The definitive GPS evaluation

[DisTreSs]

Hi everyone,

I am about to buy my first PDA/phone, and the choice boils down to either the E-ten X500 or the HTC P3600.
The E-ten has got the lead where GPS is concerned thanks to SIRFIII but the 3600 has UMTS/HSDPA...
I have read as much as I could on the Qualcomm chip that is used in the P3600 and since the GPS feature is very important to me, I'm worried that the P3600 is not the way to go.
I would therefore like to ask your findings in the GPS usage, not only in Time Till First Fix (although ofcourse very important), but also in keeping the fix, re-acquiring a lost signal, etc...

[anakinz]

Have a S300+ (french vodafone version) with the original ROM and Radio version and for me it's less than a minute.

[JeRoMe_aKa_JaY]

Hi,

TTFF is impossible under 30 sec (except A-GPS), 30 secs is the minimum to acquire ephemeride in good conditions.

If you are searching the best sensitivity, sure, take the ETEN (sirf III) !

But, with my french Renault Clio and its athermic heat shield, no big issues, no delay over than 10 meters, even in city, hot start less than 5sec (tunnel exit).
So really happy, it's nearly like a BT antenna (in same conditions)...

I will post tomorrow some pics showing differences between radio 1.38.00.11 and 1.41.00.11 on the same route, there is no changes in quality so all people can upgrade to 1.41.0.11 (for the gps part)

[sickboy555]

hi I have a P3600 and a separate Rikaline 6033 BT GPS. "the only 32 Parallel Channel GPS receiver in the world - Uses the latest Fujitsu Japanese chipset giving excellent precision
- Superior than the Sirf III Chipset with greater sensitivity and lower power consumption"

I can say (marketing blurb aside!) the Rikaline is a superb device, and the P3600 is almost identical.

It finds a fix very quickly from cold (unless in a moving car) and the sensitivity of the P3600 seems to be nigh on identical to the Rikaline BT device. I did own another BT GPS for a short period of time - but found the sensitivity poor so returned it for the Rikaline.

I have to say the P3600 is a great solution. My only gripe is to do with the poor Voda 3G coverage in the UK.

I would say that phone reception is slightly better on my M600 - but that's going on number of bars in the signal strength....

[Cyrus Kourosh]

Please put the full name: "Time To First Fix" I guess in addition to the abbreviation (TTFF) in your vote
It can be : Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation or something esle
We are in a PDA dedicated forum... and not every body is suited to understand such GPS abbreviations

[DisTreSs]

Originally Posted by Cyrus Kourosh Please put the full name: "Time To First Fix" I guess in addition to the abbreviation (TTFF) in your vote It can be : Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation or something esle We are in a PDA dedicated forum... and not every body is suited to understand such GPS abbreviations

post edited... Dunno if I can change the poll though....

[DisTreSs]

Originally Posted by sickboy555 hi I have a P3600 and a separate Rikaline 6033 BT GPS. "the only 32 Parallel Channel GPS receiver in the world - Uses the latest Fujitsu Japanese chipset giving excellent precision - Superior than the Sirf III Chipset with greater sensitivity and lower power consumption" I can say (marketing blurb aside!) the Rikaline is a superb device, and the P3600 is almost identical. It finds a fix very quickly from cold (unless in a moving car) and the sensitivity of the P3600 seems to be nigh on identical to the Rikaline BT device. I did own another BT GPS for a short period of time - but found the sensitivity poor so returned it for the Rikaline. I have to say the P3600 is a great solution. My only gripe is to do with the poor Voda 3G coverage in the UK. I would say that phone reception is slightly better on my M600 - but that's going on number of bars in the signal strength....

thx for the great info!
Can anyone back this up?

The reason I ask is that it is generally accepted that SirfIII is better than the Qualcom, and from a technical standpoint I can understand and accept this. However, if usage on a day to day basis shows equal or near-equal performance, I could care less about reputation and would go for the P3600

Hell, some might argue that if the Qualcom gets the job done with less sattellites, it's actually a better solution for it

On the other hand, I already put an offer in on a used X500 and can't seem to find any decent priced used P3600's where I live, so that might end up being the deciding factor anyway. But still, if the GPS is fine and I do get a chance to purchase a used one, I won't hesitate

[Cyrus Kourosh]

If it can help :

Originally Posted by Cyrus Kourosh Here is the test of the HTC P3600 GPS (Qualcomm gpsONE chipset) compared to SiRFstar III GPS chipset based devices made by www.gpspassion.com --> English version --> French version

[anakinz]

Originally Posted by Cyrus Kourosh If it can help :

I disagree with this test !

Got the S300+ SFR, and it works like a charm !

Depend of the radio version etc...

[DisTreSs]

I already saw that one but thanx anyway
Actually, that was the review which caused me to start doubting the P3600 as far as GPS is concerned

The problem is that the only thing that is translated into real-world usage in this review is the slow Time Till First Fix they mention (though this is not reflected by the poll here I must say...Maybe thanks to the radio updates in the meantime...).
It does not really answer my questions on how GPS usage is affected on a daily basis.
Ok, there is deviance from a set route and you can witness that on the tracks they map, but how does this translate into the real world?

Does it point you in the wrong direction a lot?
Is it slow in giving you the right directions because of a more latent signal?
Does it lose its signal a lot?
Does it not reconnect quickly after connection is lost (tunnels and such)?

From what I'm seeing here on the forum (or from what I am not seeing actually: complaints ) this GPS seems to perform just fine so what is the relevance of the findings of the gpspassion comparison?
I'm not questionning these guys' work though, they seem particularly tech-savvy when it comes to GPS and I appreciate what they do.
But I'm starting to wonder in how far the SirfIII is actually any better.

I just set an appointment to pick up the X500 this weekend though, so if you guys are going to stop me from buying it, the window of opportunity is fading