One very detailed review of the Mio A701 Windows Mobile smartphone, with particular emphasis on its GPS performance, has been posted in a discussion forum on GpsPasSion.com. The review includes numerous photos, and side-by-side comparisons with the Eten E500 and Globalsat BT-338.

Mio A701 Windows Mobile smartphone GPS capabilities Review

The Mio A701 smartphone combines GPS, camera, mobile phone, and PDA functions in a very sleek device. The quad-band (GSM/GPRS) smartphone runs Windows Mobile 5.0 on a 520 MHz PXA270 with 192 MB of internal memory. The device sports a 2.7-inch QVGA TFT display and a 1.3 Mpixel camera as well as Bluetooth connectivity. It integrates a "next-generation" SirfStar III GPS receiver.

The GpsPasSion.com reviewer finds that the A701's time-to-first-fix (TTFF) of 12 seconds "clearly stands out" in comparison with the Eten E500 and Globalsat BT-338, probably owing to a feature called SiRFinstantFix (SIF), a form of assisted GPS (AGPS) that downloads ephemeris data over the Internet. According to the review, downloading ephemeris data from the satellites is now the most time consuming part of getting a first fix.

Other tests included performance comparisons inside cars with "coated" and clear windshields. All units exhibited a loss of accuracy behind the coated windshield. The A701 showed "excellent" battery life compared to the other units, according to the review.

You can read the whole review here.