Others say...

"Am I missing something about the software?"
If I was just reviewing the receiver itself, it would receive 5 stars. However, I have had nothing but problems with the bundled software.

The original CDs that came with it did not work on my computer for some reason. They came up as totally blank, and I even got the automatic Windows "what would you like to do with this blank CD" menu when I popped each of them in. I immediately went to work with diagnostics on my 5 month old CD/DVD-RW drive, and even did the HP online chat help to try and figure something out. I have tried all other computer data CDs that I have, and they all worked (really, ALL of them did). Music CDs and DVDs of the original and burned variety also worked.

I emailed IO Gear about the problem (after 4 phone calls I have only been able to talk to an actual person on their tech support line once, and he promptly put me on hold for so long I hung up), and they sent me a new set of CDs. These didn't work, either. So they sent another set. Same story. I tried them in my computer at work, and a total of 4 CDs out of the 12 worked there, so I burned copies of those so I could install the software on my computer at home.

These seemed to work at first, but the laptop program claims it is not properly installed and any maps that require the 2 maps CDs claim that those CDs are the wrong version. This is all probably due to copyright protection on the original CDs, which I can understand.

After all of this, I have a product that I've paid good money for that I can't use, sold to me by a company that doesn't seem to care or be able to help me at all, if I can get through to them. In the meantime I'm glad the device will work with any software, although Pocket Streets is really just a map, not something that can generate directions (or if it can, I don't know how).

By the way, if anyone can help me with this it would be much appreciated.

"Acceptable accuracy, updated software"
We used to have the Belkin Bluetooth GPS but it broke down. The main disadvantages for the Belkin one was the lack of sufficient points of interest (shops, restaurants, etc.) in our area (Portland, OR) and the inaccuracies in the GPS locations (10-30 feet off).

The IOGEAR Bluetooth GPS has a major advantage over the Belkin one: it has the same software but un updated version that significantly improves the number of pints of interests (POI). The positioning inaccuracies remain and it is bulkier (although with better batery life).

On the overall usage:

- it works fine with the Dell X30 that we have, connection is smooth, not that difficult to setup the first time
- the software has voice guidance so you don't have to keep an eye on it. It doesn't spell the names of the streets except when the names are actually numbers.
- on our PDA the rerouting if you missed a turn or an exit is very fast (much faster than on dedicated Garmin or Magellan GPS gizmos)
- another advantage over the dedicated solutions: you can use the addresses associated with your contacts to setup a route

"Superior Battery Life and Ease of Use."
I have suffered through many bad GPS units to go with my PDAs over the years and this one by far is the best i have had. The battery life truly lives up to the claims. The unit charges up and you are ready to go. As long as you are sure to turn it off between uses it lasts and lasts. The unit usually always attains staelites quickly and holds them. The accuracy of this unit is unparalleled to anything I have used in the past. The only downfall, software is a little basic and leaves something to be desired.

"Software is better than the hardware"
I recently purchased the IOGear GBGPS201 and used it on a trip from California to Missouri. The software worked great. It happens to be the same as IGuidance. The GPS receiver on the other hand worked ok. It worked great in the city but when I was on a highway where there was an access road running parallel, it often thought I was on the access road and kept trying to get me back on the highway.

I tried using a Holux GPS receiver with the software provided by IOGear but kept getting a message saying that it could not find an IOGear GPS receiver. I questioned IOGear tech support and they had no idea if the software was changed to only work with their receiver or not.

Overall, it is worth the price but it would work much better if the receiver could see more than 8 satellites.

"It works on DELL AXIM!!"
The previous post is mistaken this unit with a different (discontinued) IOGEAR product. The IOGEAR GBGPS201 DOES work with DELL AXIM and other PDAs running Windows Mobile 2003!

I have successfully tested and used this IOGEAR GPS with DELL AXIM X30, and AXIM X50.