GPS Software for PDA

DebbieR

My OH has bought a HP IPAQ hx2490 PDA primarily for his business but also wants to use it as a GPS system. I know we have to get some sort of software and HP recommend TomTom. We've had a look at Navigator 6 but we're a bit confused. Do we just need the software itself or do we need to buy the software plus blue-tooth adapter, bearing in mind our PDA already has a bluetooth connection? Thanks in advance.

Stubert

You will need a gps bluetooth device as well unless the PDA already has GPS built in, which I doubt it does.

You don't need to get the official TomTom one as you can get another bluetooth GPS device a lot cheaper.

You just pair the two devices and when you load up the software it should automatically connect to the device.

DebbieR

This is where I get confused as when you go onto "settings" there is an icon for GPS. When you click that you have a choice of selecting which comms port you want to use to connect GPS hardware and GPS software. Does this mean I've got GPS and I just need the software?

DebbieR

I think I might have answered my own question. When I look at the spec on the official HP site it doesn't mention it having GPS facility so imagine it hasn't!

Stubert

The bluetooth device will communicate over specific com ports i think so you could select which ones you want to use.

fas3robinj

The Ipaq doesn't have a GPS receiver. I bought a receiver of EBAY for about £40. Mine is a Qstarz and works brilliantly. It's a little square unit that sits somewhere near the ipaq in my vehicle.

You need "TOM TOM Navigator software" for an IPAQ. To be careful it would be worth checking the compatability of your IPAQ on the TOM TOM web site before buying. The current version is version 6, but I think version 7 will be released in the near future..

Setting it up initially can be a bit fiddly. You need to get the GPS receiver paired up with the IPAQ. Then instal and run tomtom. It takes you through the set up process the first time you run it. As for com ports just keep trying them until you find the one that works. There are only two blue tooth com ports on mine. I think the one I had was port 8, but that may not be the same on yours.

When you get it running you will love it.
Hope that helps, good luck.

DebbieR

Thanks for that info, I feel more confident knowing someone's managed to do it! I've ordered TomTom 6 direct from the IPAQ site as that's about the cheapest I could find and I know it 's compatable with my PDA. I've ordered a bluetooth receiver from Discount Sat Nav. I've never used them before so hope they're OK! They've got step by step instructions on the site for setting up the GPS and bluetooth and it looks quite straightforward.

fas3robinj

Debbie, That sounds great. If you have trouble setting TomTom up, I got a lot of help on the "www.totalpda.co.uk" forum.

Hope everything goes well.

Conor_3

Just to add....

If the Ipaq has both a SD Card and a Compact Flash memory slot, look at getting a GPS receiver that plugs into the Compact Flash slot. The problem with using a bluetooth GPS receiver is that you need a charger lead for it - something the CF slot one doesn't need. You end up with both the PDA and GPS receiver needing a cig-lighter socket so end up with a load of wires and a 2 way cig lighter adapter hanging out of the dash.