Mio Navman Spirit V735 TV

The basics

The Mio Navman Spirit V735 TV is the world's first satnav with a Freeview TV tuner built in. That means you'll be able to watch digital TV on the seven-inch screen, and you can even playback videos, music and pictures via a microSD slot. It being a satnav and all, it'll also get you from A to B, with lane guidance, 3D junction views, city guides and up to the minute traffic information.

The good

Park yourself up in a lay-by, pull out the aerial and the TV tuner excels. Pictures look ace on the spacious screen, switching between channels is easy, and there's even an EPG to show you what's on. Should you feel like actually using it as a satnav at some point, the extra features are a great touch. Mio's touting the lane guidance, but that's nothing new anymore: the nearby petrol station look-up and realtime traffic updates are the pick of the crop, especially since they don't require monthly subscriptions like TomTom's LIVE service.

The bad

There's no getting round the fact that when you're moving at speed, the Freeview reception is appalling. That's good if you're alone, but bad if you need it to keep the kids quiet in the back. And Navman's mapping software is still sluggish and a pain to use compared to a Garmin or TomTom - the unresponsive touchscreen does little to help. The seven-inch model is also large to the point where you won't be able to stow it in some glove compartments: you'll be lugging this with you wherever you go, for fear of losing it.

The bottom line

Mio would have done better to concentrate on wider video and media support. Don't get us wrong: the Mio Navman Spirit V735 TV is beautiful, slim and the Freeview works well when parked, but how much time do you spend sitting stationary in your car? There's not enough to tempt us from a smaller, dedicated satnav here.