6280A. You can read more about Qualcomm’s 3GSM report here (PDF).
The two devices are very similar in size and weight. You can see the on/off switches are both located on the same side, but the mini USB ports are located in different positions. The Holux has an external antenna attachment slot, while the Qstarz does not. In addition if you are one who likes to wear the GPS device around your neck like a necklace, then the Holux can cater to that need as it has the appropriate stringing holes. One advantage I discovered during testing: the Qstarz full bottom grip pad tended to provide better traction than the two small feet found on the Holux.
Battery-wise, the BT-Q818 boasts a 32-hour usage time with its 1100mAh battery. In real-world tests the 850mAh battery from the GPSlim236 likely will lack behind a bit. Note that both GPS units use batteries that are Nokia-compatible.
One special feature from the Qstarz is an “auto-off” feature – if the GPS unit does not receive a signal after a minute, it is smart enough to shut itself off in order to preserve its battery.
VisualGPSce (link) – an excellent freeware PocketPC GPS tracking software.
Mapking 2007 (link) – GPS navigation software for Hong Kong, which also has maps for many other Asian cities. I used the 3-day trial version that comes with the full HK map.
GPSVisualizer.com (link) – a very handy tool for creating and plotting those GPS log files.
On one of the coldest days of the year – oddly enough, falling in early March – we hit the road with our 3 devices. During the first leg of the trip, the BT-Q818 was paired with the 838Pro, and the GPSlim236 was paired with the Xda Zinc.
Of course, whilst deep inside the tunnel there was no signal. Upon resurfacing from the underwater tunnel, all 3 devices regained their signals within seconds of each other. I tried recording logs with VisualGPSce, but discovered the O2 Xda Zinc could not run both Mapking and VisualGPSce concurrently and hence the following map only shows the 838Pro/Qstarz BT-Q818 and D810/Qualcomm MSM 6275.
Once at the Peak, we proceeded to our destination: Burger King! The Double Whopper was too much for me to handle, but we did have a relatively clear day by today’s standards. Yes, the pollution has gotten really bad in Hong Kong, but on a clear day the view is still worth every penny!
It was with no surprise that with zero obstruction from buildings, we had the best satellite reception of all on the Peak.
We fired up Google Maps for Windows Mobile devices and activated its built-in GPS function.
The winding roads as well as heavy tree cover proved to be a challenge for the GPS units on the way down from the Peak, especially in the middle portion of this map on Magazine Gap Road. Once amongst the skyscrapers of Central, the paths diverged even further — for more details, zoom in on the top portion of the map.
This test was run on top of a double-decker bus, comparing the Qstarz and the Holux side-by-side. Here we can see that the path of the Qstarz is far superior on Nathan Road. While both devices had some trouble tracking around Prince Edward Road, the Holux also had trouble at the junction of Waterloo Road and Cornwall Street due to the fact that the vehicle stopped underneath a flyover.
On entering Lion Rock Tunnel, the GPSlim236 lost the signal first and upon exiting the tunnel, it was also slower than the Qstarz in reacquiring a fix.
Qstarz #1 lost fix temporarily on Nathan Road while #2 performed admirably throughout the journey.
Qstarz #1 seems to be less accurate, at least along the Nathan Road leg of the journey.
Other than the above two peculiarities, the two BT-Q818’s performed – as expected – identically.
We’ve certainly had a lot of fun testing these GPS units. GPS is becoming more commonplace as an increasing number of PDAs come with GPS built-in. I still believe GPS to be primarily geared for drivers, but can come in handy for pedestrians — I’ve used it to guide myself to a bus stop on more than one occasion during my tests! I am looking forward to my Kaiser that will come bulit-in with the SiRFstarIII chipset.
In short, satisfactory results were received from all 3 GPS units: the Qstarz BT-Q818, Holux GPSlim236, and Dopod D810. Whether your choice is for an external Bluetooth unit or a built-in GPS chip, you won’t go wrong with any of the afore-mentioned devices.
Very cool stuff! I have my LeadTek 9559X as a navigator, with the help from updated digigal map, it really helps!