Hey Korian, Does it have any type of security tape that reveals if its been opened? Awesome that it comes with a warranty, now I need to see if I can cancel my square trade and still keep their accidental warranty.
The screen resolution is 800*480(Max 1024*768) pixel. So yes you can increase the resolution. They probably set it at the lower because it uses up to 128 shared memory and 256 total isn't much.
r0guenj
Senior Member
posted: Jun. 23, 2009 @ 8:40p
i just ordered one so ill post up a review when i get it.
How about the performance of the GPS? Sluggish? Slow start-up?
korian
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 12:28a
PuddleJumper said: Hey Korian, Does it have any type of security tape that reveals if its been opened? Awesome that it comes with a warranty, now I need to see if I can cancel my square trade and still keep their accidental warranty.
Yes the box itself had a security tape so you know if the box had been opened or not. Mine wasn't - it's a brand new item.
PuddleJumper said: Did it come with a backup software disk?
No backup disk - so it would be wise to back up everything onto your PC or a DVD - at least back up the ADVENT software and Navtec software.
Note: the package does include the OEM disk for Windows XP Home Edition (with Service pack 2) - so you do get a certified copy of Windows with it.
Ehero said: How about the performance of the GPS? Sluggish? Slow start-up?.
The PC is already running, so when I run the GPS software it instantaneously came up. I clicked on map and it instantaneously showed my location - no hesitation.
Tomorrow morning I'll try it on the road.
Also I asked the horizon folks about available map updates - and they said there were and they cost $89 for the North American map set. No free updates like tomtom or some of the others within 30 days of purchase. Claimed tomtom could do the free updates since they sold millions of units while ADVENT doesn't/didn't sell that many.
ya know I thought I read somewhere that tomtom bought out Horizon too - odd. I'll have to do research and write that guy at Horizon back.
Slightly larger screen, higher resolution and much higher price (expected : $549).
korian
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 1:42a
tpware said: thats pretty compelling. If the memory could be upgraded, I think I'd give this a try.
does the touch screen seem responsive? does it suspend/resume quickly?
I'm not sure what you mean - but I can tell you that the keyboard display lets me type and it easily accepts my taps.
Korian
Dimahnbloe
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 6:20a
Maybe a good deal or maybe not considering the netbooks out there. You do get a touch screen I guess, but in my opinion, You guys are getting herded like goats, quite a few new member post in this thread running up the thread cont. One in particular seems quite happy to have found this deal. Just my opinion...
microwiz
Addicted Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 7:48a
dimahnbloe: Show me all the netbooks at this price that have built-in GPS, and I'll give your 'herding' thesis more consideration.
ObTopicQuestion: is the XP disc that comes with it really a full license, or just a 'restore' for this unit only?
PuddleJumper said: The screen resolution is 800*480(Max 1024*768) pixel. So yes you can increase the resolution. They probably set it at the lower because it uses up to 128 shared memory and 256 total isn't much.
It's 800x480 native resolution, but supports up to 1024x768 through scaling. It will downscale 1024x768 to 800x480.
PuddleJumper said: Hey Korian, Does it have any type of security tape that reveals if its been opened? Awesome that it comes with a warranty, now I need to see if I can cancel my square trade and still keep their accidental warranty.
I think he means the unit itself... so one could open it to see if the RAM or HDD is upgradeable without tipping off the service guys should it ever need warranty service.
korian
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 9:02a
Dimahnbloe said: Maybe a good deal or maybe not considering the netbooks out there. You do get a touch screen I guess, but in my opinion, You guys are getting herded like goats, quite a few new member post in this thread running up the thread cont. One in particular seems quite happy to have found this deal. Just my opinion...
Dim - I'm really a new old member. I've been on Fat Wallet for years now, but a few years ago I moved and gave up my Comcast Cable modem and account. (I'm in the boonies now). I tried to log onto that account but I forgot the password. And since I don't have access to my old email, I had to rejoin.
Anyway - my posting to this topic went up when I received the unit yesterday - most followers wanted to know about this item and what it was and what it did. So I posted messages explaining about the item. I also answered questions to the best of my ability. So the topic message count goes up - there's nothing wrong with that, is there?
And yes, so far I am happy with it - this little gadget met my expectations. And I'm still learning about it.
I can tell you one thing though for sure - the GPS Routing Software is better than tomtom's!
Why do I say that?
Well on the tomtom Rider 2 - that I owned for a week - gave me directions to my doctor's office that did not follow my usual - fastest main roads - route. The tomtom had me going on local side streets that had plenty of Stop signs. It was not logical in it's choice of routes. But this Navmate Routing Software gave me the exact directions that I always take - going from my local road to the main road - then staying on main roads.
And yes, both the same Set-up instructions on how to analyze the route - ie. fastest, shortest.
The Map in Navmate was also better - it had all the tertiary roads in my area - it even had my local road, where the tomtom didn't have my home address in its database. Arrgh! That was frustrating. I even used tomtom's Map Correction software to correct the local map and to send it in for correction. But every time I rebooted the GPS unit, my correction disappeared.
Puddlejumper asked about security tape - and Gnatty clarified it -
There is no tape on the unit itself - but I cannot see any easy way to open the unit.
There are no screws - only round nuts, small ones with a hex depression on the inside - these would need a special tool in which to insert in the center of the hex to unloosen it.
I don't see any other way of cracking it open. None at all.
That I'm a bit disappointed at because I had hoped to get access to its innards - I wanted to add more memory and a bigger hard drive. Well at least the memory increase would have been good.
As for the hard drive - with all the cheap portable drives available now - all you need to do is hook one up via one of the two USB ports.
As for updating it - I can hook up my stand alone DVD drive to the other USB port and add what I want.
In summary - I repeat - yes I like it - it met or exceeded my expectations so far. It has everything I need and wanted. I can bring most of my music library (on a portable USB Drive) so I had my music where ever I go playing though my FM Radio system - at the same time the GPS unit is working (supposedly)
Dimahnbloe said: Maybe a good deal or maybe not considering the netbooks out there. You do get a touch screen I guess, but in my opinion, You guys are getting herded like goats, quite a few new member post in this thread running up the thread cont. One in particular seems quite happy to have found this deal. Just my opinion...
I disagree, this would be excellent for a CarPC. I was on MP3Car.com for a while a couple years ago when I had considered a CarPC. It's not unusual for 7" 800x480 touchscreens to cost > $200, MiniITX motherboards to cost > $100, then you also need HDD, RAM, some kind of housing, 12V power supply unit, etc. In the end, you'd have several hundred into it. This little tablet PC has everything nicely integrated into one compact unit for less than what many people pay for the screen alone.
korian said: There are no screws - only round nuts, small ones with a hex depression on the inside - these would need a special tool in which to insert in the center of the hex to unloosen it.
I don't see any other way of cracking it open. None at all.
Are you sure they're not Torx screws? They look like this (click for pic). Kind of sounds like that's what you're describing, but hard to tell without seeing pics. Torx screws are very popular on mobile electronics.
onerogueman
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 9:46a
is the mount adjustable to the left and right?? that makes a big difference in gps operation in a vehicle. if its like it shows straight on with no adjustment. That hampers its (viewable) area. Big consideration...
onerogueman
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 9:46a
I'm really considering this item.. my obd software and vehicle information from it would work great in diagnostic testing instead of having a laptop on the seat riding down the road...You could also use Garmin's Mobile PC software with an external GPS..dont know if It would use the internal thats already with it..Interesting concept tho if you didnt like the Gps it has.
video input for a backup camera??? How long does the battery last? With a apple bluetooth keyboard and a tethered phone connection you could use it for internet access anywhere.
pretty sure the Jensen reviews said around 2 hours Max on the battery. They also mention VERY poor support by Jensen, even for major malfunctions that would seem obvious warranty/repair.
Back up camera would be accomplished by a USB vid capture device, like a cheap Kworld adapter (just dont expect a rebate).
there's an interesting hatch shown on the manual, I was hoping one of you guys who are getting these today or tomorrow will take a peek in there and see if there's a dim.
Kinda suprised how long this thing has been out, nearly 2 years I think, dropping from 1500 to 1000, then 500 and now this pricing. Still on the fence myself.
With the influx of netbooks and way too many options available makes it even harder to decide. Hopefully we will hear soon about the upgrade options which will help people like me on the fence.
Well, got mine open (very small torx T-6) and the RAM is hardwired. The hatch on the back allows access to the wireless card (Ralink chip). Battery is Innowell 2000mah. Mainboard is silkscreened "KANGAROO-1 REV: MP2.1 DATE: 2007/05. More, incl. pics to follow.
Mainboard pic (Big pics) Locosys chip along top is GPS module. Not sure what the KANGAROO_LED_DRIVER board does. The ribbon cable shown on the bottom connects to the hard drive which is attached to the back cover.
Accessible hatch on rear pic Here's the wireless card which can be added/removed without opening up the entire unit.
Inside of back cover pic That's the hard drive on the right. To the left is the hard drive cover that I removed to get the pic. It is covering the speaker module which is what the black/red wire pair connects to. Wireless card is visible lower right. The vent to its left is the CPU air intake -- don't cover that puppy or use unit on a soft surface like a blanket or you may cutoff air flow to CPU. Not sure how much heat it puts out though.
CPUz dump CPUz indicates a slot 2 for RAM that's empty, but I imagine that's a chipset thing and there's not a slot hiding on the other side of the MB.
That's it, too chicken to disassemble further. The mainboard is loose at the lower left of pic 1 but something in the middle of the board is holding it down -- can't see a screw though. Also one more screw at least holding the MB down at its upper left in pic 1 if someone is brave enough to go further.
Thanks for checking, comprx. I would definitely have bought one if the RAM were upgradeable. I wonder if Windows 7 embedded would run on the thing without feeling too slow.
thanks comprx. This machine is still probably worth more than the sum of its parts (w/XP), but I think I'll pass and keep saving for the Viliv (and hope for a price drop)
I think his point about 'hitting the swap file' is that it is flash memory, so it will be limited in usefulness and if one could upgrade the ram, you'd turn off the swap to increase the longevity of the flash drive. it might already ship w/swap disabled.
ducatiMonster
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 2:05p
Anybody consider using eBoostr (ReadyBoost for xp): http://www.techmixer.com/windows-xp-readyboost-give-more-memory-and-load-faster-on-xp/
ducatiMonster
New Member
posted: Jun. 24, 2009 @ 2:05p
Anybody consider using eBoostr (ReadyBoost for xp): http://www.techmixer.com/windows-xp-readyboost-give-more-memory-and-load-faster-on-xp/
Another option would be to consider a runcore ssd drive. The run almost as fast as memory in many cases and 256meg base would have little effect. Heck the SSD may even be faster then the memory itself.
Can the onboard GPS be used with 3rd party apps like MS S&T? I wouldn't see any reason why not. But for those of you who got this, have you tested it out with other apps? Or even the free Google GPS app...?
It's a shame the memory isn't upgradeable :T Kinda weighs me down more in terms of wanting it. Of course, if I were to load Linux on it and use a 3rd party freeware GPS app with the onboard GPS, that could potentially be better in terms of performance. Of course, there is the issue of drivers too
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