get a year’s free subscription to the Mio Traffic and speed camera alert service, whereas Tomtom only offer a 1 month trial on their new range. Tomtom’s TMC alerts are a little more reliable, but Mio doesn’t fall far behind so this isn’t a big concern.

Both devices have handsfree Bluetooth connectivity for your phone, but with the C710 you’ll find the Mio Map software just one of a range of applications built in. As well as a contacts database you get an mp3 player, photo viewer and full featured calculator, currency and unit converter.

We have our doubts as to how many people would use the C710 as an mp3 player, but the converter applications will no doubt come in use when travelling abroad.

Most impressive of all is the 2GB of in-built flash memory (plenty of room for uploading your music collection, should you want to use the mp3 feature). An SD/MMC card slot is also available.

500MB of this storage space is taken up street-level maps for 24 European countries. Considering Tomtom only included the major roads of Europe in their Go 510 this is quite an achievement from a similarly priced product.

There’s very little you can criticise about the C710, and most of the points are minor niggles. Position on the road is sometimes a shade slow to update, and the default POI (points of interest) categories could be a little more extensive; it is possible to add your own.

It’s also a little frustrating that you can’t listen to music with the mp3 player during navigation; you need to exit the map application completely to get to the other features.

However, none of these faults detract much from the device as a whole. Having the whole of Europe built into a unit this cheap almost justifies the price by itself.
As a result, the C710 is probably the most cost-effective, feature packed GPS on the road today and comes thoroughly recommended.

Related reviews:
Tomtom Go 510
A stylish and well-featured GPS from the market leader

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