Women don't understand that men refuse to pull over and ask for directions when we're lost not because we're stupid, but because it wounds our male pride and we'd rather spend a weekend alone with the in-laws than admit we don't know where the hell we're going.
The kind folks at MIO understand this and have developed some impressive GPS devices to ensure that never again will malekind ever have to pull over and ask for directions - sheer genius!
Rectron has recently signed on to distribute the MIO C510z and the MIO P550 in South Africa, and here's what you can expect from these powerful, compact and competitively priced devices, which will be available locally at the end of February.
Both devices feature the SiRFstar III GPS receiver, which is capable of receiving from up to 20 satellites simultaneously, for extremely accurate positioning whether you're in a city centre or the middle of the countryside. They also both have 3.5-inch colour LCD touchscreen displays in 65K colour with a display resolution of 320x240.
The C510z and P550 both come with maps of South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland included on the devices, which makes them particularly handy for businessmen or holiday makers seeking to visit regions in and around South Africa.
The C510z allows you to store your frequently used addresses in your Points of Interest categories, where you can designate a shortcut button to access them. Estimated time of arrival, distance battery and satellite status can all be viewed, as well as the speed you're travelling at, and just in case you need reminding, speed limits are also shown where available.
This handy GPS device also synchronises with your desktop and Outlook Contacts, and because it has Bluetooth functionality, you can pair it with your mobile phone and in this way navigate directly to a contact. Just select a name and you'll be able to call them or navigate directly to their home or office, provided you have their full address, including the street name saved in Outlook.
Pedestrian mode lets you use the C510z to explore Africa on foot, and features intuitive functionality that takes into consideration whether you are travelling on foot or by vehicle and plots your route accordingly, because if you're on foot, you'll probably want to take a different route than you would if you were driving or even cycling.
The SD/MMC memory card slot expansion slot means you can also listen to music on your GPS, or store picture files, much like you would using an external storage device.
The P550 has all the aforementioned features, but comes bundled with Windows Mobile 5 operating system and has both WiFi and Bluetooth functionality, which means that if you're in a wireless hotspot, you can download and use Skype to make free calls. The P550 is also compatible with a wide range of mapping software, a feature that comes in handy when travelling outside Africa.
Windows Mobile 5 also means the P550 can function as a powerful PDA when you need it to; synchronise the device with Outlook on your desktop or laptop, download e-mail, design Powerpoint presentations, use Word and access Excel on the go, and when you've had enough of work, you can also use the P550 to play games or watch videos.
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