Windows Phone Thoughts: Mitac Mio Digiwalker 168 Review

The GPS


Figure 2: The Mitac Mio 168 with antenna extended.

The built-in NMEA GPS is activated via software and can be used with the antenna extended or folded. The manual states that the best reception is obtained with the antenna extended in a horizontal position. Some quick experiments indicate that this is indeed the best position. The antenna pivots easily and locks into the completely folded position for storage. As can be seen in the photos, when closed the antenna is not flush with the back of the unit, so the lock can help prevent inadvertently opening the antenna which could result in damage to it while slipping the unit into a pocket.


Figure 3: Satellite acquisition.

Once the GPS is activated it goes into acquisition mode and checks the signal strength from each of the satellites. This can take a minute or more, depending on how good the signals are. Once signal acquisition is complete the unit is much more forgiving in terms of signal strength. I found that the device had to be mounted on my dash or on a window in order to pass the initial signal check when in a vehicle, but after that it maintained a reliable signal when laying on the passenger seat or on the console. Intermittent tree coverage, bridges, and tunnels didn't disrupt the signal, although, as expected, parking under a metal awning at a gas station caused a total signal loss and required a re-acquisition process to be performed before continuing.

The GPS uses com port 2 to communicate the data stream, so any mapping software that can be configured to read NMEA data on port 2 should work. I configured Microsoft Pocket Streets to use the Mio 168's GPS with almost no effort and other GPS client software should work as well.

Mio Map Console


Figure 4: Mio Map Console. (Click on image to see larger image.)

Of course GPS with no mapping software isn't of much use and the Mio 168 comes complete with a set of maps and tools. The maps, which are included on 2 CDs, cover the USA (including Hawaii, but excluding Alaska) and Canada and total almost 1.5 GB in size. Since most of us aren't running around with an extra gig-and-a-half of free memory on our Pocket PCs the CDs include a desktop application called Mio Map Console that lets you pick and choose from among nine standard maps of areas that you want to install. Changing downloaded maps is easy: you simply select the standard map(s) that you want installed to your Pocket PC and click the Change button. Selected maps are downloaded and formerly downloaded maps that have been unselected are removed. Maps can be downloaded to main memory or a memory card.


Figure 5: Selecting regional maps with Mio Map Console. (Click on image to see larger image.)

The standard maps are still rather large, each covering multiple states or all of Canada at as much as 250 MB, so there is a facility for cutting maps and creating custom map areas that can then be downloaded in the same fashion as the standard maps. To create a custom map you simply select the standard map that contains the area you are interested in, and then click Cut Map on the toolbar. This opens up a new window that displays the standard map in more detail and gives a list of subregions that you can select. Most of these are based on state boundaries so it is relatively easy to, for instance, select only Tennessee for download.


Figure 6: Cropping a custom map. (Click on image to see larger image.)

If the defined subarea is still too large for your needs a cropping tool is provided for manually defining an area to use for a custom map. This tool allows you to select any rectangular region as a map. The maps can be zoomed in for more accurate selection of the desired area, and estimates of the resulting file size are available before creating the map. An address lookup tool and a points of interest tool allow the user to search for a specific address or a POI (such as airports, city halls, ATMs, golf courses, etc.) on the map before cropping. Once the area is selected clicking Cut Map on the toolbar asks for a name and description for the area and then creates the custom map.


Figure 7: Mio Map Console with custom maps displayed. (Click on image to see larger image.)

Once a subarea map or custom map is created it shows up in the Console window under My Maps. These maps can be selected and deselected for installation to the Mio 168 just as the standard maps are.


Figure 8: Mio Map's outdated maps warning.

I found the maps of my area to be fairly accurate, although several major road changes made in the last few years weren't included. Coincidentally, during my use of the Mio Map software a dialog box began popping up when I would switch maps, saying that the maps were out of date and directing me to visit the website www.destinator1.com for map updates.

The Destinator Personal Navigation System is the software Mitac rebrands as Mio Map and can be obtained for systems other than the Mio 168, either alone or bundled with one of several GPS devices through the Destinator website. For updates to the maps themselves the Destinator site forwarded me to a site for NAVTECH (Navigation Technologies) who owns the copyright for the map data in Mio Map. The cost of updates to the maps and to the mapping software for owners of the Mio 168 wasn't apparent on either of these sites at the time of this writing, though that may have changed by now. A spokesman for Mitac explained that all updates to the maps would be done through NAVTECH, not through Mitac, and that inquiries should be made through them.