Mio Launches Spirit 300, Spirit 500 and Navman Spirit Flat Ultra-Slim Navigation Devices

With three models across two design options, Navman Spirit takes a fresh, exciting approach to navigation. What’s immediately striking when you pick them up is just how slim and lightweight each model is, from the palm-sized 3.5-inch screen to the sharp, bright 4.7-inch widescreen, plus a stunning 4.7-inch super flat widescreen. Ergonomically designed with soft-curve edges, these are some of the thinnest Sat Navs in the world. But it’s beneath the stylish, compact exterior that the exciting stuff really happens. Switch them on and the new menus, maps and navigational tools are simply a joy to use.

Like most other Sat Navs available today, all the basics are covered, such as finding your destination easily, avoiding traffic, being aware of road speeds and safety cameras and helping the driver negotiate difficult junctions (in particular, Navman Spirit’s new Junction Views are a great help as the screen accurately displays a motorway sign in 3D as you approach an exit).

The ‘Spirit’ part of the name refers to the new software that powers the range. Redesigned from the ground up, Spirit uses a simple and colourful menu system that takes you to all of the features within a couple of ‘taps’. Navman Spirit’s new slidetouch screen brings up windows that glide on and off to help you find what you’re looking for quickly, so you only ever need to go back to the main menu when you want to.

At the heart of any Sat Nav is the mapping and Mio have addressed this too, with their new TruMap Views that strip away clutter for a cleaner, much easier to read map display. And to help navigate urban areas more easily, over 1000 landmarks and buildings in cities around Europe are rendered in stunning 3D, giving you a real-world context as you drive around them.

And now for the fun part: Navman Spirit really does help you get more out of your journey with a suite of new features that really set Navman Spirit apart from its competitors. First up is Explore Mode, an ingenious POI (Point of Interest) idea that really comes into its own when you’re exploring new places. From any location in Europe, touch the map and a cluster of icons ‘grow’ from this point. You can immediately see what’s available in or near that location, from cash machines to hotels, museums and local attractions, car parks, restaurants and more. Zoom in on the map for more location detail, or zoom out for a wider choice of POIs. Touch any icon and a name and address pops up, click ‘Go’ and Navman will navigate you there. Explore Mode works both on the go, or can be used before you set off so you can plan your POIs in advance.

Navman Spirit also debuts an improved version of Mio’s Local Search. Mio have partnered with Google for local directory information at your fingertips, via a Bluetooth connection to a mobile phone while you’re on the go. Wherever you are, just type in a generic request such as ‘coffee’, ‘pizza’ or ‘pharmacy’ for a list of local options, or if you’re looking for a specific business and you know the name, it’ll find that too if it’s nearby. Mio’s Local Search and Explore Mode make a powerful combination, taking Sat Nav into exciting new territory.


And if that wasn’t enough, Mio take the idea of exploring even further. Pre-loaded into every new Navman Spirit are a selection of Travel Books from Wcities, featuring in-depth listings of places to eat, stay and visit, combined with facts and photos. There are hundreds more to choose from and Mio make it easy to download more onto the Navman Spirit.

Navman Spirit helps you explore more on foot, too. The built-in 2D city maps have been specially designed to work out of the car at walking pace, creating a seamless navigation experience. With details of footpaths and building outlines Navman Spirit works with the user to cut travel times.

Mio pioneered geo-tagged photo GPS navigation with Navman in the UK, and their NavPix feature now leads the way in this fast-developing area. With the built-in photo album, you can browse through a huge variety of pictures such as tourist sites, hideaway beaches, hotels and restaurants. As geo-tagging becomes more popular, and with over a million tagged photos free on NavPix and Flickr websites, this feature really starts to come into its own.

The new Navman range really comes alive with its Spirit software. Intelligent text-to-speech provides spoken next turn road names and directions, enabling drivers to keep their eyes on the road. Spoken navigation is now louder and clearer with Navman Spirit’s built-in FM transmitter, allowing users to tune the device into their car speakers via the radio.

All in all, the dynamic Navman Spirit range represents a major shift in Sat Nav evolution. Each model performs it’s navigational tasks with ease and accuracy and also creates a far richer, safer and more enjoyable travel experience, wherever you choose to explore.

Navman Spirit 300 traffic
• 3.5” screen
• Pioneering ‘Spirit’ software with Slide Touch
• TruMap views
• 3D Junction views and lane guidance
• Local Search via MioMore desktop 2
• Explore mode
• Wcities Travel Books
• Walking mode
• Smart economical routing
• NavPix photo navigation
• Pre-loaded safety camera data – free trial
• Text to Speech
• High speed GPS fix with SiRFInstantFixII
• Road speed limit data
• Built-in Traffic information
• Latest regional / European map data

Navman Spirit 500 traffic
Also available with Western European maps and Hands-free options.
• 4.7” widescreen
• Ultra slim, lightweight design (less than 14mm thin)
• Pioneering ‘Spirit’ software with Slide Touch
• TruMap views
• 3D Junction views and lane guidance
• Google Local Search via Bluetooth
• Explore mode
• Wcities Travel Books
• Walking mode
• Smart economical routing
• NavPix photo navigation
• Capture button
• Bluetooth Hands-free calling
• Roadside assistance
• AccuWeather weather info
• Pre-loaded safety camera data – free trial
• Text to Speech
• High speed GPS fix with SiRFInstantFixII
• Road speed limit data
• Built-in Traffic information†
• Latest regional / European map data

Navman Spirit Flat
• 4.7” super-flat widescreen
• Ultra slim, lightweight design (14.5mm thin)
• Pioneering ‘Spirit’ software with Slide Touch
• TruMap views with 3D landmarks
• 3D Junction views and lane guidance
• Google Local Search via Bluetooth
• Explore mode
• Wcities Travel Books
• Walking mode with 2D city maps
• Smart economical routing
• NavPix photo navigation
• Capture button
• Hands-free calling
• Roadside assistance
• AccuWeather weather info
• FM Transmitter
• MP3 player / Video player
• Pre-loaded safety camera data - free trial
• Text to Speech
• High speed GPS fix with SiRFInstantFixII
• Road speed limit data
• Built-in Traffic information with lifetime subscription
• Latest Western and Eastern European map data

Just Bought the 500 in UK dealer rang to say it was miss sold and it is only UK and Ireland maps however Mio acknowledged an error and supplied Unlock codes for western europe maps and 512 Mb card However thier web site is crap they dont list UK on Countries when contacting Support only GB Have tried unsucessfully to purchase Australian maps from web shite
A. Its the slowest in the world
B.prices in Euros
C.RBS payments will not accept € on any visa cards

Maps are dated 2007!!!!!!! and will not refresh

Bloody rubbish.

You might not be enabled all the options from the Spirit 500 device, and because of which you are not getting its expected result, it has so many features inbuilt in it, I am using it without any problem, even i also get the latest map from their authorized shop.