Handheld GPS with bluetooth?

Is there a handheld GPS with Bluetooth available in the US? I searched
the archives and found the same question from "elziko" in March 2006,
but no answers were offered.

If you don't have an answer to this, perhaps you can suggest an
alternative to satisfy my wishes. I'd like to have a handheld GPS that I
can use for walking, geocaching, and maybe even cycling. I'd
occasionally like to take the GPS in a car and use it to navigate. If I
had a handheld GPS with bluetooth, I would connect it to a laptop or a
PDA with automotive routing software. I'd really like to have a wireless
connection so I can stow the GPS in a glovebox while it's in use.

I found one possible solution at http://pc-mobile.net/bta.htm , but it
looks like that product is no longer available. And I think it would be
nicer to have the wireless built in the GPS.

I've never owned a GPS. I currently own an old Dell Axim X5 PDA, but I'm
hoping to replace it in the not-too-distant future. I have a laptop with
bluetooth.

Thanks for any ideas you have.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

You would probably be better off getting an automotive SATNAV unit and set
it up to run OziExplorer CE, rather than stuffing around with a laptop.

The reason the big companies aren't doing this is that BlueTooth is a
terrible drain on power. If your SatNav is a car unit it's pulling its
power from the car. If your unit is hand-held it's draining the internal
battery to keep BlueTooth working. Your battery-life might be reduced
from 10 hours to three, or something like that. You'd be changing
batteries the whole time.

Simon.
--
http://www.hearsay.demon.co.uk

(with clarity & insight):


I'd easily suggest two items: A Garmin nuvi for the car and a handheld
of your choice (lots and lots of choices) for trail use..

I've used laptops for nav for years and, as nice as it was, the nuvi's
blow it all away in terms of cost & simplicity. Unless there's either
1) a need for a really large screen, or 2) going to be a laptop
running anyway, I'd easily advise against it.

And if you do go laptop, splurge on a good stand setup, a good power
setup and also a USB GPS (cheap!) mouse. A GPS device will need power
from either the dash, batteries (dash again, sorta), or the laptop;
only the laptop as power also removes Bluetooth, too, as another piece
of complexity.

And you've got a low likelihood to have adequate reception inside your
glove box.

Biggest problem with what you want to do is the GPS receiver's antenna needs
clear access to the sky. Unless you put an external antenna on the receiver
it won't work in the glove box. A lot of GPS won't work or are slow to
acquire if they aren't on the dash. Some windshield treatments can even be a
problem.

The device your looking at is a serial to Bluetooth adapter. IMHO not a good
way to go, especially since you don't already have the GPS, but you can
probably get one from another source.

Delorme sells an Earthmate GPS receiver that can communicate with say a
laptop that is BT enabled. It has no display however so has to be used with
something else. Other companies probably make something similar.

I have an HP Ipaq RX5915. It has GPS, BT and WiFi built in. The problem is
it isn't rugged let alone waterproof. It would need to be put in an
Otterbox, Aquabox or something similar for some of your uses. Probably what
I'll do for occasional use on my MC. I've never looked into seeing if it
could send the GPS info to another device but suspect it can.

Hopefully this will help you better define what you want a little. Use in a
car and on the trail are quite different. As already suggested you may
want/need 2 devices. Don't forget waterproof and water resistant isn't the
same thing. Just a little moisture could ruin your equipment and it wouldn't
be covered under warranty. Keep researching. Good Luck.