No comments about Emtac S3 Mini Bluetooth GPS Receiver.

5 comments about Holux GPSlim 236 Slim Bluetooth GPS Sirf III laptop PDA PALM IPAQ PC Receiver.

1. This works perfect with my XV6700 and the battery on it lats for ever!
   
   This is worth it, you should buy this if you need a GPS recever



2. I purchased the Holux GPSlim 236 almost two years ago and it still works perfectly. I use it [along with iNav iGuidance software] daily and have never had a moments problem. It sits on the dash of my car all day, every day and continues to amaze me with its performance. It initializes quickly and always has enough satellite coverage to find my location. This poor gps receiver has been ABUSED and never gives up. It has been thrown from my dash more than once [during spirited driving] and it still didn't lose its signal. All in all, one of the better tech purchases I have made.



3. Such a promising device. Worked great with Google Maps on my Blackberry right until the Bluetooth stopped working. Many people seem to have this problem and Holux support is non existent.



4. It works great and I found it having a better signal reception than the TOMTOM original antenna I have.
   The only shortcome is that the antenna doesn't turn itself off automotically when it doesn't receive any blutooth signal after a certain period of time. I mean if you forget to turn the antenna off when you get out your car you risk to down the battery.



5. I've had this gps receiver for over two years. It worked well for about a year. Now the bluetooth transmitter in it doesn't work, and I cannot connect or pair any of my devices with it.
   The bluetooth blue LED doesn't light up, or stays continuously on, instead of flashing intermittently as it's supposed to. If I restart the unit several times, I can sometimes get it to work.
   
   Additionaly, the battery is sensitive to heat. I left it on the dash for a couple of days once, and the battery swelled up, and I could not close the battery lid since.
   
   I'm definitely not buying this unit again.

5 comments about Navman PiN 570 Portable PC / GPS Navigator.

1. I love this thing. OK - my wife hates that I love it but she doesn't want to give me directions half the time anyway. So she argues with the way it routes sometimes - which can be amusing.
   
   It was an excellent deal for the money at around $200 discounted. The only feature it is lacking is WiFi which I bought an SDIO card from e-bay for. Of course browsing on a PDA is not as great a feature as it seems and when I am using the SDIO card, I don't have my 2GB SD card - oh yeah, you need a larger card to load more than a few states at once. When traveling, it would be nice to have a USB travel charger to connect it to my laptop for power as the included wall wart + cable is a bit annoying to carry around and running out to the car to charge is also a pain.
   
   Not sure about the reviewer complaining about the mount - it is actually a lot better than I would expect but some cleaning of the windshield helps to make it stick better. I haven't had problems with the maps being outdated either although I believe they are [...].
   
   My wife does like to play games on it - mainly the puzzle type so sometimes we fight over it. Support was a bit slow but in the end came through for me.
   
   A few times in the beginning it would crash on long trips but it hasn't crashed in a while - I tell it to backup every now and then just in case. I would not recommend this to a non-technical person looking for a GPS to stay in the car as there are larger, more expensive models for this but for someone looking for a PDA with GPS capability, it is a win-win for less than a cost of either in most cases.



2. I liked Navman pocket PC with GPS. It is simple to use and has enough features for those looking for a pocket pc to store email, contacts and some files. Also good companion while on Road (I named this gadget with my wife name - showing directions while moving)
   
   2 bad things about this product; 1. Maps are old, not sure how to get latest maps. 2. I am still not able to connect to my wireless router (comcast broadband) for internet access.



3. Inexpensive PDA with a bonus - a NAV system.
   
   One big inconvenience: The PDA (yup, Windows based) crashes every time the calendar pops up a reminder for an appointment. Tech supports response: re-boot.
   
   Also, the maps are not the most accurate to the street address level. There are several occasions where the NAV system could leave me a block or two from the true destination. We're talking major city & suburbs, here, not rural.
   
   Lastly, the addresses are clumsy to input. They require a zipcode or township in many cases. It will allow you to choose a destination from your contact list, but that never does well. If the address is not entered EXACTLY as the Navman expects it, you will have to re-enter it in the format Navman wants.
   
   For example,
   123 N. Main St.
   Suite 200
   Anytown, USA 12345
   
   It won't recognize N. Main St.
   You will have to change it to Main and it will give you choices, one of which will be N Main St. You have to choose the item & confirm.
   Then you will have to re-enter the house number & confirm twice.
   
   Cleverly, it offers an opportunity to save the 'revised' address, in my case, without the suite number which is important, and ALL IN CAPS. That shouldn't be a problem, but it then replaces the correct address in Outlook with the incomplete/improper Navman address.
   
   This process could be made much simpler. I hope they put some thought into that.
   
   Again, you get what you pay for.



4. Pros:
   - It was the cheapest PocketPC with GPS in the market when I bought it a year ago.
   
   Cons:
   - no built-in Wi-Fi. Need to buy a SDIO Wi-Fi card for internet access.
   - the GPS signal reception is very poor.
   - The navigation software Navman SmartST doesn't have TTS (Text-To-Speech). For example, it only announces "turn right in 0.1 mile" rather than "turn right on Main Street in 0.1 mile."
   
   I would recommend a GPS with SIRF star III chip for much better signal reception.



5. I like the Navman, for the price, and the features you get. I did find, like the other writer did, that it can take some time to acquire the GPS signal, sometimes. Usually, when it does have a delay, it's like 2 to three minutes. I've never experienced anything close to an hour.
   
   It can be somewhat cumbersome to enter addresses, but, overall, I think it's a great little gadget.
   
   Also, to the writer who stated that the pegs are in the wrong place on the cradle for the unit? Those pegs are actually adjustable, so you can slide them to where you need them.

No comments about Navigon 2100 GPS Navigator.

1 comments about DriveSync GPS Tracking System.

1. You will know if the driver you are tracking has been good or bad. Downside is the service based mapping, would be better if it were standalone.

No comments about i.Trek M7 Bluetooth GPS Receiver (51 ch MTK, 15hrs, 1 - 5Hz User Configurable, Dual USB/Bluetooth).

No comments about HTC TyTN II External GPS Antenna.

No comments about Globalsat BT-368 Bluetooth GPS Receiver.

2 comments about Holux M-241 Bluetooth Data Logger GPS (Runs on AA Battery, MTK Chipset, 130,000 Waypoints).

1. Here is a details review of both the GPS logger models and read on to see which one is a clear winner over the other.
   
   So I purchased the RBT-2300 and had some issues with the signal fix and one of my friend suggested to try the new Holux-M241, later realised the fix is due to the low signal level inside my apartment and its an issue with all GPS units.
   
   My main use is for Geotagging photographs and also to be used as GPS with my Nokia N73.
   
   Here are my observations on both the devices on a test I did this weekend.
   
   Specs:
   RoyalTek RBT-2300 with Nokia battery fully charged
   Holux M-241 with Energiser lithium battery fully charged
   
   Time to Acquire first fix:
   Tried both inside my flat and first fix was difficult, so moved both the devices to my Balcony, RBT-2300 acquired the fix in approx 12 minutes and the Holux took 15 minutes.
   
   Lock:
   The RBT-2300 was able to lock to the signals more easily than the holux M-241 when i moved inside my apartment, Royaltek lost signal one in 10 compared to Holux losing 4 times in 10.
   
   Logging:
   RBT starts logging the moment you switch it on and the GPS is fixed, no hassles to wait for the fix and then press the start button to start logging.
   Holux needs to get the fix first and then need to press the enter button to start logging.
   
   Log size:
   RBT : 180 days worth data or approx half million way points
   Holux : 130,000
   
   Battery life:
   RBT using a Nokia batterly (860mAh) ran very good for 9 hours until the unit totally died.
   Holux using the new Energiser lithium battery (approx 2800mAh) ran for 6 hours till it totally died.
   
   Connecting to Smartphone:
   Both the devices were very easy to connect to my Nokia N73 using bluetooth, got connected immediately without any problems.
   
   Connecting to computer:
   RBT provides only bluetooth and connected pretty well,
   Holux uses both USB and bluetooth and connection was good.
   
   Software:
   RBT software is better then the Holux, remembers the selected Com port and also the folder location where GPS log file was last downloaded.
   
   Downloading LOG files:
   This is the main part where I started hating the Holux M-241, both took the same time to download using bluetooth, however the Holux files were empty without any log info in a previous test.
   
   Reliability:
   For any geotagging and logging purposes reliability of the data is more important, RBT has delivered proper ones till now and had no issues, but with the Holux, I was not able to download the data, this might be due to the fact that the battery got over and the unit switched off without stopping the log, now am not able to see the data in Holux, using the download tool, it crashes whenever I try to get the file.
   
   Verdict:
   
   Eventhough the looks of the Holux is better then the RBT, and the Holux has an attractive LCD display and many modes, it is clearly not a winner in the Geotagging scenario, may be it can be used as a GPS device for smartphones, but definitely never a reliable one for Geotagging, the reasons below.
   
   1. For geotagging, i would prefer to switch on the device and start logging by default and if I dont want it, then I can switch it off, its ridiculous to wait for a signal and then to switch the logging on.
   
   2. If the unit dies of low battery charge, I should atleast be able to get the proper log files from it, here Holux fails to impress.
   
   Overall the new Holux M-241 is just a beauty with absolutely no brains and does not seem to be very useful for logging and Geotagging world with a highly unreliable performance.
   
   Even though the RBT is simple and does not have any fancy display, it exactly does the job its claimed to do.
   
   so anybody planning to buy the Holux M-241, please assess these facts and base your decision on what you mainly intend to use the GPS for, if visual display of the GPS details is not much of a bother to you, better go with the RBT-2300.
   
   The Winner:
   
   [b]RBT-2300 is a clear winner[/b] compared to the Holux M-241.



2. Cute little gadget. It is a comparatively fast and sensitive little Bluetooth GPS unit with a tiny display that can show Lat/Lon/Alt/Speed/Compass/etc. and has a backlight. It will also automatically or manually log waypoints and routes with a modest number of configurable options. It works great with my Treo 680 Smartphone and DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2006 Handheld Edition. In fact it is more reliable than my DeLorme Bluetooth GPS's. Running 12 hours on an alkaline AA battery is rather amazing. The fact that the accompanying software can export the saved waypoint and route data in a number of formats, including NMEA and Google Earth KMZ format is cool. The software is a bit primative but it seems to work. I hope they come out with some updates.
   
   Now for the negatives.
   
   The USB driver doesn't seem to work properly on XP!!!
   
   It seems to work okay on Win2K Pro.
   
   Fortunately it is possible to connect your XP PC and the data download software to the M-241 over Bluetooth and get the data off of it. Slowly.
   
   And Holux Technical Support (email to China) seems to be strictly a one-way communication medium. You send them emails and nothing ever comes back.
   
   Would I buy it again? Yes! It's cheap and works great as an amazingly sensitive and fast little GPS. And if you can negotiate the usual quirks and user hostility of Bluetooth, you can make it do everything that Holux promises it can do. However it sure would be nice if Holux fixed the stupid USB driver for XP!
   
   -Christopher Erickson

No comments about Holux M-1000 Bluetooth GPS Receiver.