Mio unveils GPS smartphone
GPS. It’s cool, useful and as close as your ever likely to get to having a FPS style objective compass in real life. GPS is great, so it’s understandable that Orange wants to get into the market (as reported below). Those who want an alternative should check out Mio’s new toys: new versions of the dedicated GPS handset 268 and 269 series, a new PDA with GPS functionality dubbed the A201 and a new smartphone with integrated GPS, the A701.
The A701 looks to be a combination of PDA, smartphone and GPS
navigator, with a windows smartphone as its starting point. It
runs using the Magneto (snigger, insert X-men reference) operating system from Microsoft, has a 2.7 inch TFT
touchscreen, as well as a 520 MHz processor and 192MB of internal
memory, in addition to bluetooth and a 1.3 MP camera.
The new versions of the 268 and 269 (dubbed the ‘plus’ series) will
come with faster processors, better GPS linkp, door-to-door directions
as well as compatiblity with the Traffic Message Channel service. The
269 plus comes with maps for 27 European countries pre-installed, and
both the 268 and 269 come with inbuilt MP3 players. The 269 will also
come with a photo viewer.
The A201 PDA version comes with a rotating antenna, letting you use the
device in both landscape and portrait mode. The A201 comes with all the
standard current generation PDA features, as well as bluetooth, and
also runs with the Magneto operating
system from Microsoft.
Phew. The 268, 269 and A201 will be available in from September in
Europe. The A701 is expected to arrive towards the end of the year.
