Review: Freedom Keychain GPS 2000
Score:
83%
Buy Link | Download / Information Link
The Freedom Keychain GPS 2000 is a very compact unit that is intended, as the name suggests, to be kept on your keyring so it's always with you; it has a short chain and clip, so it's easy to attach. It's well presented in the box, and comes with instructions, a USB to miniUSB cable, and a car charger. You can therefore charge it as you go in the car, or any time you're near a PC.
There are four coloured LEDs; red to indicate low power, green to show charging, amber to indicate whether enough satellites have been detected, and blue to indicate Bluetooth activity. There's a power saving mode if no Bluetooth device is detected. Battery life is claimed to be up to 10 hours.
It's not as small as the Freedom Mini GPS, claimed to be the smallest unit available, but it is still very compact. It's shorter but wider than the GPSlim 240 that Navicore supply, and much smaller than the (somewhat older) Copilot unit. Dimensions are roughly 45 x 30 x 14mm; smaller than a matchbox:
The Freedom GPS comes with no software, it's intended to be used with any Bluetooth phone or handheld and whatever program you choose.
I had no trouble pairing it with my E51, and it worked fine with Google Maps, 3dtracking, FOAM (Find on a Map) and Nokia Sports Tracker. One thing I've used Sports Tracker for is to see how far I run during a game of Ultimate Frisbee. The Freedom GPS is small enough to put in your pocket and not notice as you run around. It doesn't feel quite as solid as the GPSlim, but does feel as though it would stand up to everyday use. It possibly would not survive being put in a back pocket and sat on heavily. The USB socket, used for charging the unit, has a plastic cover; this works well to keep the socket clean, even when the GPS receiver was attached to my dog; it's small and light enough to just clip on to the dog's collar or harness without being intrusive, and it seemed to be unharmed apart from some light marks on the case. With a range of 10 metres, there was no problem tracking Micky when he was on a flexi-lead. The clip looked robust enough to stand up to this too.
Compared with the Holux GPSlim unit, the Freedom GPS picked up a fix from 'cold' in about the same time, around 40 seconds, which is consistent with the published specs.
GPS receivers are now becoming commodity items, so they all do pretty much the same thing; the main selling points of this one are that it comes in a very convenient small package, and it works well with no fuss.
Andrew Merritt, AllAboutSymbian, 8th January 2008
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at