MDPPC150/Mio 168 Discussion Thread

sco0ter

Ego_Shredder wrote: »

The external antenna is really powerful compared with the internal one. Yes it is an extra thing to fiddle with while plugging things in but it is worth the effort. The only downside is the tiny little gap you have to leave when you close the car door window, to nip the antenna cable with the window glass. This means it can add a lot more cabin noise while driving on the motorway or other faster than normal roads.

I use mine inside the car.... It still increases strength over the normal built in ariel

Brockyman

Ego_Shredder wrote: »

The only downside is the tiny little gap you have to leave when you close the car door window, to nip the antenna cable with the window glass.

I run my cable over the door and let the rubber seal wrap around it, do it low down so that rain doesn't get in. I've only once had water come in and that was on an especially rainy day and it wasn't really enough to worry about. I might actually try placing it on the dash to see how that works, I'd never thought of that. The reason I got one is that I could barely pick up a signal with the internal aerial and it was so unreliable. I have read somewhere that some windscreens have metal in them which can stop the signal getting through so maybe that was my problem.
Ian.

Ego_Shredder

I've owned the Mio 168 since May 2005 and I have to say it is without doubt, the best computer device I have ever bought. I find it genuinely useful in so many situations and as a result I have expanded it a lot too.

Expansion cards added:

(1) Sandisk SDIO WiFi+256MB
(2) Socket SDIO Bluetooth Connection Kit
(3) Hewlett Packard Photosmart Mobile Camera 1.3Mpix SDIO

* potential cards I may buy are a barcode scanner and maybe a more powerful GPS receiver

The WiFi card is great for browsing the net, email, instant chat messaging, ActiveSync, listening to mp3 files situated on my NAS server or other PCs, getting the local weather forecasts and much more.

The Bluetooth card enables me to connect to the internet via my GPRS mobile phone. This means I can check for the best prices of goods while out shopping, so I don't miss out on any great deals due to uncertainty etc. The card also allows me to use a portable Bluetooth keyboard for when the stylus is just too slow, fiddly and awkward for entering large amounts of text. I can also play games much better via the keyboard.

The camera has been a real gem when it comes to taking photos for my EBay auction sales. The ability to take good closeups at small file sizes, makes uploading to Ebay much quicker. It's also very handy to have such a tiny camera with you for all manner of tasks, such as home inventories. I've got things stored at different locations and remembering just what you have and where is very confusing. The camera means I can quickly see what I have in a more memorable way than long boring lists.


Other bits and bobs include:

(1) Sandisk Extreme III 1GB SD memory card
(2) Sandisk Ultra II 2GB SD memory card
(3) Belkin Wireless IrDA keyboard
(4) Audio Jack adapters 2.5mm to 3.5mm for listening on better headphones or hooking up to an amplifier and monitors.
(5) Brando screen protectors (totally brilliant and last forever almost!)
(6) Spare stylus packs and car suction mount holder
(7) A HUGE software collection

I bought the Mio 168 because I initially wanted a pocket sized mp3 player that was not overpriced or a one trick pony, like most dedicated mp3 players are. I also needed another pocket organiser and contacts database on the move. After looking at a cheap Medion for around £100 in late 2004, the added lure of GPS and TomTom made me look at the Mio 168, plus the price was very cheap for what it offered (I payed approx £215 brand new).

Brockyman

Blimey, when mine isn't being used as a GPS the most challenging thing it ever gets to do is play Jawbreaker! :rotfl:
Ian.

Ego_Shredder

Hehehe! Hey I forgot to mention that I sometimes use it as a remote control for various TV, DVD, VHS etc. The range of the built-in IrDA on the Mio 168 is not that long, so you need to be within a few feet of the target device. It beats forking out on a universal remote when I already have the Mio!

When you stop to think about it, the Mio 168 is actually a mini laptop. Of course a laptop is faster and more capable for many things but not exactly pocket sized!

As I said in my last post, my initial requirements were very simple and straightforward. Once I got the Mio 168 I soon realised the power and flexibility it had and how handy and well....fun it was!

Adbru

Hi There,

Anyone still watching this thread ??
I am looking at one of these as a cheap sat-nav to use on my motorbike.

I currently have an old medion pna250 but with the power connector in its slightly to big for my waterproof box and the solder joint has broken twice now

Couple of questions if anyone can help....

On the old pna250 if you let the battery discharge fully it would do a hard reset and youd lose any extra stuff you had installed (I did the hack to gain access to the start bar). Is this unit the same or can it cope with the battery going flat ??

Also as its running windows mobile will it run memorymap ??
I used to use MM all the time on my works iPaq but they took that back when I left

Thanks

Adbru

ZootHornRollo

yes, the medion does do a reset if you let the battery go completely flat. although i have noticed now that it seems to take a long time beofre that happens. (i only use it once every two or three weeks and it never seems to have done a reset but when i first got it it seemed to reset after 4 or 5 days of no use)

Brockyman

If I remember rightly my battery once drained completely and I had to do a reinstall of everything, it hadn't been used for a couple of weeks though and Medion Navigator had been left running. I'm very careful now to close down any running programmes as they drain the battery quite quickly. My son uses mine as a SatNav and it took me ages to get him to close down the software properly and not just turn the unit off. The battery would discharge in a couple of days with it running even though there was no display etc. I think it has to be completely discharged though to lose the info.
Hope that helps,
Ian.

Ego_Shredder

Never happened to me touch wood (ouch!) but as I use it so much, I always see the battery remaining indicator on the screen. Actually I find the worse thing for draining the battery rapidly is when I use WiFi, whereas GPS lasts for quite a while. Bluetooth lasts for ages on the Mio with the card I use (Socket Bluetooth Connection Kit).

As for Memory Map, yes this will run on the Mio according to what I have seen on certain websites. There is a massive range of GPS based software for the Mio, covering pretty much anything including Google Earth.

Since I last posted I have won a SDIO Barcode Scanner card on Ebay, so once it arrives I will let you know how it fares. Up until now every expansion card I have bought for the Mio has been needed and used extensively. The Barcode Scanner is the first curiosity purchase and to mess about with, although who knows I may find a good use for it.

Spikey_2

mine broke down and still haven't had time to use an external ariel on it.... plus need to download tomtom again.... where can i do that?