The Haicom 303S uses the recently out Xtrac V2 Chipset/firmware which supposedly adds greater signal strength over WAAS based systems. This also tends to make Xtrac 2 based systems more expensive over the WAAS systems. There are no physical size differences between the two chipsets/firmware and the battery life seems to be about the same between the two also.

The Haicom I received came straight from Haicom which is based in Taiwan. Amazingly it took just 3 days from the time they sent it for it to be delivered by DHL to my door step. The two units (the GPS and the BT Slipper) came bundled in one relatively small box as seen in this picture:

When you first open the box you are greeted with a nice logo and the view of two more small boxes, one containing the 303S and one containing the 401BT. This presentation method is very professional and gives a great first impression. You can see the first view of the open box in this picture:

The first thing I did was take out the two boxes containing the 303S and the 401BT. The 303S GPS was very small in my hand when I first pulled it out and looked like it could easily be put in your pocket when not in use. The 401BT unit is also very small and is relatively simple with only two lights on one end, a mini 1394 port on one side (for charging), a battery slot on the back, and a spring loaded cover covering the CF slot on the top.

Next, after I pulled up the bigger piece of card board in the box with the Haicom logo on it, I found all the accessories neatly individually bagged and put in the box. The following is a list of items in the box:

 Bluetooth Slipper (HI401BTs)

 Rechargeable Li-Polymer Better 3.7V 1600mAh

 Mini-1394 to Cigarette car charger

 Mini-1394 to AC power adapter (401-ACC) w/Different Plugs for Other Countries and Mini Screwdriver to change plugs

 Magnetic Car Holder

 Extra Magnetic Pad to Stick to PDA

 Bluetooth Slipper pouch with clip

 Bluetooth Slipper User Manual

 Mini CD w/Drivers

 Multi-Mode Foldable GPS receiver (HI-303S)

 Mini-1394 to PS/II Connecting cable

 Multi-Mode Foldable GPS receiver Pouch

 Multi-Mode Foldable GPS receiver User Manual

This picture shows the items in the box:

This picture shows the items all labeled:

The next thing I did after unwrapping everything was put the rechargeable battery into the BT Slipper. The Battery is a flat type L-Ion Battery which they say will last up to 8 Hours on a full charge. To charge the battery, you simply plug the AC Adapter (or Car Charger if you are in the car) into the 1394 port on the side. There is a small Amber light on the side of the unit that tells you if the battery is charging, it turns to green when the battery is fully charged.

This unit came with no GPS software for me since this was straight from the manufacturer, but for most you will be getting a program like Mapopolis or Tom Tom. I tested the unit with an older copy I have of Mapopolis I had and it worked great. I tried it first via CF, all I did was plug the GPS into my PDA CF slot and then had Mapopolis do a search on the Com Ports for it. No drivers to install, no extras, it worked right away. I tried it both on my X5 and on my X50v and it worked perfect on both units via CF. The cards unique design with the antenna being flexible worked great and made it so you don't have to have the PDA flat to get a good signal. The first lock I got was, get this, IN MY HOUSE!! This is usually unheard of for GPS systems, but this one did it. The signal was weak, but it did manage to lock on to my position for a moment and find where I was. I have tried the Tom Tom to Go all in one GPS solution in my house, and it could not get a lock till I went outside. The accuracy was very good and seemed to usually be within 15-20ft. On the road with Mapopolis it keeps a good lock and works perfect. It never seemed to drop a signal lock or have any troubles in city streets or on streets with high buildings. I frankly cannot see why you would need an external patch antenna (but it does have the port on the side to accept one) since the internal antenna works so well.

My experience while using the BT Slipper was the same as above. It caught the signal and never seemed to lose it. The setup went very well via BT, the only problem I had is in the manual they show you how to pair the GPS with your PDA (you have to to be able to use it via BT), but they did not tell you what the pass key is (after googling I found that it is simply 0000). After I paired the device it worked perfectly, Mapopolis searched the Com ports and found it right away and it began working. As a side note, on the BT Slipper there is also a blue light that blinks when BT is on but there is no connection and it goes solid blue when it is paired with a device. The BT Slipper also automatically turns off when you take out the CF GPS and then it turns back on when you slide it in again. The whole process works great and really has no bugs or problems. The BT signal is fairly strong with my X50v (I could get about 10-15ft away) and once you pair the two devices, whenever you want to connect again (after you have turned the unit off) you just put the CF GPS in the BT Slipper, click connect on your PDA, and you are off and running. The BT Slipper also has two rubber pads on the bottom so you can easily set it on the dash of your car and it stays in place very well, you can also adjust the antenna position on the CF GPS since the CF GPS has the pivot point in the center.

Now on to the Suction Mount (Magnetic Mount). This is a great add in that they include so you don't have to go out and buy another car mount. To stick the Mount to your windshield, there is a small lever at its base which you move to make the suction cup stick. This works great and gives a very strong seal. The mount can work in two ways, the first is with the BT Slipper and the second is with your PDA. The BT Slipper has a built in magnetic pad on the bottom (not visible), so you can set the BT Slipper with the GPS in it on the end of the Suction Mount and it will stick there via the magnets. This is helpful if you want to stick the BT Slipper up by your window in a car and works well if you want to hold your PDA while using the BT Slipper. To work with your PDA, Haicom includes a piece of metal that has one side that is sticky, you can stick this to the back of your PDA, and then use the Suction Mount to hold your PDA up like a standard car mount. This is useful for a driver to be able to see the screen of the PDA. The Mount's middle "pipe" like area is flexible, but also stiff so it can support a PDA without changing shape or position. With the Mount there is also another small suction cup that has a slot in it so you can divert the power cord (if you are using it) over so its not directly in the way depending on where you have the Mount on your windshield. This is not a super expensive mount, but it does the job well and is very functional for most normal use.

Included are also two cases. The first case is for just the CF GPS Card. To me it seems like more of a storage case that you can put the GPS in when not in use. Seems like a good idea for some people. The second case is for the BT Slipper and works with the CF GPS in or not in. There is a belt clip on one side and also a neck strap that can be used. You can but the BT Slipper with the CF GPS card into this case, flip up the adjustable GPS Antenna, and you are off for a great day of GPS guided hiking. The case works great and has a nice small profile. You can have your PDA in hand and not have to worry about a GPS card sticking out of it. This case is very cleaver and I can see many people getting some use out of it. Both the cases are fairly simple cheaper material, but they do their job and do it well.

The included Mini-1394 to PS/II Connecting cable is really not for using the GPS as a CF GPS or as a BT GPS. The cable is used in conjunction with other optional cables to hook your GPS directly to your PDA (like a serial GPS) or to your computer via Serial or USB. The Cable CAN NOT be used to plug the GPS into your computer via a PS/II port and also worth noting is that you cannot use a 1394 cable to connect from the GPS to your computer (it looks like you can since they use a 1394 port on the side of the unit, but that is just for charging and use with the Mini-1394 to PS/II Connecting cable).

Overall this is a great GPS unit. The Xtrac V2 chipset/firmware gives it great signal strength, plus its small size and functionality make it great for any situation. The one thing that Haicom could improve upon is the manuals...they are relatively simple and can be hard to understand. But luckily there is not much to it and once you get it setup you will absolutely love the unit.

Overall for a great price, this unit out performs any GPS I have used before. I don't go into details of software in this review since the GPS works with almost any software out there and none came with the unit.

Since this is a PPC Reviews site I did not go into the computer side of things, but this unit does also work great with a laptop with a PCMCIA CF Card adapter or any computer with a Bluetooth Connection

Thanks to Haicom for the Review Product and for making such a great product!