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This is a tiny bluetooth GPS receiver which I purchased from Mobile Fun Ltd, I purchased this to connect to my O2 XDA 2i PDA and it cost around £40. I was intially looking on google for cheap GPS receivers and this came up as the cheapest. I thought at that price they’ll be a catch, and the catch normally being poor performance, but I was enjoyably surprised! This thing genuinely does work, and works well!

After searching for initial reviews on this device I came up with very little other than the reviews from Mobile Fun Ltd, which I was reluctant to trust for fear of them being somewhat biased. I thought for £40 I’ll take a prospect and so purchased it, all credit to Mobile Fun the receiver arrived the very next morning. Upon opening the box I was a little disappointed, all the there was by means of instructions was a little sheet of paper that had been loosely translated from Japanese to English by a dyslexic toddler. You may download the user manual from here and the Tomtom pairing manual from here. After following these instructions you will have it set up in no time. Another thing I noticed was that there is no manufaturer’s name or marks anyplace on the device or the packaging, which makes searching for aid rather difficult.

A nice touch with this little device is that it is supplied with a battery that is mutual to a lot of Nokia phones (3.7V 850mAh Li-polymer battery, BL-5C), a quick search on ebay means that you may get substitute batteries for these receivers for in regards to £4 which is good to recognise will have to you need one.

What’s In The Box?

Bluetooth GPS Receiver x1

12v In Car Adapter (USB) x1

Basic Instructions x1

Battery x1

USB Charging Cable x1

Installation

Provided you follow the fixed instructions for pairing with your device, and the Tomtom setup instructions, you ought to be up and running in less than 5 minutes. I have only charged the receiver once since I purchased it with regards to 2 months ago, the battery just seems to last forever! The supplied in car charger and USB cable means that the receiver may be charged on the move from a 12v source and may likewise be charged from any PC or laptop. From cold get started up the receiver aquires a usuable GPS signal exremely quickly, rapidly and without delay than most of the in truth pricey GPS receivers that I’ve come in contact with. The device is exceedingly little and may effortlessly fit into any space in your car, or even your pocket if you’re using it for walking or cycling.

One little problem I did have is that when using it with my XDA 2i the Tomtom software would often freeze and cause me to stop the car, reboot my phone, then carry on my journey. At basi I thought this was the result of the XDA losing it is connection with the bluetooth receiver and consequently confirming my fears in regards to the price of this product. It speedily became evident that this was not the case and it was in fact an issue with my PDA and the Tomtom software.

I speedily came across a workaround for this issue amid the Tomtom software and my XDA that enables the whole system to work flawlessly. I shall write a ‘how to’ on this workaround shortly as I’m sure some other XDA 2i users percentage the same problem.

I do recognise that there is a known issue when using any bluetooth GPS receivers with the O2 XDA 2 (note not XDA 2i) due to the bluetooth stack settings that are shipped with the phone, please be conscious of this before buying this device as you are sure to encounter problems.

Key Features

Compatible with TomTom, Navicore, and all major GPS software packages.

12 parallel satellite-tracking channels for fast acquisition and reacquisition.

Provides superior navigation performance in city environments.

Built-in rechargeable Lithium-polymer battery provides more than 10 hours of ceaseless use.

Unit may be charged with the included car charger while still in use.

Mini-USB charger compatiblty, charge not only the Bluetooth GPS Receiver but likewise compatible PDAs & Smart Phones with the same charger.

3 colours LED to show the status of Bluetooth/GPS/Power actions of this device.

Specifications

GPS receiver: L1, C/A code, 12 channels

Tracking sensitivity: -152dBm (average) or better

Acquisition sensitivity: -139dBm (average) or better

TTFF (Time to First Fix): Cold Start: 50s (average) / 60s (95% possibility)

Warm Start: 35s (average) / 40s (95% possibility)

Hot Start: 2s (minimum) / 6s (95% possibility)

Positioning accuracy: Standard Positioning Service (SPS), WAAS (optional) 2DRMS: approx. 5m

Measurement info output: Update time: 1 second

NMEA output protocol: V.3.01

Baud rate: 38400 bps (8-N-1)

Datum: WGS-84

Type: GGA, GSA, GSV, RMC

Power consumption: 75mA (average)

Bluetooth: Bluetooth version 1.2 compliant

Class 2 operation (up to 10 metre range)

Serial Port Profile (SPP)

Output terminal: Type B Mini-USB (TTL Level)

Antenna Type: Built in Patch Antenna

Battery: 3.7V 850mAh Li-polymer battery, built-in charger

LED: Power (red), GPS (green), Bluetooth (blue)

Dimension: 64(L) x 39(W) x18.5(H) mm

Operating temperature: -20°C ~ +60°C

Storage temperature: -20°C ~ +60°C; Battery: -20°C ~ +45°C

Conclusion

A outstanding little device that performs well beyond it is price range. Check if there is any known issues with your device and bluetooth GPS receivers before buy as this will save you a lot of headaches. The only thing that lets this product down is a lack of documentation and online support, other than this well worth the buy!

johnsreviews rating: 8/10

For more reviews, how to’s, technical help, go to www.johnsreviews.com

Gpk Charger Irobot Discover Adapter 2 Photo

Gpk Charger Irobot Discover Adapter 2 Pic

Gpk Charger Irobot Discover Adapter 2 Pic

Gpk Charger Irobot Discover Adapter 2 Picture

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