Where most SatNav manufacturers like to keep their plans a secret for as long as they can, Mio Technology takes a different approach: they’ve already sent us a list of their plans for the upcoming year. The company announced new and intuitive software, called Spirit. This software will be implemented worldwide in 2009 in all new Mio products.Intuitive
The Spirit software originated from research which was aimed at finding a better navigational experience. Mio claims it will be a breakthrough because of the extensive, intuitive interface and the menu system, of which every single function can be operated with only a few taps.MiTAC president Billy Ho said "Thanks to the acquisition of Navman, Mio have been able to develop a world beating navigation interface for Mio and Navman GPS devices. The core values for users of PND's are still GPS performance and navigation software. No matter how much content and applications are provided in a PND, without an extremely easy to use and interesting interface, users won't use it very often. The market will then be limited to certain types of user. We want to expand the user base by giving people the confidence and the ability to continuously expand their horizons. We can see successful cases of companies developing their interfaces to appeal to a wider audience. MP3 players and mobile phones provide a really attractive user interface and generate greater demand for those devices. Now Mio will bring that level of intuition and understanding to GPS user interfaces by using Spirit to change the way people think of PNDs and the world around them."
Features
Unfortunately, Mio was unable to provides us with images of the new software. They were able to mention a few key features though:New menu design
Navigating should become simpler with the new Spirit interface which contains an intuitive menu with symbols and an improved structure. Switching between different menus is possible with one push of the button.GlideTouch interface and switching menus
Users can easily slide their finger across the touch screen and in this manner quickly operate menus, open them or scroll them. This way, one can instinctively access information without the need to return to the main menu all the time.
Quick button
Spirit has eased the access to the main menu. Only one touch of the screen is needed to return to the main menu.
Explore mode
The explore mode enables the user to browse through maps and to explore POI’s in surrounding areas. For this one can open menus and read very detailed information. This helps the user to find unexpected spots close to their current location.
Capture
Users can also capture their entire trip by tapping the ‘Capture’ button. This saves current locations, voice tags and the entire route.
