Database Users

Which GPS unit for XDAII?

Could someone point me to a GPS unit which works well with the XDAII. There is a large choice, and i'm not sure what to go for. Going to be using Tom Tom 2.
Many thanks!
Faisal

Are you looking for a cable type or bluetooth?

I bought the TomTom package with their BT GPS unit and loved it. It worked great for about a week and was very handy for a 1,600 mile road trip. Then one morning it just simply wouldn't work right. Took a bit of time but I finally got in touch with a human at TomToms U.S. office and they agreed it sounded messed up and that I'd need to send it in for repair, which should be a one day turnaround.
Outside of the faulty device (no idea how common that is) the performance was very pleasing in general.

cruisin-thru said:
Are you looking for a cable type or bluetooth?
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looking for a either really but with preference to BT.
graah... was thinking about purchasing it with the gps unit, but can buy the software from a mate who's now using Navman. So looking for unit only.

GPS with TMC
Woohoo!
Managed to order a RDS - TMC unit today + soft ware ( Navigon) . I hope to get it next week.

using XDA2 with digitraveler bought from US - works great!

I have used many gps systems both with xda1/2 and ipaqs, the digitraveler was quite impressive but stocks are no longer available, I am at the moment using a Fortuna Gpsmart bt unit, this works as both a nmea at 38400 on cable and also as a blutooth gps, at the same time if required, I have found this gps to be extremely accurate, very fast and with the added bonus that it operates as a handheld standalone gps. I bought a cable to power the gps and then bought another cable which powers both the gpsmart and the xda, however if you want totally wireless obviously the gps can be battery operated although battery life isnt wonderful.

tomtom? do i need an external GPS device?

This seems like a silly question even while i am the one asking it. but by the looks of things i need to buy a bluetooth GPS to get my tomtom working.
is this correct..
thanks jay

Yes I'm afraid so - Unless your Pocket PC has a built in GPS (but as far as I know none of the HTC models do).

you could also use a SDIO GPS, but BT is a more elegant solution.

by bt you mean like the bt phone company?

jamiehutber said:
by bt you mean like the bt phone company?
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Bluetooth GPS Receiver, from £50 inc vat. - http://www.gpsw.co.uk/cats/cl3_209.html?OrderBy=Price&

ye sounds good. i was looking on ebay they have solo panel bt one. any preference on the number that they have. the one you pointed to is a "36". whats that mean?! :lol:
cheers for the help

Ill recommend you the Holux GPSlim 236 Bluetooth GPS with SIRF Star III chipset, imho the best you can get for your money right now.

How about the Solar GPS reciever
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Solar-Bluet...9709303933QQcategoryZ4668QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have heard of people using this one with the universal.
Anyone have any info about that one?

My advice is don't waste time on gimmicks.
The priority is to get a SIRF III chipset inside as beachmeat suggests.
Solar panels do not stop you having to charge the device, they merely slow down the rate of discharge, providing it's day time, in the winter evenings and at night, you'll probably find they have less battery power then a non-solar panelled device. The guys over at Pocketgpsworld.com did not rate solar panel recievers very well and took time to recover from the piece of advice on the instructions which say "Contains sensitive electronic parts, keep out of direct sunlight"
Another excelent device is the Globalsat BT-338, or the Holux that was recommended earlier.

another Vote for either the Holux 236 works really well with the Exec

well i took your advise even though the solar panel did have the new chipset... i ended up getting a Globalsat BT-338 for £70.. so when i get it i'll let everybody how it goes and works

other options
being 3g the universal is able to run telco programs which help u with traffic like tomtom, even better they can give you more personalized information because the telco can feed u life information.
I live in Australia and Telstra is currently testing a live road map system through 3g, optus does this also.
hope that helps

I might be talking rubbish, but I recently read somewhere that there is a GPS receiver built into the Universal or something like that. From what I remember it was called the 911 GPS and is used to give position information to the emergency services when they are contacted. I heard somewhere it was possible to integrate this to work with navigator software, but would like to know whether or not this is actually correct.
Thanks
Euan

Best Map Program OR GPS?

Does anyone know of the best mapping software that i can use while on the road, so I don't have to connect to the internet or gprs.
Also is the cingular 8125 GPS compatible, what service does it use?
Thanks guys,
JW

No onboard GPS...
As far as an installed app I use PocketStreets.
If I have Inet Access I just use Google www.google.com/gmm/

i use copilot 6 for ppc for onroad satnav and memorymap for off road gps guidance
both require a gps reciever which you are best off getting as a bluetooth one.
but im in the UK, might not be the best options for your country

i use iguidance by inav. Did a lot of research on bluetooth recievers as well and settled on the Globalsat BT 338. (Sirf III)
The mapping software is excellent and accurate. I also looked at Copilot but it was $170 instead of $100 for iguidance. Also, it could use a bit more processing power. The inav software is one of the smallest footprint gps software but still very full featured.
I'm very happy with it.

GTIMANiac said:
No onboard GPS...
As far as an installed app I use PocketStreets.
If I have Inet Access I just use Google www.google.com/gmm/
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isn't there a program that I can download that install maps by state or the USA, because i never know when I'll need it. I don't want to just search small maps using pocketstreets...

i have a program, called GIS RUssa. it is very handy, but expensive. may be someone has a keygen for it?

http://nanika.net/metro - it`s a software that features almost any city in the world giving complete direction on how to reach from Street A to Building Z. Try it out. It`s free
Regards,
NRGY

unfortunately that metro prog is only for the bus system but is there another program out there that actually does from point a to point b like mapquest or something like that

I agree with IdeaDirect that the iNav iGuidance software is a winner. I have the Belkin variant of this software with a Belkin GPS (rebadged Fortuna Clip-on), but I haven't installed the software on the MDA yet. It has been installed on my Ipaq h2215 for two years and works very well. This software is rebadged by many resellers, including iNav, PrymeNav, and is used in numerous automotive applications.
But the version I have (1.1) is supposedly not compatible with WM5, according to iNav anyway, and reportedly only 2.1.3 or higher will work. When I approached iNav they suggested waiting until late June or early July, as a new version (v3) will be introduced. Since there is a 30-day window for free upgrades, buying now would require a paid upgrade to v3. This is the route I am going to take, as I can do without the GPS for six more weeks.

I agree with IdeaDirect that the iNav iGuidance software is a winner. I have the Belkin variant of this software with a Belkin GPS (rebadged Fortuna Clip-on), but I haven't installed the software on the MDA yet. It has been installed on my Ipaq h2215 for two years and works very well. This software is rebadged by many resellers, including iNav, PrymeNav, and is used in numerous automotive applications.
But the version I have (1.1) is supposedly not compatible with WM5, according to iNav anyway, and reportedly only 2.1.3 or higher will work. When I approached iNav they suggested waiting until late June or early July, as a new version (v3) will be introduced. Since there is a 30-day window for free upgrades, buying now would require a paid upgrade to v3. This is the route I am going to take, as I can do without the GPS for six more weeks.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Tom Tom. I've been using it on a Palm device and now just moved over to the MDA Vario and it works great on the Vario. I've only done approx 45,000 miles using Tom Tom over the last 19 months, and it has not once got me lost. To me it has been worth every penny. I use a Holux GPSlim 236 BT receiver which is excellent.

Im new to this gps things. So i need some type of bluetooth receiver to hook up to my wizard? Also when I get this software and device do I need to pay for satellite fees or anythign or is this map stuff free when I make the initial purchase?
Thanks
JW

[email protected] said:
Im new to this gps things. So i need some type of bluetooth receiver to hook up to my wizard? Also when I get this software and device do I need to pay for satellite fees or anythign or is this map stuff free when I make the initial purchase?
Thanks
JW
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Yes, you need a Bluetooth GPS receiver. One of the best is Holux GPSlim236 or Globalstat BT338. I have the Holux & can highly recommend it.
If you buy for example Tom Tom, which again I highly recommend, you get the maps as well, but depending on the package, you can buy it with Tom Tom's Bluetooth receiver which is also very good.
There are no other fees. Unless you want to upgrade your maps at a later date. No map from ANY sat nav supplier will ever be 100% accurate.
The wizard does not work with wired GPS devices. But will work with a bluetooth headset/carkit as well as a bluetooth GPS receiver at the same time.
Take a look at these sites:
www.pocketgpsworld.com
www.tomtom.com

GoldLantern bluetooth GPS
I bought a GoldLantern bluetooth GPS receiver, it came with a download of "free" Mapopolis software - but thats where they get ya - the software is free but the maps definitely are not. However for a hundred bucks the maps seem to be pretty detailed. I have been using the demo version of the maps that expire after some number of days because my travel habits simply aren't that repetitive but I may eventually buy the subscription to all the North American maps.
Costs? Well, the MDA naturally which was about $370 with AZ taxes. $149 for the GPS receiver at Fry's Electronics (i paid too much but had to have it "now"). about $70 for a mini-SD 1GB card (also too much but had to have it "now") to store the maps. I haven't bought the maps yet and the GPS receiver is not "tied" to the application you use to navigate, I still might do TomTom but actually sorta like Mapopolis...
Performance is reasonably good provided Mapopolis is the only thing running. It takes the GPS receiver a minute or two to get a fix on your position.
I've used it in Phoenix, San Diego/Orange/LA counties in CA, and Seattle. In Phoenix its more of a convenience than anything else since I live here and don't necessarily need a GPS to navigate all the time, but it made business travel an absolute joy. No more trying to decipher the under-detailed rent-a-car map they give you along with the blank look when you ask if they know where your nationally known name brand hotel is.
In Seattle it was an absolute joy to use, I went on citysearch and figured out what kind of food I was going to eat that evening without any regard to navigational concerns. I had the mapping layers for King and Pierce counties loaded and Mapopolis even "knew" the names of some non-chain locally owned places that I'd been to in the past but hadn't a clue how to get to. The directions were accurate although the machine pronunciation of some of the street names was a little hilarious and it told me about turns in a timely fashion.
In Southern California I bumped into some limitations, probably becaue my usage pattern was a little different on those trips. I had LA/OC/SD counties loaded in memory the whole time so that could also have impacted performance and I was doing enough driving that I was also using my XM Roady2 for music and traffic updates. The XM (or Sirius) might be a relevant factor because the frequency band used by XM/Sirius is fairly close to Bluetooth, or 802.11b for that matter. All I can say is this: listening to XM and occasionally talking on my bluetooth headset at the same time, Mapopolis occasionally did NOT keep up with turns. At one point along I-5 south of San Diego it got confused and thought I was on surface streets which made for some interesting, if rapid, verbal directions from it. I think the factor was more the use of the bluetooth headset at the same time because once i ended the phone conversation mapopolis perked right back up performance-wise.
The battery life running mapopolis and bluetooth constantly - as well as the constant fascination with wanting to see my speed and direction causing the screen backlight to be on, caused the battery to drain very quickly - like 3 hours of usage had the battery almost 75 percent drained.
It's a good combination, but for the less technically inclined (and god help someone non-techie who buys a t-mobile mda...) the $500 garmin dashboard wart will do the GPS bit equally well without a steep learning curve. The learning curve to get this set up was near vertical but well worth it if you have the patience to fiddle with it. I.E. if you struggle a bit with your MDA, bluetooth GPS is not for you! Its also not something to learn how to use ON a trip, you definitely want to get the hang of it in your own local area before you put your complete trust in it in an unfamiliar place.

How the GPS works for the wizard

I was curious as to how to get GPS working on my wizard. I see some people purchasing a GPS device of some type, but can't the wizard just act as the gps itself? Why the need for a device?
Maybe im just missing something here. If someone could post up to me how it is I can get one running on my MDA i'd appreciate it as that'd be a great help for me when traveling.
T.c.

veritas17 said:
I was curious as to how to get GPS working on my wizard. I see some people purchasing a GPS device of some type, but can't the wizard just act as the gps itself? Why the need for a device?
Maybe im just missing something here. If someone could post up to me how it is I can get one running on my MDA i'd appreciate it as that'd be a great help for me when traveling.
T.c.
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Well congrats this is the 1000000 thread regarding the GPS topic. Ok sorry to be sarcastic but people need to learn to use the search button. As to your question, the MDA does nto have a built in GPS chip. You need a GPS device and software in order to use it like a gps unit such as a tomtom car unit.

... Ya know I did look that up by the way. All the topics I found spoke about the tomtom6, tomtom5, or isomethingmap and people BUYING the device but no one saying WHY they were purchasing it. No need to come into the topic and flame me I did search, I always search and it wasn't like I placed a bunch of half thought out questions in my post either.
T.c.

What you need is a Navigator program (eg. TOMTOM) installed on your Wizard and a satilite receiver (GPS - Wire or Bluetooth (better)). Link your device with GPS via bluetooth or wire, open Navigator program and you are now up and running. It is that simple.

Thank you WLove. That's all I was wanting to know was why people had to have a secular device to have it running (the satilte receiver). Now I see i'm going to need to pick up that 2.gig mini sd chip.
T.c.

I just started using my navman 4410 GPS with iguidance v3 and they work like a charm!

while we are on the topic, anyone have any reccomendations on some bluetooth GPS receivers?

Just thought I;d point out that it may be slightly easier to get confused as to whether the Wizard has GPS or not, as when I rang O2 for my upgrade I explicitly asked 3 or 4 times if it had built in GPS and they said yes. I also stressed it was GPS not GPRS I was asking about. They still said yes. And also I believe one of the chips in the Wizard has some kind of gps related capability, even though it is not a gps receiver, so maybe someone read that also. I know I have somewhere on this forum.
Thirdly, the search function is useless here.

Magor said:
while we are on the topic, anyone have any reccomendations on some bluetooth GPS receivers?
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Just google for Bluetooth GPS receivers. You'll find loads. I bought the cheapest at about £35. Works a treat. I think it's a generic model sold by many sites. Has a pic of a satellite on it!

Magor said:
while we are on the topic, anyone have any reccomendations on some bluetooth GPS receivers?
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Buy a receiver with SiRFIII chip: quicker, more accurate and better reception than any other chip available on the consumer market. If you want to spend a little less (say about $/€ 50) you could buy a SiRFII receiver. Don't blindly believe claims like "supports up to 20 satellites". In most situations you are lucky to receive 10 satellites or more! Even with as little as 4 or 5 satellites calculating your location is accurate enough for road navigation.
If the software supports TMC (traffic updates free of charge by RDS on certain radio channels; not sure if this exists in the US) you could buy a GPS/TMC combined receiver. Unfortunately TomTom does not support TMC as it has its own paid traffic service.

In regards to the GPS units with the SiRF chipsets, can anyone vouch for the cheap $50 on eBay that are solar/battery powered with linking via Bluetooth or wire? I am getting a T-mobile MDA to unlock for my personal usage and I am highly thinking about getting one, just I wanted to know if anyone had any good things to say about them.
Here's a link for an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Solar-Bluet...34QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4668QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have never ONCE seen "GPS" listed as a feature for any Wizard... I can't grasp why people would ever think it has a feature that is never listed any where :? :roll:

Rutter said:
Magor said:
while we are on the topic, anyone have any reccomendations on some bluetooth GPS receivers?
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Just google for Bluetooth GPS receivers. You'll find loads. I bought the cheapest at about £35. Works a treat. I think it's a generic model sold by many sites. Has a pic of a satellite on it!
Click to expand...
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that's what I've been doing, but I'm new to the GPS stuff so I wasn't sure what to get 8)
Thanks to AgentSmith for the info, something like this should do the job for me http://www.engadget.com/2005/06/02/holux-gpslim-236-bluetooth-receiver-reviewed/

Agreed, the Holux 236 is the one to go for. Has the added advantage of using the same in-car charger as the O2 XDA Mini (i.e. a USB style one).
Don't get Holox (cheap rip off), get Holux.
Get SiRF III, not II.
Don't be fooled by lots of channels, 20 is plenty.
And you don't need a 2GB card. A 512MB with high transfer speeds from a decent manufacturer will be far better than a cheapo no-name 2GB one. I have a 512MB with TomTom 6, full UK maps and speed cam database and it only takes up about 250MB.

I've used an Belkin BT GPS (rebadged Fortuna Clip-On upgraded to Xtrak2) on my Ipaq, both over two years old, which worked well with Belkin's version of iGuidance v1.1. So when I upgraded to the TMo MDA (US version) I kept the Belkin and purchased iGuidance v3, which has worked well.
A friend who also owns an MDA wanted a GPS, but since Belkin quit selling this GPS 18 months ago I started researching, and like others here have noted the Holux GPSlim 236 looked like a winner. I'll know for sure next week when she gets the unit, but I expect it to work fine.

That Holux model seems very good, but you can actually find cheaper SiRFIII receivers (less than 100 bucks).
The needed storage space for maps depends on your personal wishes. If you travel internationally often, you might want a 1GB memory chip for borderless maps like Western or Central Europe. Such maps often occupy 900 MB or more. Otherwise a much smaller card for just one or two countries or regions is indeed enough.

AgentSmith said:
That Holux model seems very good, but you can actually find cheaper SiRFIII receivers (less than 100 bucks).
The needed storage space for maps depends on your personal wishes. If you travel internationally often, you might want a 1GB memory chip for borderless maps like Western or Central Europe. Such maps often occupy 900 MB or more. Otherwise a much smaller card for just one or two countries or regions is indeed enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Holux one I found for $90
I also already have a 2GB card and TomTom so once I get the receiver I'm good to go

I don't see the point of using the MDA as a GPS without having a powered car mount, since you could run out of battery quite easily. Go to semsons.com and find what's the best for you. I got mine there along with the M3.itrek+itrek mount for MDA+iGuidance3.0 for around $200 (but you can surely mix&match what you need). It really worths. I mean if you can get a phone with so many functionalities for such a cheap price (mine is USD $250, sounds expensive, but try to search and compare the price with PPC phones from other countries then you know what I meant), why not having it does the most for you at the least cost. You might not use the GPS all the time, but will definitely love it when needed.

best gps software and bt gps receiver...

Hey guys,
I want to buy some gps software for my dopod 838pro and a bluetooth gps receiver. I was wondering what ones work best with your hermes devices and what problems arise when using them.
I was looking at the papago software and it seems pretty good. If there is anyone here using it I would like to know your feedback on how it performs and also what kind of gps reciever you are using.
Thanks for your time and input
oh I am also in Australia..I don't know if that makes much difference or not
Cheers

I suggest IBlue 737 with the latest MTK chipset, it has nice auto on/off feature an 25 hours of battery life. another more expensive option is the Garmin Gps10X (the new Sirf3 model only, the old one is crap)
Software that i use:
Garmin Que + Franson GPSGate
OZI Explorer
IGO
TomTom

sorry to threadjack.
but regarding the IBlue 737, will it or does it need anything else other then my 8525 to work?
I have google maps on the 8525. will it work with that alone or do I have to add something else?
Once again sorry to threadjack but I think it fits into the OP's questions.
if needed delete this and I'll make a new thread.

google map is good with any GPS. (just nmake sure you have unlimited data) else it could be expensive.

ive used iGuidance 4 and iGO my way plus 2006 with BT-Q818
GUI:
iGO rocks.. smooth.. and really nice...
iGuidance .. just plain and dull.. gps tracking not smooth as iGO is.
what i really like about iGuidance though is the TTS feature, and it tells you which side the destination is.. iGO does not..
if the features i liked in iGuidance would just be integrated in iGO, ill get it in a heartbeat.

Fantastic!
and yes I have the unlimited data plan, had it for a long time. I used to have a smt 5600 before the 8525.
one more question... will it also work with the yahoo go 2.0?
thanks guys, one more thing to spend money on

yes, it will work with yahoo go 2.0. i use one myself(live in UK). make sure u have a data package though.(unlimited would be the best). i use t-mobile wnw £7.50 and a BT gps.its amazing what you can do with this phone.i love it

The thread jacking is ok its all relevant
So any other suggestions with people who have the papago software at all?
And does anyone have any other gps receivers?
Cheers

My favorite GPS sw is TomTom, great features, easy to use and no bugs. I use it with a earthmate bt-20. Takes up 1gb of space but worth it. Tomtom automatically connects to my BT receiver, responds quickly and has nice smooth 3d graphics.
My next favorite is MSN streets. It is easy to use and has the most up to date maps of my area.
I really dont care for Google maps unless I'm in a G network. If you dont have internet reception which is often the case when you travel then Google maps is completely useless.
The Earthmate BT-20 receiver seems to work ok but it is the only one I have tried. Its a ugly yellow, blue, and black 2"x3.5" plastic box. I look forward to the day when GPS is built in.

im in aussie town too, tomtom 6 (soon 7) on the hermes with some bluetooth gps that i got off ebay works wonders.
also has no issues running on prophet (my wifes phone) and my now retired magician.
microsoft streets was good when running in offline mode however it looks like they dont support australia anymore with the only map set available being a few years old.

Thanks guys for the advice
Seems like tomtom might be the go..its what I've been hearing as being the best out there.
I think I will just get a gps receiver off ebay too
Cheers

I might as well throw in my .02 as well hehe
I'm in Australia and using Tomtom 6 with a Globalsat BT receiver and it works perfectly
Good luck with your decision

naughty said:
I suggest IBlue 737 with the latest MTK chipset, it has nice auto on/off feature an 25 hours of battery life. another more expensive option is the Garmin Gps10X (the new Sirf3 model only, the old one is crap)
Software that i use:
Garmin Que + Franson GPSGate
OZI Explorer
IGO
TomTom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have the garmin GPS 10x and i get a weird error - ive only had it a week, long story short sometimes it wont turn on. --- how do you tell which model you have?
when it works, its awesome. tells you which turns to make, has a "recalculate" feature, good maps with a lot of detail
how do you connect it to google maps? i did it one time but haven't been able to do it since! would like to run it simulatneous with garmin XT the software that comes with it, google in satellite mode so you see from the sky where you travel to and hear from the garmin software which way to turn, would be pretty neat
i get confused which settings need to be put to which com port? i tried to add it in blue tooth and set up COM port 0 in there, and then go intot he GPS external setting (WM6) and set up both hardware and program port to 0 as well. cant get it to work alongside garmin XT software

Microsoft was offering a BT Pharos GPS for about $70 for PocketPC devices awhile back, not sure if they still are.
I got one and it works very well. The only difference between this and the typical Pharos offering is that it doesn't come with any software. Using it with Livesearch works perfectly -- the only thing Livesearch is lacking is vocal turn-by-turn directions and automatic trip recalculation. But of course you're not limited to just using livesearch with the GPS anyway.
Looks like it is still available:
http://www.amazon.com/Pharos-Blueto...6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1187064734&sr=8-3

Nokia Smart2GO.. It's tomtom but for free worldwide. (with some very minor limits/payable extras)
Have a search for the word nokia and posts by me and youll find some info about it in one of the hundreds of other gps threads around the hermes

thank you for your info. I am thinking of getting a bt gps receiver with software

my favourite is Navigon (you can tinker soo nicely with all the settings 'under the hood' ).
Dunno whether Navigon has a AU map at all, but they sell under a different name in the USA.
I would recommend any sirfIII GPS antenna with a good review in one of the navigation fora. I am using a cheap Mainnav that is OK.(great reception even behind metal coated car windows)

Wait for a Natural Disaster!!
I use TomTom 6 with a Nokia Bluetooth GPS reciever.. i got it for 29.99 from Fry's!!!
I live in central texas and when Katrina was on its way to New Orleans fries had CRAZY discounts on GPS units, Maglites, Waterproof cases for pdas.. basicly almost anything that can be used for "survival" so i grabbed a bunch of other stuff... now that Hurricane Dean is on its way i'm pretty sure they'll have discounts again... Time to hit up Fry's!!

lol its "natural disaster" sales at frys...for every hurricane that comes along we drop the prices by 20%
Cheers

WM5, iGuidance 3.x, i.Trek M5+
Never a hiccup.