Hello!
I am looking for a cheap as possible GPS reciever that's actually any good, and I don't know where to start. I'm in the UK so somewhere that delivers to the UK for cheap or that is in the UK would be great!
I've seen around for £30, but I forget where. Are they actually any good?
It doesn't have to be critically amazing, I won't be using it *that* often I just think it'd be worthwhile to have if its only £30 for the reciever.
Thanks!
Laurie
Hi laurie
Your best bet is to look on Ebay, you'll find a good range of bluetooh GPS receivers at around the 30 - 40 pound mark. Your also going to need some navigation software such as TomTom 5 or Navigon MN5 (latest versions). These are not so cheap! Go for a receiver with either a RFMD or SIRF III chipset as these are the quickest TTFF (time to First Fix) even though the RFMD chipset is quicker than the Sirf. :wink:
James
Thanks! I'll have a look! I didn't know why I didn't just look on eBay. Possibly cos they look cheap and rubbish but as long as it works that all I care about!
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/8590.htm
Anyone have an opinion on this one? seems the cheapest and the site has 5 pages of good reviews, with only a couple of bad ones.
Ebay was very difficult to find a better price for one that actually works with the o2 XDA Mini S.
Thanks!
Laurie
edit: helps if I post the link doesnt it
I recently bought and used the Holox BT-321 :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOLOX-Bluetoo...9729903430QQcategoryZ4668QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
works great with tom tom 5 for me.. u need to have tom tom 5.21 update to have it pair properly
o2 xda mini S
tomtom 5.21
holox bt-321 GPS receiver
hth
lozzd said:
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/8590.htm
Anyone have an opinion on this one? seems the cheapest and the site has 5 pages of good reviews, with only a couple of bad ones.
Ebay was very difficult to find a better price for one that actually works with the o2 XDA Mini S.
Thanks!
Laurie
edit: helps if I post the link doesnt it
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I've got this - works well with the wizard and got it next day from the site above too.
Charger for gps is usb style so its perfect for keeping the wizard charged while in the car. The bt. gps worked fine without charging on 5 hour jouneys, and i've been using it regulary for 3 months now with no problem.
Don't think its the best one with regards to fas tlock or number of satellites, but it does the job well enough.
Thanks for that input, I went ahead and ordered one. Can't wait to get playing with TomTom
hi lozzd, i checked the mobilefun site re the gps you mentioned, it seems its a good one and its got good reviews. did you received already? so how was it? could you post your experience or probably just a mini-review. id like to know how is it easy to configure it with gps software (such as tomtom if you got one), the time it takes to connect the phone with the receiver and getting signals from the satellite, battery usage, etc...
many thanks.
Hello,
I recieved the GPS the next day! Top marks to the people at mobilefun. So far I have used the GPS a couple of times, and most of the time TomTom reports 3-4 out of 5 bars signal, and when on a clear motorway, 5 out of 5. However, this is in my Land Rover Defender which has an almost vertical windscreen, so reception is reknowned to be pretty useless as you can only get satellites infront of you. So I expect in a normal car, the reception will be pretty good most of the time. This counts too for the time it takes to lock on... sometimes it takes 20 seconds, sometimes it takes a couple of minutes. For a GPS that isn't relied on every day, its fantastic for the money, and I can highly recommend it. It's cheap small, comes with a charger that you can use for both the GPS and/or the Wizard, and since the battery in the GPS runs for 6 hours (apparently) you could even swap between the two.
People make a big deal out of how difficult it is to set up. As long as you have TomTom 5.2+, it's pretty damn simple. Turn on the GPS, pair using bluetooth window, go to the COM ports section and add any port you fancy for the GPS, go into TomTom, select "other bluetooth gps" select the port and it picks it up right away. Not only that, but if you leave bluetooth off most of the time (like me), TomTom will turn on Bluetooth when you open the program, find the GPS straight away and use it, and then turn the Bluetooth back off again when you close it!
I was worried a hefty program like TomTom would bog down or run really slowy on the Wizard, but it runs brilliantly. It's a pretty awesome piece of software! All in all I highly recommend the GPS and TomTom to anyone who happens to want a very cheap GPS for occasional navigation (or just to play with!)
Now when people say "wow, whats that?" I can now say its a Phone, PDA, and GPS all rolled into one. And it does it pretty damn well.
Let me know if you have any other questions! Hope that helps!
Laurie
hi lozzd, thanks for the review! i have some questions.
1) what charger does the gps receiver comes with? a wall charger or a car charger? cos im planning to buy a usb car charger. if its a car charger then probably i dont need to buy one.
2) what do you mean by "...and since the battery in the GPS runs for 6 hours (apparently) you could even swap between the two"? you can swap batteries between the gps and the wizard?
3) is the gps battery compatible with nokia phone batteries?
4) did you try operating it inside your home? can you get signal?
i think thats all for now. thanks again.
1) it comes with a car charger, and a USB cable used for charging. So you can use (i assume) the wizard charger to charge it, you can use a laptop/notebook using the supplied charger cable, or you can use the car charger with the usb cable. You can also use the car charger and the usb cable to charge your wizard.
2) What I meant, is that because the GPS battery life is 6 hours, if you were on a really long journey, you could charge the GPS, then the Wizard, then the GPS as they each ran out of power, using the same charger. The batteries are different.
3) Yes, I don't know the model as I don't use Nokias, but it looks like a nokia battery to me.
4) I haven't tried operating inside my house, but I can't really see why I would
thanks for the quick reply. will definitely buy this one, best value for money. its good to know that it also comes with a car charger, that could save me money from buying one. thanks a lot!
this one looks great to bad i cant buy one because I live in the U.S.
I had holox...
It has major problems when walking..... it pauses for 50-60m every 10-20sec
I bought holux GPSlim!!!
It is the best!!! it has great acc when walking and driving!
one more question. is it possible to charge this gps device using the mains charger that comes with the htc wizard (mine is mda vario).
btw, i ordered it already at mobilefun today.
thanks.
Well this reply may be a bit pointless as if you ordered it before 4ish you will probably already have it but still, I think you can, I'm not sure. I assume if the car charger works for both, the wall charger should too.
i got my bt-gps yesterday. i recharged it with the wall/mains charger and it was fine. thanks.
lozzd said:
1) it comes with a car charger, and a USB cable used for charging. So you can use (i assume) the wizard charger to charge it, you can use a laptop/notebook using the supplied charger cable, or you can use the car charger with the usb cable. You can also use the car charger and the usb cable to charge your wizard.
2) What I meant, is that because the GPS battery life is 6 hours, if you were on a really long journey, you could charge the GPS, then the Wizard, then the GPS as they each ran out of power, using the same charger. The batteries are different.
3) Yes, I don't know the model as I don't use Nokias, but it looks like a nokia battery to me.
4) I haven't tried operating inside my house, but I can't really see why I would
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to go through this post bit by bit, all I can say is that my BT GPS is of unknown make / model.
It sounds like you have the same model as me so here goes.
1. Just make sure the voltage from the car charger is 5 volts. If it is the same as mine, it'll charge the wizard, as mine does.
3. My GPS battery will fit in my Nokia 7610. (Good if you don't need GPS and your phone goes flat.) LOL
4. Take the GPS outside, get a signal and then wander back into and around the house. Mine works all the time and is really sensitive.
I hope this is of use. Happy GPSing. LOL
By the way, if you are into outdoor pursuits and stuff like that, ave a look at GeoCache activities.
Related
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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Click to collapse
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.
I recently spent £45 on a wired GPS, but later found out that the wizard is only compatible with bluetooth GPSs.
Are all Bluetooth GPSs compatible with the wizard? I just want to make sure before I buy one.
Yes I think you won't have a problem as long as it's bluetooth.
I'd recommend going for a decent GPS device even if it costs a little extra.
You must get a Sirf III model, as they give better reception.
The best one of these is the GlobalSat BT-338 GPS Receiver.
Check out a new review here:
http://www.mtekk.com.au/tabid/54/ar...ticleId/665/GlobalSat-BT338-GPS-Receiver.aspx
After some comparison tests with two different Garmin device models, the BT-338 performance simply knocks the socks off the others. This unit is very easy to use, very affordable and has exceptional signal sensitivity. The BT-338 works flawlessly with my XDA Atom (running WM5.0) and OziExplorer CE. Battery life is terrific, as my last trip of 12 hours return didn't see the BT-338 indicate low battery at all.
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Click to collapse
Hi,
I have an i-Blue GPS receiver for my Wizard model. It bonds and works flawlessly so far. I use it with iGuidance software from iNav. The latest bugfix on the iNav site fixes a minor 3D display issue.
I choose the iBlue over the Global because I liked that it wakes and sleeps automatically and in sleep mode it gets several hundred hours of stand by time and 30 hours of use time. So far I have used for the last 7 days and have not seen a low batt warning at all. It just sits in my vehicle asleep and when I switch to my car profile turning on BT it does not wake up until I start the iGuidance software which is nice!!! I like it a lot.
I was going to use the tom tom software but after seeing the hoops you have to jump through to get it installed on the Wizard I went with the iGuidance software. Mind you its not that tough to install but I just did not want to pay good money to have to jump around to get it working on my handheld. Take care and I really am enjoying the nav features the software provides.
can anyone tell me about a good gps locator which I can use in conjunction with my phone? I don't want to spend too much on it either, but at the same time don't want it to have bad quality, any suggestions?
Holux 236 is the best for me... My future one !
holux
wow bluetooth gps thats pretty sweet! it would automatically work with Pocket Streets right? As far as software goes, is there anything that can give like Voice Directions while you drive?
some good apps that has voice guidance: Tomtom, iGuidance.
The current best of the crop GPS which everything is compared to (according to gpspassion) is Globalsat BT-338.
buygpsnow dot com has combo packages on all of these.
I have one of these and it has outperformed any of the PDA/GPS combo units I have seen.
It's over £20 cheaper than when I bought mine 6 months ago too.
Have a look.
http://www.inter-activeinformation....id=31&osCsid=22355926e8caeb052f2d717d6cd2e370
I mainly used it with TomTom Mobile on a Nokia 7610. Now I have the wizard, as soon as I get my memory card in the post Tomtom 5 is going on that.
Pixel69 said:
Holux 236 is the best for me... My future one !
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Click to collapse
I just bought a Holux 236 on advice from the forums here and it's grest. And tiny too, about the size of a small box of matches! I got it from a Taiwan dealer on eBay, they sell every hour for about £40-£44 plus £13 shipping to UK.
20 channels for good location finding, and it even works inside my house. Connectiing with my Vario (Wizard) was a dream - just remember to set up an outgoing COM port (I used port 7) to let other programs see the device.
Highly recommended.
Andre
I just got the i-Blue reciever and it's worked great!!
http://www.semsons.com/ibhiseaublgp.html
the thing I like about it, is it has auto on and off sensing technology...
Auto On/Off - When you use i-Blue for the first time, just power up and place the receiver under the windshield in car. Anytime when a paired PDA or laptop computer with Bluetooth connectivity is onboard, i-Blue will wake up on Bluetooth for your navigating usage. When Bluetooth signal is not present, i-Blue will go into sleeping mode automatically (Slow blinking blue LED).
Works perfectly too, I got a external antenna for it, so the antenna is mounted on my dash, and the reciever is secured in my glove box, so all I have to do is turn bluetooth on on my 8125 when i get in the car and the i-Blue pairs up within a second or two.. pretty slick!
I like my Holux 236. Quality piece plus it's small and even in the tall buildings around Shanghai I cab still pick up 6-8 birds and a very close lock (10m or so).
g0nk said:
Works perfectly too, I got a external antenna for it, so the antenna is mounted on my dash, and the reciever is secured in my glove box, so all I have to do is turn bluetooth on on my 8125 when i get in the car and the i-Blue pairs up within a second or two.. pretty slick!
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Click to collapse
Definately slick mate. I didn't realise how these things had progressed.
Any idea of battery life with this sleep mode thingybob?
What we could really do with is an external antenna with a uilt in solar panel to recharge/power the gps unit.
A truly "Fit 'n' Forget" situation
Jerry-S said:
g0nk said:
Works perfectly too, I got a external antenna for it, so the antenna is mounted on my dash, and the reciever is secured in my glove box, so all I have to do is turn bluetooth on on my 8125 when i get in the car and the i-Blue pairs up within a second or two.. pretty slick!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definately slick mate. I didn't realise how these things had progressed.
Any idea of battery life with this sleep mode thingybob?
What we could really do with is an external antenna with a uilt in solar panel to recharge/power the gps unit.
A truly "Fit 'n' Forget" situation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not quite sure on the battery life yet, i've only had it for about 4-5 days.. and it's been "on" and in my glove box since then.. everytime I get into my truck, i turn bluetooth on and it's there magically.. and it only took about 3 hours to fully charge it when i first got it.. comes with a car charger/wall charger as well..
The Holux 236 is very, very sensitive, but i use GARMIN GPS10, very professional, very discret, waterproof, and with the best battery life. And it´s the only one that measures velocity up 400Km/h. If you try in a plane the HOLUX 236 for example, passing the 400-450Km Velocity barrier, the HOLUX 236 receives signal but do not comput it. It´s unuselless in a aero trip...
I bought a Holux GPSlim 236 about 3 months ago and it is brilliant. It will last for several hours without gharge but runs fine from the cigarette lighter socket when low. It locks on as quick as my TomTom loads. Can't fault it.
ps
Got it off e-bay for about £50.
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
I still use my old XDA 1 (Himilaya) for sat nav (running TomTom5 - haven't upgraded to 6 yet) with a wired GPS mouse, so both the GPS receiver and XDA are always charging when the ignition is on/engine running. I leave all that kit in the car all the time. I've also got an MDA Pro (Universal) and am thinking of using that for TomTom instead because:
a) Take advantage of the data tariff on it and subscribe to Traffic Plus (or whatever TomTom call it)
b) I also intend to get a Parrot CK bluetooth add on for the car (allow the car speakers to be part of a speakerphone) so I can make/receive calls and also listen to WMAs whilst driving (I hate all headphones)
So, questions.
1) TomTom5 works really well on the original XDA 1 (no crashes, smooth scrolling, very responsive, etc). Will it work just as well on my Universal?
2) If using the traffic service (over GPRS/UMTS), will voice calls still come through OK? T Mobile UK
3) Would pretty much any BT GPS unit off ebay be OK?
4) How long do the batteries last before needing a charge on these BT units?
5) Are there any wired solutions, so I don't need batteries and the Universal could also be on charge? I'd much prefer that.
6) Is the traffic service good? I mean, does it warn/reroute you sufficiently in advance? Does it know, for instance, that some roads are always slow and avoid them?
7) Anything in TomTom6 worth the ugprade over 5?
Or should I forget the traffic (and still rely on the radio) and just stick to the satus quo, or maybe still get the BT thing for MP3/WMAs? Anyone got any experience of a similar setup to report? TomTom5 on the XDA is one of very few tech products with which I'm completely and utterly happy.
Can no one help on any of the questions?
Hi Xiasma,
I sell a Car Kit for £40, which sounds like it should do what you want.
http://www.mdapro.co.uk/shop/xcart/T-Mobile-MDA-PRO-Handsfree-Custom-Car-Kit-with-speaker-pr-36.html
It'll charge your phone and GPS at the same time, amplify the voice, etc. and comes with 3 different mounts to attach to your car. I haven't sold many and one person is complaining about people not hearing him when he makes recieves a call, although we've proved that the microphone is working correctly. See this thread for an in depth discussion on pro's, con's, etc.
http://www.mdapro.co.uk/phpBB-2.0.18/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=275
I have no experiance of other solutions, but I think that as you have problems with loudspeaker, you'll have the same trouble as the guy in the thread. The thread goes on a bit, but I think you'll find it usefull.
Any bluetooth GPS reciever should work well with your phone, but I'd advise going for one with a Sirf III chipset, people seem to find them much better than sirf II. I have some new ones due in next week around the £50 mark, which sound a better deal than any others I sell at the minute.
HTH
Dave
That's great, Dave, thanks. It's got a built in microphone, but does it have line out so I could have the sound going through my car speakers (ie for MP3 and the like)? That would be perfect. Well, almost, I'd prefer to mount the MDA Pro open with the keyboard underneath - I guess this won't allow that, will it?
How many hours use does a good BT GPS unit last between charges?
Hi Xiasma,
unfortunately it doesn't have a line out, but I've seen Y-adapters around for a few pence which could well serve the purpose you require.
As you wish to plug it into your stereo anyway, you don't neccessarily need an amplified mount. Herbert Richter make several suitable mounts and a body which will hold your device with the keyboard open. (Laptop Style) It has cutouts for most buttons, sockets, etc. So you could easily plug your phone in to charge and connect it to your stereo.
Heres a good GPS reciever, the manufacturer claims the battery will last 11 hours. I honestly haven't tested one myself, so I don't know how accurate this info is.
http://www.mdapro.co.uk/shop/xcart/GlobalSat-359S-Sirf-III-Bluetooth-GPS-Receiver-pr-42.html
HTH
Dave