REVIEW: GPT-600 Bluetooth GPS 20-Channel Receiver
Geeks.com was very generous to sent us the GPT-600 (also marketed as GPT-800 in some countries) for a review. The GPT-600 is a Bluetooth-based wireless GPS receiver that allows you to use up to 20 satellites at once in order to retrieve positioning data.
The device is manufactured by GoPass in Taiwan and it's using the acclaimed SIRF Star III chipset. It is very small in size and very easy to hold in your hand if required. Within the box it came with we also found a USB charging cable, a 3.7V Li-ion battery pack, a car cigarette adapter, an A/C adapter, a Windows software CD and a 3-page installation guide showing how to use the GPS receiver with PocketPC 2003's Windcomm/Broadcomm Bluetooth stack. There are no instructions on how to use it with Windows Mobile 5 (check here instead) or with Symbian, but it should be pretty straightforward.
After you fully charge your GPT-600 for the first time (it only took 1.5 hours here), you can press-and-hold its only button to turn it on. When the GPT-600 is not paired with any device yet, then it goes automatically into pairing mode. We successfully paired it with our QTek 9100 PocketPC phone and gave it COM 7 as its outgoing port in the device. After this was established, it was easy to connect to the device with all 4 GPS-enabled applications we tried ("Mobile Virtual Earth" being the most impressive). We also tried Symbian with the java-based mgmaps which also recognized the Bluetooth GPS receiver.
The device has the following features:
- 20 channel all-in-view tracking
- Very high sensitivity: -159 dBm
- Built-in WAAS/ EGNOS demodulator
- Extremely fast TTFF (time to first fix)
- Superior sensitivity for urban canyon & foliage environment
- With LED indictors for GPS, Battery and Bluetooth status
- Built-in low noise high sensitivity active patch antenna
- Dimensions: 41mm (W) * 69mm (L) * 22mm (H)
- Weight: Less than 55 grams (with battery)
While the manufacturer claims support for 20 satellites at once, in our tests the GPT-600 "saw" 11 satellites at once, and used up to 4. Of course, this might not be the norm as it depends a lot in the area you are using the device, but I would expect good satellite reception above the Bay Area. Overall though, the device performed adequately and it was very accurate in its position. But it wasn't very accurate on its altitude numbers. The applications we tried it with reported altitudes between 25 and 60 meters from the sea level, while we live at just 4 meters of the sea level. Other than that, we have no complaints from the device.
One great feature it comes with is its external port for an active MMCX antenna. This allows you to hook the GPT-600 with a $10 antenna on top of your car for best accuracy. We also found the battery life adequate at around 5 hours of continuous usage.
We firmly believe that the GPT-600 is the most affordable and capable Bluetooth GPS receiver in the market today at the $70 price range. If you travel a lot and you need GPS support on your PDA, laptop or phone, this is the product to get!
Overall rating: 8.5/10