I just discovered these on Ubergizmo . I am familiar with the SiRF Star III Chipset technology as I have a USB GPS by Holux for my laptop and have been pleased so far. If anyone out there has tried this, I would like to hear about it. I would have uploaded the picture, but for some mysterious reason, I cannot seem to make it work anymore

Thanks,
Stargazer

Hi Stargazer,

The Freedom Keychain GPS SiRF III Receiver looks quite a nice compact Bluetooth GPS receiver.

It could be a nice upgrade to Bluetooth enabled Cell phones than can run Java Games (J2ME applications).

I have a Motorola E398 and up till now, I've not been able to find a GPS J2ME application.

There is now one available at http://www.i10n.com/ called GPSwatch. I've run the online emulation and the GPSwatch outputs OSGB36 aswell as WGS84 Lat and Lon and has lots of additional functionality. It also allows the phone to function as a high performance electronic mapping system using google maps!!

So I'm just about to try install a trail version for now (installing J2ME apps on the Motorola isn't simple though but hopefully this page at http://www.grapnel.co.uk/v620/transfergames.aspx should help).

There are other Bluetooth GPS's around which are cheaper starting around £25 or $50. The GPSwatch Platinum software version is currently £20 or $40.

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the forum here- expect dumb questions.

I am a GPS freak, using at least one of my five Garmins almost everyday. Very seldom does a weekend go by that we aren’t deep in the Everglades or other Florida swamps/forests/backcountry on fishing and photography expeditions. Off the pavement we travel by Jeep, boat, mountain bike and foot. [url=www.BlackFly.Palmtree.net]www.BlackFly.Palmtree.net[/url] For navigation, besides the usual charts/compass/timepiece, I carry a GPS and a backup.

My mobile phone is a Palm Treo 700p while Angie carries the new, incredible iPhone. Between my Sprint coverage and her ATT coverage we have yet to be in a place where one of us does not have at least a couple bars of signal; very comforting. I have a web page dedicated to detailed animated radar images, wind, tide and other vital wx information; all sized for mobile phone display which we use constantly. These phones lack GPS.

So, when I stumbled across this post my GPS meter went off!

Here’s why:
- another backup
- the phone is always with me
- the Freedom Keychain GPS SiRF III Receiver is smaller than an auto key remote
- SiRF technology has proven to be excellent on the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx [tracks satellites while in my pocket!]
- the GPSWatch software works great on my Treo- don’t know about Angie’s iPhone yet
- GPSWatch will display several mapping systems including Google Earth! YES!!
- Maps may be downloaded and stored on a SD card so phone signal is not required. This will be a huge benefit when traveling the Bahamas.
- The whole system is less than $150.

I’m having trouble finding the receiver in stock from a retailer I trust. As soon as I do I’m in!

Expect a report soon after.

Citabria,

Welcome to the fire. It sounds like you have a lot of fun.

Keep us updated on what you find with this system.

-Blast

Hi Citabria,



This is pretty frustrating. You would expect the iPhone to run the JAVA VM being a brand new phone. I'm afraid not. There currently is no JAVA VM for the iPhone. GPSwatch cannot be installed on the iPhone, its not compatible. The more I look at the iPhone specifications the more I'm disapointed by what the iPhone does not have. No GPS, no 3G, no VOIP SIP client, no JAVA VM and a camera which is outdated although the media playback aspects of the iPhone are outstanding. Or would that be a media player with a GSM phone tagged on.

No such luck with my old Motorola E398 either, even though it can run J2ME applications. Motorola forgot to add some JAVA APIs such as the JSR28 (required to allow J2ME applications to use Bluetooth communications) and JSR75 (File System Support), which is required for compatibility. Should have waited 6 months later until the Motorola SLVR L7 was available.

I'm currently looking at a really cheap Smartphone called the HP iPAQ 514 (Wi-Fi access would allow downloading of those Google maps at hotspots and the VOIP SIP client would allow free calls back home, it is also unlocked so no signing up to another provider, just swap across the SIM) as a replacement with a seperate Bluetooth GPS. It does'nt have high speed 3G data access though and browsing the internet would be slightly restricted with the small screen.

No doubt the iPhone is more flash than substance for doing any serious work, but the interface will revolutionize the way we use these devices in the future. Browsing the Web with the iPhone is a joy with the scroll and zoom features.

I’ve known all along that GPSWatch will not work on the phone. Trying to view Java based applications like NOAA satellite loops won’t work. Even viewing my animated GIF Doppler radar images won’t work. Only the first image of the series will show which is useless, even dangerous, since it will be several hours old.
[url=www.PalmtreeSoftware.com/chartroom/mobile]www.PalmtreeSoftware.com/chartroom/mobile[/url]

Angie just doesn’t know it yet . . . I’ll tell her after I get the GPS~

I’ve ordered the receiver from Mobile Planet. Should be here early next week.

Can you share the URL with us?

Sure
Mobile Version: [url=www.PalmtreeSoftware.com/chartroom/mobile]www.PalmtreeSoftware.com/chartroom/mobile[/url]
PC version: [url=www.PalmtreeSoftware.com/chartroom]www.PalmtreeSoftware.com/chartroom[/url]


The radar is for south Florida, South of Okeechobee to Key West. I’ll be putting central Florida in soon because we’re starting to explore Myakka and Ocala forests.

If it works on your phone and you need other coverage, let me know and I’ll try to work it in.

For those who don't know: You need OSGB34 for the U.K. Stands for Ordinance Survey Great Britain 1934. It's a a better fit than WGS84 (World Geographic Survey 1984). That is due to the Earth being an oblate spheroid. With local variations in the Earth's curvature.

It's not a major issue if you are using OSGB BSG (British Standard Grid). It is an issue if you are using latitude and longitude or UTM (Universal Transverse Mercantor). Although I have to point out that modern GPS units have a level of accuracy that far exceeds that of the OSGB Maps (5.0 meters for 1/25000 or 10.0 meters for 1/50000).

I think you will have to report that bug back to Apple about the lack of proper .GIF support on the iPhones Safari browser. Can you play quicktime .MOV or .SWF movies on the iPhone? Hopefully you won't have to automatically convert the animated GIFs to Quicktime Movies on your website to get around this.

Thanks, I'm in the Tampa Bay area, so its a little bit South, but it'll be a great resource when you add central FL. I don't have web access on my phone, but my PDA does wi-fi and hot spots are getting pretty easy to find.

This has been one of the most frustrating technological pursuits I’ve ever been through, and I’m not done yet!

My goal was to use my phone as a GPS navigator using Google Earth for maps. I’ve got enough GPS units to know where I am and how to get to where I want to go. What I need is a GPS unit that will show me where I am on a satellite images with the zoom capabilities of Google Earth. Real time thunderstorm overlays would be nice, but I can wait on that.

We spend a lot of time in the Florida Everglades. Topos are useless, marine charts aren’t accurate, but sat photos reveal subtle details that reveal much. This topic started me on the quest to find the software and GPS receiver that would turn my Palm Treo 700p Smart Phone into an Everglades dream device.

Alas, it’s not going to happen for a while. There are only three pieces to the puzzle: software for the phone, the GPS receiver, and the phone with its Bluetooth connection.

Although the Palm Treo 700p is a couple years old it’s still a state of the art device. It was the last of my worries while putting together this system.

In the beginning my biggest concern was the software. The features of GPSWatch exactly fit my mission. I downloaded the trial version and it worked fine on my Treo, albeit without a GPS receiver. I wanted to be sure the Java program would work on my phone. It did, no problem.

Next was the Freedom Keychain receiver. The first place I ordered it from said it was in stock- wrong. After a week that order was cancelled and another ordered, express shipment.

Meanwhile, the full version of the software was ordered with payment made by PayPal. Although the funds were debited to my account and PayPal notified me that the transaction was completed, it took five days for the download to be authorized. Finally, upon authorization to download, it took three more days of working with the support team to get the software loaded on the Treo.

The Freedom Keychain receiver arrives. Open the phone and go to the Bluetooth app to pair them up. No Go.

Two days of talking to the support teams of Freedom, the GPS vendor and Palm left me with mixed results. Palm says it ain’t gonna work while everyone else says that can’t be right.

The software looks solid. The GPS receiver looks solid. The Palm Bluetooth software looks to be the problem. Other Palms work fine with the receiver, just not the 700p. It’s just a software update, but I’m not holding my breath.

Looks like a project ahead of it’s time.

Oh well, I’m off to Exuma for some bonefishing and filming a TV show. I’ll leave the electronics behind.

Thanks for the update. It sounds like it's been massively frustrating. I'm really hoping you get it working, it sounds like it could be a really great setup.

Hopefully a few big fish on the end of your line will help relieve the frustration.

-Blast

Hi Citabria,

Have you tried the latest firmware download from

http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/treo700pupdate/index.html

The latest firmware appears to have some Bluetooth enhancements, so it may have the latest JAVA API's required to get GPSwatch working along with the Freedom Keychain reciever. It also allows the use of SDHC cards so it would also allow much larger memory cards to be used.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the well wishes Blast! This is a working trip but with a little luck I can post a photo of a nice bonefish!

I’m not sure. The phone was updated with a new OS about 6 weeks ago. This update did change the Bluetooth interface.

Unfortunately, I’m out of time. Need to grab a few hours of sleep before flying to Exuma where I desperately wanted to use this system with Google Earth maps.

Maybe next trip. I’m convinced this is a super idea that will work great once all the pieces are put in place.

I’ll pursue your suggestion when I get back . . . thanks.

I’m back from the Bahamas, still bummed that I could not use my phone with a Bluetooth GPS receiver to explore while using Google satellite maps.

I can’t really complain, it was a great trip. We got a lot of good footage for at least two TV shows and caught some very nice bonefish on fly. Primary mission accomplished.

While not accomplishing my goal, I have taken a fresh run at putting this system together and have had some success. I thought it’s time to update the thread.

I loaded the latest Palm OS on the phone about six weeks ago. The Bluetooth interface was changed completely. While trying to pair up the Treo with the Freedom GPS, I went through every conceivable configuration without success. Palm support was no help. Apparently the Bahaman breezes cleared my mind. When I got home I found one other, very obscure, option and the phone and GPS paired right up! Thanks Treo support [sarcasm].

Now to the software. I fired up GPSWatch Plus in high anticipation. It doesn’t see the GPS. [deep sigh] Read the documentation. Try every conceivable option. No go. Email support. Still no answer in five days.

I email Freedom GPS support to update them about the successful pairing. These guys are great! In turn they email me a test program. I install it on the phone and everything is perfect. They suggest I test with Telenav. I download it to the phone and everything works great.

Problem is: Telenav is a Garmin Nuvi or Tom-Tom like driving aid. I have a Nuvi 360 so Telenav is redundant. I NEED Google sat maps for offroad!

So, I’m down to getting GPSWatch to see the GPS receiver. Two other programs do this flawlessly. I’m at the mercy of the software support team. I’m still waiting.

While researching all the GPS software for the phone I discovered that Google Maps Mobile with GPS capability will work on Windows OS phone and a few others; just not the Palm devices. I can only dream, and bug Google, which I’ve done!

It’s time to report that the one element of this project that is rock solid is:

Freedom Mini GPS
SiRFstar III 20 Channel
Bluetooth 2.0
Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
Auto and USB charging cables

This is a piece of work. It is about the size of a auto remote. It is simplicity itself with an of/off switch, LED status indicator and rubber cap protected socket for charging.

I acquires a 3D fix in less than a minute, even in my pocket inside a concrete block house. Got it for less than $100 at http://www.palmaddictstore.com/section.php?xSec=29

Support is superb.

More on the software side as it develops.