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GlobalSat BT-328 Bluetooth Wireless GPS Receiver
GlobalSat, which most of you know as one of the leading manufacturers of GPS systems, has once again created a quality product at a very affordable price. The BT-328 Bluetooth GPS Receiver is an entry level model featuring the SiRF GSC2 high performance and low power consumption chipset. The decision to use this SiRF quality low power chip has enabled the BT-328 to boast an amazing 16 hours of battery life, which is useful if you plan on driving anywhere that takes longer than a few hours. With the standard Bluetooth operating range of about 30 feet, there are not many vehicles that would be large enough to place this unit out of range.
First Impressions
When first opening the box, you are faced with the BT-328 which is very small. About the size of a small pager for those of us who actually know what a "pager" is. For those who might not, the unit is about 2 ½" x 1 ¾" and only about ½" deep. The Bluetooth wireless capabilities and its small size allow this unit to be placed just about anywhere you find convenient. I chose to mount the unit in my front window with a clear shot to the sky which proved beneficial for many reasons. The unit also comes with a charger for both AC power as well as a DC charger for the car.
The choice of placing it in the front window made it so I could recharge the BT-328 very easily with the car charger, provided I was only on the road for about 10.5 hours and the unit showed no sign of needing to be recharged. Battery life has always been a concern for me because of generous claims and less than promised performance. The integrated rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, unlike Nickel Metal Hydride batteries for those of you who are familiar, does not require the unit to be drained of all power before recharging and poses no risk of developing a "memory". Thanks to the low power consumption chipset the Global Sat BT-328 performed flawlessly over the duration of the trip.
Also included in the box was a CD which provided all the documentation you need to get started as well as to help you understand the features of the BT-328. There is also an installer that will place the documentation on your computer since that is where you will be typically accessing the BT-328 via Bluetooth. Now, for the testing of the BT-328 I used a Dell Inspiron 6000D running Microsoft XP Professional with an IOGEAR Bluetooth 2.0 USB adapter and DeLorme Street Atlas 2005 USA. With this configuration, the BT-328 was flawless.
Let the Games Begin
For starters, once the BT-328 was fully charged I powered it up for the first time and was quite amazed at how rapidly the BT-328 acquired a satellite signal. Literally, the unit's satellite acquisition light turned green immediately. This came as a shock to me because in my experience with the DeLorme USB GPS adapter that came with the software, it not only took a few minutes to connect, but I would also lose the signal every so often and have to pull over to allow the unit to rediscover the GPS satellites so I could continue. The entire 10.5 hours the unit was in use I did not lose the GPS satellites once. It actually had a satellite signal lock the entire time. That was pretty unexpected because I have probably grown accustom to the wired USB GPS chips instability.
The BT-328 supports the NMEA0183 data protocol, which for the rest of us is a standard protocol to transfer location information from a GPS to your PC. By embracing these standards GlobalSat has increased compatibility with all systems and all GPS software. This is beneficial because the NMEA0183 compatibility enables the BT-328 to communicate flawlessly under any software/hardware configurations, so you can purchase this unit with that peace of mind.
Conclusion
Overall my experience with the BT-328 was great! From set up to completion, everything went as smooth as can be. As far as the testing went, there isn't really much to say. I turned it on, it worked, I drove, it worked, I got where I was going, and it was still working. By now, the BT-328 has convinced me to give up my wired USB GPS for good. Once you go traveling with a GlobalSat Bluetooth GPS, you will wonder how you ever got along without it.
Pros
- Easy setup ensures anyone can operate with ease
- Fast satellite signal acquisition enables immediate use
- Phenomenal battery life (16 hrs. in continuous mode) guarantees the battery will outlast most trips
- Auto power off (if Bluetooth is not connected to any device within 10 min.) saves the battery for when you need it
- Compact size allows BT-328 to be placed literally anywhere with in the 30 ft. radius that Bluetooth allows
- Lithium Ion Battery enables longer battery life and rapid charging
- Includes both AC (home) and DC (car) adapters
Cons
- Not the industries latest chipset
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