In a desperate effort to grab market share and justify itself as a viable brand in the navigation marketplace, Mio has rolled out several new models and done what most struggling brands do -slash prices.

But it is also one of the first to embrace the new Suna traffic information system, developed by RACV subsidiary Intelematics, however this service is only available in Melbourne and several leading brands such as Tom Tom and Garmin are expected to roll out the service when it goes national or when available in Sydney and Brisbane.

Mio is owned by Mitac, which also markets the Navman line of GPS devices and in an effort to bolster its position as the fourth placed vendor in the navigation market behind Navman, Tom Tom and Garmin, Mio has resorted to adding itself to the success of the Navman brand.

Mio which is a tiny operation in Australia operating from serviced offices in Australia has around 5% of the Australian market however when combined with Navman, Mitac has 20% of the Australian in-car GPS market between them, behind TomTom on 37% and Garmin on 25%.

Mio has been doing better since opening a serviced office in Melbourne, with Peter Ferrigno as sales director. Mio sales are in the “low double-digits” and have been increasing strongly following the recent price cuts, Ferrigno says. However this has been disputed by one research company.

The basic 3.5in. Mio DigiWalker C220 has been cut from $499 to $399, while the mid-level 4.3in. C520 has been slashed, with Mitac’s blessing, from $629 to $499.

They have now been joined by two new split-screen models: the C320 at $449 (similar to the 520, but lacking MP3 or Bluetooth) and the flagship DigiWalker C720t, with built-in 2-megapixel camera and videocam, at $699.

Both are claimed to be among the first to access the new Suna traffic message channel (TMC) launched by Intelematics. So far available only in Melbourne, this broadcasts detailed information on traffic congestion and other road conditions – culled from traffic light control systems, other sensors and some live observers.

Testing of the Suna TMC is now under way in Sydney and Brisbane, where it should go live in mid-2008; the plot is to extend it to other capitals by 2010. TMC users need an additional cradle kit, including hardware, software and lifetime subscription. This costs $149 on the Mio C320 and C520; $129 on the C720t, which comes with built-in hardware and needs only subscription activation.