The BEST GPS? Is Bluetooth a good choice?

[JustinGTP]

Hello.

I am looking for a GPS Navigation system for my car. I have an HP iPaq 2215 and I don't know what to get. I know that there are quite a few brands, but the one that I seem to like the most is the TomTom bluetooth one. Now, is Bluetooth the way to go? Or should I get a wired Bluetooth system?

What about Pharaohs? Are they any good? I read the reviews on the site from the GPS units - but does anyone else have any other opinions?

Also - what way is the best way to attach the mount to your car, via Suction cup on the window, adhesive on the window, or a vent mount? I was thinking the windshield method - and the TomTom one comes with a car mount. :)

All help appreciated.

Thanks!

-Justin.

[Jon Westfall]

I've used the Pharos product for over 2 years now without any complaints. Their bluetooth kit comes with the removable GPS receiver (So you can mount the same receiver on a CF card if desired), and a friction pad for your dash (I believe) to keep the thing from moving around. Ostia 7 works well for me. No complaints overall.

As far as mounting it, I usually use a windshield mount and an Arkon or Seidio mount. The Arkon is cheaper now that Seidio has upgraded all of their mounts, however the Seidio mounts (varying by model) now have outlets for GPS charging and such built into the mount, which comes in handy.

Overall I don't think the Pharos products get much attention, but I feel they are decent.

[Dave Gummersheimer]

I'd just thought that I would also put my two cents worth and mention TeleType GPS software is pretty decent too. I've used it over a year now and really like it. I'm also using a bluetooth receiver with both my Siemens SX66 and my old trusty Ipaq 3970 with no problems. I do have a serial backup for my 3970 and notice that the Windows Op 2003 SE is, at least it seems, is faster at rerouteing and processing on my SX66 with the bluetooth. If you shop around you will find sometimes big differences in price. When I bought my bluetooth receiver (BT-15) model, I found the device from $169 plus shipping and with a little searching the same device for $94 with free shipping 8O. I found all this at www.gpspassion.com. Good luck with purchase and read as much as you can and ask lots of questions. :mrgreen:

[Sven Johannsen]

I highly recommend a BT solution. Whichever one you get, they are very flexible, in that you can place the receiver at the best spot for pickup, and the PPC at the best spot for viewing. I wouldn't focus on the lack of cables, because many find that for long trips, you are going to have a cable to power the GPS and the PPC anyway. In that respect, if you are purely looking for a car solution a cabled one is significantly cheaper, and often more convinient than the BT one. There are cradles around that connect to power, and a GPS that you just need to slide the PPC in, start the map app and are ready to go.

With BT you typically need to connect the BT with BT manager, and then fire up the map app, and then start BT reception by the app. A few more steps. Some folks report BT drop outs too, but I haven't had an issue. Certainly there is no issue with a cable.

For a mounting system, you should take a look at ProClip system http://www.proclipusa.com/ . If you are going to be supporting one car, these are outstanding mounts. I combined products and actually got the ProClip stuff that attaches to my Jeep dash, and then mounted an Arkon powered mount on it to hold the PPC. I wanted a universal holder as I have multiple PPCs. If I only had one, you can bet I'd have one of the ones you just slide the PPC in like a cradle.

[lkawamot]

I have a 2215 and tried a few things to see what would work best for me. I tried the Pharos SD GPS, mapopolis, pocket streets and trips, and some other software I can't recall at the moment. Out of the 3 navigation/map software I tried, I think I like mapopolis the best. But I wasn't impressed with the Pharos SD GPS... it seemed to lag on position reporting and the accuracy wasn't all that great. Recently I took a chance and purchased the GlobalSat BT338, and I have to say that the combination of it and Mapopolis has been great for me. Hopefully, this info is helpful.

[David McNamee]

I've been using the Pharos Bluetooth adapter with my iPaq 6315. It's saved my butt twice in two different cities in the last three weeks. I've been extremely happy with the product. The navigation software (Ostia) is quite good - I like it better than Pocket Streets.

Pharos' support staff is excellent for being e-mail only. I had a couple of questions and received e-mail replies within about 5 minutes. Very pleasant and very thorough!