By Evan Ackerman
If you’ve been looking for a good way to add some GPS functionality to a portable device, Haicom provides a simple solution by combining three good ideas into one tiny (about 5cm on a side) GPS unit. First, the GPS communicates through Bluetooth 1.1, so it should play well with others. Second, it draws power from any standard SD card slot. I know, I know, where will all your Hurra Torpedo MP3s go now? But wait for it… Third, it’s got a miniSD slot built right in to the SD adapter, so it doesn’t actually steal storage space. Yes, you would have to get a new miniSD card, but cheer up, Windows Vista can use that old SD card as extra RAM to improve performance.
The GPS itself is decent, using the SiRF Star III chipset and up to 20 satellite channels for an accuracy of +/- 15 meters. It has a status LED, an external antenna connection, and a mini firewire port so that it can be connected to pretty much anything else through a set of optional cables. It should start shipping later this month for $109.95.
[Haicom HI-505SD Bluetooth GPS Receiver with SD Interface] VIA [GPS Gazette]
