Review: Mio Digiwalker H610 sat nav

Mio’s Digiwalker range is part of a new wave of GPS solutions that combine traditional in-car navigation, multimedia playback and a collection of utilities for frequent travellers.

Based around the MioMap v3 software navigation is pretty straightforward once you get used to the menu structure, but like the Mio C210 it suffers as an in-car solution due to the small screen and often fiddly controls.

You do, however, get free speed camera alerts and a full range of POIs (points of interest) across Europe, and can buy a TMC (traffic message channel) module separately to provide traffic updates so it’s well in line with modern advances in navigation.

A look at the feature set and design of the Digiwalker suggests that in-car use is more of a secondary purpose. In reality, the product is more likely to be used by those travelling on foot and offers a range of features that’ll help you get by in and around Europe.

You’ll find seamless navigation through full European maps and a wide range of travel tools that include an electronic compass, alarm and world map.

There’s also currency conversion, world clock, weather updates, area codes and even conversion standards for clothing, the majority of which are configurable to one of over 250 countries from the database.

As if this wasn’t enough the Digiwalker offers impressive support for multimedia, featuring an mp3 player, video player and photo viewer alongside 2GB of built in memory on which to store additional files. There’s an SD card slot on the side to up the capacity, and you’re provided with a leather carry case, headphones and a couple of lanyards in the box.

A selection of games will help stave off the boredom on long journeys - they’re all quite fun to play and look pretty swish on the colourful high-resolution screen. You can also synchronise the device with Outlook and upload your contacts, keeping them to hand if you need to get in touch on the move.

Portability is obviously paramount in such a product, and Mio has managed to make the H610 pretty light and pocket-sized, although the styling may not appeal to all tastes.

Despite coming with a range of interchangeable covers we weren’t particularly impressed on this front; it has quite a plastic feel and doesn’t give the impression it could take much punishment before breaking.

Just 4.5 hours of battery life with an active GPS antenna may be an issue for some. We’re also very surprised that there is no stylus, either in the box or on the device itself.

Considering the small screen size and resulting miniature controls, we expected one to be included. Many of the buttons, particularly on the MioMap software, are far too small to accurately press with your finger. You’ll probably find yourself digging around for a substitute stylus to make it more usable on the move.

Despite these drawbacks you get a wide range of features with the H610 but are paying quite a bit for all of this portable functionality. Compared to traditional in-car solutions the Digiwalker isn’t the most user-friendly, but its strengths lie in the additional features and travel-kit that you won’t find anywhere else.

There’s no doubt that the Digiwalker has the potential to be an essential companion for the modern jetsetter, and if you think you’ll get enough use out of the toolset and multimedia player you may end up wondering how you ever did without it.

We expect to see more products offering similar functionality in the near future and will be interested to see how they compare.

See also:

Review: Garmin Nuvi 660 satellite-navigation device

New high-end navigation system ticks all the right boxes  14 Feb 2007

Review: Viamichelin X-950T sat-nav device

Just the thing for travel within the UK  08 Jan 2007

Review: Acer p610 sat-nav device

Good value sat nav, as long as you don't need postcode searches or traffic updates  08 Jan 2007

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