Garmin GPS Receiver

I love this thing! To get an initial fix it needs some kind of view of the sky, after that it’s amazing. I can take it into my back yard, let it get a fix, put it in my pocket, go inside my house and it never loses the fix!!

The only problem I had was configuring my ATT Tilt w/WM6 to work with it: There are no instructions with the Freedom 2000. So the lack of instructions is the debit, it’s the reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5.

There are a few settings that need to be taken care of with your smart phone and with the GPS apps you’re using. To that end I’m including some notes I made that hopefully will help anyone who buys this get going.

Do this first for using GPS Bluetooth Receiver on ATT Tilt running WM6.
1. Go into Wireless Manager and select Bluetooth.
2. Go to [...] to see how to config your com port and make a note of the com port number. I used a baud rate of 4800 and COM1 where the example uses COM6.
3. You’re only half done now, the next step is to go into your GPS app and tell it what Bluetooth port to find the GPS Bluetooth receiver on.
4. NOTE: I have the Freedom 2000 and the Bluetooth icon will NOT blink 1/sec to indicate a connection till you have opened a GPS app and configured that app to communicate with it. However it will blink 1/5sec w/o connection so don’t be fooled

Google Maps:
1. W/GPS rcvr on open up Google Maps, select Options>GPS Settings
2. Select Set Manually, select COM1, baud rate of 4800 and tap OK.
3. From main screen select Menu>Use GPS. If it’s working the upper right corner of the screen will show Seeking GPS satellites and the 2000′s Bluetooth icon will blink 1/second.

Garmin XT:
1. W/GPS rcvr on open Garmin XT app main page select Settings>System>RemoteGPS. The default value was GPS Intermediate Driver.
2. Select Disable to turn off the regular GPS connection. You should get a prompt with radio buttons to select either Use Bluetooth GPS, Use GPS Intermediate Driver, or User Serial GPS. To active the Freedom 2000 select Use Bluetooth GPS and hit Enable. The screen now shows Keychain GPS 2000 and the Bluetooth icon on the 2000 is blinking 1/sec.
3. Note: I’ve seen “Com0:COM0″ come up as though the app thought this was an option for GPS. Just hit the Disable button and you can select the proper input.
4. Note: When my ppc is turned back on and I re-access Garmin XT it says “Scanning Bluetooth as though it’s looking for the 2000 even though I’ve set it to use it’s own GPS Intermediate Driver. It’s not a problem and times out soon.

works great. even while still in my pocket. once it locks on it just stays locked on. on the keychain, and so small, you never know its there and never forget your gps device. works with my samsung i760 and inav v4.0. highly recommended

This is a great little product – fits on a keychain and is just about the size of my remote lock thingy for my car. There’s also a convenient little quick-release that lets you remove it easily.

It’s pretty accurate, and works even if it’s in my pocket when I’m walking around outside. Unfortunately it takes some time to acquire enough satellites to start working (less time the more open you are, more time if you’re in e.g. a wooded area or the city; range probably from somewhere around 10 seconds at best to over a minute).

In case anyone might find it helpful, I’ve used this with my laptop and Google Earth and a Samsung i760 smartphone using Google Maps, MS Live Search, as well as a GPS data collector that saves all the GPS coordinates to a file for you to import to your computer (convenient for geo-tagging your photos).

The Freedom 2000 Key Chain GPS 2000 receiver is truly a small miracle. When I took the unit out of the box it needed a charge, and after charging I went to work hooking it up with my BlackBerry 8320. The user manual is relatively short and cryptic. It does not tell you a lot about the system, but I did find the Bluetooth code required for the GPS receiver to latch on to the Blackberry. After the link was established, I went outside to find the satellites. It did take a minute or two before it had gathered enough signals to determine my location and transmit the same to my Blackberry, where I use Google maps as my GPS software. Returning indoors, I did not lose the GPS links.

The next day I took my combo on the road for a test, with the keychain GPS receiver dangling off the key chain below my ignition. Google Maps and the GPS receiver had my position mapped out in about 30 seconds and the connection remained solid for a 100 mile road trip. I have not experienced a drop of synchronization as some of the other reviewers have indicated. I also tried the receiver with the BlackBerry Maps software and it worked well, except that the Blackberry Maps update was too slow for my travel speed, so that I saw my position in a “blank” map, which of course is no help. When waiting for a traffic light, I would see the map loading catch up, so that I could see where I was. I guess BlackBerry Maps will work well when I take it for a walk. But remember, all BlackBerry GPS software systems mentioned here require data communications to retrieve the maps, so this GPS combo will not work for a hike in the boonies.

The only issue I noticed was that the battery life of the Keychain receiver is shorter than the 9 hours advertised. I would put it more around 5 hours. That said, since it uses the same standard USB charger as the Blackberry, it is not too difficult to pump some additional power into the GPS receiver while driving.

In short, I am happy with this purchase. It works and it is affordable.

This little unit performs impressively and the build quality is better than I expected for the cost. It reliably gets precise GPS readings to within 30 feet or less and works very well with my Samsung i760 smart phone using Google Maps. So far it has easily kept the satellite lock even inside a moving vehicle in residential neighborhoods. But the lack of detailed documentation for connecting it to a PDA or smartphone is lamentable. They do offer a simple one-page setup guide plus a link to their (terrible) website, where you can find barely adequate configuration instructions if you look hard enough. Nowhere do they even tell you that you can charge the device with your computer using the USB cable — you can, and it’s a great feature — but providing hardware with no instructions on how to use it is inexcusable. If the documentation weren’t so laughably inadequate for such a great product, I’d give this 5 stars without question.

I bought the Freedom 2000 keychain GPS to use with my BlackBerry Pearl, which didn’t include a built-in GPS. The Freedom 2000 has worked extremely well. Once the GPS locks onto a signal (~30 seconds), this receiver doesn’t let go! You can place the receiver in your pocket, and it will continue provide tracking information.

I have since used this tiny GPS to power Google Maps, Microsoft Live Search, the free NAV4ALL driving navigation program, and more on my BlackBerry. I even found a free program for my BlackBerry that would let me record my bike rides and upload the tracks to the internet!

I truly believe this GPS is best in class, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it!

Very happy with the Freedom Keychain GPS 2000. Works with Garmin Mobile XT on my Palm 680 just fine. Very fast in locking in position, and battery life seems ok (about 6 hours for me). Quite sensitive–I can keep it in my pocket or in the car center console and it stays locked on the satellites–doesn’t need to have a direct view of the sky. Only thing I wish it had was a “battery meter” like Garmin’s Mobile 10x receiver (maybe it does, but Mobile XT doesn’t recognize or display it, as it does with the Mobile 10x receiver).

I purchased this item for my boyfriend and he loves it! He had been using a similar device that he borrowed from a friend and really wanted one for himself. He pairs up this device with his smartphone and uses it for geocaching and traveling. This device keeps the signal even when in the woods which is normally an issue. He also loves how small it is and can carry it on his keychain so he always has it with him. I would definately recommend this device to anyone!

First: Read Port Tack (regarding Com settings (phone, not Google), and Marty’s (overall info).

Second: Enjoy a POWERFUL unit at a great price.

Very sensitive, really good performance, small, light, totally cool. Don’t be without it….I’ve tried others, this is THE one.

Use this to replace my Tom-Tom Navigator unit which was much bigger. Surprisingly the smaller unit works better, both in terms of longer battery life and reception. It is capable of most in-door recpetion while the previous larger unit was not able to do this. While in the car, the unit can be in your back pocket and still works will lots of signal strength. The previous unit sometimes needed to be placed on the dashboard. It synced up to my Treo Tom-Tom software thru Bluetooth with no problem, although it does require the passkey setup. Note that it does not come with any nav software so you’ll need to buy one.