Home > Consumer Reviews > Mio P550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

I don't recommend this item. There are a couple of pluses, but there are a number of problems:

First, the pluses--
--The price is good for a GPS unit and PDA.
--The SIRF III GPS received is responsive, receiving good reception even inside my house (except for the basement).
--The Wifi is fast.

Now the minuses:

--The battery life is poor. I ran through a fully charged battery in a little over an hour with the Wifi on.
--The screen is poor quality. There is bleeding of text and images and the resolution does not appear good. Possibly, this is because the screen is quite large for 320x240 resolution.
--The PDA functions are not integrated with the mapping and GPS functions. E.g., there does not appear to be a way to access your contacts list within the Mio Maps.
--Mio Maps is clunky software. It requires multiple taps and is not intuitive.
--There are typical Windows Mobile memory problems because applications do not shut down when closed. I guess I'll need to pursue the third party software route to address this problem.
--Internet Explorer is a dated and inconvenient browser for mobile devices. It doesn't format pages well and will not load secure sites such as Chase Banking. I downloaded Opera mobile but they want to charge $24 for a registered copy.
--The device is quite heavy. It is industrial in appearance; not attractive but not terribly ugly. It is a bit odd that the screen is so recessed.
--I was surprised that the device connects to ActiveSync via USB 1.1. This causes synchronization to be very slow.
--Skype did not work very well even though I have a very fast home Wifi network.
--Almost no software came with device (only Worldmate, Mio Mapping and the basic Windows Mobile). Outlook was not even included. This is a first, in my experience.

I haven't used the mapping software extensively. It's based on TeleAtlas.

I think that this is very functional and well executed device. Once you get used to the software it is accurate and easy to use. Very good car mount which allows for many configurations inside your car.
WiFi and Bluetooth both work well and fast.
Windows Mobile is not any worse or better then other hand held PC. Messaging and sinchronization work OK and this could be reasonable travel companion rather then laptop. You do need to carry a charger since battery life is short. You get couple hours if you use your energy saving mode.

MIO P550 has a solid construction feel and MIO Map is EXCEPTIONAL. The smart zoom feature truely showcase user interface excellence. My 06 Jeep's factory navigation (which is made by Alpine with Navtech) does not even come close with the amount of features.

Useful features include graphical display that informs you Satelite signal, user selectable display on car speed, time, and destination distance etc. Real time one touch to change map view to birdeye view, true North or direction. You can view the entire route before doing any edit on the routing. User selectable routing methods include shortest, fastest, by car or walking. The map is so detailed, it even shows incoming lane and center island.

"My POI" feature allows user to set a large # of addresses limited only by the size of "disk" space. One can also create groups for addresses by state, city or anything one wishes. I would say give yourself 15 minutes to play thru the basic features.

Because the operation system is Microsoft. So one would expect to know the importance of performing "CTRL_ALT_DELETE" which is simplified by a reset button. The Microsoft media player, as many Microsoft products, is not exactly stable and can take up a lot of memory. When one closes a program, Windows DOES NOT close it; you have to go to system setting in order to terminate any Microsoft applications. MIO map needs 6 MB to run; so one needs to know "how to operate" the OS a little.

Mobile PowerPoint, Excel & Word are actually useless. If you need to use any of these software, Take your laptop with you. IE works fine but finding a free hotspot is getting harder. I have not tested SkyPE, so really can not say anything on phone call performance under 802.11G or B.

I bought this PDA/GPS wondering if it could possibly deliver all the features that it advertises. Well guess what? It does!

My old PDA (ViewSonic V37) was great but I had to get rid of it because it wasn't Vista compatible. This one synchronised immediately with my Outlook settings the first time it was attached to the computer. It also found my wireless network (as well as my neighbours unprotected one!) the instant that I turned on the built-in wireless. My old PDA had an external WiFi card and it was the devil to get to operate properly. In addition I was able to access my shared folders on my desktop and laptop computers connected to the network with no setup hassles at all.

Of course it provides all the services of the Pocket MS Office Suite and they are great. I especially like the feature of being able to enter text by simply writing on the screen and having the text generated for you. It is fast and very effective. But in addition to this software the unit also comes with a fantastic service called WorldMate (with a free two year subscription). This little module synchronises with databases whenever you are online and provides up to date information on weather, currency exchange rates, flight information and many other useful bits of information.

Finally and most importantly, the MioMap/GPS function is unbelievable. I already had two GPS units - A Garmin GPSMap 60CS and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 with GPS sensor. Both work fine in their own way but this one provides all the essential services that they do in a simpler and more compact interface and with voice instructions that make driving and navigating at the same time safe and easy.

I have seen negative reviews of this device and it makes me wonder what exactly people are looking for in a combination PDA and GPS. I cannot think of anything that this one doesn't offer and doesn't do well.

One caautionary note, however. The software used on the North American model is not the same as that on the European models and I have seen self-styled experts advising users who are having problems with their units tell them to download patches from the European websites. This is a disaster and will result in the unit becoming completely inoperable and having to be returned to the factory for a total overhaul. This is mentioned in the FAQ's on the Mio North American website but evidently the "experts" can't read!

Its not too bad of a product, the wireless card works great in it. It even works with my stereo bluetooth headset. One problem with it is that if it is left alone without turning it on, it won't turn on, and i have to plug it into the charger and reset it. I dont know if its a problem with the device itself or the battery. The gps part is ok, just wish you could get updated maps on it. But if you have an internet connection you can use the gps with google maps through the pda part of the device. This device also does not come with java preinstalled, so you will have to find software to be able to use any java software or games. Another problem is with windows media player on it, sometimes it wont find all the songs on the sd card. I haven't had any problems connecting it with my computer using windows vista, I use windows mobile device center (available on microsoft's website for free) to sync it with my computer. But once you learn the quirks the device has and how to deal with them, its a good product at a great price.