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#1 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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Review: Seidio G4850S - Integrated SiRF Star III GPS Receiver
Seidio G4850S - Integrated SiRF Star III GPS Receiver Review
By lawman 2nd. December, 2005 Developer/Vendor: (www.seidioonline.com) Price: US$179.95 (check their web site for their latest and current promotional price) Rating (out of 5): 5 Overview Seidio has come out with a solution for PocketPC users. For most of you that has antagonized over the spaghetti cabling mess when buying a serial cable based GPS device, and getting it wired to your GPS mount, you now have an option to get a GPS mount with an integrated SiRF Star III GPS receiver. Its a very simple and good solution and removes the hassle of forgetting to bring your GPS device when going on a long trip. Cradle comparison between G2500 and G4850 The cradles when viewed below shows that the G4850 has a more ergonomic design when compared to the G2500. The G4850 is missing the RJ11 port which allows serial GPS device connections (since it already has a built-in GPS device). It has a DC OUT port (that is covered by a warning sticker - you can remove it) that can be used for powering external devices (i.e. FM Transmitter, another Bluetooth GPS device if you so wish etc.). Essentially, all the contents that came with the G4850 package above, with the exception of the G4850 cradle, is identical to the G2500 mounting kit. So, if you already have the G2500 kit, you can interchange the mounts/cradle. The speaker location is different between the two cradles. The speaker in this new G4850 cradle is located in the front and at the bottom of the base, which I think is a better design and more logical since the sound output is facing towards the driver. More about the G4850 cradle/mount As you can see from the pictures below, that the newer G4850 cradle is smaller but if you compare the G2500 and G4850, you'll see that when you place your Axim X50v on the G4850 cradle, your PPC will be roughly an inch higher. So, the PPC screen is up higher to the driver's line of sight without requiring the driver to drop his/her eyes lower. I definitely agree with this subtle change. The integrated GPS device connects to my Axim X50v via serial connector to the base of the cradle where you seat the PDA as I expected. The design is very smooth and the cradle is pretty light. When I seat my Axim X50v into the cradle, there is a dull but firm click, and it seems to be a snug fit for my Axim X50v. I can rotate it 360-degrees and my Axim X50v does not get dislodged easily. So, good for displaying your GPS maps in landscape mode. There is an LED indicator on the front and bottom right of the G4850 cradle. When the mount is powered, the LED shows a GREEN colour. The integrated GPS device has the following written specifications and requires certain settings to be configured in your GPS mapping software.On the Road Now we take this baby on the road.Pros: o Smaller, and has a much nicer design o More ergonomic o Less cabling o Very good snug fit (feels just right, not too tight) o GPS quality is amazing for the price o Speaker quality and design is very good - I'd rate this 8/10 by itself o Newer version of the Cigaretter power adaptor (works very well). I could not find any bad issues compared with the previous older version. Cons: o No option for a removable battery to power the integrated GPS device in case the DC power cable fails. Similar with other GPS mount makers, so this is not specific to Seidio models. + Note:- Just in case, I tested the Radio Shack power adapter - "Part# 270-1594" - and that works very well as a backup power option to power the G4850 mount and charge your Axim X50x PPC. | |||||||||
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Axim X50v w/WM6.1 Professional
ATP 1GB 60x SD Card || TekQ 2GB 133x SD Card || Kingston 4GB 45x CompactFlash Elite Pro Card Sena extended case || Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal OnCourseNavigator BT-359W + Garmin Bluetooth GPS10 Deluxe + Seidio BlueGPS RBT-2010 Seidio G4850/G2500 w/ GPS10 + RBT-2010 charging cables + Radio Shack power adapter (Part# 270-1594) Garmin City Select/Navigator North America v6+7+2008+2009, City Navigator Australia v7 || Tracks4Australia v1.2 || Mapsource 6.15.3 OnCourse Navigator 5 XXL || Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 + Microsoft Autoroute || TomTom 6 Navigator Last edited by lawman; 12-07-05 at 08:01 PM.. |
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#2 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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BTW, be careful of using GPS utilities to switch from NMEA <> SiRF and back again on SiRF III units. I have not found any utilities that work in SiRF mode, and I am not "gungho" to try all the available PPC tools as you might cause your integrated GPS to not work.
The ones I used and failed to switch it to SiRF mode were;
I have not tried these ones;
I think I'm going to stop and hold off trying to screw up the GPS mount just to satisfy my curiosity... The Seidio GPS mount w/ SiRF Star III chipset (G4850) is working so far as advertised. Nah, I could not help myself. The APL SiRF s/w does work. Here is the info caught from the PDA screen. The firmware is 3.1.1 (meaning it has the jet-lag bug fix). And the SN is 00. See pic below for more details. Cheers. | |||||||||
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Last edited by lawman; 12-04-05 at 01:15 PM.. |
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#3 (permalink) | |||
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Aximsite Rookie
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Vow, a very nice review, very comprehensive.
I have some questions, 1) How is the G4850 GPS perofrmance, as compared with Other SiRF III BT receiver ? 2) Should I buy just a car kit (like G4500) plus BT receiver or G4850 ? 3) You gave a very high rating on audio quality- It that good ? 4) G4850 uses SiRF III GPS ? How about Arkon CM720 ? Too many choices, but I want to get the best one for my GPS application. | |||
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#4 (permalink) | ||||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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Quote:
/// Update --- managed to determine firmware version. See review article above. /// Secondly, you need to know what you want. The G4850 GPS is a mount and does not have the portability of a BT GPS device. If you want portability that you can carry onto a plane or go hiking with it, then the G4850 is not for you. Don't forget that this is not a battery powered device. Its built to be in a car, not for putting into your back pocket. Thirdly, the audio is much better and clearer than my G2500. And it does not stutter like the Arkon model that someone mentioned here. Again, like I said, a speaker in a mount is not designed to be Clarion quality. If you want Clarion quality, feed the output into an FM Transmitter to utilize the car's speakers. I can't compare for your fourth point. I have not used the Arkon CM720. The Seidio mounts are customized to fit your PDAs which I find is better than "universal" mounts. But this is a personal preference. Hope that answers your questions. | ||||||||||
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Axim X50v w/WM6.1 Professional
ATP 1GB 60x SD Card || TekQ 2GB 133x SD Card || Kingston 4GB 45x CompactFlash Elite Pro Card Sena extended case || Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal OnCourseNavigator BT-359W + Garmin Bluetooth GPS10 Deluxe + Seidio BlueGPS RBT-2010 Seidio G4850/G2500 w/ GPS10 + RBT-2010 charging cables + Radio Shack power adapter (Part# 270-1594) Garmin City Select/Navigator North America v6+7+2008+2009, City Navigator Australia v7 || Tracks4Australia v1.2 || Mapsource 6.15.3 OnCourse Navigator 5 XXL || Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 + Microsoft Autoroute || TomTom 6 Navigator Last edited by lawman; 12-05-05 at 11:30 AM.. |
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#6 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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As far as I know, they have a promotional price, and no discount coupon is required.
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#8 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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Yes. So far so good. No complaints from icy and cold Ottawa, Canada.
The G4850 mount has behaved well so far. No hassles with remembering to plug-in or bring the BT GPS device. Just stick in your PDA and go. It charges my PDA while it provide voice-navigation. All in all, a very good mount. I tested a few more apps to see if they work. I updated it in my review above. | |||||||||
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Axim X50v w/WM6.1 Professional
ATP 1GB 60x SD Card || TekQ 2GB 133x SD Card || Kingston 4GB 45x CompactFlash Elite Pro Card Sena extended case || Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal OnCourseNavigator BT-359W + Garmin Bluetooth GPS10 Deluxe + Seidio BlueGPS RBT-2010 Seidio G4850/G2500 w/ GPS10 + RBT-2010 charging cables + Radio Shack power adapter (Part# 270-1594) Garmin City Select/Navigator North America v6+7+2008+2009, City Navigator Australia v7 || Tracks4Australia v1.2 || Mapsource 6.15.3 OnCourse Navigator 5 XXL || Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 + Microsoft Autoroute || TomTom 6 Navigator |
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#9 (permalink) | |||
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Aximsite Rookie
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How is the suction mount quality that comes with G4850 ? Will it do like this ?
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=101034 | |||
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#10 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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The suction mount is made in Germany is is very good. It locks on incredibly tight and is a driver preference. I normally do not like something blocking my view on the windshield. Where I live, we have deers that cross the road at any time. If I used a gooseneck, it will block my view.
I put it on initially, but I think a 14" gooseneck might be better than an 8" gooseneck. You will not find much if any fault with the gooseneck from Seidio. The quality and workmanship of the gooseneck is extremely high. | |||||||||
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Axim X50v w/WM6.1 Professional
ATP 1GB 60x SD Card || TekQ 2GB 133x SD Card || Kingston 4GB 45x CompactFlash Elite Pro Card Sena extended case || Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal OnCourseNavigator BT-359W + Garmin Bluetooth GPS10 Deluxe + Seidio BlueGPS RBT-2010 Seidio G4850/G2500 w/ GPS10 + RBT-2010 charging cables + Radio Shack power adapter (Part# 270-1594) Garmin City Select/Navigator North America v6+7+2008+2009, City Navigator Australia v7 || Tracks4Australia v1.2 || Mapsource 6.15.3 OnCourse Navigator 5 XXL || Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 + Microsoft Autoroute || TomTom 6 Navigator |
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#11 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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Updated G4850 review above with the f/w version of the SiRF Star III chipset and included a PDA screen capture.
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Axim X50v w/WM6.1 Professional
ATP 1GB 60x SD Card || TekQ 2GB 133x SD Card || Kingston 4GB 45x CompactFlash Elite Pro Card Sena extended case || Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal OnCourseNavigator BT-359W + Garmin Bluetooth GPS10 Deluxe + Seidio BlueGPS RBT-2010 Seidio G4850/G2500 w/ GPS10 + RBT-2010 charging cables + Radio Shack power adapter (Part# 270-1594) Garmin City Select/Navigator North America v6+7+2008+2009, City Navigator Australia v7 || Tracks4Australia v1.2 || Mapsource 6.15.3 OnCourse Navigator 5 XXL || Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 + Microsoft Autoroute || TomTom 6 Navigator |
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#12 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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Comment from gpspassion regarding Static Navigation.
--- copy and paste --- from gpspassion;----- Hope that helps others who is as curious as I am. Cheers. | |||||||||
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Axim X50v w/WM6.1 Professional
ATP 1GB 60x SD Card || TekQ 2GB 133x SD Card || Kingston 4GB 45x CompactFlash Elite Pro Card Sena extended case || Boxwave ClearTouch Crystal OnCourseNavigator BT-359W + Garmin Bluetooth GPS10 Deluxe + Seidio BlueGPS RBT-2010 Seidio G4850/G2500 w/ GPS10 + RBT-2010 charging cables + Radio Shack power adapter (Part# 270-1594) Garmin City Select/Navigator North America v6+7+2008+2009, City Navigator Australia v7 || Tracks4Australia v1.2 || Mapsource 6.15.3 OnCourse Navigator 5 XXL || Microsoft Street & Trips 2006 + Microsoft Autoroute || TomTom 6 Navigator |
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#14 (permalink) | |||||||||
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Aximsite Veteran ![]()
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No, the G4500 should be identical to the G4850 just that it does not have the integrated GPS SiRF Star III unit. If its not identical, then that would be really dumb from a manufacturing perspective. Just my 2 cents.
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