Mio preps Bluetooth GPS PocketPC

Successor to the 168 series?

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

Posted in Mobile, 19th August 2005 10:11 GMT

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Mio's next GPS-enabled PocketPC will feature Bluetooth 1.2 wireless connectivity, according to the Bluetooth Qualification Program (BQP) website.

Dubbed the A201, little else is known about the device beyond the fact it has a built-in GPS receiver, as per Mio's current GPS PocketPC offerings.

The product qualification filing was made by the device's manufacturer, Mitac, which supplies the devices to its own spin-off company, Mio. Mitac also ships product to Germany's Medion, the company that arguably kicked off the PocketPC GPS route-planning craze in the first place.

Certainly, the A201 also goes by the product identification MDPNA, Medion's standard product code, with the model number 1500.

Mio is known to be preparing an updated version of the Mio 168 GPS Pocket PC family - along with a smart phone that incorporates GPS, sources close to the company have told The Register. The A201 is most likely the former, based on the terse description in the BQP filing. Neither the 168 or the more recently released 168RS provide Bluetooth connectivity. Both use a flip-up GPS antenna, but it's believed the next Mio model will feature a fully integrated GPS receiver like Mio's other GPS systems, the 268 and the 269. ®

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