MB-BOB

What a difference 4 years makes...

2002 = PNI Digital Compass (Top)
2006 = Mio C310x GPS System (Bottom)

SAME ASHTRAY.

Yes, the portable Mio fits within the C-Class ashtray area. You have to make a plastic mount behind to support it. But it fits, you can close the tray cover to hide it, and the satellite reception is just as good as when on the windshield.

I've been waiting for these units to get small enough. The Garmins are still too large. And for half the price, the Mio does everything the Garmins and Magellans do... plus has a built-in MP3 Player.

BTW, the Red tabs are part of the mount behind. The tabs locate the unit within the space, and hold it in place. I just drop the unit between the red tabs, and go. Reach in and grab by the top corners to remove for use in the wife's vehicle (she has the supplied windshield mount).

Yes, I could have bought the Mercedes dash GPS, but this unit is completely portable (not built-in), and I have no need to play with any CDs or other junk, etc.
_

rlee02135

cool...how much did it cost?

MB-BOB

I bought it at Circuit City. Comp-USA, Circuit City, Staples, etc. ran competitive specials over Christmas holidays... $199 plus tax. I think the normal price is around $300. But the Garmin 340 is close to $450. Their best unit is the Nuvi, imo, as it has the same features as the Mio (minus the MP3 player). But I doubt it would fit within the ashtray and still be easily removable.

They may still be on sale, just look around at the inserts in your Sunday paper. Their website is http://www.miogps.com/

infected

Awesome!
Any more shots of the entire dash area?

fairladyz

Very nice!!!! Is it battery powered or is there some sort of power connection that is hidding behind the unit?

Nice looking unit

white_w203

can it even close? i like things that work with what we already have. install looks good.

SlvrC230SS

Nice install

MB-BOB

BOTH. The Mio comes with a cigarette lighter plug and cord that feeds into the bottom of the GPS unit. The unit with the plug in place will not fit in the ashtray. However, the battery within the GPS has 5 hours of capacity. I've not had a need to drive more than 5-hours at a time to run down the unit.

Also, the unit comes with a USB cable link for loading MP3 files into the unit's SD card (You supply the card). It's also intended for loading eventual map upgrades, downloaded from the Mio site. Important thing is the cable also charges the unit from the computer. So, you have two options for recharging the 5-hour battery.
YES, you can turn off the GPS unit, leave it in place, and close the compartment lid so it's out of sight. Fitting within the area and being able to close were the two major goals in finding this unit.
The rest of the dash is stock 2001 C320... not much to see.

advans

but is it a bit inconvient to look down there?

MB-BOB

No more inconvenient than drivers looking down to squash their cancer stick butts in the ashtray.

You don't even need to "look down there." The voice commands tell you when to make turns, etc. I have it set at 3/4 volume, and even from within that cavity down low, the voice is still strong enough to cover the audio system at half volume.

Watching the map move is intoxicating, but it's a safety distraction, whether in the ashtray or on the windshield.

MB-BOB

Here you go. Standard stuff, most of it...

infected

Looks really clean!
Too bad they don't have one with a black faceplate or I'd be all over it.

Moviela

Nice project MB-Bob. Very clean looking in there. Like many others I have not heard of that brand and appreciate your spotlight on it.

sammin

Can you explain a little more about the red tabs...what are they exactly, and how are they attached in the ash tray area?

Thanks

yeuchau

what do you think of that mio gps, i was acutally looking at that, and actually consdering buy it.
does it do it's job accurately, cause i know some gps is not very accurate.

thanks,
Michael

MB-BOB

The mount is made of plastic from an audio cassete case. The "tabs" are at 90 degrees to the back face and cradle the MIO in place as the unit would slide to the right or left if not cradled by the tabs.

The felt is Spray-mented to the mount and provides a nominal amount of cushioning, and because the tabs are red, I can see where to drop the Mio into place (between the tabs). The tabs would not be as visible if in black felt. Make sense? The entire mount is held in place with TV Studio Gaffer's tape (black duct tape).
I have a friend at work who has bought all the various GPS brands, Garmin, Magellan, etc. He would keep each for a week then return it to the store for a different model to test. I would never consider doing this myself, but I did ask him for his recommendation, as he obviously was an expert.

He said the best units for the size, functionality and price were this Mio and the Garmin Nuvi. He said they do exactly the same thing, equally well. But at 1/2 the price of the Garmin, the Mio was the better deal.

I'm quite happy with the accuracy of the unit. In fact, it pinpoints my home exactly, while Google Earth thinks I live next door at my neighbor's. LOL!

tommy

Nicely done, Bob.

If I weren't planning on putting my scan gauge in there (with my car, scanning my error codes on the fly is more important than knowing where I am), I'd consider it.

yeuchau

sounds nice,
i think i will order the mio unit

Buellwinkle

It would be fun to have the MIO together with Comand and see which has the better route. $200 is a steal for these things, heck the U.S. CD set update from MB is $300. I would have gone that route instead of Comand if it was available back then.

gaogi

This thing does not last 5 hours on a full charge. We took one on a trip to Big Bear from Irvine, and about 10 minutes before Snow Summit (about 1 hour and 50 mintes), the thing died..

OTOH, this thing is highly hackable. My co-worker has figured out how to load up Chinese Traditional fonts into it, and if he had more flash space, he would be able to load Tom-Tom software on it.

The fact that it has a mini USB connector is also a plus. If you can find some device that has a charging cradle with a mini-USB connector on it, you can probably modify it and fit it into the ashtray area for a clean look.

dougpark714

If you want a black one, you can get the Mio 710 which has the same dimension as the 310. But more expensive since it has the bluetooth speakerphone, traffic, etc.

Mercus

Cool piece of engineering. Nice job.

samuel003

i just bought it from circuit city $199.99 plus ny tax ($16)
Mio C310x

RES

Just find the I-pod USB/cigerett charger and tap into the cars cigerett lighter plug under the center consol like other people have done. Nice and hidden and uses the USB charger interface.???Should work since all USB voltage is the same. And then you could use I-pod to if you wanted. Oh and a new addapter just showed up on the apple site, allows you to plug into cigerett lighter and has audio and video out. Might be old news but I had to make my own when I added my video I-pod to my TV input.

yeuchau

i just bought the mio unit
palying with it now