This is a very informative article on the the Mobile Fun GPS receiver, a bluetooth gps device that has an excellent feature to price ratio. The article talks about what software works with the device, and some things to watch out for when using it with you PDA. To get the most out of this article, you will need to understand some basic information about bluetooth GPS receivers, as this article doesn't go into any discussion of that.

This is a tiny bluetooth GPS receiver which I bought from Mobile
Fun Ltd, I bought 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 usually being poor
performance, but I was pleasantly surprised! This thing really
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 chance and so bought 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 small sheet of
paper that had been loosely translated from Japanese to English
by a dyslexic toddler. You can 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
anywhere on the device or the packaging, which makes searching
for support quite difficult.

A nice touch with this little device is that it is supplied with
a battery that is common to a lot of Nokia phones (3.7V 850mAh
Li-polymer battery, BL-5C), a quick search on ebay means that
you can get replacement batteries for these receivers for about
£4 which is good to know should 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 limited instructions for pairing with
your device, and the Tomtom setup instructions, you should be up
and running in less than 5 minutes. I have only charged the
receiver once since I bought it about 2 months ago, the battery
just seems to last forever! The supplied in car charger and USB
cable means that the receiver can be charged on the move from a
12v source and can also be charged from any PC or laptop. From
cold start up the receiver aquires a usuable GPS signal exremely
quickly, quicker than most of the really expensive GPS receivers
that I've come in contact with. The device is extremely small
and can easily fit into any space in your car, or even your
pocket if you're using it for walking or cycling.

One small 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 first I
thought this was the result of the XDA losing its connection
with the bluetooth receiver and hence confirming my fears about
the price of this product. It quickly became apparent that this
was not the case and it was in fact an issue with my PDA and the
Tomtom software.

I quickly discovered a workaround for this issue between 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 many other XDA 2i users share the same problem.

I do know 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 aware 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 constant
use. Unit can be charged with the included car charger while
still in use. Mini-USB charger compatiblty, charge not only the
Bluetooth GPS Receiver but also compatible PDAs & Smart Phones
with the same charger. 3 colours LED to show the status of
Bluetooth/GPS/Power activities 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 data
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 great little device that performs well beyond its price range.
Check if there is any known issues with your device and
bluetooth GPS receivers before purchase 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

John

www.johnsreviews.com

Tags: bluetooth - gps tracking - gps receiver - pda - mobile fun ltd