Best hardware for pathaway 4 or 5?

[robkle]

Hi,
I want to get pathaway 5 and I was wondering what is the most compatible and powerful unit to use with your software? I'd prefer something that has the option for an external antennae for best reception. I have an ique 3600 now but its buggy and slow.

Thanks,
Rob

[Scott]

With the latest GPS innovations from chipmakers like SIRF, You should no longer need an external antenna. Any of the latest Windows Mobile devices with an embedded SIRF III GPS chip would work very well for you. HTC makes very high quality devices.

[robkle]

Thanks for the quick reply Scott. I'm kindof in a pickle though because most of places where I want to use Pathaway, I dont have phone service. A Rogers reseller here told me I have to be in a coverage area for the gps to work and said an external antennae wouldnt help!

Do you know of any hardware that will work without phone service?

Thanks,
Rob

[Scott]

The Rogers guy is probably talking about the Street Nav software that comes with the phone which intentionally may require a cellular connection, or he is thinking of GPRS (which is the data connection).

Unless a carrier has blocked the GPS chip, on Windows Mobile devices you do not need a cellular connection. GPS works world-wide and is free of charge.

The other option is to find a Windows Mobile PDA with embedded GPS.

[Dodger]

...and even in cases where the carrier HAS blocked 3rd-party use of the internal GPS, in most cases others have released patches or hacks to re-enable the GPS on such devices.

Such was the case with the BlackJack II (Samsung Jack) smart phone provided by Fido here in Canada... A very simple little patch easily corrected the problem so that the GPS is accessible to most 3rd-party Windows Mobile GPS software.

Dodger

[robkle]

Thanks for the info guys, thats great news!

Rob

[robkle]

So I finally got a response from HTC and they said:

" All HTC devices use A-GPS technology. Unfortunately, you will need to be in a carrier's coverage area to use the GPS functions of any HTC device. "

I dont want to buy a phone with a hope that a hack will fix it.

Do any of you guys KNOW of any new phone models that run pathaway in areas without cell coverage??

I'd much appreciate a few models listed so I could check them all out and pick the one that I like best. Thanks all.
Rob

[Dodger]

The Samsung BlackJack II does NOT use cell technology for it's GPS. It has an actual GPRS receiver built in, and does not require cell service to function.

I haven't installed Pathaway on mine yet (I use Pathaway on my Palm TX with a separate bluetooth GPS receiver & don't really need the expense of two Pathaway licenses right now) but I use Garmin Mobile XT on the phone & it works perfectly well whether or not cell service is available.

Dodger

[robkle]

Thanks for the info Dodger. I checked the BlackJack II on the net and it doesnt list anything about gps either. Man the spec listings on these things is just brutal. Nowhere on HTC's site did it say all the gps is A-gps type and I had to wring it out of them. I'm surprised the samsung spec doesnt list it either. Its like you have to take these things apart in the store before you buy them.

[Scott]

The HTC P3300 we have here is a real GPS and works with or without the SIM card installed. I have not heard of the HTCs being only A-GPS before and many of our users use the HTCs such as the new HTC Touch Diamond.

[robkle]

Oh man, I love it. The tech support at HTC doesnt even know how their own phones work. Fantastic. Thanks for the info Scott. I believe the end users before the tech folks every day.

[passaro]

Hi,

Dont't worry too much about A-GPS. This is a technology "only" to speed up the time to first fix; after the receiver gets a fix then you can start working normally. GPS reveivers need to know where the sattelites are before being able to calculate the position; a device using SirfStarIII without A-GPS takes aprox 40 sec to get the first fix in a place with clear sky; sometimes setting up Pathway to the maps you want or routes to follow take longer than that...

A-GPS is a way to predict where the satelites are when you turn on the receiver. There are 2 modes to do it: one is to get predicted data from a server, and for that you need a cellular connection, and the other way is the device being able to make such forecast, and for that you need to turn the receiver on at least once a week so it receives fresh sattelite data. The method used depends on the device.

About a device I recommend you to select one with D-Pad and some free hard keys available. PathAway makes very good use of them and you can costumize the buttons. Also pay attention to screen visibility with daylight. My old HTC TyTN is running PW5 with a lot of maps and other stuff and performing well enough...

About a receiver, take a look on the new Holux M-1000C. It has an amazing sensitivity and it has internal memory for data logger as well...

[robkle]

Thanks everyone. I got another email from HTC now indicated there had been some confusion and that they do have models with dedicated gps that dont need towers. I ended up getting a htc touch pro and it works great.

Thanks again all,
Regards,
Rob

[lechozo]

Is it possible to run PW5 on a Windows CE 5 device?

I was looking to buy a MIO c320

[gody]

Is it possible to run PW5 on a Windows CE 5 device?

I was looking to buy a MIO c320

Tried and not sucseeded.
I'm also interested in this combination.
Like Pathaway, but it is practicaly imossible to buy pocketPC device now.
So if there wil lbe no Win CE version of Pathaway it seems that it will die with pocketPC ere. There also is no new Palm devices any more ...