Customer Reviews

Holux GPSlim236 - GPS receiver module

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This is an excellent little receiver. What I wanted was a receiver that could be placed somewhere in my car and would then just work without my needing to be interrested in what it was doing. That's exactly what it does. I put some velcro (the hook side) on the back of the receiver and stuck it on the rear wheel arch of my Passat Wagon, since then it has just sat there and done its thing. This receiver is so small that it's hard to see how they could make it any smaller without it being difficult to find. Accuracy is as good as any. Despite being hidden away the reported signal quality is usually excellent. I leave it switched on and I can just forget all about it until I need it and then it's all ready to go, already locked on and passing out position reports. The Tomtom Navigator 5 software works as well with this as with their receiver.

I bought this to replace the Tomtom Bluetooth receiver that came as part of their Navigator 5/Bluetooth package, see my comments there if you want to know why that was a poor initial choice.

This item works great when it works. I purchase this item and the Bluetooth transmitted ceased functioning in less than 30 days. The company which I purchased it from replaced the unit and the new one stoppped functioning fot he same reason about 90 days later. Akronics, the vendor, will not even answer emails. Holux, who has a 0ne year warranty on these devices, does not respond to emails to its service center. From what I have been able to find out is that the Bluetooth problem is a common occurance and the unit is temperature sensative. This is odd in that it is a mobile unit intended for the car and dashboard positioning. So if you want to throw away your money buy Holux or learn from my mistake.

I had this unit for almost a year working perfectly. Loved it. Then one day the bluetooth just stopped working. It will not connect and the blue light does not come on. Definitely appears that somehow the bluetooth stopped working for some reason.

Holux has no support number and they have not returned any of my emails to tech support asking for help, after several months of trying to reach them. I am finally giving up. I would not buy this unit, especially now reading how many people are having similar issues. I like the look of the Holux 240, but the support from Holux is disgusting.

I use this product in conjunction with a PALM TX. The Holux works well with several Palm applications and the DeLorme product suite. For a GPS it can pick up satellites well in a city environment, can even pick up my location from inside my brick home without a problem. It does have its share of difficulties when I am in a ravine or under a thick tree canopy, but no more issues than Garmin. Once it locks onto a set of satellites it does a fine job of holding the signal. I like the fact that it is lightweight and can be stored in you pocket while operating, as opposed to being placed on the shoulder. The ease of recharging the entire unit is nice as well.

My GPS navigation system consists of PalmOne Treo 650 running Palm OS 5.4, TomTom Navigator 5.201 and Holux GPSlim 236 Bluetooth GPS receiver.

Unlike the other reviewer stated, this setup works perfectly. I did run into a minor problem at first, but that was due to my own stupidity.

First of all, you need to download the latest TomTom software update in case you don't have the latest version (v5.201 at the time of this writing). You can get it from TomTom.com, see support section. It includes important updates for Palm OS and Pocket PC -based devices.

I didn't need the update since I puchased the latest version of the software from local retailer.

Setup was smooth. I charged and turned on the GPS receiver. It was instantly detected by Treo 650 and successfully paired using default Bluetooth configuration utility. I then started TomTom and selected "Other Bluetooth GPS Receiver" from the initial configuration screen.

At first, I kept on getting "No Valid GPS Signal" message, just like the other reviewer here. Then I realized that since I'm testing from my apartment, the signal may be getting blocked with no clear sky view. I got out on my balcony, and whoa! I got the GPS receiver working!

Now I've been using it in a car for approximately one month, and it is simply great! It gets the satellite signal in a matter of seconds, instantly enabling TomTom Navigator and runs 7-8 hours on a single battery charge. It is good, however, to have the included car charger handy for those long trips.

The device is small, lightweight, works great and makes my driving a lot easier. I'm a happy customer. :)

I concur with the other positive reviews and also note that setup (pairing) can be a little tricky at first. I have this unit and Palm Treo 650 with Tom Tom Software V.5 plus the latest patches (V.6 is already available in Europe, no word on USA). Once paired, making an initial connection between the Treo and the Holux can either be immediate or take some time. I have found that if I turn the Holux on first and then quickly activate bluetooth on the Treo, both units are in search mode and tend to lock on to each other very quickly. The Holux will only search for devices for a short time after power up. If it doesn't find your treo, then your treo will have to find it, and that is not always easy for reasons I can't fathom yet. Bottom line however is that this is a very solid unit (I drop it in my briefcase, pop it on the dashboard, and generally don't treat it with kid gloves). It works great with the Treo and with Tom Tom. The price vs. performance ratio is outstanding.

Such a promising device. Worked great with Google Maps on my Blackberry right until the Bluetooth stopped working. Many people seem to have this problem and Holux support is non existent.

Like other reviewers I've had 2 units as a result of warranty returns. The units work for a while and then the Bluetooth begins to fail to connect on power up. If you have multiple bluetooth receivers it will fail with all of them. The built-in diagnostic light for Bluetooth is simply inaccurate.

I replaced my USB Microsoft GPS dongle with the Holux GPSlim 236 and the swith was as easy as associating a COM port with a Blutooth pairing. MS Streets and Trips will scan COM ports to find the stream and automatically recognizes it as GPS data. Has accurate location readings (when using Streets and Trips)

I also had no problems using it with my Cingular 2125 Windows Mobile 5 smartphone. Same process of pairing and creating a virtual COM port. I use Pocket Streets, Mapopolis, and MSN Virtual Earth with this deivce with no problems.

Has good distance (30+ feet) between reciever and device. Able to get accorate data from indoors where my previous reciever failed.

This works perfect with my XV6700 and the battery on it lats for ever!

This is worth it, you should buy this if you need a GPS recever