Dual Electronics XGPS150A Multipurpose Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver with Wide Area Augmentation System and Portable Attachment

Delivery of the Dual XGPS150 was very prompt. I had read there are 2 versions, a 150A (America) and 150E (Europe) My conclusion is that they are the same device. Mine is a 150A and works fine in the UK. I've used this GPS twice and so far I'm very impressed. I'm using it for hiking in the UK with the latest iPod. Unfortunately the iPod doesn't come with GPS, so you either have to buy a plug in GPS like Bad Elf (more expensive) or one that works using bluetooth. The Dual XGPS150 is very small and light, so it fits easily into a jacket or rucksack pocket. There is a small switch on the side of the device which needs setting for Android or Apple devices. The default is set for Apple, so I didn't have to change it. Switching on the Dual at first was a little tricky, as you have to apply pressure to the top of the device for 3 seconds. I found it needed some pressure from my thumb to hold down, but this is probably not a bad idea as it avoids accidently switching on or off the device when it's in your pocket. After I had switched on the XGPS150 I switched on my iPod bluetooth connection. The two devices paired very quickly. I'm using Ordnance Survey maps of the UK National Parks at a scale of 1:25 000, downloaded using the 'Outdoors App'. These are offline maps so scrolling is instantaneous. I have found the XGPS150 to be very accurate and really helpful for navigation. After a full charge (2 and a half hours) the XGPS150 was showing 45% battery left after 5 hours of hiking. I also downloaded the Dual App, though you don't have to do this to use the device. However the App usefully shows you satellites, battery status, latitude, longitude and altitude. So far, so good. I'm very pleased. But a word of warning if you are thinking of buying this product elsewhere. Initially I ordered the XGPS150 from an internet company called 'Proviation'. Do not buy from this company as it appears to be a rogue internet company. I did not receive the device and I'm still trying to get my money back. In contrast Oasis Pilot and Amazon have been great. I'd like to add another warning. If you are using a wifi only iPad or iPod DO NOT upgrade your Apple operating software to OS8.3, released in April 2015. There is a bug which stops the Dual GPS device from working with map Apps when using Bluetooth. I'm hoping Apple are working on a fix as OS8.3 has rendered my Dual GPS as useless. I can now add that since Apple updated their software my Dual GPS works fine again, and I have now upgraded to OS9 and can confirm it works ok.

Having now used various GPS systems for 20 years on the ground and in the air I can say that this is a superb product owing to the technological improvements. The bluetooth set up between the Ipad and XGPS was completed in moments ( enable bluetooth on IPad, wait moments for it to discover the GPS and then prod the relevant device discovered). The free App also indicates all the usual information such as Lat, Long, speed, satellites found and strength and much more). Having read the reviews on many of these new portable Blue Tooth GPS devices, they all look pretty good though some were criticised for a non positive on/off switch. This GPS has a very positive switch which would be difficult to set by accident. The biggest plus points for me are the speed which it acquires, it 's diminutive size and good battery life. It also recharges very quickly. It arrives with a quality rubber holder which has a grippy surface and is designed to be thrown on your dashboard without slipping and it works.. It also has a strap that allows it to be worn or strapped to an object. Naturally the cable and charger all work. I am very pleased with this product and have had it working with CoPilot nav system ( in my case) it updates very quickly..excellent..

We used to use our phones as GPS units, as we both have smart phones with inbuilt GPS devices. They work quite well, and we had few problems with using them in this way - however the accuracy was not always particularly good, especially when in a city or driving on tree-lined roads. This also made our hobby difficult, as we are avid geocachers. A lot of the time, this requires a good GPS signal, even under tree cover. With our phones consistently getting lost under tree-cover, this made finding the caches much more difficult. When we decided to start placing our own caches, having a VERY accurate device was a must - but I didn't want to splash out on a hand-held GPS device that would be little to no use in the car. This bluetooth GPS has completely revolutionised our geocaching and driving! Not only does it increase the battery life on our phones by about 4x (as the GPS on phones absorb battery!) but when it's on and connected, it generally can locate us to less than a meter, even under tree cover, and in built-up areas! If you are trying to connect to anything which isn't an iPhone (we use our Android phones) - there is a little switch on the side which enables you to set it into the non-Apple mode. I recommend the 'Bluetooth GPS' app on the Play Store - but you will have to set the "Use Insecure Connection" to on. Once this is done, click connect and you'll be running! The unit also comes with a plethora of useful additions, including a rubber dashboard mount, an elasticated wrist strap, a USB charger and a very sturdy car charger. Very highly recommended.

I bought this unit through Amazon to use in my light aircraft with my iPAD Mini as a navigation display. It works extremely well, and because it sends the GPS data directly to my iPAD using Bluetooth, the iPAD can be used virtually anywhere in the cockpit. It also works just as well in the car with a road navigation programme running. When I had a small problem with the device, I contacted Amazon who copied me in to an email that they sent immediately to the supplier. I've never heard anything back from them at all which is a very poor show to be honest and that's the reason I have given it only **** Happily, I have been able to sort the problem out myself so everything is OK now, but be advised that if you do want this unit and you do buy through Amazon, you may not be covered with any after sales service if you are unlucky enough to have a problem with it.

Got this yesterday to use with my iPad mini 16GB wifi only. It took just 2 minutes to set it up. Read the manual it is very straight forward and download their GPS utility to test it. I have tested it with CoPilot Live, native maps, MotionX gps software, they all worked fine. Just don't forget to change the switch to Apple compatibility. The device is very small and well built. Small and unobtrusive. Some software may not work straight away such as MotionX gps software : here is the answer I got from them and it works for most problems: Open the device's settings. Tap on Privacy. Tap on Location Services. Toggle the top row to Off (this will turn off location services for all of your apps). Reboot your device (press-and-hold the top button for 5 seconds, slide the red slider to power off, wait 5 seconds, then press the top button to turn your device back on). Go back to Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services and turn location services to On for your device. Also make sure that location services are set to On for Apps you want to use with your external GPS chipset module. We believe location services will continue to work with all applications after performing these steps until another/new application requests permission. When a new application is first granted permission to use location services, the external GPS module will stop working with the device until the steps above are performed again (this is still speculative). We have forwarded the issue to Apple and hope they correct it in a subsequent update. I am not sure about the strap they provided and still don't know how to use it. This is probably just me -:) You might encounter another device called dual xgps150e. When I asked dual's support about it they assured me there is no technical differences to the xgps150a. 'A" for stands America and 'e' for Europe and that is all. Overall I am very happy. 5 stars because there is no competition (except the Elf device).

My wifi-only iPad Mini does not include GPS, which is standard on the 3G version. Dual’s XGPS150A remedies this shortcoming, albeit at a price. (I paid about £69). Once you have paid though it’s pretty much all good news. The device is sensitive and pairs easily with my iPad. Even indoors (tested upstairs) it quickly acquires a full set of satellites. Dual’s free app (available from iTunes store) works fine, showing the satellite signal strength along with position, position confidence, altitude, speed and battery condition. The battery lasts for about 8 hours and takes about 3 hours to recharge via the USB connector provided. This GPS receiver works with all the maps I have tested it with but beware that some (such as Google maps) need to stream data via internet. A wifi-only iPad cannot do this. However – usually for more money! - there are plenty of downloadable maps available (eg TomTom and nautical charts), which mostly come with an app to provide other navigational information. My XGPS150A came with a 12V car charger, non-slip rubber dashboard holder and some carrying straps. It is well-made and does what I wanted.

It's a very good little device and is simple to set up works very well, if not a little expensive.

I took delivery of my XGPS150 only a few days before leaving for a holiday in France. Having tested it by walking around our paddock at home and following my progress on an enlarged Google Satellite map, I was equally pleased that it fully lived up to expectations when on the road in France. Although using a seperate Tom-Tom for our basic navigation, the XGPS150 showed our exact position on a map at all times, making it possible to see the proximity of adjacent villages, physical features etc worth visiting and to give advance notice of autoroute service areas etc. I had purcased the Michelin France 2012 mapping App which can be used off-line, but had also downloaded Memory-Map IGN and OS mapping at various scales up to 1:25000 that I already had on my PC and had previously used with a netbook linked to a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx. The XGPS150 and iPad is however a much more convenient and responsive combination and works well with both types of mapping. Only the Memory-Map software can be locked to show your position on the centre of the map and show your direction of travel whilst progressively scrolling the map. The Michelin mapping shows your position on the map as a flashing cursor and moves across the displayed map. It is therefore necessary to drag a new section of map onto the screen from time to time as the cursor moves towards the edge. I used both sets of mapping in France, mainly because my IGN maps were not as up to date in respect of major road improvements; but they were ideal on the minor rural roads. All in all, the Dual XGPS150 is a very useful and versatile piece of kit that I am pleased to have purchased. I am sure it would be particularly useful to anyone 'green-laning' or exploring the minor tracks and trails found on large scale mapping. It could be just as valuable for rambling and hiking.