Pharos PF022 Pocket GPS Portable Navigator Kit with CompactFlash GPS Receiver works with Most Pocket PCs

Product Description

Compatible with most Pocket PCs with a CompactFlash slot, the Pocket GPS Portable Navigator combines the portability of a CompactFlash GPS receiver with Ostia, Pharos' award-winning street routing and navigation software. With the navigation software installed on your Pocket PC, you can drive or walk through any city in the US, and locate your current position or quickly find a destination or point of interest. Routes can be calculated and viewed. The automated voice prompts will instruct you when and where to turn. If by chance you go "off-route", the automated voice will give an off-route warning and the system will automatically reroute you to your destination from your current position.The included MobilePak includes a vent-mounted PDA holder, and universal car adaptor, and an auxiliary external antenna for the receiver.

Customer Reviews:

Not compatible with 5400/5500 iPaqs.......2003-12-26

Wish there had been some mention of this before I got it. The antenna on the 5400 and 5500 series of iPaqs makes it physically impossible to plug this in using a standard CF sleeve. Supposedly it can work if you use a dual CF sleeve.

From an Everyday User: Big Improvements Needed.......2003-11-07

Bottom line: Huge improvements needed but gets a 4 because it's the most comprehensive of what's available for PDAs.

I am a financial consultant and am on the road everyday to new residences and businesses, giving me in-depth knowledge about this particular product. Because many good reviews are listed, I will focus more the drawbacks. Read on for the nitty-gritty details.

The Maps:
The maps can be huge, ranging from a couple megabytes to 15 megabytes. You'll need plenty of memory and a fast PDA. What a map covers depends on how dense the city is. Los Angeles requires about 4 maps while Riverside county is covered in two maps. You can only load 3 maps at a time, so if you're travelling long distances, your destination may have to be somewhere along the highway. Once you get there, load a different set of maps. Loading more maps, though, will reset your start/end points as well as your route. So you'll need to renter the information. Also, the more maps are open, the slower it is to pan across the map.

Finding yourself:
Unlike a static map, the GPS can track your location or you can search by contacts, address, intersection, or major points of interest. Unfortunately, it only lists major venues (e.g. stadiums, major shopping centers) and not places like gas stations (a major drawback). Searching for an intersection without knowing the city can be quite tedious. You first enter a street name, then the city, then the next street name. So if the city is unknown and the first street appears in several cities, you have to try each city until you find the second street.

The GPS:
If you use the system in your car, as I do, the GPS is a mixed blessing. When first starting the system, it may take a LONG time before getting a fix - if you're stopped. If you try to get a fix while moving, that drastically reduces your chances of getting a fix at all. After that, however, it is quick at requisition after going under tunnels and such. Because being in a car weakens the signal, it has a hard time following you after making turns. You may have made a left, but it still shows you as going straight. This is especially frustrating when you cannot stop and wait for it to tell you which way to turn, as in a highway exit with a green light. If you know this will happen, you best look at the directions and memorize the turns. Also, because of the weakened signal, the voice might keep saying, "you are off-route," either because it hasn't yet taken into account that you made a turn or simply because it can't quite pin-point where you are and has you located as driving off-road through blocks of houses. Expect this to happen frequently in mountainous areas or in downtown areas with tall buildings.

Routing:
Routing is a mixed blessing as well. You can route by fastest, shortest, or no highway, and you have a voice telling you where to go. It is fairly quick at routing when you only have one map open. If you're travelling across three maps, it might take a while. Also, it is supposed to reroute you when you have gone off-course, but it rarely ever does that, meaning you have to take your eyes off the road and manually tell it to find a new route. Perhaps the biggest drawback is the amount of time it gives itself before telling you that a turn is coming up. On streets, it makes announcements 0.1 miles before street turns and 0.5 miles before highway exits, meaning you better keep an eye on how far away you are from your next turn. Also, the maps do not use highway-exit names. For example, the Santa Monica exit off the 405 North in California puts you on a street called Cotner Ave, which in actuality is just an off-ramp with a street name. The directions will tell you to exit onto Cotner Ave, meaning you will miss it because you will never see a Cotner Ave. exit on the highway signs. And if the off-ramp does not have a name or does not immediately exit onto a street, it will simply say to exit onto the off-ramp. Along those lines, you better remember your destination address because it doesn't show it to you in the text directions. I always have to switch back to my Outlook Contacts to look at the address because the map will get you to the block, not the specific address (probably to save memory). By the way, the voice simply tells you a turn is coming up - it doesn't actually say the name. But that is forgivable in order to save memory. The map always displays in large font what is coming up and the distance left to make the next turn as well as the distance remaining to your destination.

Battery Life and Memory:
This product drains your batteries and the maps take up a lot of memory, so it would be prudent to get a car adapter and at least a 256MB flash memory module. Do NOT get compactflash because that slot will be taken by the GPS unit.

Bottom Line:
Obvously, there is MUCH room for improvement. I tried many competing products and this one was, by far, the most comprehensive. There are products that list restaurants and gas stations, but use TINY maps of which you can only load one at a time and have limited search, routing, and GPS features. Others have better GPS sensitivity but are much more expensive. Others can show a cross-country route from start to finish on a single map but again, lack in other features.

Great gadget but not a replacement for your atlas.......2003-11-06

I use the Pharos module for the Siemens (ATT) PocketPC phone. For the most part this device is limited because it uses a handheld to display the information. (limited by resolution and screen size, beyond the scope of this review) It will never approach a printed map for clarity, readability or comprehensive data. I have used this device quite a bit.

That said this device does things that a printed map could never do. It will show you exactly where you are, and give you directions to where you want to go - quite accurately. I think the software for the PDA is quite straight forward and intuitive, but the PC side is clunky - and needs further refinement.

The maps are regional only - for example if you are driving in the San Francisco Bay area - you will need to load three separate maps on to your PDA. (I have a 256MB SD/MMC card that has allows me to load the entire state of CA on the PDA).

Don't expect to have the entire US at your fingertips - unless you plan on bringing a laptop with you to synch and load new maps as you travel. I recently drove from San Francisco to Ft Lauderdale - I didn't use the device. It would be good though if you were going to fly somewhere and loaded maps of that area before you left.

My chief complaint is that it will not load neighboring regional maps as you move into new territory - even if they exist on your memory card.

Bottom line: (1) Not a replacement for you atlas or map(s), but a useful aid/enhancement to both. (2) Not a device for non-technophiles. (3) Well-designed software (at least the PDA side). (4) Very accurate.

What else can I say!!.......2003-10-18

After I downloaded the newest version of Ostia and the most up-to-date maps, everything started to come together! Had a little trouble while searching for sepecific addresses with the old version. Maps for Canada, (I bought the Ostia NAV01, the US version) are kinda pricy, but there're ways to get around it ^.~ Over all, it's a great gadget to have for your PDAs. it turned my e740 from a email server to something much more useful!!

EZ Use.......2003-04-26

This little attachment is fantastic. Plug it in and load the software, you're done. As long as you have an open sky with no dense cover, it'll take a minute and you're on your way. I'd rate the GPS CF card 5 stars.

Only reason I gave this 3 stars and not 5 is the software it comes with is very primative. On the PDA it's fine and simple enough to use, but I don't like the user interface with the map software on the PC. In order to use the maps on the iPAQ you have to sync it from the 2-bit graphic interface software on the desk top. If you plan on using the software for cross country road trips, think again. the map software only alows you to plan regional trips within small areas, and you can only plot points from your PDA not your PC. 2 Stars for the software.

Average customer rating:

A Must Have for the Toshiba E755 PPC!!

Pharos PFT22 Pocket GPS Portable Navigator for Toshiba, incl. CompactFlash GPS Receiver, SW & US Maps

Manufacturer: Pharos
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Accessories & Supplies | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
GPS & Navigation | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
e350 | e300 Series | Toshiba | GPS | Handheld & PDA Accessories | Accessories & Supplies | Categories | Electronics
e355 | e300 Series | Toshiba | GPS | Handheld & PDA Accessories | Accessories & Supplies | Categories | Electronics
e740 | e700 Series | Toshiba | GPS | Handheld & PDA Accessories | Accessories & Supplies | Categories | Electronics
e750 | e700 Series | Toshiba | GPS | Handheld & PDA Accessories | Accessories & Supplies | Categories | Electronics
PDA & Mobile GPS | Handheld GPS | GPS & Navigation | Categories | Electronics
Product Features:

Voice Prompted, Turn by Turn Navigation with Detailed Street Level Maps for all 50 States

Find a location by address, cross street, contacts or Point of Interest

Use Microsoft Pocket Outlook Contacts as your destination

Display shows next turn direction, street name, distance to turn, and distance to destination

Any Pocket PC with Available CF Slot

ASIN: B00007FH6W

Product Description

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have for the Toshiba E755 PPC!!.......2003-11-09

I held off purchasing a GPS system for my PPC for about 2 years. Then I purchased the Toshiba E755 and finally did some serious research on the more popular GPS systems and software, e.g., Co-Pilot, Mapopolis, Destinator, and took the plunge. For the combination of features and price I decided on Pharos, and I'm glad I did (note: there is currently a $50 rebate on the already low price offered at Amazon, effectively dropping the price below $200). One of my unspoken concerns was that it would be a complex process to set it up on the PPC--nothing could have been further from the truth. I pulled out the quickstart card, downloaded the software to my laptop, synced the PPC and downloaded a local map for testing. (Note: as the GPS unit fits in the Compact Flash slot of the E755, you'll want to invest in a SD media card--the downloaded maps are resource hogs. For example, I initially used a 32MB SD card and used about 20MB for two maps; I've since purchased a 64MB card. Be advised Toshiba PPC owners: shop carefully for your SD cards. I was ready to purchase a Sandisk because I've had great luck w/ their CF cards. But having read other Toshiba owners' woes w/ Sandisk SD cards, I went to the company's website and checked for compatibility of their SD cards w/ Toshiba PPCs--they are not) Anyway, read quickly through the salient parts of the owner's manual to make sure I understood the basic functions and turned the system on--inside my house and not seated in front of a window.) About 90 seconds later I was connected to several satellites. I then got into the car and mapped several known routes, all of which were mapped accurately. One word of caution: make sure your "sounds and notifications" are turned on on your PPC otherwise the GPS voice prompts will not function. I did not, but it gave me the opportunity to test Pharos' customer service. I E-mailed customer service one evening about the problems I was having with the voice prompts and I received a reply the next morning outlining the steps I needed to take.

Some of the features I found particularly useful:

-the on-screen display is great; there are several different modes: text directions; maps w/ turn-by-turn indicators (two views); expanded map view.
-voice prompts and turn indicators are very useful.
-w/ automatic re-routing, you'll not be off course for long--I found this very helpful; quick and accurate.
-system provides both a daylight and night view.
-you can use your contacts info in MS to select destinations or points of origin.
-the system comes with the CF GPS, an antenna extension (which I have yet to use; the compact flash GPS has done a great job without it), cigarette lighter power cord for the PPC and a mounting kit.

Product Description

With the introduction of the iGPS-360 Global Positioning System receiver, Pharos Science & Applications, a leading provider of portable navigation and location-based services for mobile devices, has brought the power of GPS location-finding and navigation to all types of portable and handheld computing devices.The unique modular design of the iGPS-360 receiver allows users to add GPS positioning and navigation capability via the serial, USB, CompactFlash, PCMCIA port or Bluetooth wireless connection to their notebook computer, Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC, Tablet PC or other mobile computing or telematics device.The innovative iGPS-360 uses Pharos' integrated Global Positioning System receiver and antenna design, and SiRF/Star-II LP chipset and architecture and which tracks 12 GPS satellites simultaneously. The SiRF/Star-II LP's 12-channel tracking capability gives the Pharos GPS receiver superior performance, enabling fast GPS signal acquisition and reacquisition, and optimum response in dynamic applications such as quickly moving vehicles, as well as in harsh signal environments such as foliage and urban canyons. Combined with its ultra-compact design, WAAS capability, and its universal connectivity, the iGPS-360 presents users with a cost effective, high performance portable navigation capability for any type of mobile computing device.

Customer Reviews:

Pharos CompactFlash GPS Receiver.......2007-08-31

I already had one of these prior to purchasing a new one on Amazon. The reason I had to purchase a new one is that the old one performed inconsistently and was not reliable. That said, I never received my order from the Seller on Amazon and so 1) would not recommend this product if you want something failsafe, and 2) I would not order from the seller on Amazon because they still haven't communicated with me even though they charged my credit card for the purchase.

Pharos CompactFlash GPS Receiver.......2007-04-10

For it's size you can't go wrong with this unit, READ the fine print before purchase, this one does not come with software ( must be purchased separately ).

Good but slow.......2006-11-07

The Pharos GPS receiver is working fine out of the box, but it often takes a loooooooong time to lock to satellite signals. I am not sure if this is due to the GPS receiver itself, or to the Ostia software, though.

Overall it is quite reliable (if I wait long enough... ). :)

Pharos PFD22 Pocket GPS Portable Navigator for Dell Axim, incl. CompactFlash GPS Receiver, SW & US Maps

Average customer rating:

Marketing or Mature & Useful Products for Dell?
Same product at PFO22?
Horrible company, horrible product

Pharos PFD22 Pocket GPS Portable Navigator for Dell Axim, incl. CompactFlash GPS Receiver, SW & US Maps

Manufacturer: Pharos
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Accessories & Supplies | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

GPS & Navigation | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

PDA & Mobile GPS | Handheld GPS | GPS & Navigation | Categories | Electronics
Accessories:

Product Features:

Voice Prompted, Turn by Turn Navigation with Detailed Street Level Maps for all 50 States
Find a location by address, cross street, contacts or Point of Interest
Use Microsoft Pocket Outlook Contacts as your destination
Display shows next turn direction, street name, distance to turn, and distance to destination
Any Pocket PC with Available CF Slot

ASIN: B000095SM1

Product Description

Customer Reviews:

Marketing or Mature & Useful Products for Dell?.......2004-08-05

It took a lot of research for me to finally find a GPS CF bundle (hardware and software)for a Dell Axim X5. Some how just buying the one Dell pushes was not good enough and here some of what I have learned...

The Pharos units covers the audio input on the top of the X5... why is that important? Well if you are using it in a car and what to use a device to boost the sound of your turn by turn directions (ie. a power PDA car holder) ... Well you would be out of luck.

The product has a lot of kinks, it has trouble with re-routing and over all is a good start but for the same money you can get something that is much better. Look into a Haicom 303...As far as software a lot of it is personal preference - look at the website of the software makers and see if you like the look of the software.

Call Pharos and talk to them... I think you will find that they are more about good marketing, slick name and packaging than a mature product. Like other reviewers I can not see any difference between the PF022 and the PFD22 (for Dell) other than something for Dell.

Check 'Buy GPS Now' (add a DOTcom) for more in depth information about GPS and software products. Amazon has a good start but there is just not enough information - like EXACTLY what comes in the box and any thing else (i.e. cords) that you will need to make it work with your PDA. Since you can not return software once you have installed it - you need all the INFORMATION you can get to pick wisely.

Same product at PFO22?.......2003-12-17

I think that this is the same product (other than some ink on the outside box) as the PFO22 model, which currently has many more reviewer comments. You may want to just refer to some of them.

Intallation seemed fine, the product works okay but not great. It doesn't handle rotaries all that well, since everything is a right hand turn on a rotary. (Web based directions aren't very helpful for rotaries either, which is why I got this item.)

After reading one very negative review for the item, I decided to get the PFD22 instead of the PFO22, so that if it didn't work, I could return it knowing that I had definitely bought the correct item. With what comes in the box, I still don't think there is any difference between the items. (For instance, the software asks you to identify which machine brand is being used to run it.)

The PKO38 model is cheaper, and may be more useful, as it doesn't use up your CF slot. Since the maps require some memory, that CF slot may come in handy. Unless you really want to use the device as a handheld, away from your car and a power source, that model may be better. This one is just a bit "neater", since you can carry it around with you running it off of the PDA power, but if your main goal is to use it in a car, that won't matter too much.

I doubt the device is as good as the stand-alone machines, or those now coming already installed in cars, and I debated between 3 and 4 stars. The cost is so much less than those other systems that I went with 4.

Horrible company, horrible product.......2003-09-30

I have never dealt with such a bad company. I deal with electronics companies daily, but this one takes the cake. I bought the PFD22 from a direct distributor and got the product, with outdated software that would not work on my Axim, OR my WinXP machine. They said I had to pay additional money for the updated software on CD that I just paid for the previous day. I would never EVER recommend this product to anyone. Customer Service at Pharos also took DAYS to get back to me on each reply.

Average customer rating:

iGPS CF CompactFlash Receiver

Manufacturer: Pharos
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Product Description

The Pharos iGPS-CF receiver is by far the most accurate, smallest and fastest fully portable GPS unit available. Unlike traditional GPS receivers, which require separate antennas or wires, the iGPS-CF receiver from Pharos is an integrated receiver with a built-in patch antenna designed to fit directly into the Compact Flash or PCMCIA slot of a Pocket PC. Its enormous technological profile is counter-balanced by its ultra-small size. The iGPS-CF receiver was designed with wireless consumer applications in mind; the iGPS-CF receiver will give accurate readings from up to 12 satellites. The iGPS-CF receiver has an exceptional accuracy of 7-8 yards, which makes it ideal for accurate turn-by-turn mapping. The iGPS-CF Receiver is an inexpensive, flexible alternative to traditional navigation systems.

Pharos PFCAN002 Pocket GPS Portable Navigator, incl. CompactFlash GPS Receiver, SW & Canada Maps

Average customer rating:

GPS Magellan Roadmate 760

Pharos PFCAN002 Pocket GPS Portable Navigator, incl. CompactFlash GPS Receiver, SW & Canada Maps

Manufacturer: Pharos
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Accessories & Supplies | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

GPS & Navigation | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

Voice Prompted, Turn by Turn Navigation with Detailed Street Level Maps for all 50 States
Find a location by address, cross street, contacts or Point of Interest
Use Microsoft Pocket Outlook Contacts as your destination
Display shows next turn direction, street name, distance to turn, and distance to destination
Works with Ipaq 38/39/22/5x Series

ASIN: B00007FH6T

Product Description

The Pocket GPS Portable Navigator Kit for Canada is comprised of the iGPS-CF receiver and the Ostia 2003 navigation software with detailed street maps of all of Canada. With the navigation software installed on your Pocket PC, you can drive or walk through any city in Canada, and locate your current position or quickly find a destination or point of interest. Routes can be calculated and viewed. The automated voice prompts will instruct you when and where to turn. If by chance you go "off-route, " the automated voice will give an off-route warning and the system will automatically reroute you to your destination from your current position.The Pocket GPS Portable Navigator Kit for Canada includes iGPS-CF receiver, Ostia 2003 Software and Canadian Maps.

Customer Reviews:

GPS Magellan Roadmate 760.......2007-03-12

Worked well out of the box. delivery excellent. CDs and connection fine
Happy with item.
Has some southern Ontario missing road updates related to highways (401 and 404; Alan Expwy, others) but fine all the same.

Wish the European maps were in! Greedy!

Unit was bought as reburbished, and works like new.

I wish it had a battery to make it REALLY useful.
All functions work, and helped navigate unknown addresses with confidence and accuracy.

Thanks

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