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User Reviews about Holux GPSmile 52 Voice GPS Navigation System with US & Canada Map - MP3 player - photo viewer.

The GPSmile 52+ is a device that, on the surface, seems mediocre at best. The hardware itself is a gem, easily on a par with PNAs costing twice as much or more. There are no bells and whistles (Bluetooth integration, subscription-based traffic updates, etc) but the machine includes the venerable SIRFstar III receiver, a battery that actually lives up to its advertised capacity, and just a solid, high-quality overall feel.

What really handicaps this unit out-of-the-box is the provided Smart2Go map suite. The software itself isn't bad - directions are reasonably good (though GPS directions should NEVER be completely relied upon no matter how good or expensive the unit) and the information display on the map screen is nice and complete. However, the maps themselves are terribly lacking in detail and the street names, which are squeezed into each road illustration using a small font, are almost unreadable with the GPSmile attached to your windshield. Ditto that for the compass, now that I think about it. That nice, complete information display also blocks up much of the screen to the left of your position cursor so unless you zoom way out (which makes the street names even harder to read) you can barely tell what streets are to your left until you've already passed them. The software also takes an unusually long time to calculate routes and the zoom function is very annoying - far too many zoom levels and an over-sensitive slider are a recipe for frustration.

Hardware issues are much less problematic. The screen looks a little washed-out when "light" colors are on the screen (can be worked around a bit by tinkering with the backlight setting), and the GPS cold-start acquisition time is a lie (I've waited 2+ mins to get a lock before), though this seems to be a common issue not at all limited to the GPSmile. That's about it - as I said earlier, this unit is surprisingly well-made considering its price. It's obvious that Holux can sell this so cheap because they paid bottom dollar for the GPS software rather than cutting corners on the device itself. They're also apparently saving money with their "tech support," which is possibly the worst ever. No response to several emails I sent regarding map updates, which you're supposed to get one year's worth of for free, though if you're smart you won't be needing them anyway (keep reading).

So after using the GPSmile with the stock software for awhile, one starts to feel like they got what they paid for - i.e. one of the cheapest PNAs on the market. But then you stumble across GPSPassion Dot Com and learn how to unlock this unit and suddenly everything changes. By simply swapping a few files on the GPSmile's SD card, you can get into the guts of the device and have it behave like kind of a stripped-down PDA. This will enable you to try virtually any navigation program that's designed to run on a WinCE 4.2 device, of which there are probably about a dozen. Route66 and Destinator 6 seem to be popular choices, though my hands-down favorite has been iGo 2006 (which is essentially the same program that comes with Mio devices as well as a few others).

So in sum, if you don't want to unlock the GPSmile then you're going to get what you pay for, but if you want to spend a few minutes and upgrade to quality navigation software like iGo or R66 then you'll suddenly find yourself with a quality PNA worth about twice the amount you paid for it. Wouldn't be surprised to see this device building somewhat of a cult following before long. Good luck and enjoy! -- Great bang for the buck, you just have to work a little for it

I appreciate everyone who writes a thoughtful review. Consumers need to stick together. At this time there is only one other review of this unit on Amazon. The other reviewer had some routing difficulties that are not unique to this device. These types of routing issues have been the subject of many comedy routines. It is almost a subplot in the Robin William's movie RV. Anyone who has used one of these car navigation units can identify with the comedy.

I purchased my first portable moving map GPS, a Garmin 95AVD about fifteen years ago for our airplane. Since that time I have used several types of later generation units. Laptop based GPS software, and even moving map software that runs on my phone. While there are major differences between the units... everyone that I have ever used comes up with routes that must be overidden by the common sense portion of my brain.

To me the software that comes on GPSmile seems about average. It is pretty easy to use, has tons of POIs (Points of Interest), the routing is not any worse than a lot of other units I have tried, it has a lot of information available on the main map page, and I actually like the slight British accent. I still admit however that I prefer some of the other mapping software.

If one does a google search using the terms, "gpsmile 52 unlock", the first result that comes up today is a thread from the Gpspassion forum that tells exactly how easy it is to get to the WindowsCE operating system and install software that for me at least works better and easier. Every software package has it's own set of followers. Some actually prefer the Smart2go software that comes on the GPSmile.

What you are buying here is a tiny windows computer with a sensitive GPS receiver and bright 3.5" touch screen display. Out of the box the unit has some pretty good versatillity. It also plays videos and music, and displays pictures and text files. But the thing to remember is that it is a computer and you can run what ever software you want.

The software I added to the device is is just plain easier to use. It's so easy that after I demonstrated how it worked to my elderly mother... She wanted one. I purchased a second unit for my mother; she can sometimes get confused trying to find her way home. Once you add home to your favorite location list, it takes about three pushes on the touch screen menus to have the new software route you back home. It won over my wife also.

This GPSmile not only has a beautiful screen, it plays video, music, and displays pictures right out of the box. With some tweaking it is capable of playing or displaying files of nearly any format. I am also adding other software. I love the device. Sometimes bigger is not better. The thing has a robust little suction cup mount that hold it in place just below our rear view mirror. The map is very readable but doesn't block your view.

The thing is made in Taiwan and a reviewer on another site reported that they basically provide almost no customer support. I would ask however if anyone here has tried to call HP customer support lately? The last time I did I wasted several hours on the phone and finally had to figure the problem myself. It least with Holux I am not even tempted to try. I have one of their blue tooth GPS units also; I found the help to be almost non-existant.
-- With a little tweaking this is a great unit!