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April 28, 2007

GPS Innovation Roundup

There are quite a few GPS solutions out there but lately there has been some innovation in two categories: Unit size and units that use solar power.

Size:

Spectec SDG-810 and SDG-811. These are SD and miniSD units that also contain a microSD slot for map data.

GlobalSat BC-337 WAAS enabled SiRFIII CF GPS Receiver. This is a CompactFlash receiver. The lack of onboard memory may be a hindrance, but in devices that support CompactFlash it may not be a problem.

GlobalSat SD-502 WAAS enabled SDIO GPS with Built-in Memory. This is virtually the same product as the Spectec SD line, though GlobalSat differentiates theirs by including 512MB of internal memory instead of a microSD slot and by including a snap-on cap to protect the SD base.

Visiontac VGPS-700. From my research this may be the current title-holder for smallest Bluetooth GPS. It boasts an impressive (for its size) 17-20 hour battery life. I'd like to know from our readers if its title has been usurped in the months since its release.

All products support NMEA and use the SiRFstar III chipset.

Solar Power:

Keomo Nemerix 32-Channel Solar Data Logger. This unit looks much like the i-Blue757 Pro and in fact one unit may be a re-branded version of the other (or both units may in fact be rebranded versions of some third unit). Both units use solar power to achieve an impressive battery life (100+ hours while using the solar panel!), support 32 channels and Bluetooth communication, and are quite small.

Solarius V5-MR, V5-SR, and V3. These units all support Bluetooth and have solar cells (though with less impressive battery life than the Keomo and i-Blue units). I haven't been able to track down the manufacturer site.

Bonus:

I've long been a fan of the Delorme Blue Logger and can't resist mentioning it in a roundup of innovative GPS units. I have a question for our readers, however: Is there a newer contender for the niche this unit fills?

Posted by Beau Gunderson at April 28, 2007 2:44 PM

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Posted by: Jonathan at April 29, 2007 2:53 AM

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