And if you *don't* see the applet, your service provider has hidden it, but it isn't all that hard to expose it again, providing you don't mind a little registry editing, viz
- Navigate to \HKLM\ControlPanel\GPS Settings\
- Delete the "Hide=1" key
- Add a DWORD value: Group=2
- Soft reset your PPC
Now, the next time you look where Darius suggested, the GPS applet should be visible and usable. I had to do this before I could make Live Search use the GPS. (I'm really sorry that I can't give credit to whoever came up with this hack - it certainly wasn't me! - but whoever you are, if you're reading this, I appreciate your efforts).
FWIW on my Hermes, I have the following settings in that GPS applet:
- GPS program port: COM0
- GPS hardware port: COM4
- Baud rate: 9600
- Manage GPS automatically (recommended) box is checked
When you are using Live Search, if you click on the Map icon and get a map displayed, the right hand softkey should be 'Menu.' Click on that and one of the options is 'Center on GPS.' Google Maps is similar: Get a map displayed, click on the right (menu) softkey and one of the options will be 'Track Location (GPS)'.
Note of caution: When using Live Search or Google Maps to navigate, you *must* have cell tower coverage to provide the maps. I know that sounds obvious, but I'm not used to the US system of 'imposed wilderness' in your national parks and it freaked me a little that I ran out of navigation only a few hundred yards into the Smoky Mountains national park...
I would go with original E-Ten, Ostia maps have more errors than a stray dog fleas
As I said in the review, I had the one problem with the quarry road, but the Ostia maps seemed accurate aside from that.
Keep in mind that you can get the enterprise version of the 600 as an alternative to the reviewed version... that way you can get all of this great hardware and pick whatever nav program you prefer.
I would go with original E-Ten, Ostia maps have more errors than a stray dog fleas
As I said in the review, I had the one problem with the quarry road, but the Ostia maps seemed accurate aside from that.
Keep in mind that you can get the enterprise version of the 600 as an alternative to the reviewed version... that way you can get all of this great hardware and pick whatever nav program you prefer.
Try to navigate in New York with this Ostia, NYC specialy :devilboy:
OK, regarding the FM tuner... reception is quite good in my area. It gets a little static from time to time when moving, but I encounter the same thing with my mp3 player that has an FM tuner... I think it's just comes with the design that uses the headphones as an antenna. Sound is very good through the supplied ear buds... clear highs and good bass for a portable setup like this.
The 600 doesn't come with any software that I can use to check embedded traffic info, so I can't help you with that one.
I'll add a little blurb to the review regarding the FM tuner, along with a screen shot.
Regarding using the GPS with Live Search... I've spent a couple of hours trying all sorts of settings, but I haven't been successful in getting Live Search to recognize the GPS. I've sent an e-mail to the support folks asking them to give me the settings to use. I'll follow up one way or the other when I hear something.
I got a response from Kady D., the representative for Pharos who has so graciously provided the 600 for my review, along with plenty of help whenever I needed it. When my test unit was manufactured, Pharos was still in the process of finalizing the deal with Microsoft to install Live Search for use on the 600. They didn't add the version of Live Search set up for the 600 until the deal was complete. So even though my 600 had an early version of Live Search installed, it wasn't set up for the 600. According to Kady, Live Search will be set up and ready to run on the 600 right out of the box for buyers, with none of the configuration issues that I had with my pre-retail unit.
She also sent me an installable version of Live Search configured for the 600. I hope to be able to test it later today and I'll post my results.
Finally, my reference to the 600 being a "rebadged" version of the Glofiish X500 was incorrect. More accurately, Pharos acquired the license to distribute the unit that became the 600 in the US under the Pharos brand name. E-TEN licensed the same unit to distribute as the X500 in Europe. It may seem like a subtle difference, but my original statement suggested a relationship between Pharos and E-TEN that doesn't actually exist. I've updated that portion of the review with the corrected information, and I'm posting it here to provide an update for those of you who have already read the review.
The version of Live Search that Kady provided worked like a charm. It installed an intermediate driver that allows the GPS to interface with both Live Search and Ostia. With that driver in place, Live Search becomes a fully functional routing tool. It doesn't have all of the features of a full-fledged tool like Ostia, but it does have all of the basics in place, along with a great set of POIs and real-time traffic information.
And remember that Live Search will be pre-installed and pre-configured on units purchased by consumers.
It may seem like a subtle difference, but my original statement suggested a relationship between Pharos and E-TEN that doesn't actually exist.
Doug, I'm a little confused. If E-TEN is the manufacturer of this unit, but a relationship between Pharos and E-TEN does not exist, then who did Pharos acquire the distribution license from?
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It may seem like a subtle difference, but my original statement suggested a relationship between Pharos and E-TEN that doesn't actually exist.
Doug, I'm a little confused. If E-TEN is the manufacturer of this unit, but a relationship between Pharos and E-TEN does not exist, then who did Pharos acquire the distribution license from?
Unless I misunderstood her, according to the rep from Pharos, both E-TEN and Pharos obtained their licenses from the same source. She didn't mention the source, but it sounded like she was saying that E-TEN isn't the manufacturer of the X500. I'm not all that up on who manufactures what, so I didn't question her statement. I know that HTC manufactures PDAs for a variety of different companies, such as FSC, so I thought there was some kind of 3rd party relationship like that for both Pharos and E-TEN.
After your reply, I did a little research and found that E-TEN does indeed manufacture the X500. So it seems like the Pharos rep may have been mistaken, or I misunderstood her.
Follow-up - FM Tuner and Live Search
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