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Mio A701 GPS-enabled Windows Mobile smartphone reviewed
On paper, the Mio A701 smartphone sounds like almost the perfect convergence device, sporting a Windows Mobile 5.0-powered 520MHz Xscale processor, SiRF III GPS receiver, tri-band GSM radio, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Sadly, at least according to Reg Hardware, the A701 has so many little faults that the device is often barely usable, and sounds like a skip except for those folks who absolutely must have GPS and aren't into the square-screened iPaq hw6xxx series from HP. Some of the Reg's gripes with this model include its crappy camera (one of the worst they've ever seen, apparently), GPRS-only data connection, flimsy telescoping stylus, lack of dedicated buttons for WM5 softkey control, and buggy navigation software (luckily it's optional). Besides the full suite of accessories that come included in the box, there doesn't seem to be much good to say about the $660 to $790 A701, which is no doubt a big disappointment to those who may have been looking to import what appeared to be such a hot phone.
Pioneer AVIC-S1 portable GPS receiver with Bluetooth
French site caraudiovideo, whose specialty is pretty self-evident, have information on a new Windows CE-powered Pioneer GPS receiver that is supposedly one of the first from the company to include built-in Bluetooth. The AVIC-S1 is a "portable" model (meaning you can port it from vehicle to vehicle, but not on your geocaching expeditions) that features a 320 x 240 touchscreen, SiRF III chip for greater accuracy, and what seems to be 2GB of flash memory preloaded with European maps. Any of the included points-of-interest can be dialed on your cellphone via Bluetooth, and a choice of 17 guidance languages will help you brush up on the native tongues as you travel around the continent. It's not really clear when this product will be released (if it's not out already), or how much it will go for, but until a US version is announced, those details are a moot point to the majority of you anyway.
