Wired gps receiver performance versus Bluetooth

SFTreo650 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 19, 2005 Posts: 5

Tried this in the beginner's lounge with no answers, so I thought I'd try it here:

Hello all,
There are many databases comparing wired vs. wired gps receivers and bluetooth vs. bluetooth, but how does the best wired receiver stack up against the best bluetooth? Am I wrong, but are all the wired receivers using SiRF II and the BT using SiRF III now? What difference does this make?

Finally, what is the latest and greatest wired gps receiver nowadays?

Thanks for any input.

lbendlin · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 3:06 am Post subject:

Wired receivers have all kinds of fancy chipsets - as do BT receivers. SiRF III is a huge thing, but not the only kid on the block.

You could compare wired vs Bluetooth receiver based on "fit for purpose" but it makes little sense to base that on the chipset.
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SFTreo650 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 19, 2005 Posts: 5

I am mostly interested in signal strength when using the receiver in a car. I have read reports of people being able to put a SiRF III bluetooth receiver in their glovebox (glove compartment) because of the superior tracking ability (20 channels, etc.). I assume the better wired receivers would have similar capabilities.

I would really like to be able to keep the receiver in the glovebox (so it is not out in the open) and still keep a strong signal. I wonder if the TomTom rebranded wired receiver that will be bundled with Navigator 5 will be able to have this signal strength.

lbendlin · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 7:25 am Post subject:

As far as I know TomTom have no plans to ever provide wired receivers again.
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StevenGourlay · Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 8:47 am Post subject:

Yeah i have heard the same but it indicates on thee web site that a cabled system will be available for the 2110 and the 1710 but i think they will scrap that.
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longwori · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:03 pm Post subject:

I dont see any reason why a wired Sirf Star III receiver would be better or worse reception than a Bluetooth Sirf Start III receiver. They are both using the same highly sensitive chipset so I would expect the performance to be similar.

IMHO the choice between bluetooth, wired, compact flash etc. is purely down to what you find the most convenient for connecting to your device in your vehicle.

Ian
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longwori · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:10 pm Post subject:

I forgot to answer SFTreo's question about best (most sensitive) wired GPS's. I suspect these will be Sirf Star III wired GPS's. I dont know if any are out yet but if they arent, they are not far away. I found these from Globalsat and I am sure the other manufacturers will be releasing some shortly.

http://www.globalsat.com.tw/english/products.php?main_id=20

I would be surprised if you need to worry about hiding it in the glovebox though - I installed a wired one for my father and we just mounted it behind the tax disk holder which keeps it out of sight unless you really look very carefully.

Good luck.

Ian
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intertoto · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 20, 2005 Posts: 57

Hi SFTreo650,

I think the major issue in your question is the age old debate of why have Bluetooth over Wired receivers.

After all a chipset is just a chipset and will be made available for use in most types of GPS receiver.

The advantage of Bluetooth is obviously the wirefree environment. The 'magic' aspect of the latest technology. However if you are a typical 'road-warrior' you may need to recharge you GPS more often than not, which inevitably means cables anyway.

The advantage of a wired solution has got to be its simplicity. No need to constantly activate and establish a Bluetooth connection when you launch the software. Simply connect the cables and launch the software

Comparing signal strength between wired and bluetooth using the same chipsets should, in theory, give the same results. There may be a slight difference in testing but on average too negligible to measure.

And I would like to confirm that TomTom WILL be releasing Navigator 5 Wired. This will be released sometime after the software is made available.

Hope this helps

Jonathan Bowes
Product Manager
www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk

YooNoo Ltd

MikeProcter · Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:29 pm Post subject:

Hi SFTreo650

I use both a Tom Tom BT gps unit which came with the Palm T3 kit and a Seidio GR300 wired unit with my treo 650. (T3 retired now!).

Performance of both seems to be similar, both can be charged/powered using the RJ11 (telephone )connector.

As my car has a BT car kit installed, I have installed a Seidio G2100s cradle which I just fit the phone into when I get in the car & when I turn on the ignition, the Bt connects to the car kit & the wired receiver is powered directly from the cradle.

I did run the T3 alongside the treo 650 to see if there was any difference in speed & performance. using both wired & BT gps units. If anything the Treo 650 with BT had the edge on the T3 wired, but it was minimal, Then I swapped over & the Treo 650 & wired was as fast as the T3 & BT. The treo 650 has a slower processor than the T3 & less ram & slower ram. Screen is Much Much brighter on the Treo 650 (but Much Much smaller!).

I was using TTN5 on both units.
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