Mio Navman M400
The basics
The Mio Navman M400 satnav wants to stamp out all those myths about pricey GPS units. It's a fully fledged, 4.3-inch PND with European maps that comes in under a hundred quid, but does it lose anything essential shaving off the cost?
The good
The price – for £99.99, the Mio Navman 400 offers European maps as standard and is a competent unit for this price. There's also extra-frills software such as picture tagging – you can take photos submitted by others from the Mio NavPix website, or anywhere else online, and stick them on your map. You can then match visual recognition with your location.
The bad
The build is somewhat mediocre – the windscreen clamp does not fold down, making it cumbersome to carry around. But the major letdown is the software and mapping layout. What good are all those tagged photos when the core direction features aren't up to scratch? We took the Mio Navman M400 for a spin around London town, and while it coped well with detours, but it also threw up congestion charge warnings non-stop, even at night, and even while you're trying to see which exit you should take on a roundabout. Speed cameras were another issue: yes, the Mio Navman M400 picked them all up, but it also showed cams on parallel roads, making things needlessly complicated. We much prefer TomTom's implementation, counting down the precise number of yards until the little yellow box.
The bottom line
If you're not planning on crossing the channel in your car, you might be better off opting for a cheaper TomTom One, but if you know you'll be driving in Europe, you'll find the included maps still make this a bargain.
User comments (7)
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Mio Navman Spirit V50529 December 2009
Mio and Navman has joined hands and introduced yet another satellite navigator, the Mio Navman M300. This one is a compact and entry-level gadget that is equipped with a Local Search tool for getting all the necessary information about the local regions. Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is the standard generic term for satellite navigation systems that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and hobbies such as geocaching and waymarking. <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/picture-galleries/5625365/Top-10-summer-gadgets.html?image=1">Mio Navman Spirit V505</a>
Report as inappropriateMichael06 June 2010
Just wanted to say I own this device and you can't really fault it for the price. The reviewer mentioned annoying congestion charge warnings but these can be switched to visual only if the sound annoys you, likewise for the speed cameras. It may lack POI's but these can be added via the provided software. Only real fault is the lack of options when it comes to type of route, only quick or short i'm afraid, my old sony 4.3" suggested things like scenic route also but then that never had map updates every few months. Bottom line nothing can touch this for the money, the motorway lane guidance is a huge plus and completely absent from devices at this price point!!
Report as inappropriatexainab11 July 2010
I like my Mio 400 - way better then the TomTom 950 Go that I have - I paid the earth for the TomTom and their customer service is appaling also it would not hold up and on every bump the TomTom goes off - I say ditch the TomTom and go for Navman anytime.
Report as inappropriatePaul m13 July 2010
we have an M400 and a NUVI 255W. The M400 wins every time. Mine has POI built in so not sure about the above comment or the one about only having fastest or shortest, as that is one of the NUVI's faults, the M400 has a range of options. But the real plus is the spoken road numbers and names, even when the road layout has changed you can still get there. It also shows a fairly realistic route so is useful at night when you do not know the road. 2 yearly updates are pretty resonable too.
Report as inappropriateThe_Beard4504 August 2010
I have just bought one of these for less than £30 in Curry's. What an amazing offer! A card with European maps for my Navman F20 would have cost me £40. Its look great so far and the real test will be in Italy next week.
Report as inappropriateTony11 September 2010
I've just bought a M300 for £39.98 from Morrisons supermarket. It does the job of getting you from a to b. I got a free map update from the mio website with the maps dated June 2010.
Report as inappropriateRonnie Aitchison02 October 2011
I have the m448 and it was OK in the UK but I took it to Spain and the unit froze and would not respond to any controls until i returned to UK. All this despite having installed the European maps. So since this completely spoilt a holiday it had been bought to facilitate i cannot recommend it. Ronnie
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