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I am purchasing another one soon. All my family are using them and they love them. how can you explain 5 units and no problem. You probably saying its just luck. Yeah I know there are other top brands and I am sure you are asking why is it the best. I had purchased 5 of them and they are all great. simply I did not have any problem how about 5 years in a row. Hmmm I just love them and can't get enough of them.
Just a quick check of email or of the weather. I was also pleased to find the maps were quite detailed and showed forest service roads and jeep trails in remote areas, along with streams and rivers. I also like the fact the P550 has a real on/off switch which competely disconnects the battery if your not going to use it for a while. Another good feature of the P550 is the speaker which you can actually hear and sounds reasonably decent for its small size. Now to the question of battery life. The only problem with using the on/off switch is the unit has to reboot which takes a minute or two and the date/time needs to be restored. At 6 oz, the Mio is 1 oz lighter than the h-p, though the h-p seems to have a somewhat more rugged case and a display shield.
Also, there is no need to calibrate the touch screen as is the case with the h-p. Some people have commented on the joystick navagation button was hard to use, but I find it easy. Unfortunately, if you want to use headphones, you need to use the adaptor cable to use standard 3.5mm phone jacks. Inside a building its a little iffy, but thats usually the case. Battery life in stand by mode or just using basic PDA functions seems quite good. Why they make you go through that, I'll never understand. Maybe an hour with Wi-Fi and a bit longer with GPS.
(I have no need for a phone or an expensive service plan) You have to make a number of screen taps to get into the stop program function and no where do they tell you how to disable Active Sync. I haven't tried it in the car yet, but belive it will work well as long as its up next to the windshield. With the panel in a window and a few hours of morning sun, the battery went from about 50% to nearly full charge. If using GPS, likely you will be in your car and use the 12V adaptor. That can be done using the GPS. The GPS locked on to half a dozen satellites in a minute or two, so long as your outside and in the clear.
I don't see this as a big problem, as often you will have AC power available when using WI-Fi or can charge at some point in the day. As I plan on using this device off road in these remote areas, this will be a big help. Other people have discribed how to do that, so I won't repeat it here. So all in all, at the current price I think the P550 is a pretty good deal. Thats the one thing I don't like. Your not going to be doing much web surfing with a little hand held anyway.
With the h-p I have to remove the battery. Indeed, if you use Wi-Fi or even the GPS, the battery life is a bit short. That will be handy, as I can be away from AC power for up to a week. The first thing I noticed was the screen has much better contrast compared to the h-p IPAQ hx2495b I also have. The battery does charge quickly which is nice and I found I could charge the battery with a small 5V, 100 ma solar cell panel.
Still, I would not want to drop either onto the floor or sidewalk. It is also placed on the back of the case with the mic in such a position you can use it as an internet phone. I was a bit worried about this from the other reviews. It helps to learn how to disable Active Sync from always turning on and to stop running programs when they are not needed. If you need something like this, better get it soon as smart phones are quickly replacing this type of device.
I've had my new Mio P550 for about a week now and I like it. From the product discription, I could not tell if it came with the maps loaded or not, happly I found that they were. Remember to turn off the wireless when your done and you won't have any trouble with running down the battery if your not on AC power.
I use this device in my car for street mapping and directions and also in my airplane for aviation guidance and back up navigational support. I have been very satisified with the product. Fast laoding, fast sattelite location and connection and accurate.
SOUND GOOD VIVID COLOR AND VIEW GOOD GUIEDANCE TENDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE ORIGINAL ROUTE
This PDA have a good GPS which works good and have many other fetures.It works good and I am happy with it.
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