Mio A701 GPS-Enabled Pocket PC Revealed

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/25/mio_a701_exposed/' target='_blank'>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/0...o_a701_exposed/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Mio will next week preview the A701, its first GPS-enabled Windows Mobile-based smart phone, The Register has learned. According to basic specifications we've seen, the device is based on a 520MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor backed by 192MB of memory, of which we reckon at least 64MB will be ROM. The phone runs Windows Mobile 5, aka 'Magneto'."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050826-MioA701.jpg" /><br /><br />Oh, that looks sweet. According to The Register, the A701 will feature an Intel PXA270 520MHz processor, 192MB of memory, a 2.7" QVGA screen, tri-band GSM/GPRS functionality, integrated GPS, Bluetooth 1.2, a 1.3MP camera, an SD/MMC slot, and of course, Windows Mobile 5.0. I'm lovin' that black shell and the black UI! :drool:<br /><br />More pictures at <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/25/mio_a701_exposed/">The Register</a>.

[jgalindo]

VERY AWESOME! :drool:

buy why no wifi? I want it anyway

[kaitanium]

wow ive gotta say that that is one of the best designed ppcs ive ever seen!

[Ploobers]

It is gorgeous beyond belief! My desire for the HTC Wizard has dramatically fallen in the fast of this new lust-worthy device.

Are the physical specs of the device posted anywhere, either on the Bluetooth or FCC site? It appears that with a 2.7" screen that they are shooting to make it very pocketable.

I'm disappointed about the lack of WiFi too, but out of all the deficiencies of PPC phones, that is the easiest and most convenient to fix. The Wizard has a slow processor and no GPS. Adding GPS either requires a big bulky card or a bluetooth unit. Adding SD wireless can be done with little protrusion from the device.

If it hasn't gone through the FCC yet, that means there is quite a long wait before a US release doesn't it?

[alexm]

looks great! I'm curious when it will come out. Often great devices come out so late they are old by the time of release
:(

[surur]

http://palmshop.ru/img/pda/eten_m500.gif.big.gif

Its obviously an adaptation of the Eten m500. Its however very good to see some competition to HTC, who so thoroughly dominates the PPC ODM world.

Surur

[cubed]

This looks like an excellent smartphone...but let's not confuse this with a Pocket PC.

This demonstrates a few things however. Phone makers are very conscious that a good aesthetic design is important. Apparently, they have figured out that it can't hurt to throw in 192 MB in a phone either.

Now, Pocket PC manufacturers, "ARE YOU LISTENING???"

Give us memory! Give us a great form factor! Give us the OS that has been floating around everywhere with the exception of taking residence on an actual device! Oh, one last thing...don't leak pictures of it and then wait to release it until it is already outdated!

Forgive my rant. It just makes me sick that HP seems to be going backwards and Dell is about to debut the "exciting" new X51 and it is the same form factor as the X50.

When I see that Mio is doing something exciting, I wish that PPC's would follow.

[Ploobers]

What makes you think it is an adaptation of the m500? It looks different enough in the casing, buttons and LEDs to make me think that it is different. Obviously a lot of the same components are used, but from this image, you can see that the camera has different placement and there are no visible buttons on the right side, while the Mio has many. I seriously doubt they are based off of the same design.

http://www.pdaclub.pl/images/pda/Eten_M500_2.jpg

[Ploobers]

This looks like an excellent smartphone...but let's not confuse this with a Pocket PC.

I think that you got thrown by The Register calling it a smartphone, but I don't think that they differentiate a PPC Phone and smartphone. If the screenshot is reliable, you can see the start menu which I don't believe is a part of the Smartphone OS (correct me if I'm wrong). I also think the specs are far too high for it to simply be running the Smartphone version of Windows Mobile 5.

[griph]

This looks like an excellent smartphone...but let's not confuse this with a Pocket PC.

Err - its a Pocket PC Phone Edition device running WM5 - look at the screen!

[ikesler]

Great looking device. Wonder if it will Really loook like that! ;)

[Paragon]

Yeah....it's a Phone Edition device.....not an MS Smartphone. The Register is just a bit confused, like most of the world when it comes to Phone Edition devices.

Dave

[griph]

Oh, that looks sweet. According to The Register, the A701 will feature an Intel PXA270 520MHz processor, 192MB of memory, a 2.7" QVGA screen, tri-band GSM/GPRS functionality, integrated GPS, Bluetooth 1.2, a 1.3MP camera, an SD/MMC slot, and of course, Windows Mobile 5.0. I'm lovin' that black shell and the black UI! :drool.

I have to agree that is a great looking device and for the first time I've found a device that looks better than my MDA Compact! :way to go:
Not worried by the lack of WiFi - hope the camera is better than the MDA though!

[MarcTGFG]

If this really is a WM5 device then I think it is pretty stupid by Mio to leave out to additional keys for the two softkeys.

The whole reasoning behind WM5 is onehanded operation without thumbs or stylus.

[blueQ]

ok. there is
- eten m600 lookin' promising (with wifi :) )
- mio A701 (no wifi)
- Qtek s110 and all it's clones
- gigabyte einstein (seems to take the cake )
- samsung sgh-i730 amd 750

are there any other compact pocketpc phones outhere ?!?!!

anyway my choice is m600!
bad choice for mitec mio . no wifi - no fun.
__________

[zohaer21]

any news about gigabite einsteien???
havent heard any latest on that

[blueQ]

nothin' since computex...

[kiwi]

ok. there is
- eten m600 lookin' promising (with wifi :) )
:
anyway my choice is m600!
bad choice for mitec mio . no wifi - no fun.
__________


yeah.. that looks nice.. I like the Quad Band !! Which is really a must for US/Canada

[T-Will]

Except for the lack of Wifi, this looks like it may be the Pocket PC phone I've been waiting for.

[huangzhinong]

My wild guess: A702 will have builtin 802.11g.

By the way, after saw a lot of WM5 devices now, I realized that two dedicated hardware buttons are not necessary for WM5 at all. The designing of the two big software buttons are for touched by fingers. Putting another two hardware buttons won't hide the software buttons at all, so I think it is just waste space. I also believe those two software buttons are mappable.

But If two hardware buttons can hide the software buttons, I definitly prefer two hardware buttons.

[Ploobers]

But If two hardware buttons can hide the software buttons, I definitly prefer two hardware buttons.

Having buttons won't eliminate the need for the soft buttons because without seeing what function that button is performing at any given time, the key functionality is completely lost and you just have 2 normal hardware buttons.

[Phillip Dyson]

If this really is a WM5 device then I think it is pretty stupid by Mio to leave out to additional keys for the two softkeys.

The whole reasoning behind WM5 is onehanded operation without thumbs or stylus.

I don't recall thumbs being targeted in the "one-handed" approach. Just styli. I for one have a thumb on both my hands.

No slight to those who don't.

[huangzhinong]

If this really is a WM5 device then I think it is pretty stupid by Mio to leave out to additional keys for the two softkeys.

The whole reasoning behind WM5 is onehanded operation without thumbs or stylus.

I don't recall thumbs being targeted in the "one-handed" approach. Just styli. I for one have a thumb on both my hands.

No slight to those who don't.

Right. I like my thumbs too. Also I need my thumb to push HARDWARE buttons too.

[encece]

Beautiful phone. I especially like how they handled the GPS antenna....the black thing at the top....which I am assuming is the GPS antenna! :D

[Ainvar]

Whoa daddy likes!! Daddy likes a lot!!

Now a company who is willing to make a device that people do want to buy and not some clumpy put together device that has 50% of what the tech world wants and 50% of pure junk.

Can I get a price tag on this and a place to buy here in the U.S.?? (Wait I need to wake up and join the real world on the buying in a store in the U.S. part)

[Darius Wey]

Yeah....it's a Phone Edition device.....not an MS Smartphone. The Register is just a bit confused, like most of the world when it comes to Phone Edition devices.

And 99% of the time (yes, there have been exceptions), we wouldn't post on Smartphone news anyway. That's a job for Smartphone Thoughts. :)

[Darius Wey]

Right. I like my thumbs too. Also I need my thumb to push HARDWARE buttons too.

Don't forget that the left and right softkey functions can be mapped to existing hardware buttons. I know, I know - but then you lose the potential function of two other buttons, but it's food for thought. ;)

[Camp]

Beautiful phone. I especially like how they handled the GPS antenna....the black thing at the top....which I am assuming is the GPS antenna! :D
Fianlly, a proper antenna. Manufacturers please take note.

[ricksfiona]

I love it, but WiFi is absolutely necessary. It's useless to me. I'd rather get a Jam.

The Eten M600 looks pretty sweet. I wish it had a faster processor, but 400MHz is workable.

With all the multitasking that I do, I wonder how well WM5 will hold-up. Looks better than WM2003/SE and I hope so.

Currently, I have a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and headset that I use with my phone and iPaq 5550. When I'm using my gear and listening to MP3 at the same time, people wonder what the heck I'm working using. Certainly a cool factor. I can't wait for people to watch me make/take a phone call at the same time!

[griph]

I love it, but WiFi is absolutely necessary. It's useless to me. I'd rather get a Jam.
I dont understand that conclusion - the Jam doesn't have WiFi either.:?
And as a Jam (variant) owner - I think that had I had the choice between the MDA Compact or the MIO I would have gone for the latter because of the integrated GPS. Hope its got a damn good battery though - GSM/GPRS/BT/GPS is going to give it a real caning! Perhaps that is why (in such a small form factor) why it doesn't also have WiFi?

[marcol]

I'm disappointed about the lack of WiFi too, but out of all the deficiencies of PPC phones, that is the easiest and most convenient to fix. The Wizard has a slow processor and no GPS. Adding GPS either requires a big bulky card or a bluetooth unit. Adding SD wireless can be done with little protrusion from the device.


But the SD slot is on the side, which is a pain

[marcol]

I love it, but WiFi is absolutely necessary. It's useless to me. I'd rather get a Jam.
I dont understand that conclusion - the Jam doesn't have WiFi either.:?
And as a Jam (variant) owner - I think that had I had the choice between the MDA Compact or the MIO I would have gone for the latter because of the integrated GPS. Hope its got a damn good battery though - GSM/GPRS/BT/GPS is going to give it a real caning! Perhaps that is why (in such a small form factor) why it doesn't also have WiFi?

But if GPS is mostly be used in the car, it won't affect the battery life (presuming you charge during the journey)

[Jonathon Watkins]

Great looking device and I love the internal GPS.

I wonder if any UK carrier will offer this device............:mrgreen:

[PdaAddict]

Looks great. Does anyone know when it will be available for sale and where it can bought?

[Ojster]

I want one! :)

The only thing missing is EDGE, at least it is not mentioned anywhere...

Best regards,
Peter

[davea0511]

Am I the only person who sees a 2.7" QVGA screen as a significant drawback?

Also the lack of wifi, and a side mounted SD slot are also fairly big negatives for me.

No question it's attractive, and built in GPS is nice - but the time has come to stretch screens to the edge of the device and make it VGA. Wifi should be standard on all PDA's (imho), and expansion slots should be designed so functionality can be added without making the PDA awkward.

Beautiful looks do not a great PDA make. I would however choose this over a smartphone any day. But in the PDA camp it just misses too many things to be considered a contender for me.

[griph]

Am I the only person who sees a 2.7" QVGA screen as a significant drawback?
Probably Yeah! ;-)
I have and MDA Compact at 2.8" QVGA and its no problem whasoever - in fact its a great sceen!.
I also dont understand why a side mounted SD card is a problem either!
I dont really care about VGA on such a small screen - and I would rather have the portability rather than the higher resolution larger screen.
I dont care much for WiFi either - not the end of the world!

[griph]

But if GPS is mostly be used in the car, it won't affect the battery life (presuming you charge during the journey)
The inportant word in your statement is "If" - what about if you are a rambler - on a hike all day - GPRS/GSM and GPS are going to be an issue - what I mean is - if it has all that fitted I hope that they have had the forethought to fit a BFO battery - eg >1400mAH rather that the smaller ones! Not to much to ask for these days. I'd expect to get a full days use regardless of whether I was in my car or on foot!

[Darius Wey]

Am I the only person who sees a 2.7" QVGA screen as a significant drawback?

With 2.7", it's clear they're aiming for a compact form factor. The lack of VGA may be a deterrent for some, for the most part, I think a lot of people wouldn't mind.

Based on mainstream display technologies, it's hard to stretch the screen from edge to edge, as well as keep the device as flat as possible. However, we've posted on new and upcoming display technologies many times before, so as soon as vendors embrace it, we may see a change in the way Pocket PCs are modelled.

[Darius Wey]

I also dont understand why a side mounted SD card is a problem either!

I don't mind it either, but I know a lot of people curse it when they have an SDIO Wi-Fi card sticking out of it (this makes it hard to hold the device). With the good ol' Sandisk and Socket Wi-Fi cards which protruded out a couple of centimetres, I can see why, but now that companies such as Spectec and Socket have introduced a super-slim SDIO Wi-Fi card, the prospect of a side-mounted SD slot shouldn't be as bad as first thought.

[muah]

Looking at the pictures, I don't see a stylus. What will be the method of text input? A virtual keyboard on the screen? If this is truly a full Pocket PC rather than Smartphone edition, shouldn't there be a stylus (since there is no QWERTY keyboard)?

[Darius Wey]

Looking at the pictures, I don't see a stylus. What will be the method of text input? A virtual keyboard on the screen? If this is truly a full Pocket PC rather than Smartphone edition, shouldn't there be a stylus (since there is no QWERTY keyboard)?

A Pocket PC without a stylus is a bizarre concept. Looking at the pictures, I can't see one at the top, so it's most likely being housed in the bottom.

[Handy]

Lack of Wi-Fi is a deal-killer for me. Several people mentioned the option of using a Wi-Fi SD card, but that means you have to remove the SD card which is where I store most of my applications. What happens if you want to download music files, etc? You'll run out of storage space! The prospect of having to juggle everything when I want to use Wi-Fi doesn't thrill me.

I use Wi-Fi for about 50% of the things I do with my PDA. On the other hand, I use GPS only a few times a year. I would gladly trade built in GPS for built in Wi-Fi! I could easily use a Bluetooth GPS receiver for most of my GPS needs.

Actually, my preferred solution would be to have 2 slots so that I can add whatever I need without losing my storage.

[marcol]

I also dont understand why a side mounted SD card is a problem either!

I don't mind it either, but I know a lot of people curse it when they have an SDIO Wi-Fi card sticking out of it (this makes it hard to hold the device). With the good ol' Sandisk and Socket Wi-Fi cards which protruded out a couple of centimetres, I can see why, but now that companies such as Spectec and Socket have introduced a super-slim SDIO Wi-Fi card, the prospect of a side-mounted SD slot shouldn't be as bad as first thought.

Not sure about the Socket card, but the Spectec card is still substantially bigger than a regular SD card and still protrudes a fair bit:

http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=reviews&amp;id=679

I certainly wouldn't want that sticking out of the side my device.

[marcol]

Lack of Wi-Fi is a deal-killer for me. Several people mentioned the option of using a Wi-Fi SD card, but that means you have to remove the SD card which is where I store most of my applications. What happens if you want to download music files, etc? You'll run out of storage space! The prospect of having to juggle everything when I want to use Wi-Fi doesn't thrill me.


You could get a combined card with Wifi and storage. The only one I've come across though is this Sandisk card, which is pretty long and only 250 MB:

http://davesipaq.com/articles/000060/

[marcol]

Just a thought. Do we actually know that the Mio won't have Wifi? The Register article doesn't say it doesn't (it just doesn't say it does).

[Darius Wey]

Not sure about the Socket card, but the Spectec card is still substantially bigger than a regular SD card and still protrudes a fair bit:

http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=reviews&amp;id=679

I certainly wouldn't want that sticking out of the side my device.

The Spectec and Socket card are roughly the same size. Granted, it still sticks out a little, but size-wise, it's a lot better than the original SDIO Wi-Fi cards. I think it'll still be a while until SDIO Wi-Fi cards resembling the same size as a standard SD card begin to surface in the market (if at all).

[Darius Wey]

Just a thought. Do we actually know that the Mio won't have Wifi? The Register article doesn't say it doesn't (it just doesn't say it does).

There hasn't been any mention of it, so it's been widely assumed that it lacks Wi-Fi. Of course, nothing's certain at this stage.

[surur]

I think it'll still be a while until SDIO Wi-Fi cards resembling the same size as a standard SD card begin to surface in the market (if at all).

Probably not at all, as it still needs an aerial.

Of course this has no aerial.

http://x.msmobiles.com/portal/images/wifi/mini-sd-wi-fi-card.gif

Surur

[marcol]

The Spectec miniSD Wifi card is bigger than a normal mini card and in an SD adapter is bigger than a regular SD card. It still sticks out!

http://davesipaq.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7967

[Darius Wey]

Of course this has no aerial.

Aye, but that's miniSD and still protrudes. ;)

[marcol]

Just a thought. Do we actually know that the Mio won't have Wifi? The Register article doesn't say it doesn't (it just doesn't say it does).

There hasn't been any mention of it, so it's been widely assumed that it lacks Wi-Fi. Of course, nothing's certain at this stage.

If you look at the third pic here (which is the same as one on the Register page but higher res):

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/4190.html

you can see what I believe is a Wifi icon (please correct me if I'm wrong). Of course an advertising picture with (I presume) a fake screen image is hardly conclusive proof, but it is suggestive I think.

[Jonathon Watkins]

.....but it is suggestive I think.

Sadly not, now that the official press release is out.

[Darius Wey]

.....but it is suggestive I think.

Sadly not, now that the official press release is out.

Rumours don't lie these days. ;)

It's a shame though. I would have loved to have seen Wi-Fi on this device. :)

[Batnun]

According to the specs on clove.co.uk, the Mio A701 includes Wi-Fi:

http://www.clove.co.uk/products/products.asp?strAreaNo=400_1_13&amp;intElement=26657


Batnun

[Wombatt]

Sorry Batnum. I dont see the reference to WIFI on your link?
Agree with all of the above; WIFI would be preferable.
Probably won't stop me though. Just have to wait until the new financial year to Salary sacrifice, 1-04-06..maybe with the A702 inc WIFI.. 8)
Wombatt.

[Batnun]

Yep, they change the description in the last few days...:-(

Anyway, according to this official flash demo, seems like that the
Mio A700 (supposed to be idendical to the A701) does include WiFi....

http://www.mio-tech.com.tw/products/gpsphone/a700/flash-demo/index.html

Only time will tell...


Batnun

[Isamu]

I've been looking on the websites of Mio (china &amp; taiwan) and they say it "supports" wifi (whatever that means) but it doesn't say it includes wifi.

It think what they mean is if you insert a sd wifi-card in it, it will work.