I was looking for a Bluetooth gps for use with my blackberry 8320 Curve. I heard some favorable comments about this one on a forum, and decided to check it out. It is surprising small and very simple to operate: just press a little recessed button, and it powers up and searches for satellites, and gives a solid Bluetooth connection. I haven't had a single problem; reliability has been 100%. It even powers down when an application is no longer communicating with it. Battery life hasn't been an issue for me. I just charge it up at the end of the day. I have a ball cap that has a small zippered pocket, which has been perfect for toting the gps. I've also found that having a 'remote' gps like this one is great for when in the car. I just throw my hat (containing the gps) on the dash board, and gives the gps a clear view of the satellites, whereas other self-contained devices would not have a clear view sitting in the middle of a car. All in all, a great addition to your blackberry, especially if using the free Google Maps with actual satellite imagery-- just amazing! GlobalSat BT-368i Bluetooth GPS Receiver
I am an engineer so specifications are important to me. I also own another Globalsat device (TR102 personal gps tracker) which works perfectly so this was an easy choice for me.
The BT-368i contains the most powerful GPS engine (Sirf Star III). For those who own standard gps units, you would notice that "urban canyons" cause the gps signals to drop off. Also, standard gps units would show fluctuations and large errors and also movement when you are stationary. The Sirf Star III eliminates all these problems. Many times I would lock on to 9 or even 10 satellites with an error of just 6m (20ft) - even driving through large buildings or areas with tree coverage.
I have a Nokia e71 with internal gps (which works better than my Garmin and Lowrance handhelds). My phone gps works fine alone but I get a 300% improvement in accuracy and lock-on when I connect with the Globalsat unit.
I was also happily surprised by how small, thin and sleek the design was. I paired it with my phone in a few seconds. It even shuts off automatically if I turn my phone bluetooth off.
The battery also lasts for many hours (I have never experienced a dead battery yet even after 4 hours of continuous use). Excellent product!
Great Product. Works seamlessly out of the box with Google Earth. I suggest using Franson GpsGate for other software such as streets and trips. It will save you much time setting up, and allow you to run multiple applications using gps data.
The GPS locks on very quickly on cold starts and almost instantly on a warm start. I have never recieved less than 5-6 sats at any time.
APR
A nice compact GPS unit that does one thing and does it well. It's very sensitive were I can pick up a signal indoors (within reason) and maintains a lock outdoors. I currently have this Bluetooth linked to my Nokia E71 and it works fine with the built-in maps. A minus on one star because of two things. The rubber MicroUSB port cover coming off and the shiny patterned front scuffing up. The USB car charger is a plus in that the unit stays on (On battery power it shuts off with no active Bluetooth after a while) and allows placement of the unit in an optimal position while the Smart-phone can be anywhere in range.
Very easy to use.
I have a ipaq 211.
I turned on the gps unit.
I turned on the ipaq, The ipaq has a section to tell the GPS goes through COM1.
Turned on the ipaq Bluetooth.
Launched Google Maps, and presto it worked.
I also downloaded CoPilot, and this works excellent with Copilot.
I have not read the manual yet.
Used in the woods of Red River Gorge, KY. great reception.
I find the best order of sequence is to have the GPS unit turned on 1st, then turn on the PDA.
I purchased this unit to use with my Windows 7 64 bit laptop and MS Streets and Trips. Longer-term I plan to transition to a windows 7 tablet (to retire my Pocket PC since Garmin no longer supports the GPS10 system) and am completing some dry runs on software and the like. Out the box the unit worked fine however MS Streets and Trips did not see the unit connected to my system through the Bluetooth dongle. What was needed was additional software to create "virtual" com ports for Streets and Trips to see. I purchased a Virtual Serial Port Emulator from Eterlogic.com for $24.95. This was the best price I could fine for 64 bit compatibility. Once I figured out the set-up things are working perfectly. There is no documentation for this problem. The next day USGlobalSat customer service confirmed what I had figured out.
I bought this item to go with my BlackBerry Pearl which did not have GPS. I used this item, and it worked most of the time. But after about 1 year it does not work at all. nor does not take a charge, and I have since used it for a distance throwing test.
I have since left BlackBerry and I have a phone that has built in GPS as most newer smart phones do. So this item will become obsolete it time.
The only thing I can figure this item might have a use for, is to link it to a lap top for use with a PC or Mac nav program. or Google, maps. I tried to link this to my computer with no luck.'
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