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Zipkicker
Posts: 1
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| 07 May 2008 12:05 PM |
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Hey all,
I'm new to the forums and have registered to ask for some advice on what to do...
To cut a long stroy short, I have a MIO C520 and will be travelling to Europe in June. I was under the impression that I would be able to purchase a map from Mio or some of the retailers who sell the European maps and wouldn't have to worry about the hassle of renting one overseas...
I have since discovered that the C520 is 'region coded' - ie you can't buy international maps from overseas suppliers that are compatible with the Australian version of the receiver. Not a problem, I thought, I'll just buy one locally that has the license.
Mio used to sell these on their website, but after calling their consumer support line, I was told that they don't do this any more because of the international maps not working in the receivers.
To make matters worse, they are now totally discontinuing the sale of international maps in Australia.
As an 'option', the official Mio line is to offer me an alternative GPS unit for $369.00 (it's a NavMan) while they iron out the details of their 'trade in' (!!!!) offer in July which will allow Mio owners in Australia to trade in their receivers for a unit which offers international maps.
I have to say that this truly sucks.
All I wanted was to not get lost while trying to drive around Germany. 
I'm open to suggestions as what to do next. As far as I can see it, my options are;
1) Buy a cheap unit off eBay.
2) Figure out how to unlock the C520 so that I can buy an SD card with European maps on it. This is a problem because I don't have a PC with an SD card input.
3) Ask you guys for advice.
I'm going with the third option!
Sorry for the long rant and I hope to hear from you soon.
Cheers,
Bruce
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stony
Posts: 1
Location:
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| 24 May 2008 8:22 AM |
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I can't help really, but here is some recent info I got from ringing Mio. It is not very hopeful.
Attracted by the current heavily discounted price for the C520 (looks like it is being discontinued), I rang to ask why international maps are not available at the moment for Mio units bought in Australia. The person I spoke to told me that the firm that had provided Mio Australia with overseas maps had gone belly up and that Mio was negotiating with another supplier. The next day I rang again and was told by another person that this info was incorrect and that new international maps were in the pipeline. Neither of my informants would give a date for the supply of the maps.
Altogether a poor situation. A great pity since at the current price the C520 offers more features than another other unit on the market. Even if international maps were available from Mio Australia, purchasing a Western Europe one at the price of the 2007 one when it was available would more than double the price of the C520. GPS manufacturers seem to think that people are made of money.
A Myer salesperson told me that, following the recent linking of Mio and Navman, he had been told that a Mio with Navman software was in the pipeline. It just gets more complicated.
So I am having to decide whether I buy the C520 with free software and Australian map upgrade and forget about taking it to Europe in September, or buy another more expensive unit from another manufacturer that definitely will supply international maps. |
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