I bought it about 3 months ago when I moved. It is especially reliable when negotiating small residential roads. The POI is more than sufficient. It has directed me to the exact location 99.99% of the time, which I think is satisfactory.

Cons: My husband owns a Magellan and I agree that MIO 310 powers up slower initially, maybe 15 secs slower, when locating the start-up location. The power cord could be longer and the battery-life is shorter compared to the Magellan. Either leave it plugged in all the time or charge it up with the USB cord on your laptop or computer.

Overall, it's a thumbs-up for me.

I researched GPS systems for hours before choosing this unit as a Father's Day gift for my husband. It is his 1st tracking device, but he has repeatedly commented on how much he loves it. He travels approximately 4 days per week, making stops along the way to see customers on a daily basis. A large portion of his territory is new for him, and he is unfamiliar with the locations of his customers' offices, so he is delighted not to have to pull over to consult a map, or sit in a client's parking lot mapping out his next stop. He found programming it simplistic, and it only took a few hours to put in his entire customer base. He loves that he can find Hooters along the way, as well as his hotel locations easily. He thought he could live without one, but now, he doesn't how he managed with only a map. I am just tickled I found a gift that not only surprised him, but one he actually likes! I plan to buy another for our son, and possibly one for myself.

I was concerned that this model had only 3.5 million POI's (points of interests), as opposed to 6 million which seemed to be more common among the other brands, but thus far, everything he was looking for has been stored within the unit. (Knock wood.)

If your husband/boyfriend has large hands, the 4.3" screen is a must. He barely has room to type as it is. (He wears a size 13 ring.)

We live in Florida, and he has no problem seeing the screen in the bright light. He does take it out of the vehicle when he's not in it, though, to prevent theft, so I cannot say how well it withstands heat. It does fit in his pocket. If you have never owned a GPS before, this one is a great one to try. It has only misled him 3 times out of perhaps 250-300, and it does have a "mind of its own". It thinks he should take an entirely different route home from certain locations than he prefers, and he said it does get quite insistent when you don't follow directions and turn around!

And one other feature it has that he really likes: It knows ALL of the breaks in the highway. It down't know which ones are illegal U-turns, but it alerts you to a break before you drive up on it, in order to double back, should a U-turn be allowed and needed.

I have had two Garmin Streetpilots and I was so fed up with the last one that I threw it away a few weeks ago.

It was anything EXCEPT Garmin, for obvious reasons. I do not tolerate any blinking/flashing/scrolling/etc. on displays so I went to Circuit City to check out what they have. The Garmins and the Sonys were inaccessible whereas this Mio was accessible.

First impression is that the unit is of cheap quality. Second impression, the same. The Garmin is built like the proverbially brick sh**house. It is ( almost ) indestructible ( the thrown away unit tolerated an amazing amount of physical abuse as I decommissioned it prior to the trash heap ). The Mio looks like it will shatter if it falls off of the windshield. ( it does fall off of the windshield, repeatedly; but it is still in one piece )

This is a small unit ( maybe 25% the volume of the Garmin ). It has a HUGE cigarette lighter plug. It is so large and bulky that it gets in the way of the gearshift. You would think that this plug was designed for a welding machine, not a GPS unit?

The Garmins come with a very nice bean bag mount. ( the unit clips to the bean bag and you position the bean bag on the dashboard ). The Mio has a mickey-mouse suction cup mount that is worthless. After cleaning the windshield, etc. it was only with a lot of effort that the Mio would remain in place without falling off ( comment: in my state windshield mounts are illegal. thanks, Mio. second, it doesn't attach to dashboard ). Since GPS units are designed to be stolen, it is necessary to remove ( and hide ) the Mio whenever you get out of your car. This means that you have to remove it from the windshield. Then, of course, you have to go through the unecstatic agony of trying to reattach it. ( I have to use the glue to the windshield base to even get it to stay attached at all ). All in all, this is just a total pain in the rear end.

Unit takes a while to acquire satellites. Once, after initial acquisition, unit display comes up immediately without the long delays of Garmin units ( gps position may be incorrect until a new fix is obtained ).

Options and features are limited. Menus are quite straightforward, however, and very easy to use. ( no manual ). Response to menu entries is somewhat slow. You can select from a qwerty style keypad or an a-z keypad which is nice.

Address entry is relatively straightforward although the unit lists every street in the state that matches the street you enter. ( armageddon way, las vegas, nv; armageddon way, reno; etc so you pick street and city from list matching name ). There is no blinking cursor as there is with the Sony units.

After you select the street/city, a very easy to use numeric keypad with BIG keys comes up and you enter the street number. You then select the address from a list, preview it, and then go to it ( routing ).

Database searching for street addresses and routing calculations are relatively painless. There are no idiot animations, etc. ( the garmins have these and that is why I gave up on them. as well as bugs, bugs and bugs )

Another reviewer said that this unit gives clear directions? That was definitely NOT by experience. Garmins typically have a speeth imphediment and this unit does, too; only much worse. Pronunciations are often grossly incorrect or incomprehensible. It is often difficult to understand them when you are driving. The Garmins are very predictable about advance turn notification ( say 30-60 seconds in advance contingent upon how fast you are driving ); the Mio is somewhat unpredictable. With the Garmin, you can rely exclusively on the voice directions; with the Mio, the voice directions are inadequate and you have to look at the screen display, too. The main advantage of the Garmin StreetPilots is that they have the "speak" button. You push it and it repeats the directions. That is perfect for a brain dead idiot like me who forgets the directions five seconds after I hear them.

The Garmin units ( which have MAJOR bugs in the routing software ) generally route better. The Mio repeatedly misrouted me and chose obscure routes. One time, it did not recognize that a road had been blocked. ( ie: to prevent through traffic; this was an old blockage so this should not have been a problem. sometimes Garmins do NOT recognize dead end roads and route you off the freeway down the embankment or other dangerous maneuvers. ( this is why I through away the StreetPilot - it was too unreliable and it let me down all too many times ).

I was suprised that the Mio showed some very rural, not really roads ( more like driveways to multiple residences ). I was not routing then so I don't know if the Mio would misroute me out into the poppies the way Garmin units do. ( you have to be very careful with the Garmin units; misrouting onto dirt/dead end/ incorrect roads is very common. another reason I threw the Garmin away )

The Mio is little more than an entry level - trainer GPS. I have no choice so I have to use it. If you have a choice, look somewhere else, maybe.

GPS units definitely need to be tried in the store so you can understand the interface. Unfortunately, you have to drive 500-1000 miles in urban, suburban and rural environments to properly evaluate them. Then, it has been too long to return the unit if it is not acceptable.