hp handhelds and pdas

I have a 3900 series IPAQ and installed the software per the instructions. First problem, I could not open more than three maps at one time even though the book says ten. Second problem, there are gaps between the maps. I tried to have it plot me a trip from Atlanta, GA to Pensacola, FL. This is a straight-forward trip, but because of missing sections between the maps, it could not. Third problem, every second or third time I powered down the PDA when stopping for gas, I had to do a soft-reset to get the thing working at all. The system had no problems reconnecting to the GPS signal(s) during gas stops, except for these lockups, it usually took 30 to 45 seconds. Maps were accurate along the route, where maps were available. I found no updates available online to fix these problems. For around town I think it works great, but for any kind of distance, I would look into a different solution/product.

The unit installed very easily. The 12v connector worked very well and did not disconnect. Both the gps unit and the pda were powered from the 12v connection. The software loaded easily on the laptop and transferred to the iPAQ with no problems. The maps require a little forethought. However, loadiing all of the state of Indiana still left lots of room on an SD card for other things. The system takes about 90 seconds to acquire satellites and then routes very well. Have only used it for local routing, but that is where I would need help most anyway. I already know how to use the interstates to get from one large metropolitan area to another (i.e. Chicago to Cleveland is relatively easy get on the interstate and stay on it). Sometimes it tells you about an exit just a little to close to the ramp. The voice prompts are very helpful.

The Pharos GPS for iPAQ has the potential to be a good product, but the current version has some some definate challenges. The Ostia mapping sodfware is fairly easy and frindly to use, but that's where its good points end. The routing is not very intuitive. For example a simple direct route between two large cities connected by an interstate would not route that way. Instead the route has you getting on and off the interstate onto US or state roads several times. Presumably it is a shorter distance that way. I was told that version 4.01 corrects this and was offered a "Free*" upgrade. (*just my opinion, but when you pay for a product that is outdated when you get it, I just don't see is as you doing me any special favor by giving me a "free" upgrade). Well, anyway the upgrade did have an option to stick to highways but it didn't work, the software still routed me the same way. The software decides the best way to get from point A to point C, not you. You can't go via point B. The next issue was the hardware. The cigarette lighter plug would not maintain a connection and any time there was a power loss the GPS signal would be lost. The GPS signal itself was hard to get and hard to keep. I finally determined after much trial and error and frustration that the problem was the connector between the cable and the GPS antenna. I contacted Pharos Tech support via email and received no reply. I called and explained all the problems and requested a new cable. They would not do that, and insisted I send the cable for testing. Not wanting to be down, I requested Pharos ship me a new cable first that I would pay for then they could issue me a credit once they received the old cable and determined it was bad. They would not do that either. The only way they would work with me was for me to send them the cable for them to test and return within 2 days. I did. Three weeks later I got my old cable back, no explaination, no repair, just a box with a cable. Still didn't work.

Summary: Concept - 5 stars, Software - 2 stars, Tech Support - minus 100 stars. Maybe a real software company will buy Pharos someday because they really do have some good ideas, but do not seem to be able to make them wouk right and clearly know nothing about customer service or relations. For now, buy a Navman, I did and while it's not 100% perfect, it's pretty good and I'm happy with it. See my review for that product.