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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
 Posted - 04 août 2005 : 15:30:15
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http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=157
While "All-in-One" GPS navigation systems by Garmin, Magellan, Navman, Cobra, Lowrance or TomTom have been making a large dent in the GPS market over the past year, "Do It Yourself" GPS assisted navigation remains the most flexible way to navigate, as you can choose your software (road/all-terrain), hardware (PDA, VGA PDA, Laptop) and change the components as new and more powerful options become available. This article will be looking at the GPS receiver component.
The article will be published gradually over the next fee weeks, so if you have comments or questions now is probably a good time ;-)
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Squaredancer
284 Posts |
Posted - 04 août 2005 : 16:10:21
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| I'd also be interested in seeing "built-in" systems mentioned and the cars associated with them. I'm particularly interested if there are any where you can use your own software solution. It would be nice to have the "BIG" screen in the dash, but I don't want to be limited to "built-in" software. |
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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
Posted - 04 août 2005 : 16:37:27
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An interesting topic, but this would have to be covered in another article, because software and overall design is involved, and you'd have to segregate between portable systems (TomTom GO, Garmin SP, etc...) and car systems. Car systems are not the most interesting thing to talk about because they're pretty binary, the come with the car and you can generally only upgrade the maps over time. You can start a comparison thread in the "All-in-One" forums if you feel like it of course ;-)
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jhansman
USA
288 Posts |
Posted - 05 août 2005 : 05:24:33
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You might want to include some info on how this 'do it yourself' market has affected PDA sales in the last year or so. I bought my Dell X30 High specifically for BT GPS usage, and prior to that never considered getting a PDA.
Here's some related info; no mention of GPS usage, with wireless named as the driving force: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,120698,00.asp |
Edited by - jhansman on 05 août 2005 05:28:30 |
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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
Posted - 05 août 2005 : 08:18:15
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Well yes, that DYI GPS market is probably the reason PDAs are still around, but I think that's the topic for another article...on another site. We'll stick to the receivers in this one for the time being ;-)
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jonny_ftm
5 Posts |
Posted - 10 août 2005 : 13:06:44
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Hi, this is my first post in the forum. I was looking for a good pda GPS when I fall on this site (referred by PC Mag). After reading most the articles, I made many google searches to find the best deal.
A french site already reviewed most of the SS3 GPS
http://www.gpsandco.com
Here's their last review, of the Fortuna Slim, where it is compared to the TomTom, Royaltek and GlobalSat alternatives
http://www.gpsandco.com/articles/article.php?cat=article_recepteur&id=356&p=1
At the start of the article, you have hyperlinks to the reviews of the TomTom Wireless GPS MkII, the Globalsat BT-338 and the Royaltek RBT-2001
What is noted is:
- The Royaltek is by far better in sensibility and getting a fix
- The Fortuna Slim and the GlobalSat are equal in the performance, but are clearly surpassed by royaltek being able to get a fix where they can't and detecting more satellites
- The TomTom has bad performances compared to the GlobalSat
Well, now the autonomy that everyone is claiming about the GlobalSat. A rechargeable battery has a life expectancy of 2-3 years. The GlobalSat uses a custom battery, hard to find for most people outside US. The Royaltek, on its side, has a battery with quiet half the autonomy of the GlobalSat, but it is a common Nokia phone battery: rather cheap (you can get two) and that you can change when ever you like once dead.
Also, the Royaltek comes natively with v3.1.1 firmware, while the GlobalSat has an old revision (v3.0.x), with already mentioned frustrating bugs. This is being corrected with the possibility to upgrade for previous owners (again, only US) and with the new units shipped with firmware v3.1.1 (not all reselers mention what version they have, so you can get a v3.0 when ordering)
Also, the Royaltek is the thiner, yes, even compared to the GlobalSat, so the most portable
And finally, the Royaltek is slightly cheaper than the GlobalSat.
The choice, at least for me, is clear: the owner is Royaltek
What must be confirmed, is the performances of the GlobalSat with v3.1.1 firmware compared to the Royaltek (natively built in firmware v3.1.1). I doubt it will improve, since the new firmware isn't supposed to fix it.
A good reseller for all Europe, including Switzerland even if not mentioned, is www. .com. They have both the GlobalSat revision v3.1.1 and the Royaltek. |
Edited by - jonny_ftm on 10 août 2005 13:54:55 |
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Pedro-G
27 Posts |
Posted - 16 août 2005 : 19:50:36
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jonny_fm: Thanks for the links.
To be fair, the reviewer @lexis doesn't really come to such harsh conclusions as you interpret. About TomTom MkII he says that it's a good receiver, and "under very difficult conditions Globalsat BT-338 is slightly better" (or something like that).
Also according to the article, the Royaltek seems to be somewhat better, but I wouldn't say "far better" than the Globalsat and Fortuna Slim.
I currently have the TomTom MkII, and even if it was the least sensitive of the Sirf III receivers, I think it's still a brilliant unit. But the review got me itching for a replacement, so I think I'll pass on the TomTom and get a new receiver, most likely the Royaltek.
I need to make a decision very soon, since I already have a buyer for the TomTom MkII. I wouldn't want to make a decision based on only one review, however. Chance and coincidence have much to play when evaluating GPS receivers.
Gpspassion: any chance for "leaking" some advance info from your upcoming round-up article "GPS Receivers for PDAs and PCs in 2005"? Does it seem to you, too, that the Royaltek RBT-2001 is the best in terms of sensitivity? |
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jonny_ftm
5 Posts |
Posted - 17 août 2005 : 09:32:40
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| Yep, maybe my terms were a bit "stressed", but overall, its true facts and specs, except for performances that for now are the reviewr's own tests |
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glc650
3 Posts |
Posted - 20 sept. 2005 : 22:48:23
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| Has this roundup been aborted or postponed? |
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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
Posted - 22 sept. 2005 : 11:48:11
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Well it will be ready when it's ready, a lot of work is involved in these comparisons and this article already goes into a lot of detail http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/articles.asp?id=143 so you'll get an excellent idea of performance by picking the chipset of the GPS you're looking at, SiRFIII receivers have all performed very similarly, then the difference will be on the analysis of the specs and measured battery life I have already published.
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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
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jonasolof
Belgium
255 Posts |
Posted - 16 nov. 2005 : 23:29:37
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Wrong antenna connector in list
In the table comparing various BT GPS receivers, you list the Royaltek 2001 as having a MMCX connector for the external antenna. This is not correct. It uses a MC Card connector, the same that Lucent uses for its WLAN cards. It is also seen on 3G/UMTS cards. Royaltek also lists the 2001 with the MC card connector (only that the page shifts to the 1000 model on page two of the tech documentation).
But it is a MC Card connector. I have both a MC Card connector pig tail and a MMCX connector pig tail to test with. At the other end of the pigtails, there is a SMA connector connecting to an antenna on the roof.
One interesting thing to note is that the MC card connector includes a switch which is activated when the external antenna male connector is plugged in. If I cut antenna feed by disjoining the short antenna "pig tail" cable from the cable of the actual external antenna, the GPSR looses connection. Had it been a MCX or MMCX interface, it would have switched to the internal antenna when the loss of power drain from the external antenna was sensed. The 2001 still has a fix without the external antenna, albeit weaker, so the total loss of signal when the antenna feed is interrupted indicates, that it is the switch which decides that the Royaltek should use an etxternal antenna.
Jonas Lönnroth
Belgium& Sweden |
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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
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jonasolof
Belgium
255 Posts |
Posted - 17 nov. 2005 : 09:15:13
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Pourtant, the list entry made me order the wrong pigtail. Fortunately, my friend who brought it to me had a Lucent connector pigtail in the car which he gave me. I continue the discussion in the thread on antenna connectors (link above).
Jonas Lönnroth
Belgium& Sweden |
Edited by - jonasolof on 17 nov. 2005 10:04:08 |
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gpspassion
93392 Posts |
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jonasolof
Belgium
255 Posts |
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GPS Receivers for PDAs and PCs in 2005
