HP iPAQ 6515 & TT5

[ROBBINS]

Hi

I see on the TomTom web site they are advertising the HP iPAQ 6515 & TT5

Does anyone have this set up , and can tell me how good it is or not so good it is.

Also, I cannot find the link on the TomTom site to see how much it is and perhaps to buy it.

Thanks for any response

[moonraker]

I have this setup and I find it works fine for the UK. I cannot tell you exactly how much it comes too as my Ipaq was given to me by my work. I paid for the software and maps as well as the storage cards.

For me it is great because I use the phone and email capabilities of the device a lot. I also find that only having one device to take out of the car means that you are less likely to leave the GPS unit in the car only to return and find someone has stolen it.

Make certain you upgrade to 5.21 of the software because it reduces the amount of GPS jumping that TomTom does on occasion. (It occasionally thinks you are in a field!) This is a feature of TomTom and is not device specific.

The GPS unit relies on some files to make it lock quicker. These files are either picked up during the ActiveSync process so you will need to dock every other day at least or via GPRS so ensure that you have a decent quota. I use TomTom traffic as well as email (Activesync over GPRS to my work servers) and so I have bought a 14MB a month deal. That is largely for the email though the files are very sall.

If you intend to use the device for work as well there is a driver available from the HP website that allows you to use the Ipaq as a GPRS modem for your laptop. You must have the Ipaq tethered to the laptop by an activesync cable such as the docking cable but it gives you fast mobile downloading if WiFi is not available.

As always there will be other folks with differing experiences and opinions, if you search for 6515 on the site you will find some who think that the GPS unit is not as good as the latest specialist unit but I have not had any issues that were directly related to the GPS unit as opposed to TomTom's ability to process the data.

Some dislike the need to download the files to make the GPS lock quicker but the files are free and if you ensure you add the capability into Activesync by installing the software from the HP CD that comes with the device you can download them for free over your internet connection and have no worries about GPRS cost.

Hope this helps
As always YMMV
_________________
TTN 6 Ipaq HW6910 Liz Whittaker's voice
TTN 5.21 Ipaq HW6515 Liz Whittaker's voice from www.tomtomsatnav.info
TomTom Mobile 5 on C500 with TT GPS unit
Copilot smartphone on C500 with Fortuna clip on
TomTom Mobile 3 on C500 with Fortuna clip on

[Flashyphotos]

Most people who have used the HW6515 have found problems with Lag on the GPS,

This lag is mainly when accelerating or decelrating or turning, (It can take 10 to 15 secs for the HW6515 to realise you have moved off), and as such when making turns etc it can cause confusion,

When in a straight line at a fixed speed the 6515 is very accurate, but less than satisfactory when making turns etc (Which sort of defeats the point of a Navigation system if it does not keep up on turns roundabouts etc).

This can be cured by using an external bluetooth GPS with the 6515, which then makes it a stable reliable system, but to be honest the reason for buying the 6515 is the fact that its an all in one unit, so having to use an external gps is again a lot less than satisfactory

Also bear in mind the limited software choices you have with the 6515 as the square screen renders 80%+ of PDA software unusable aon this device

There is plenty of discussion of the poblems on the HP support forums and on the mobility today website in the daves ipaq forums.


Personally I cut and ran, sold my 6515s and went back to an XDA2i and Bluetooth GPS in one vehicle and a TTone in my wifes, as we both found the 6515s too much trouble with the hit or miss GPS and the problem with software and square screen compatibility issues.

For a novice who has no previous experience of a reliable SatNav then the 6515 will probably be accepted as a "not known any better" senario, but if you have used an accurate and reliable system the chances are you will find the 6515 a lot less than perfect,



http://mobilitytoday.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=83

This link is worth a look, lots of general posts on the HW6515 as well as the GPS issues,

Cheers

Richard

[moonraker]

Lag with TomTom can normally be a result of 2 things irrespective of PDA and BT receiver:

Too many POI shown on the map - this adds to the overhead of map processing and thus introduces lag
A slow SD card - the map data lives on the SD card and needs to be accessed at the speed necessary to keep up.

I have seen the second point to be true with mini-SD cards in my SPV as have my colleagues with various models of Ipaq. I first encountered the problem with CoPilot on my SPV and am grateful to forum members from this site for helping me with that problem.
_________________
TTN 6 Ipaq HW6910 Liz Whittaker's voice
TTN 5.21 Ipaq HW6515 Liz Whittaker's voice from www.tomtomsatnav.info
TomTom Mobile 5 on C500 with TT GPS unit
Copilot smartphone on C500 with Fortuna clip on
TomTom Mobile 3 on C500 with Fortuna clip on

[Flashyphotos]

The HW6515 lag is not software related its a problem that shows up on all the Navigation platforms used on it,

Its been well discussed on the forum above, and seems to be down to a poor implementation of the internal GPS

There are hopes that a firmware upgrade will cure it, but to date there has been no word from HP or HTC on a cure for the problem

Richard

[ROBBINS]

Hello

Thanks for all of your replies.

Robbins

[tomo1340]

[anarchy-inc]

[moonraker]

There are 4 files that the Quick GPS Connection application downloads and those files are good for 2 days at which point it downloads the new variants of those 4 files. It is an application written for HP by a firm called Global Locate Inc. www.globallocate.com

The following is from their web site:

[ROBBINS]

Moonraker - Do you use your HP 6500 series in car with amplified mount. I have bought one, but the interference between the two makes a phone conversation impossible. If you do and it works OK what make is yours and where did it come from.

Robbins

[moonraker]

I do not use an amplified mount. I have a Nokia CK-7W bluetooth Car Kit fitted to my SAAB 9-3 Sport saloon and I can still hear TomTom over the top of the Ipod playing through the stereo. (Unless I have the Metallica wound right up ) :D

I use the Brodit cigarette lighter mount which is passive except for charging.

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