Mio Moov 200 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Text-To-Speech Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought the Mio Moov 200 as my first automotive GPS a couple of weeks ago. I've had the chance to use the GPS for one long 4 hour trip, as well as around the city here in Minneapolis, and these are my first impressions.
How it looks:
The Mio Moov 200 GPS is a tiny little thing, at less than an inch deep and about 4 inches wide by 3 high. It can easily fit in your pocket if you don't want to leave it in the car. It has a black plastic casing with a brushed metal surface around the touchscreen. It really does look nice sitting on the dash.
The unit has a on/off/reset switch on top of the unit, making it easy to turn on and off whenever you need or reset if it freezes (this hasn't happened to me yet). The left side has a port to insert your SD card with additional maps, or whatever else you need. There are also rumors that the unit is hackable through the SD port to become a small PDA of sorts. The bottom of the unit has a small USB port that allows you to charge the unit, as well as connect to your home PC. On the back of the unit is a small speaker.
How it works:
So far my impressions of the unit are pretty good. Keep in mind I don't have much to compare it to, but so far it does everything that we've wanted it to. We set up a route to go from our house here in Minnesota to a resort at the Wisconsin Dells - about 4 hours away. It got us there without any problems, clearly announcing any turns we needed to make along the way - with clearly spoken names of the streets themselves - not just a "turn right" or "turn left". The speaker is reasonably loud, even when in a loud car - and we had no problems hearing it. In fact if you're in a quiet room by yourself - it seems almost too loud.
We have noticed a couple of quirks/problems with the unit.
1. Funny pronunciations: the unit will sometimes pronounce street names incorrectly, or call them something they aren't. For example there is a "Dean Lakes Trail" near our house, but the unit calls it "Dean Lakes Triangle". There have been quite a few of these types of instances, but overall it does a good job. Definitely not a deal breaker - just more of something to give you a chuckle every once in a while.
2. Incorrect POIs: The unit does have a pretty good sized database of points of interest, however, we have found that some of them aren't quite right. For example, on our trip to the Wisconsin Dells, two or three times that we tried navigating to a point of interest (Walmart and a restaurant), the unit didn't get us to quite the right spot. In both cases we were a block or two away. It may be that the POI was old, or something along those lines, I don't know. There has also been a couple of times we searched for a gas station or other POI we knew was there, but the unit doesn't show it. Not sure why that is.
3. Strange routes sometimes: The unit will sometimes take routes that you may not have thought of, or that aren't really the quickest way to take. It DOES get you there, but not always in the way that you thought it would.
4. Keyboard is hard to type on if you have big fingers like me. Kind of annoying, but again, not a deal breaker.
Conclusion:
We've been happy with the unit so far. For the cheap price and the features you get - it does the job, and it gets you where you need to go. I'd buy it again.


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Turn-by-turn Spoken Street Name Voice Guidance. Never miss a turn with 3D indicators andauto-zoom views. Clear voice guidance lets you hear the directions so you can focus on the road. Stylish Design that fits easily in a pocket or purse makes it easy to take the Moov 200 with you. Preloaded U.S. Map of All 50 States and Puerto Rico. No PC download or SD card required.Moov 200 is ready to navigate straight out of the box. Preloaded with Over 3.5 Million Points of Interest. The Moov 200 makes it easy to findrestaurants, gas stations, emergency assistance, hotels and more. No More Waiting for GPS Signal with InstantFixII. Get fast and accurate GPS signal reception every time. No extra fees and PC connection required. 3.5¿ Touchscreen Interface. The bright, anti-glare touchscreen makes it easy to type in your destination and easy to see while you¿re on the road. SD / MMC Slot for easy additional map loading.

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GPS Navigation For Dummies FD-350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review

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(More customer reviews)I was a little dubious when I ordered this product as it is relatively inexpensive. The fact that this is a new product line for the Dummies people made me hesitant as well. However, I have been very happy with the unit in the two weeks I have had it.
Pros:
1. It gets a satellite fix very quickly, unlike my previous GPS devices,
which could take up to 10 minutes.
2. Very lightweight.
3. It shows road features such as medians and one way streets.
4. It speaks the street name for your upcoming turn (aka text to speech); the lack of this feature is probably the most significant drawback with inexpensive GPS units.
5. Technical support was prompt and courteous in response to my questions.
Cons:
1. No wall plug; it only comes with an auto charger.
2. Occasional map database errors.

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Need to get where you’re going easily, quickly, and accurately? GPS Navigation For Dummies is the answer. This state-of-the-art PND (personal navigation device) ensures you never get lost again. Designed to be the world’s most user friendly interface, this device is perfect for automobiles, backpacks, purses, RVs, or while bicycling. The GPS Navigation for Dummies TM FD-350 PND Features: ✔ A 3.5-inch touch screen ✔ Digital mapping with browsing capability ✔ State-of-the-art text-to-speech navigation, turn by turn, using actual street names ✔ Complete mapping of North America including the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands plus Canada ✔ 4 million ‘points of interest’ (mapped points) with search capability, the perfect amount of data on each screen to get users where they need to go ✔ An included MP3 player and eBook reader ✔ The familiar, easy-to-use For Dummies style, complete with icons, leads you through the user interface and instruction guide ✔ Includes 2.0 GB memory card ✔ The FD-35 Series comes in a color selection of silver, chrome or gunmetal GPS Navigation For Dummies custom-designed screens.

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Mio MOOV 310 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator Review

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(More customer reviews)True, I have only had this item for a little over a week, but am finding it to be very easy to learn and use. The only "down" side is that much of the time it initially takes what seems to be lengthy time (2-3 minutes) to find the satellites. Once it has locked on to the satellites it works very quickly. It configures routes quickly and accurately. I can use it in the house to set up routes, etc., with no problem. (It doesn't always note the exact house address as the locale from which I am working, but is usually within a door or two.)
On the road the speech is clear,and the map in motion is wonderful to watch as the car is moving. Occasionally Samantha will cut it pretty close before telling me to turn, but she has warned of the upcoming turn far enough in advance for me to deal with it. I do wish it would routinely warn which lane to stay in when coming to a "y", etc. At this point I have used it for trips to places I know. I will be taking a 12 hour trip to unknown areas, and will report back about how it works for me then.
Before buying I researched the Garvin and the TomTom. I ran across the Mio Moov accidentally and liked what I saw. I was a little leary because of the extremely limited number of reviews available, but it is a new model. I had settled on the TomTom XL S before I decided to take a chance on this "new, unknown" model. So far, I am very happy with my choice. It is a great value for the money with all that it offers. (Let's see what I say six months down the road!)
JUNE 1, 2008:
I have now had the product for just over a month and I still love it! It has worked beautifully on two lengthy trips to unknown areas and on several trips to known areas. My husband has tested it by repeatedly taking his own out-of-the-way route and has been amused by Samantha's persistence in rerouting us. He said they should make one that says, "Look, Dummy, I keep telling you where to go!" She kindly and quickly reconfigures and gets it right every time.
It still takes two to three minutes to find satellites when it has been "rebooted" or often when I fire it up while in the house....but that is not an issue. Once on and running, there is no delay in routing. I still find the advance warning of upcoming turns to be adequate, even on the occasions when Samantha doesn't actually say "turn" until we are nearly on the turn. Also, remember...the visual is constantly in front of me. I know by looking at the arrow on the upper left if I will be turning left or right LONG before the turn comes.
My 32 year old daughter is directionally challenged and used my Mio Moov 310 for an extended day trip out of state. She and my granddaughter were sold! My granddaughter couldn't believe when Samantha said to turn right, my daughter didn't have to ask "driver's side or passenger side?" The visual was right in front to complement the verbals. She does a great deal of traveling to out of the way places and uses map quest constantly. She is thrilled with this GPS, and we have now purchased one for her for a college graduation present. The only thing I REALLY DON'T LIKE is the fact that my battery does not last ever over 1 hour.
My sister just purchased a TomTom 720go for significantly more than my Mio. When reading the "improvements" of the TomTom 720go over the TomTOm XL, I was pleased to see that my Mio Moov 310 has many of the features that the TomTom 720go considers "improvements".
I still rate this as a four (4) star item, and would recommend it to anybody.

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Turn-by-turn Spoken Street Name Voice Guidance. Never miss a turn with 3D indicators andauto-zoom views. Clear voice guidance lets you hear the directions so you can focus on the road. Stylish Design that fits easily in a pocket or purse makes it easy to take the Moov 310 with you. 1 Year FREE Real-time Traffic Alerts. Receive real-time traffic alerts as they happen! It helps you to avoid unexpected accidents, road blocks and traffic jams, getting you to your destination safely! Preloaded U.S. Map of All 50 States and Puerto Rico. No PC download or SD card required. Moov 310 is ready to navigate straight out of the box. Preloaded with Over 3.5 Million Points of Interest. The Moov 310 makes it easy to find restaurants, gas stations, emergency assistance, hotels and more. No More Waiting for GPS Signal with InstantFixII. Get fast and accurate GPS signal reception every time. No extra fees and PC connection required. 4.3¿ Touchscreen Interface. The bright, anti-glare touchscreen makes it easy to type in your destination and easy to see while you¿re on the road SD / MMC Slot for easy additional map loading.

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Magellan SE4 Portable GPS Navigation System with 4.3" Touch Screen Review

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(More customer reviews)This GPS, which compliments my GPS case purchase (obviously) was made a few weeks ago. When I first went to the beach, I knew I needed a GPS, because I got lost on the way to a friends house down at the beach. So after being chauffeured around town to a local Best Buy, I purchased the machine.
I didn't buy it from Amazon, simply because I couldn't pass up a 4.3' GPS for $87.16 after tax (originally on clearance for 79.99). Never the less, the time came for me to put the unit to the test when I left out that Monday morning for my apartment. After gassing up and putting in the address, the unit took maybe 3 minutes to catch a signal (the pumps were under an awning, go figure), before immediately springing into action. The pleasant 'ding-dong' lets you know when you need to merge, or even take a turn. The voice is fairly audible and speaks clearly (well, as clearly as a robotic female can speak, lol).
It comes with a few extra spaces of internal memory for saving addresses. Which, makes it even easier for you to navigate to a certain place (but I'm sure most units give you at least two to three spaces for that specific task). The associate at the Best Buy was right about one thing. Even though most GPS units are the same, the Magellan was fairly easy to use, and made me feel right at home.
If you're looking for a GPS that will work wonders, I'd seriously suggest this unit, because from the first time I've used it, I've been completely and totally satisfied.

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New MAGELLAN ES4 Global Positioning System.Navigate to your destination easily with this GPS that features QuickSpell with Smart City search, multidestination routing and voice prompts. Highway exit points of interest search helps you find upcoming gas stations, restaurants, hotels and more.

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