In order to get a reasonable amount of CoPilot GPS map data on the cell phone, it was necessary to use an external memory card.  The Motorola MPX220 SmartPhone supports the miniSD flash format.

MiniSD is a Flash memory form factor develop for mobile phones.  It is fully compatible with existing SD devices with the use of an adapter.  SanDisk is one of the major Flash memory vendor in the market.  They have an extensive offering in every format available.

We have many of SandDisk memory cards for other digital devices and I'm sure we'll have more in the future. 

The miniSD is quite a bit larger than the TransFlash format we had reviewed last October.  However, because of its larger size, it feels a lot more rugged.  The TransFlash memory seemed a bit too fragile to use with an application that may require repeated handling of the media.  The miniSD format does not.

The miniSD can fit in all existing SD slots with the use of the included adapter.  The SD format is now the major format for most digital cameras and small hand held devices.  The ability to use miniSD and TransFlash in the standard SD slot ensures their versatility.

The miniSD slot on the Motorola MPX200 is normally covered by a rubber door.  The card can only be inserted in one direction.  Be sure to insert it until the card clicks into place.  To release the card from the phone, there is a spring ejection mechanism in the slot...push the card in a bit to eject it.

We have been using a version of the CoPilot GPS software with our iPaq for about 4 years and have been fairly happy with it performance.  We have not kept up with the software upgrades mostly because it worked "well enough."

However, we knew that GPS hardware has had significant improvements in the past few years (faster satellite acquisition, Bluetooth, etc...) and we wanted to see if it was time to upgrade.

The ALK folks have always been at the head of the pack when it came to GPS software, so when their 6.0 version was released, we decided it was time to take a look.

In this series of reviews, we will take a quick look the SmartPhone version of the CoPilotLive software.

We also have a series of reviews that will take you through the steps needed to get this GPS to work with an iPaq 3850 PDA.

Reviews:

1. MPX220 SmartPhone

2. GPS and Phone Setup

3. MiniSD Storage for SmartPhone

4. SmartPhone software Install

5. SmartPhone FirstUse

6. InTheWild

Review Summary:

Initial Impression- Solidly built

Usability- SD adapter included

Durability- TBD

Price- $70 for 1 GB, $150 for 2 GB

Other CoPilot GPS Reviews:

1. GPS FirstLook

2. Bluetooth Install

3. Software Install in iPaq 3850

4. Loading Maps onto iPaq 3850

Other Phone related Reviews:

1. TransFlash Memory

2. Motorola E815 Cell Phone