Customer Reviews

Holux GPSlim240 - GPS receiver module

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

well, this is the first bluetooth receiver i've ever used, but i can tell that i won't purchase any other receiver for a really long time; i'll buy same one if this one's broken.

first, it is so outstandingly SMALL. since i haven't seen the details of size on amazon, let me post it which i measured it myself: length 6.3 cm; width 2.1 cm; height 1.4 cm (centimeter would be more accurate at this point, convert to inches if you want). you can hang it on the key chain, put it in the pocket without even notice.

second, it is accurate enough for common use as horizontal error within 5-25 meters and vertical error within 5 meters, the most accurate acquisition at this moment is within 3 meters on vertical. let me put it this way, this is the ideal bluetooth receiver for people who want to travel somewhere with eyes opened, otherwise you need the more accurate and much bigger ones that receive 32 channels or even more, but frankly i don't see the point of using such accurate receivers except burning the green or showing off.

third, it starts fast and connects to the phone fast. I bought it specifically for my Nokia N80 fone with Route 66 installed, which is easy to find on the internet for both the software and the resources. I tested it twice: the receiver gets fully connected and updated within 1 minutes. well, the first time would take longer for sure, but it sure gets fast after locked on. Also, the battery is good either: it stands longer than 6 hours, and it comes with the car charge with USB cable. since it's Li-battery, you don't need to charge it after the electric goes all away, just plug it in the charge anytime you want that will not shorten the battery life at all.

Even if it has less channels in use than some receivers in the market, i don't mind. you can't get your hands off it as soon as you see the size and the performance of it. Strongly recommended to common users.

I bought this for in-car navigation and couldn't be happier. It's literally the size of a flash drive and holds a charge for eight hours, which means that I can velcro it to my dashboard when I need to use it and not have any wires hanging in front of me when I'm driving.

The USB-power source is convenient as well, because it can be charged from any USB port--a huge plus for me when I'm traveling.

As far as technological performance, I can't offer any complaints. It finds satellites almost instantly and holds them very well.

Easiest five stars I could give.

I have a BB 8100 (Pearl) and this paired right up. Within minutes I found my location as displayed by Google Maps or the BB maps application, and watched as my location repositioned the display (while driving). It seems to connect easily with a satellite, and usually in less than a minute from a "cold" start.

I now have GPS and voice driving directions from my Blackberry without having to pay a fortune to my mobile phone provider. :-)

I did notice that cloud cover affects its speed (cloudy=slower satellite acquisition)--but I imagine that's the case with these things.

Flawless bluetooth GPS receiver: best GPS chip available today (Sirf Star III, in its low-power version), small and light as a USB pendrive, good battery life (8 hours), car and wall charger in the box, good bluetooth reception, fairly cheap for what you get.

What else could you ask for?

If you don't mind the size and weight, consider its bigger brother: the GPSlim 236. They are exactly the same, the 236 is just bigger and heavier, lasts a bit longer, and has data cable and external GPS antenna connections.

I went for the 240 because of the portability: best choice for my Nokia N73 + Tom Tom Navigator 6.

At the time of this review, the Holux GPSlim 240 was the smallest bluetooth GPS receiver in the world. It's probably the only GPS receiver that fits inside an Otterbox 1900 along with a Palm PDA. (BTW, the Otterbox 1900 is essential if you plan to use a PDA GPS in a harsh environment, such as motorcycling/hiking/quad running in the rain).

The chipset is sensitive enough to pick up a signal even when the sky is completely overcast. It's compatible with both the Palm Tungsten E2 and Palm T/X, and for software it will work with TomTom 5 and 6. The battery will run for at least 3.5 hours (I haven't pushed it longer than that when disconnected from a USB trickle charge).

EDIT: Since the review above, Holux now makes a model using the MTK chipset (the M-1200), which uses less power and can go 23 hours on one charge. It's only a couple millimeters bigger.

I'm using this with my Samsung BlackJack and it works fantastic with Google Maps/ Windows Live Search. GPS signal acquisition can take up to about a minute sometimes but then it just works. To anybody considering the combo with a Window Mobile phone please be aware that you'll need to "hack" the registry to get the phone to recognize the GPS. Not hard - they are plenty of WebSites describing the process but definately not out of the box. Not a fault of this devise though.

This small GPS receiver is the same length and width as my USB flash drive and about twice as thick. But despite the small size, this unit is far ahead of the HP bluetooth GPS receiver that I previously used. It can get a satellite fix usually within 10-15 seconds. It can even get a satellite fix while indoors (of course that does not have any real value but it just shows how sensitive the unit is). I can put it in my shirt pocket while driving and still maintain the signal. And it is small enough to attach it to my car keyring (it has a slot for a loop type fob). By the way, I am using the iGuidance GPS software on my Cingular 8125 mobile phone. It can hold a charge for 8 hours and can be charged with the car charger (included) or even from a USB port on my laptop. And with a USB cable, I can use it as a GPS receiver for my laptop which does not have built-in bluetooth.

So why only 4 stars? Well, it has this strange instruction: 'It is prohibited to operate this system while driving your car' Huh??? Must be another 'Lost in Translation' episode from the Taiwanese documentation.

Otherwise, I recommend this unit if you want a very small but very capable GPS BT receiver.

Great unit for the size, bluetooth is great no wires needed, decent battery life.

The unit sometimes will not pickup sat lock, you have to wait a while or turn it off and back on again, but usually keeps a good lock once it gets it. Also location is important, needs to be out in the open and unobstructed to get a solid lock.

If you need something that works every time you need it and 100% of the time and very quickly, go with another device. Unit can be a pain when it's not picking up a sat lock and you are in a rush.

I bought this little unit to use with my laptop and (an older copy) of MS Mappoint, and it works flawlessly. Mappoint has it's quirks, but the GPSlim 240 has had no problems locking and keeping a signal. As a bonus, I discovered it also works with my BlackBerry and google maps. Way cool!
One note: the included USB cable only works for charging, not data. You have to buy a special cable for about $25 to be able to use the USB port to connect to the GPS via USB. I had originally purchased this thinking I would use it via USB, but it ended up being cheaper just to buy a $10 BlueTooth transmitter for my laptop.

I'm very happy with this GPS receiver, which I use primarily for urban geocaching with my BlackBerry Pearl.

Signal lock is good - outside of urban canyons, I get signals quickly and they remain relatively precise. I have much more trouble in deep urban spots - my sense is that this is a pretty standard problem. Once I get a signal, it takes a long time to lose it, and sitting for a minute does add satellites.

The battery life is as-advertised: I can get 6-8 hours without trouble. Since the USB connector is standard, I can charge it with a cell phone charger, and the included charger now serves as my phone & GPS charger in my car.

The included software never worked, and as noted in other reviews, the manual is basically unreadable. There's a theoretical standby mode to save battery life, and I assume that this happens automatically, but I don't know what tricks I could play to prolong battery life.

Now if only there was usable geocaching software for the Blackberry...