MiTAC Announces First Pocket PC with Built-in GPS

The Taiwanese company MiTAC has announced the Mio 168, the first Pocket PC to include a built-in GPS receiver. Unfortunately, the company has no current plans to make this device available in the U.S.

The Mio 168 runs Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC on a 300 MHz Intel XScale PXA255 processor. It has 64MB of RAM and 32MB of ROM.

This model includes a 3.5-inch, 65,000-color transflective TFT LCD screen at 240 by 320 pixels. It has an SD/MMC memory card slot that is compatible with SDIO.

Of course, the Mio 168's most significant feature is its built-in GPS receiver. This appears to be similar to Garmin's iQue 3600, in that a large antenna is mounted to the back of the device. This can be swivel up when the GPS transceiver is in use, or flipped down to get it out of the way if it isn't needed.

According to DigiTimes, the Mio 168 has been created to make driving easier. It comes with a mapping program that gives the locations of gas stations, restaurants and parking lots in Taiwan.

Though this model comes with a map of the U.S. on an MMC card, MiTAC doesn't plan to release the Mio 168 in this country. It will be available in Taiwan this weekend for NT$12,000, which is about US$350. It will eventually be released in China.

MiTAC is also debuting in its home country the Mio 336, a handheld very similar to the Mio 168, but without the GPS hardware. It will sell for NT$7,350, or about US$215.

Related Links

• Brighthand Reviews the Garmin iQue 3600