MIO 269 review

Although hikers can buy simple satellite navigation devices that provide bearing, latitude and longitude information, most GPS systems with built-in maps are designed to be used when driving.

Mio's 269 differs by having different navigation modes for travelling by car, by bike or on foot, as well as having an internal hard disk and MP3 player.

The 269 is a compact device and, at 240g, is light enough to carry around. Its black and silver finish looks smart, although the wobbly short cut buttons detract from the feeling of quality. Like the Navman iCN 510 reviewed in What's New, August 2005, the 269 uses the Windows CE operating system and has a 31/2", 320x240 pixel screen. The display is fairly bright but can be difficult to read in bright sunlight, especially when wearing sunglasses.

The navigation software takes around 30 seconds to load, but eventually you are presented with a screen with options to input a new destination or choose from the most recent places you have visited. There is also a Home button, which takes you immediately to a specified address.

Entering addresses can be frustrating. It is not possible to input the name of a road and choose the correct one from a list; the unit won't let you proceed until you enter the name of a town, or in the case of London the first four characters of the postcode. Once you have managed to enter an address the 269 calculates the route quickly, but the unit was unable to plot a route to a test destination from central London, saying the road was in an "untrafficable area".

The 3D view updates smoothly when driving but the display is very busy and has several different icons scattered around the main map area, which makes it hard to take in information at a glance. Scrolling around the top-down map also takes time, as the unit redraws the screen slowly each time. The pedestrian mode is a useful addition as it stops the unit routing around one-way systems.

The 269 has a 2.5GB hard disk and built-in support for playing MP3s. There is only 500MB of storage left after the map software is installed, but this is still enough for around eight albums at reasonable quality. Playback is clear through the supplied headphones, if lacking in bass. You can also back up your Outlook contacts on the unit.

At £370, the Mio 269 is the cheapest GPS system that includes maps of all of Western Europe. Unfortunately, it really doesn't measure up to the competition. Planning a route is slow and difficult, the map display is messy and the mapping software runs slowly. The pedestrian mode is useful, but as a navigation tool the Navman iCN 510 is far superior.