Primarily the device is a PDA with a GPS option, but in practical terms as you will find out, it’s the complete opposite.

For around £200 you do get good value for money, as the box contains a car cradle, car charger, manual, USB cable, CD and Mio Map 3 software pre-installed onto a 1GB SD card.

Though you can buy the P360 without the navigation software for £170 if you want to add your own maps etc.

We have to admit that moment we laid eyes on the P360 it’s a vast improvement over the older P350, gone are the girth and white finish, to be replaced with a sleek metallic grey/silver design instead.

The device measures H (117) x W (70) x D (15.5) mm and weighs 170g, so it’s fairly portable.

You won’t find many visible buttons except for the one at the top to power the unit on/off into standby and two at the base, along with a dinky joystick for navigation, which was a touch awkward to use unless you have small fingers to match.

At the bottom of the device you will find a headphone socket which is the 2.5” variety, a microphone pickup hole, a USB/charging port and a dedicated on/off switch.

The main improvement over the older P350 lies with the inclusion of Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 operating system, we have to say that the Samsung 2443 – 400Mhz coped well at powering the OS, built-in applications and Mio Map 3 software.

Apart from the Mio Map software you will have to rely on the standard application included with the OS, such as the newer mobile office programs, PIM applications and Windows Media Player 10.

Mio Map 3 as we mentioned loaded fast and worked well, but compared to the latest batch of navigation software it’s starting to feel slightly dated, its interface is not as quick to use as Tom Toms but its logical to navigate none the less.

The inclusion of a speed camera database and TMC support will be useful (though to get TMC will set you back around £50), speed camera locations can be manually added on route to be shared with other Mio uses via their online website. Upgrading speed cameras we believe is the same as the older P350 method, in that you have install MioSync software via your PC and link up the device using the supplied USB cable to complete the updates. We did not try this as on our test route the speed camera locations were accurate enough and worked well.

Internal memory is boosted by an additional 395mb of free flash memory, which you can use for data. The internal memory itself is limited to around 37mb of free program memory. The 1GB SD card used by the Mio software leaves about 18mb free so this is not much use.

So far so good as far as the device goes, but as we are testing the device as a PDA first we have to point out some of the gripes. Like most PDA products designed for GPS usage the screen takes the biggest hit, as the antiglare coating results in a poorer image. Even with the backlight on full the screen was still a touch to dark for our liking.

As a result of upping the brightness to max, we found that when watching our test videos the white areas tended to suffer from a touch of over exposure and likewise viewing PowerPoint slides with the text on a white background was also not as sharp, with text looking fuzzy.

We have to admit that after a while of using the Mio you don't notice the screen problems that much, but if you are accustomed to hi-res screens then you will not get the quality you are looking for.

During navigation testing the opposite comes into play as the screen was great for viewing maps - even in direct sunlight.

And thanks to the built-in SiRF-Star III chip satellite navigation performance and accuracy was spot on.

Ok so we can live with the screen no probs but apart from the GPS receiver its other features are none existent, so you won't find Wi-Fi connectivity, camera or phone/3G support here, which again is something we could live without, however the omission of Bluetooth and infrared support is inexcusable for a PDA in this day and age - regardless of the price. As a result you can't link the device to a phone for internet access, which leaves it severely lacking as a PDA (you will have to use the pass-through via a USB cable and ActiveSync for internet access).

To be fair Mio have not really tried to market the P360 as a full PDA solution, rather it’s a GPS device first with the benefits of a PDA second and the Bluetooth option is available on the P560 model if you need it.

It’s just as well though that the battery life was strong, as during driving the GPS only zapped 12% of the power after 45 mins.