New Mio 620 in the shops next month

The invited press sat cosily together yesterday in a old KLM Boeing 747 in the grounds of aviation museum Aviodrome in Lelystad, Holland, for the presentation of the Mio 620(t).

A bit chilly, but despite that, this unusual location offered the opportunity to have a closer look at the features of the new device and have a brief chat with the people in the know at the number three in the navigational market.

Innovative

With every new product, Mio aims to release a novel feature to the PND market, and, once again, this is the case with the Mio 620. It is the first PND on the European market to ship with mapping which contains 3D models of important buildings, monuments and other well known locations. During the demonstration, we saw famous buildings in Amsterdam (like the Arena) on the map. We also saw the height differences in the scenery displayed in 3D on the screen of the Mio 620.

The map material innovations will make navigating even simpler for the motorist, because it enhances the orientation of the scenery. Mio’s CEO Paul Notteboom, who was present during the presentation explains: “From the feedback we continuously receive from our customers, we’ve learned that people would like to see more geographical information whilst driving. Thanks to a digital map which contains altitude information and 3D points of orientation, points can be tracked faster on the map, and 3D display becomes possible. By offering this new map functionality, we’re offering a completely new product to a market which is becoming more and more familiar with navigation.”

Battery

The new map material is the biggest innovation which comes with the Mio 620(t), since the device itself is otherwise an update of the 520 which was released earlier this year. The 620 is the first Mio PND which features the new MioMap 2008 software, and which contains a few handy improvements. For one, the numerous menu options are more quickly accessed by the user because tabbed pages have now been added to the screen. Another improvement is the extended options list for displaying POI or traffic information on the split screen.

The 620 also comes with a new type of battery, which lasts longer. Because of this, the device is a bit more round at the back, but despite this somewhat bigger size, the unit still weighs in at only 190 grams.

Tele Atlas

Map supplier Tele Atlas was also very much present during the presentation of the Mio 620, and not only to elaborate on the new map features. The joint presentation was also a way of underlining the close collaboration between the two companies. “We love working with Tele Atlas so much, that we don’t mind stepping into the spotlight with them”, says Paul Notteboom. “We believe Tele Atlas will continue to be a valued partner for a long time to come, and we’ll continue developing great products together.” This last remark of course was aimed at the pending takeover of Tele Atlas by PND competitor TomTom.

As mentioned earlier, there have been talks going on to continue the partnership between Mio and Tele Atlas, even after the takeover by TomTom. Mio’s most important condition is that Tele Atlas can guarantee their discretion when it comes to Mio’s product development. “We have nothing to gain by leaving Tele Atlas”, says Notteboom. “It would mean we would only be able to knock at NAVTEQ’s door, which is also not a great option now that they probably will be bought by Nokia. The future will show how that collaboration develops. It would also mean re-building the long history we currently already have with Tele Atlas”.

Availability

The new Mio 620 will be available in the shops from mid November. The model without a TMC module will cost € 399, the model which includes this TMC antenna will cost € 449.