PDA GPS CF & SD GPS Hardware Reviews

Click here to read the review	Fortuna is a company that has recently released a whole host of different GPS Receivers ranging from mouse, Bluetooth and Compact Flash (both Standard and XTrac), the receiver we are reviewing here is the standard Pocket Track receiver. The Pocket Track is a Compact Flash Type I GPS Receiver which means it will fit in all Compact Flash slots including slots in older devices like Windows CE 2.11 and 3.0 devices like the Casio E125. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	GlobalSat have a new Compact Flash GPS receiver. The BC-307 is a CF Type I card based on the SiRF Star II/LP low power chip. One thing to be aware of when ordering is to check to see if the antenna comes with the Compact Flash Card or not. The official response from GlobalSat is "Some distributors have provided the external antenna in the package of BC-307, some distributors do not". However, the UK distributor does say that all BC-307's they order to the UK will come with the antenna included. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Globalsat and Easy Devices announced the launch of a new SDIO GPS receiver back in June. A lot of PDAs have had a SD memory slot, and now most SD slots are SDIO. In other words you can put I/O devices into them rather than just memory. GlobalSat showed us the world's first SDIO GPS receiver back in March at the CeBIT exhibition in Hannover. This has completed its testing and has been on the market for a short while now. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Haicom is a well known brand in the GPS Market, and have a whole range of GPS Receivers depending on what you're really looking for. Haicom currently have the the Haicom 302 CF, the new 303MMF CF card that can be angled to varying degrees, the 302 LP (Low Power Edition), the Haicom 202E USB GPS Receiver and finally the more popular Haicom 203E which is the GPS Mouse of choice for many. The GPS Receiver we are reviewing here is the Haicom 302 CF. This holds a Compact Flash Type I form factor. This means that any device be it Pocket PC, PDA or Laptop that supports Compact Flash Type I, Type II, or PC-Card will be able to use this as a GPS Receiver. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	The Haicom 303MMF was the worlds first hybrid GPS Receiver which operated both as a Compact Flash GPS Receiver, but also as a GPS Mouse with a cable. Haicom have now extended their line of 303 models to include both an Evermore chipset (303E) and an XTrac chipset (303S). coincidentally the 303E is the one we are reviewing here. When folded down, it's a mouse and can sit happily on the dashboard with a supplied cable, unfold the GPS and it then becomes a multi-angled Compact Flash GPS Receiver. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Haicom 303MMF is the worlds first hybrid GPS Receiver. As most who read Pocket GPS World on a regular basis will know I am always a fan of the GPS Mouse for in-car usage, primarily because of the TTFF's, the Receiver once it has power can go away and start acquiring satellites without the need for the PDA, but I also like them for their compactness and charger cables. Compact Flash Receivers are great if you want to go out walking with the GPS Receiver, and lets face it, we all want to do this from time to time. Whether it's going on long walks, hikes or just walking from a multi-story car park to find your clients building across town. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	In this review we are going to look at the Holux GM-270. This is the original Holux Compact Flash GPS Receiver (not the new Ultra version). The Holux GM-270 is a well known work horse in the GPS Compact Flash card category. The Holux GM-270 comes in at a smaller form factor than other Compact Flash GPS Receivers on the market. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	In this review we are going to look at the Holux GM-270 Ultra. This is the XTrac version of the Holux Compact Flash GPS Receiver. The Holux GM-270 is a well known work horse in the GPS Compact Flash card category. The Holux GM-270 Ultra comes in at a smaller form factor than other Compact Flash GPS Receivers on the market and sports XTrac. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Semsons are known more in North America rather than Europe as this is where their online store is physically located and have their own badged brand of GPS products called i.Trek. We reviewed the i.Trek Mouse back in October 2003 and Semsons have recently sent us the new i.Trek Compact Flash GPS Receiver for review with XTrac 2.0.2. The i.Trek Personal Navigation System (as it's called) comes complete with a Compact Flash GPS Receiver running SiRF XTrac v2.02. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	NAVMAN GPS 1000 was first available in 2001 and came bundled with the Navman GPS 1000 Compact Flash Card, windscreen mount and a rebadged version of TomTom RoutePlanner (Navman SmartPath Trips) and TomTom CityMaps (SmartPath City). This is the original choice of many due to it's portability due to a cable less set, but does suffer a little on satellite acquisition speed. Software Superseded by NAVMAN GPS 3400 Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Earlier in the year we reviewed both the SmartST Pro V2 - Pocket PC and Navman's SmartST - Palm. Navman also announced the PiN 100 back in April 2004 but it took a little while to surface and for a review sample to arrive. Tim Buxton (one of our moderators) has already written a review for the PiN 100 and here I will extend on his review with a full blown look at the PiN 100 and SmartST Pro V2. This review here will concentrate on both the PiN 100 and the SmartST Pro V2 software. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Tim Buxton (Moderator) was recently loaned a Navman PiN to take to the PocketGPSWorld.com meeting at Tangmere earlier in the summer. Tim thought he should write a mini review on his experiences with the Navman PiN. The PiN is essentially a Mitac Mio 168 DigiWalker with Navman SmartST V2 software. Very briefly it is a WM2003 Pocket PC with Intel PXA-255 300MHZ processor, a 3.5 inch 64K colour screen, 64Mb RAM and 32Mb flash RAM. It also has an SDIO slot which will take an MMC or an SD card. It has all the usual PPC applications associated with this sort of device, such as Word, Excel and IE.

Click here to read the review	Pretec Compact GPS is one of the earlier Compact Flash GPS Receivers available. It's both robust and has good signal strength. This is a choice for many who purchase a Compact Flash GPS Receiver and is very affordable. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Pretec LP was the second incarnation for Pretec of a GPS Receiver. This is a low powered receiver only using 8 channels instead of the normal 12 you see in most modern day GPS Receivers. The performance with this receiver is lacking and unless you want a challenge, it would be better to purchase the original Pretec Compact GPS unless power saving is essential. You should consider the Pretec Antenna (below) compulsory when purchasing this GPS card. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Pretec Antenna isn't strictly a GPS Receiver, but is an add-on for the above two GPS Receivers, so we thought it would be better added here. If you're purchasing either of the Pretec GPS cards then you may also want to consider this external antenna which has a magnetic base which you stick to the roof of the car, run the cable inside and plug into the Pretec GPS cards to improve signal strength. This antenna should be considered as compulsory when using the Pretec LP. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	Are you having problems with the bad instructions provided with the Pretec range of Compact Flash GPS Receivers ? If you are experiencing problems, check out this article for a little more help. Make sure you also check the relevant Pretec Compact and LP reviews for additional information.

Click here to read the review	The GPS-6021 (X6) is a high sensitivity Compact Flash Type I GPS Receiver using the SiRF Star II chipset with embedded ARM7TDMI CPU. The X6 supports 12 satellites all-in-view, re-acquisition time of 100ms and updates your position every second. The X6 also sports a low power chipset which allows you to use trickle-power where the receiver operates a fraction of the time and Push-to-Fix permits you to have a quick fix even though the receiver usually stays off in this power mode.

Click here to read the review	Wireless networking or WiFi has been around for some time now in one form or other. Initially It was targeted at the PC market, but has quickly moved over to the PDA market. I have been using a 5450 with built-in WiFi networking for some time, but have been frustrated that I cannot use it on my 2210 or XDA II. Well this has all changed with the socket SDIO WiFi SD card. A neat little device that turns any PDA with SDIO capabilities into a Wireless enabled device. When you insert the wireless networking card into your PDA you can browse the internet, use MSN Messenger, Pocket Skype, Email, and many other network dependant applications. You can even use ActiveSync over the airwaves removing the need to connect your PC to the PDA.

Click here to read the review	Reviewing GPS products can sometime be quite a chore. Not all products live up to their name or your expectations, or even to the basic concept of Global Positioning Systems, but when you get products that are not only the top of their class, but go beyond the top of the class, it's a real pleasure to review them! SysOnChip are quite a relatively new company, formed in 1998 in Korea, they have brought several GPS products to market, one being their SysOnChip GPS CF Plus which we are reviewing here. When you first take a look at this magnificent GPS Receiver, first glances brings to mind a small form factor, and a stylish GPS (not bulky like many). Wait but it even has an antenna ? This is unusual for Compact Flash GPS Cards. Platforms Supported

Click here to read the review	TRAVROUTE Pocket CoPilot is one of the earlier GPS systems available for the Pocket PC. It comes in a Software only with maps of Pan European and North America, comes in a bundled version with various GPS Hardware. First made available in late 2002 This is the original choice of many and can come in a PC laptop version as well. Originally sold with the NAVMAN GPS 3000 sleeve, but since has changed to the EMTAC Sleeve to offer a better performance Platforms Supported


Legacy (older Systems) which have been superseded by newer versions above


Other Hardware Related Information

Click here to read the review	Sometimes it's hard to determine what Handheld GPS Receivers have what features. They all look alike and have very similar features, the only thing sometimes to tie them apart is one or two features. With this in mind we've pulled together a huge comparison of GPS Receivers showing the full specifications of each receiver making it easy to tell which receiver has which features in a single resource.

Click here to read the review	One important aspect of all GPS Hardware is the Time To First Fix or TTFF. When using GPS Software it all hinges on how good the TTFF is and also how good the re-acquisition is of the GPS Receiver. Many GPS Receivers share the same chipsets from the same manufacturers, but some GPS Hardware are better in acquiring TTFF's. We have created a TTFF table where all GPS Hardware we review is listed within this table. This helps understand which hardware is good and which hardware should be avoided.

Click here to read the review	Have you ever been in a situation where you have a PDA but don't know which GPS will work with it ? You're not alone! We've created a complete review page to discuss this. We detail what PDA's have which storage cards which play a big factor in GPS connectivity. We also show you which GPS hardware will work with which Pocket PC's and if you have a handheld GPS receiver, no worry there as we also list a whole host of cables that are available from different sources to connect a handheld GPS receiver to your PDA.