MIO
A701
 We
confess: most mobiles bore us. We
call, we text and take the odd ropey
photo – and that’s about
it. We don’t want a shabby camera
or third-rate mp3 player thrown in.
Mio’s latest mobile –
the rather swish A701 - caught our
eye for one reason: GPS support. You
don’t need us to tell you why
that’s useful on the move.
The SirfStar III GPS receiver and
bundled Mio Map software make a powerful
combination. As GPS newbies, we found
it simple to get started with and
impressively responsive. Local landmarks
appear on the map in real-time, while
the incredible 3D mode renders the
streets before your eyes, making it
even easier to find your destination.
With a speedy 520 MHz Intel processor
and 192MB of memory, it had no trouble
keeping up with GPS work in our test.
Map data is stored on an SD card to
keep memory free for other uses.
 The
A701 crams in the usual mobile features
(Bluetooth, ringtone support etc)
while the PDA features include cut-down
versions of Excel and Word alongside
the usual suspects. We’re not
huge fans of Windows Mobile, but it’s
hard not to be impressed by the integration
with your existing office, email,
web and IM setups.
The 2.7 inch TFT touch-sensitive
screen is excellent, flipping from
portrait to landscape modes with one
click. Pair it with touch-sensitivity
and a stylus and you’ve got
a great way to make the most of a
small mobile screen.
Unlike so many smartphones, it’s
genuinely pocket-sized too, packing
all this into a box smaller than most
3G phones. Perhaps most impressively,
the A701 comes packed with every accessory
you’ll need: a dashboard mount
kit, earphones - the works.
It has a lot going for it, but two
key features let it down. There’s
no keypad to dial with, so the stylus
is essential - far from convenient
out and about. The touch-sensitive
buttons on the screen are so tiny
that typing with your fingers is out
of the question.
The second is the lack of built-in
wifi. Internet access is needed for
many of the phone’s key functions
- email, web and instant messenger
- but you have to shell out for an
add-on card to use them.
Also, the 1.3 megapixel camera is
a disappointment. It’s no match
for bog standard phones like Nokia’s
6280 - let alone a dedicated camera.
Despite the A701’s mobile,
PDA and GPS triple-play, it won't
please everybody. But if a GPS-equipped
mobile rocks your world, it’s
definitely worth a test-drive.
www.mio-tech.be |
