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So I got my new Bold after my last one kind of “walked away” on me. This new one, now that I have loaded all my 3rd party applications, themes and data is working just fine. Or it was working just fine I thought, until I tried out the GPS.

I set up all the settings that were required, I clicked to find my location and . . . nothing. An hour later, still searching for satellites =(

With no obvious solution I jumped on the forums and saw a couple suggestions. I went outside to a local park in the attempt to free up my sight lines and get a quick lock. I downloaded Google Maps and attempted to get a quick lock through them. In the end I had no luck. I then decided I would try out an external GPS solution because I am definitely a glutton for punishment.

Turns out it was the best decision I had made so far.

Introducing the GlobalSat BT-368 Bluetooth GPS Navigation receiver

What you first notice about the BT-368 is that it looks like a mini iPhone, complete with the silver bezel and all. While it would be ultra cool if it was in fact a mini iPhone, instead the BT-368 gets it’s cool points from hooking up with all the slick new phones available on the market and providing stellar GPS connectivity. That means that even though you are a BBGeeks and would never touch another device, a family member may be in another camp all together yet still be able to borrow the BT-368 to hook it up with their phone as well.

The GlobalSat BT-368 Bluetooth receiver come packaged with a car charger, a universal power plug and a mini USB cable. This ensures that no matter where you end up you will always be able to charge your GPS unit to full capacity and ensure that it is juiced up enough to guide you to the next stop on your path.

Just to recap, you can use this awesome GPS receiver in any country and with many current phones and smart phones. This is a great value that can not be overlooked.

So what is under that tiny little hood

The BT-368 is a prime example of great things coming in small packages. here is a rundown of some of the more important specs:

• High capacity rechargable battery
• Can access 20 parallel channels for superior GPS connectivity
• NMEA-0183 compliant protocol (Default: GGA,GSA,GSV,RMC Support: VTG,GLL,ZDA) and SiRF binary protocol (yeah I really don’t know what thi stuff means either)
• Extreme fast TTFF at low signal level
• SiRF StarIII chipset
• Operation range of 10 meters (33 feet)
• Dimensions : 40 x 70 x 9.2 mm, weight : 30g

My Experience with the GlobalSat BT-368

Not much to sy here other than I absolutely loved how reliable, fast and accurate this particular receiver was when put to the test. Given that I could not even get the standard BlackBerry GPS functions to activate, I had little to no expectation of success. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled it fresh out of the box and was up and running in minutes.

I took the BT-368 with me walking, bike riding and cruising on down the highway. I gave the actual unit to a friend and had them cross the road while I watched the BlackBerry for an interupted signal. In all cases, I was patched in and tracking very accurately. Unfortunately I could not test / compare the accuracy of the BT-368 against the standard GPS of the Bold due to my earlier connectivity issues.

As far as the Lithium Ion battery life is concerned the device says it is rated for approximately 10 hours but I only managed to squeeze out just over 9 before having to recharge.

The Final Verdict

The GlobalSat BT-368 is a phenomenal GPS receiver and should be considered a must have for anyone who wants accurate GPS locating functionality for their cellular phone, laptop or PDA. It is great for families who may want to swap between devices and it is so small that you won’t even notice that it is tucked inside your bag, purse or pocket. When driving, the unit can be placed anywhere in your vehicle and the connection is seamless.

If you are interested in purchasing a GPS unitfor your BlackBerry, the GlobalSat BT-368 Bluetooth GPS Receiver is available through the BBGeeks Store for 99.95

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