9 September 2006 0:44 GMT / By Stuart Miles

The Mio C510E is to the Mio C210 like Arnold Schwarzenegger is to Danny DeVito in the 1988 film comedy Twins.

The bigger and more powerful of the two models, it's amazing that they've come from the same factory, in fact that only real sign is that underneath the exterior, the two units use the same mapping software and interface.

Added to the offering is Bluetooth support so you can use the unit as a handsfree kit, an internal rechargeable battery and a bigger 3.5-inch screen.

Elsewhere the specs are identical meaning you get the latest GPS technology; a SiRFstar III GPS receiver that means that you don't always need a direct line of sight for it to work and a 400MHz processor that makes it fairly nippy in performance.

Maps of UK (or whichever region you are in) come pre-installed on the unit and in addition Mio has included pre-installed maps of Major Roads of Europe so you can always find your way home, be that from Portugal or Sweden.

The interesting titled MRE map covers 24 countries, and includes Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Italy, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San-Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Vatican.

Like the C210 there is a strong emphasis on speed, with the Mio C510E coming with 1 year's subscription to all the speed cameras in the UK, and audible and visual notices telling you the current speed limit for the area you are driving in. You can even set it so you get a warning when you break that speed limit by a certain percentage.

However unlike the C210, the C510 isn't burdened with the same amount of problems. The large 3.5-inch screen can be clearly read giving enough space to clearly see all the commands and information on the screen without too much trouble.

Likewise the company has fitted the C510E with a better more substantial cradle that is both easy to fit and easy to remove. The touchscreen issue has been resolved by including a speaker, and the unit features volume buttons on the side of the unit. The only problem that still remains is the menu system, which still buries simple things like "avoid road" deep down. It's not as bad as the C210 because the screen is bigger, however it's still not perfect.

Verdict

Like DeVito's and Schwarzenegger's characters in Twins, it's clear to see which one is the better of the two.

Although the Mio C510 doesn't offer anything dramatically different from its competitors, it is still leaps and bounds ahead of its sibling - the C210.

It's clear that with the C210 Mio has tried to cram in too much into a too small a box, however here, with the C510E the ideas have a little more room to breath and luckily it's for the better.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

Mio

Price as reviewed

£269

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The good

Large screen, Bluetooth, TMC support, capable of playing music via the external memory slot, new GPS chipset

The bad

Menu system difficult to find things

Quick verdict

Although the C510 doesn't offer anything different over its competitors it is none the less a strong performer

Score

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