Overview Of Pharos Pocket GPS Portable Navigator Kits

For people who use pocket PCs all the time, a Pharos Pocket GPS Portable Navigator forms the perfect GPS (global positioning system) solution. All the different GPS kits under the above category are made by Pharos Science & Applications, Inc. They can seamlessly integrate with any pocket PC that has a compatible (generally CompactFlash (CF) interface.

This is why they are known as portable. Different kits may have different interfaces and some of them have multiple interfacing options. Some of them can even integrate with USB-enabled pocket PCs.

A Pharos Pocket GPS Navigator, which is the main component in any of the kits, simply provides the GPS receiver function. On integration with the pocket PC it uses the latter's display interface to provide you details of your current location. It also locates you in relation to well-known landmarks in the immediate neighborhood.

Navigation using it is quite easy once satellite connectivity is obtained, although most reviews have found that this takes too long on cold starts. However, you can conveniently find directions to a destination using it once you obtain this connectivity.

The Navigator kit utilizes the program memory provided in a pocket PC to install the Ostia map control software provided on a CD with it on the pocket PC. Ostia software takes up almost 700 kb of memory space and when Ostia becomes active it consumes about 800 kb of program memory. Most other similar GPS software applications used by other navigators take almost double this memory space.

A Pharos Pocket GPS Navigator kit comes equipped with at least three other CDs or a single DVD. These contain detailed maps of the US. You need to use a CDROM/DVD drive and install the maps on a desktop. You can then use the MapFinder software application of Ostia to select them and download them onto an SD memory card inserted in the pocket PC's SD card slot.

The maps will take up considerable memory space, so you need to have the SD card slot on the pocket PC. Otherwise, you will be constrained to uninstall memory-intensive (such as media player) applications currently resident on your pocket PC.

To do anything with the Navigator, you need to first open a map file in Ostia. Its user-friendly interface can then help you find your way through the different steps entailed by navigation.

The performance of the product is dependent on the number of map files concurrently opened in Ostia. So, it is recommended that you open only those relevant files that are actually required by you to navigate in the specific region you find yourself in. This tip is not available offline.

Support, help, and manuals for the kits follow the general trend of providing them online that most vendors follow nowadays. Updates to map databases, software, and drivers are available from the respective vendors once you register your Navigator kit.

The different Pharos Pocket GPS Portable Navigator kits include the PFD22, the PT300, the PK041, and the PK047. The PT300 can connect to a Bluetooth-enabled pocket PC wirelessly within a range of 30 feet.

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