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Mio Moov 380 GPS Has a Mobile Phone Built in: Can Make Calls, Send Text Messages
Posted by Adrian Covert at 8:27 AM on June 27, 2008
Mio's new Moov 380 GPS just passed through the FCC, complete with the ability to make/take phone calls and send/recieve SMS texts. The GPS unit comes with a SIM card slot, allowing for said cellular functions as well as an SD card slot for storage. In addition, the Moov 380 comes with a SIRFStarIII GPS chip and cellular data speeds would range between 2.75G and 3G.
Because this needs a full voice plan from a wireless carrier to make use of the Moov's features, I'm assuming you're supposed to use the SIM card from the mobile phone you already have. But would you go through the trouble of SIM swapping for this? Also, we've seen cellular enabled GPS units from Dash and Magellan, and soon, Garmin with the Nuvifone, but the usefulness of such a connection depends on what data the devices can pull down from the network. [Mio via GPS Tracklog]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
strider_mt2k
Posted 8:59 AM 27/6/08
@nutbastard: Look into the unlocks for these things.
Might not be an iPhone but you might still be impressed.
strider_mt2k
jeepingeek
Posted 8:48 AM 27/6/08
@nutbastard: oh wait no... it does turn by turn navigation while the iPhone does not
jeepingeek
nutbastard
Posted 8:42 AM 27/6/08
wow so its like an iPhone 3G with less features...
nutbastard
strider_mt2k
Posted 8:41 AM 27/6/08
Wow Adrian, that's one succinct article!
(Reminds me of the old days)
Mio's stuff isn't all that bad.
My hacked C230 rocks!
strider_mt2k
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 10:51 AM 27/6/08
If you people would bother to go read the reviews on Amazon about Mio you would know that you would be better off buying paper maps than relying on a Mio.
Really people, Mio sucks. It take more than some dumb company to slap a GPS logo on their device to make it a good GPS.
Noobs-R-Us
strider_mt2k
Posted 11:11 AM 27/6/08
@Noobs-R-Us: True enough.
I'm the patient sort is all. ;)
strider_mt2k
the_gank
Posted 3:57 PM 27/6/08
@Noobs-R-Us: My hacked C520 works fantastic great and even looks and work better since hacked..
the_gank
Stacky Botrus
Posted 8:45 PM 27/6/08
@the_gank: YOu have to hack the device you paid good money for to make it worth it? Greate news for you - some people like things to work the way its supposed to out of the box.
As for this having less features than an iphone - the difference is (for whoever was wondering) the iphone DOES NOT have a sirf chipset. The thing would be thick as fuck if it did.
Stacky Botrus
strider_mt2k
Posted 10:43 PM 27/6/08
The unlocks I've applied to my Mio make it a multifunction device worthy of daily use....for me/us.
They don't do a whole lot to change the GPS experience directly, however.
It's just a fun thing to do. :D
Agreed we're in the 1-percenters here, but we're still doing this stuff with our tech and are simply stating so.
I'm surprised at the vitriol, but hey devices push buttons with people too I suppose.
As with all things, use what works for you in joy and good health! :)
strider_mt2k
Kev50027
Posted 9:39 AM 27/6/08
What's the point in the high data speeds if you cant surf the web on it or get traffic data? I dont get it. I think the market is moving towards phones with built in GPS rather than GPS with built in phones.
Kev50027
SFCritter
Posted 6:17 AM 28/6/08
My Pharos GPS 600 (re-branded Eten Glowfiish x500) is awesome, has a Sirf Chipset and is a half inch thicker than the iPhone. It even does real-time tracking with Google Maps with an Internet Connection. The Sirf Chip even enabled it to track my location through the 3 & 4 foot wide alleys & Streets of Venice (Italy and yes I realize I've just opened myself up to a plethora of jokes here). The reason for this is because unlike most GPS enabled phones, the GPS Chip is separate from the processor. Having used both, I'll only hope the iPhone follows the same architecture for the accuracy drops from 30 feet to about 3 and enables signals to be picked up in situations where there is a lot of overhead, such as on the narrow streets of Venice, SF, San Jose oh and the living room of my top floor apartment (which is great for navigating to the bathroom) . The only drawback is I'm *forced* to use Windows Mobile 6.
SFCritter
Serpent2
Posted 6:03 AM 2/7/08
I have the 520... awesome GPS. I use TomTom and Garmins at work and they are good too... but for the price and feature set the 520 was awesome when I got it and still is. I had a problem in SanFransico though.. it was a rainy day and couldnt get a signal in the city :( Not sure the tomtom would do any better. The amazon reviews are skewed.. cheap smear tactics? Smear the competitor and promote your gear... amazon/review sites make the cheapest advertisment on the web
Serpent2