Portable GPS receivers have been around for a while, but in recent years they’ve become smaller, less power hungry, and more accurate. In addition, the majority of the currently available GPS receivers incorporate Bluetooth connections to mobile computers, PDAs, and smartphones.
The Visiontac VGPS-700 is an example of the best of this new breed. As you can see by the image, it’s incredibly small—small enough to be attached to a keychain, slipped into a pocket, or clipped on to my iPAQ’s carrying case. It employs a SiRFstar III chip set, which makes GPS signal acquisition lightning fast. The built-in lithium polymer battery powers the device for 8-12 hours—a remarkable amount of time for such a small device.
It would be great if Visiontac added data logging capability to the VGPS-700 for those who occasionally need to retrace their steps. But it’s an excellent receiver as is, and has made my travels easier. I highly recommend it for anyone needing to add GPS capability to a Bluetooth-enabled Windows Mobile device.
Features
- SiRF Star III high performance and low power consumption chipset.
- 20 parallel satellite-tracking channels for fast acquisition and reacquisition. Positioning accuracy between 1 to 5 meters. (SiRF Specification)
- Compact, stylish and handy design, weight only 33g.
- Excellent Bluetooth compatible function.
- Enclosure made of GE original Polycarbonate material, with black high gloss piano finish
- Unique in-vehicle auto power-on mode, with rich enclosed accessories.
- Built-in high performance lithium polymer battery, together with external battery box, for 17-20 hours of continuous operation.
- Support universal NMEA-0183 data protocol
- With DGPS corrected and no SA code it can reach a positioning accuracy of 1 meter.
- Battery’s life depends on actual usage
Product Specification
- Dimension: 53.5(L)x32.5(W)x13.9(H)mm
- Weight: 33g
- Volume: 24cc
- Channels: 20 channel all-in-view tracking
- Frequency: 1575.42 MHz (L1, C/A code)
- Minimum signal tracked: -159dBm
- Antenna Type: Built-in ceramic antenna
- Bluetooth Default: PIN 0000
Bluetooth
- Compatible Bluetooth device with Serial Port Profile
- Bluetooth version 1.2 compliant
- Bluetooth Class 2 operation (up to 5 meters range)
- Frequency: 2.400 to 2.480 GHz
- Modulation: FHSS / GFSK
- RF channels: 79
- Input sensitivity: -80dBm
- Output level: 4dBm
- Power Supplies:
- Built-in Battery: Built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery with capacity (850mAh) which enables VGPS-700 to run 8 to 12 hours*
- With the external battery box: 18-20 hours
- AC adapter:
- INPUT: AC100-240V, 50-60HZ, 11VA
- OUTPUT: DC 5.0V, 600mA
- Car Charger:
- INPUT: DC 12-24V
- OUTPUT: DC 5.0V, 1000mA
- External Battery Box:
- Four AAA Ni-MH or alkaline battery cells is recommended
- Battery’s life depends on actual usage.
The BlueAnt X5 achieves the perfect balance of excellent sound quality and full-featured functionality—all in a headset that supplies hours of use.
Another nice touch is the Bluetooth connectivity LED, which pulses subtly to indicate when the headset is paired with your Windows Mobile device. (Many competing products overdo this.) The X5’s high-tech black contour design collapses into a tight package when not in use.
Ultimately, headphones are judged by their sound quality, and the X5 excels in this. The deep bass, rich treble, and full tones cover the sound spectrum—few other stereo Bluetooth headsets can match it.
BlueAnt X5 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Streamer
PRODUCT FEATURES
- Wireless Stereo Music or Voice Connection to your phone or computer
- Use with your favourite iPod/MP3 player. Connect using a standard 3.5mm audio jack
- Use with VOIP programs
- Supports Bluetooth Profiles - Handsfree, Headset, A2DP, AVRCP
- Plug and Play to utilize your computer’s sound card
- Ergonomic and Dynamic Design. Collapsible Neckband for easy portability
- Detachable Microphone
- Compact Removable Rechargeable Battery lasts for more than 12 hours
- Easy Charge via a USB port on your computer
- Stores Bluetooth pairing information for up to 10 different devices
- Bluetooth V1.2
Price : $119.99
Buy: www.myblueant.com
The HP iPAQ 110 and 210 are widely considered to be the top standalone PDAs currently available and have garnered quite a bit of attention from mobile enthusiasts since their release in late 2007 and early 2008. Also referred to as the iPAQ 111 or 114 and 211 or 214, they are the first PDA-only devices to be released in the U.S. in almost two years.
Strengths
• 110 is very light and thin: only .54 inches thick and one of the lightest available (3.7 ounces)
• 210 has the largest and clearest display available (4-inch VGA)
• 210 has largest capacity standard battery on the PDA market today: 2,200 mAh
• 210 has both a mini-USB port and a 24-pin connector for charging and connectivity
• 210 is rated to withstand five-foot drops
Both iPAQs
• Updated PXA310 624 MHz processor that is faster than the older Intel 624 MHz processor
• 32 GB expandability available with SDHC/IO card. The 210 also has a CF card slot.
• 256 MB of flash ROM built in
• Solid and durable
Weaknesses
• The Up button on the 210’s D-pad can be difficult to press due to a design flaw.
• Some reviewers have complained about the lack of volume and clarity of the external speaker on the 210.
• Some CF cards may cause a battery drain in the 210.
• Users complain about poor battery life on the 210.
Limitations & Solutions
• Neither iPAQ has dedicated soft keys; however, the Calendar and Messaging hardware buttons can be remapped to serve as the left and right soft keys under Start >Settings >Buttons, which aids one-handed use.
• The 210’s touch screen requires a little more force to be applied to it to enter commands than on other devices, which can cause some initial annoyance. With time, however, this issue proves to be less noticeable as you get used to it.
• If both iPAQs are turned off or automatically go into suspend mode with Wi-Fi on, they take substantially longer than other devices to turn back on (2-4 seconds). If you want to avoid this, turn off Wi-Fi before you turn either device off; this way they shouldn’t take as long to turn back on. Also note that when both iPAQs do come on after the brief delay, tests have shown that they are immediately available for use (as opposed to some devices that power on immediately but have a delay before responding to screen taps).
• Some have found that the 210’s battery life is less than desirable, since it may wear down before a full day’s usage of Wi-Fi, e-mail, and media playback. An extended battery (with twice the capacity) is available for the 210 from lionbattery.com and other online vendors. An extended battery for the 110 is also available. Note that using an extended battery will require a bigger back panel; the larger battery and panel extension will add size and weight to the devices.
Tips & Tricks
• Remember that under Start >Settings >Buttons, both iPAQs have the ability to remap the three hardware buttons to perform up to six functions, three with a standard press and three more with the secondary pressandhold function.
• Both iPAQs have a light sensor that automatically adjusts screen backlight settings to the ambient brightness, which saves battery life. To enable this setting, go to Start >Settings >System tab >Backlight >Brightness tab and select the Auto Sensor On checkbox.
• Enabling the ClearType option on the 210 (Start >Settings >System tab >Screen >ClearType tab) makes a noticeable difference in smoothing out the pixilation of text.
• Both iPAQs have a Voice Notes hardware button that will open a new Voice Note when pressed, which adds the convenience of being able to quickly record something with the use of one hand. The Voice Notes button is located on the left side of the 210 and on the right side of the 110. Note that the microphone aperture is located on the bottom side of both devices to the left of the connectivity port(s).
• Both iPAQs have a built-in BT Phone Manager application that allows you to connect to an Internet-connected cell phone via Bluetooth and use it for connecting to the Web. Go to Start >BT Phone Manager, and your device will load the Configuration screen (tap Yes when the prompt pops up). On the next screen, there is a list of cell phones that you can choose from. After choosing one, directions will be provided on the following screen to connect to the specific phone.
Odds & Ends
• The 110 and 210 (as well as accessories) can be purchased directly from HP at shopping.hp.com/handheld for $299 and $449, respectively.
The iPAQs are also available from other online vendors like expansys-usa.com and amazon.com. They are also carried by electronics vendors such as Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, and others.
• Both iPAQs ship with a leather slipcase. If you want a different case, there are a number of online vendors, including ipaqcases.com, pielframa.com, and pdair.com.
Sometimes you can tell a book by its cover, as is the case with the MWg Atom Life. It comes packaged in an attractive blue box with a substantial magnetic flap cover. Lift the cover and you’re presented with an attractive smartphone cradled in the center of a blue field. To its right you find an abbreviate list of its rather substantial specs.
Traditional PDA layout
The MWg Atom Life is a small Windows Mobile 6 Professional device. Although it incorporates an unlocked GSM phone, it has a traditional PDA layout without an integrated QWERTY thumb keyboard or number pad. It ships with a comprehensive printed user manual, a set of comfortable ear buds with extra pads, several international plug converters, an AC charger, a USB sync/charge cable, an extra stylus, and a Getting Started CD. Sadly, there is no carrying case or cradle provided with the device.
Also, it is an unlocked GSM phone, which means that you must provide your own SIM card before the phone will function. Above the 2.7-inch color QVGA touch screen you’ll find an LED panel that lights up when your battery is low and when you’re charging your device or receiving incoming messages. To the left of the LED panel is the lens for a front-facing camera, which allows you to take self portraits. It can also be used for video phone calls, but unfortunately, no U.S. wireless carriers support this feature yet.
Below the display is a five-way navigation button flanked by six hardware buttons: the left and right soft keys, the Call and End Call buttons, and buttons that activate the Start menu and Windows Media Player. The last button can be reprogrammed by the user to launch other applications. Stereo speakers flank the hardware buttons. On the top left edge of the device is an opening for attaching a wrist-loop lanyard. About an inch below it you’ll find two volume control buttons, and the infrared port is located at the very bottom of the left edge. The stylus silo is located on the top right edge of the device.Below it are two additional application launch buttons. By default, these activate the voice recorder and the built-in digital camera, but like the Media Player button, they can be reprogrammed.
A miniSD card slot is located on the top edge of the device, along with the power on/off button. A 2.5 mm stereo headphone jack is located on the bottom edge of the device, along with a recessed soft reset button and a standard mini-USB connectivity port.
On the top back of the Atom Life we find the lens aperture for another 2.0 megapixel camera along with a small self-portrait mirror and a mini-LED strobe flash (a nice feature that’s missing on many other devices). Finally, the battery cover on the back of the device lets you access the 1,530 mAh removable battery; the SIM card slot is located under the battery.
Sleek and powerful device nestles in your hand Without question, the Atom Life is a handsome unit that begs to be taken home. It’s a sleek, shiny black device that nestles in your hand as if it belongs there. It’s also responsive and quick, thanks to its 624 MHz Intel processor.
Finally, it has one gigabyte of onboard flash ROM, 795 MB of which is available for file storage. You can bring plenty of reference documents, PowerPoint presentations, digital images, videos, and music files with you wherever you go. Most smartphones do not come close to this kind of power. It’s obvious that this machine is designed for a serious business user, but multimedia/gaming users would like it as well. The builtin FM radio is a nice touch, but it only works when the ear buds or another stereo headset is plugged into the 2.5 mm audio jack. (I wish device manufacturers would stick to the more standard 3.5 mm jacks.) Interestingly, when the buds are plugged in, you can tap on the headset icon in the lower left corner of the screen to listen through the built-in stereo speakers. I was disappointed that I could not get the FM radio to play through Bluetooth to headphones, but I was able to use them to listen to Media Player music.
There are so many nice features built into this unit. I love the voice dial and wireless management applications. The brilliantly clear 2.7-inch screen is nice too. I also appreciate a device that connects via mini-USB port, which allows me to use inexpensive and readilyavailable cables from third parties instead of expensive proprietary cables. I also like the idea that it’s an unlocked device, which lets me slap in my own SIM card and be in business. It’s too bad that the phone’s video conferencing capability is not yet supported by U.S. carriers. Hopefully, our hodgepodge of competing carriers will get their act together soon so we can catch up with the rest of the world.
Finally, I was initially disappointed that such a powerful device did not have a QWERTY keyboard. However, I accepted it and soon found myself texting away with the help of TenGO (tengo.net), one of a number of excellent third-party soft input panels available for touch screen devices.
WM 6 Professional and other software
The Atom Life incorporates Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6 Professional software, which includes the mobile OS, Outlook and Office Mobile applications, and a number of other productivity and entertainment applications.
It also has a number of excellent third-party applications built in, including the ClearVue PDF viewer, FM Radio (lets you control the built-in FM tuner), Image Editor (lets you insert frames and text, and make other simple modifications to photos and images stored on your device), Equalizer (lets you tweak the audio quality), JAVA Midlet, Search, Setup Wizard, Self Diagnostics, GPRS Monitor, Wi-Fi utility, Voice Speed Dial, and a nice wireless manager application.
It also includes and Auto Configurator utility that attempts to create the proper settings for GPRS, WAP, and MMS when you insert a SIM card. Unfortunately, this application is not set up for the United States yet—you must enter all these settings manually.
Price: $399.95 (unlocked device sold without service contract)
Significant specs
Hardware
Processor : 624 MHz Intel PXA 270 processor
Memory : 64 MB RAM, 1 GB flash ROM (795 MB of which is available for file storage), miniSD card slot for memory expansion
Display : 2.7” 262 K QVGA TFT LCD
Wireless : Tri-band GSM, Dual-band UTMS, HSDPA & EDGE data (must be supported by wireless network), Bluetooth 1.2, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, IrDA, FM Radio
Input : Soft-keyboard and onscreen dialer only; No physical keyboard/number pad
In the package : Atom Life, battery, stylus, ear buds with extra pads, international plug converters, AC adapter/charger, USB sync/charge cable, extra stylus, Getting Started CD, printed user manual
Software
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Professional
Third-party apps : ClearVue PDF viewer, FM Radio, Image Editor, Equalizer, JAVA Midlet, Search, Setup Wizard, Self Diagnostics, GPRS Monitor, Wi-Fi utility, Voice Speed Dial, Wireless Manager, Auto
Configurator.
Sprint is now offering the new Samsung ACE, a souped-up and slightly redesigned version of Samsung’s second generation BlackJack smartphone. From the front of the device, it’s a little difficult to tell the ACE and BlackJack II apart. But there’s a world of difference under the hood.
Slim, sleek world phone The ACE is a true world phone, with CDMA and GSM network capability. In the U.S. it connects to Sprint’s CDMA network. Outside the U.S. you can slip a SIM card into a slot under the battery and use it on almost any international wireless network.
The ACE is a small and attractive Windows Mobile Standard device that’s easy to carry around with you in your pocket or purse. Like many other Windows Mobile smartphones these days, it has a QWERTY thumb keyboard below the display. What sets the ACE apart from its competitors is its very thin, sleek profile. Ergonomically designed for one-handed operation, I found the device very comfortable to use as a phone and data device.
Its candy bar form factor, 5-way navigation button, and thumb wheel make it perfect for onehanded operation. Other features include Bluetooth 2.0, push e-mail capabilities, and good call quality. For wireless connectivity, the ACE runs on Sprint’s fast EVDO Rev. 0 and 1XRTT network.
At the time of this review, there was no upgrade path to the faster EVDO Rev. A network. Globetrotters should be aware: while roaming abroad, you will be deploying the slower GPRS network.
More power; better user experience
Astute cellular shoppers will notice that the Sprint ACE bears a striking resemblance to AT&T’s BlackJack II. They’re essentially the same device with cosmetic and internal changes. Sprint customers will also enjoy a faster processor than its AT&T brother has. The ACE uses Qualcomm’s 312 MHz processor instead of the BJ II’s 260 MHz TI chip. This additional speed helps the ACE do an adequate job as a tiny road warrior.
The ACE’s body is also thinner than the BJ II, making it easier to hold, especially if you have small hands. The 2.3-inch screen is wellsuited for watching Sprint TV, one of my favorite Sprint features. The ACE’s controls consist of two soft keys, a shortcut to the Today or Home screen, a Back button, Talk and End keys, and a square four-way directional D-pad with a select button situated in the middle. The BJ II’s rounded four-way D-pad is slippery and less comfortable to use than the ACE’s. The left and right soft keys “toggle” with the Home and Back key using a concave curve, giving the user the illusion and feel of two separate keys. The D-pad, in between the two “togglers,” is slightly elevated and has more space for scrolling up, down, left, and right without inadvertently activating the surrounding buttons.
A microSD expansion slot is located on the upper-right side and is protected by an attached cover. Immediately below the microSD slot is a thumbwheel, which can be pressed to select items, and a second Back button below it. The thumbwheel makes it easy to scroll up and down when reading long documents or surfing the Web. Having the Back button near the thumbwheel lets you quickly escape from the current menu or applications. This combination of the thumbwheel and Back button enhances the one-handed experience. In addition, if you firmly hold down the thumbwheel for a few seconds, it brings up a “quick launcher.” This convenient feature lets you open several applications including the Alarm, Task Manager, Calendar, and Edit features.
The Edit features allow users to program applications into this cool additional Thumbwheel feature. In addition, when you press and hold the side “Back” button, it activates the camera. The keys on the full QWERTY keyboard are slightly peaked in
the center (like a roof), which makes text entry an easier and more enjoyable experience. The backlit keys make the device well suited for typing in dark or dim areas. The keys are a bit crowded, however, making it more difficult to type if your thumbs are larger than average.
The number buttons are placed in rows 3, 4, & 5 and stand out against the non-numeric black keys due to their gray color. The function key acts as a “NUM Lock” for multiple numeric entries. The left side of the ACE contains the rocker volume control and covered power/USB sync/headphone adapter. Unfortunately, Samsung has included yet another proprietary adaptor port. I truly wish there could be industry standardization when it comes to power, sync, and charging adaptors. At least the ACE will charge when connected to the USB port of a computer.
On the back of the ACE there is a 1.3 MP camera/camcorder (sans flash), speaker, and removable, replaceable battery. An additional extended battery is available as an optional accessory.
Windows Mobile and Sprint applications
The Sprint/Samsung ACE ships with the Windows Mobile 6 Standard OS and software suite built in and ready to use. The applications include Mobile Outlook (Calendar, Contacts, Messaging/Inbox), Mobile Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Media Player Mobile, Pictures & Videos, and a variety of other applications and configuration utilities.
In addition, the ACE comes with Sprint’s Power Vision applications— a great addition to the device that includes Sprint TV. This gives you news, sports, weather, and entertainment, including full TV episodes at an additional cost. Other Power Vision features give users access to news headlines, sports scores, and much more on the fly. The ACE’s crisp, bright screen and high-speed EVDO network give viewers a worthwhile media experience.
In addition, software can be downloaded directly to the ACE by clicking the “Sprint Software Store” icon which links to Handmark’s mobile Web store. Customers can find, download, and buy software, games, ring tones, graphics, and other Windows Mobile applications simply and securely. Additional titles are available for the desktop PC at softwarestore.sprint.com.
Wireless e-mail is available from multiple corporate and personal e-mail accounts, including POP3 and IMAP. Users can also set up wireless access to Microsoft Outlook e-mail with a direct connection to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. File Viewer allows viewing of MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. The Text Messaging Enabled feature allows you to send and receive text messages across the room or across the country.
Should it be your ACE?
If you need a world phone with high-speed data while in the States,and you are looking for a solid, sleek smartphone, the ACE may just be your perfect upgrade. While partial to touch screen devices, this is the first Windows Mobile Standard device I have used that is truly a one-handed device. The improved button design and the ergonomic QWERTY keyboard are more reasons to add Sprint’s ACE to your short list of global phones.
