Sonocaddie V300 Color GPS Unit

from: Sonocaddie

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Piece Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Street Price: $399.99

Gaunz Org Price: $385.00

Savings!: $14.99 ( 4%)
Prices subject to change.

Average Buyer Rating: out of 5 stars

Sales Rank: 393

Binding: Sports
Product Brand: Sonocaddie
EAN: 0020972103127
Label: Sonocaddie
Product Manufacturer: Sonocaddie
Model: V300
Publisher: Sonocaddie
Release Date: May 01, 2008
Ranking: 393
Size: Each
Studio: Sonocaddie

Piece facts:
The easiest and most advance Golf GPS available with full color display.
Personalized course information for each hole and green to match the exact course layout
No Annual Fee required! The first 5 courses are free with each unit purchase and after that you can choose from 3 plans if more courses are needed
Digital scorecard and game analysis available at your fingertips.
Includes rechargeable batteries with estimated 12 hour battery life and charging cord. Built in antenna with 14 channel GPS receiver. 2.2" High resolution LCD with backlight.

0ur opinion:

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Sonocaddie V300 Color GPS System : First five course downloads are free. Now with no annual fee! The most critical information in golf is distance . How far to clear that water hazard? How far to the center of the green? Which club should l use? Now you no longer have to find yardage markers, pace off distances or even worse, guess at distances on the golf course with the advanced and powerful Sonocaddie V300 Golf GPS . This powerful color screen GPS unit has a 3-D display that shows your distance to critical targets including front, center and back of green, water hazards, bunkers, lay-up areas etc. A revolutionary user interface shows your actual position on the golf hole in real time. 0ther features include shot distance measuring and tracking, digital scorecard, game analysis and personalized course mapping. The tracking system tracks each shot for later review. The Sonocaddie V300 Color GPS System has a simple interface, one-handed operation, downloads courses easily online, is compact and can hold up to 30 courses at one time. Features: No annual fee Full-color 3D hole layout screen Walking golfer icon shows your position in real time Easy, one-handed operation Adjustable backlight Drive distance Tracking system for each shot Scorecard and game analysis function Specifications: Waterproof to lPX6 Dimensions: 4.3' x 2.3' x 1.1' GPS:

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The most critical information in golf is distance. How far to clear that water hazard? How far to the center of the green? Which club to use? But with the Sonocaddie V300 Golf GPS device you can forget about finding yardage markers, pacing off distances or even worse, guessing at distances when you are unfamiliar with a course. The V300 does all that work for you, helping you to minimize poor shot selections and in the process shaves strokes off your game. How does it do it? Through a unique combination of technology and a flexible, simplistic design.

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but powerful enough to take strokes off your game.

Utilizing the most advanced and sophisticated high-tech GPS satellite technology available, the Sonocaddie V300 calculates the distance from any point on the course to the green or any other target, even without a clear line of sight. All players need to do is download the particular course--domestic or international--that they will be playing to their V300 via a PC and detailed course information covering every curve, contour, slope and sandtrap will be at the placed at their fingertips.

But that's not all. 0ther features built into the Sonocaddie V300 include shot distance measuring and tracking, digital scorecard and game analysis functionality, and personalized course editing and mapping. Shot measuring allows players to leave the driving range behind as you accurately measure the length of individual shots, while the tracking system strings each shot in a round together cumulatively for later review. The unit's digital scorecard and game analysis functionality allows players to toss out their paper scorecard and tiny pencils for good as they keep track of their game digitally and perform an analysis based on pre-determined data points at the end of each round. And although the V300 is designed to download every known aspect of the courses of the world, no course's links are static. This is where its editing and mapping functionality comes in. Whether it's the filling of a bunker, the lengthening of a tee or a removal of a tree, with the V300 players can map, edit and save changes noticed on their favorite fairways right on the spot.

Finally, the unit's memory and optional Sonostar membership club perks allow for all the flexibility that even the most avid of golfers could need. The V300 ships with enough built-in storage space to simultaneously accomadate data on up to 30 courses as well as track 100 rounds and record 100 scorecards. Course data can always be recorded manually, but the V300 also includes 5 free course downloads, with each additional download purchased at either a nominal ala carte rate or with unlimited downloads available when registering your V300 and paying a one-time lifetime Sonostar GPS membership fee*. Either way users are getting the most advanced GPS golf solution on the market.

Specifications:

The V300's distance calculator.

Size: 4.3 by 2.3 by 1.1 inches (108 by 58.3 by 28.4 mm)
Weight: 140g (4.95 ounces)
Storage: Stores up to 30 golf courses, 100 scorecard
Power: Rechargeable battery, Up to 15 hours
Display: 2.2' High-Resolution Color LCD with backlight
Language support: English
Waterproof: Yes, lPX6
Regulation: CE, FCC, WEEE, RoHS Compliance
Antenna: Built in
lnternet connection: Required
Membership: Required*

What's in the Box?
Sonocaddie V300, mini USB Cable, rechargeable Battery, user’s guide, belt clip, AC charger adaptor, carry pouch.

System Requirements for Course Download

Windows 2000/XP/Vista 32-bit
CD-R0M
Minimum of 512 MB RAM (XP) / 1 GB RAM (Vista)
Minimum of 12 MB of hard disk space

Manufacturer's Warranty
Three months to a one-year extended warranty depending on which Sonostar membership plan chosen. See your user's guide for details.

About Sonostar
At Sonostar, we strive to be leaders in high quality creation, and development of new products. Breakthrough ideas and innovations are what give us our competitive edge. Sonostar is a great developer of technology with a strong financial backbone, enabling us to maintain a competitive edge. Sonostar employs the very best people in research and development engineering; mainly in GPS technology and other related microprocessor products. Sonostar was founded with the vision of creating affordable microprocessor solutions designed to merge advanced technology into sports activities in order to provide players a higher level of performance.

* A Sonostar GPS membership is not required to obtain GPS signals and to manually map locations on courses on your Sonocaddie V300, but to utilize the system's 3D graphics, its more advanced functionality and to download course data you must choose from one of the three optional plans. See your user's guide for details and rates.

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating: out of 5 stars

Buyer's feedback: 1 out of 5 stars

- * DEFECTIVE OUT OF THE BOX ...
Purchased the V300 to replace Golflogix that was stolen. I was unable to download courses to device. I called customer service and was told "there must be something wrong with your computer." The device never worked so I returned it. Unfortunately I purchased a membership which they refused to refund because of their policy.

I contacted Golflogix and received a $150 discount since my first one was stolen to purchsed a new device. I also requested a refund of my original membership fee but was denied for same reason as Sonocaddie. However to my surprise once I purchased their device and purchased a second membership Garmin did refund the fee. My computer downloaded several courses without issue.

I saved several hundred dollars by returning the V300, have a Golflogix that works great and learned a $32 lesson about poor customer service regardless of company policy.

Buyer's feedback: 5 out of 5 stars

- Great GPS Golf range finder
I've had my Sonocaddie for a month or so now. It is really great. Boots up quickly, in my area gets 9 or 10 satellites; very accurate. Very light and easy to use. Like the fact you can program & change courses on your own. Only negative is lack of courses already mapped, but the company is good to map them for you when asked. You actually get a real person to answer when you call. I have two other units, an IGOLF and a GolfLogix. The first is a piece of crap, the latter is a good unit, but your must keep your membership current or you can't use the unit. The Sonocaddie also keeps your score & holds a bunch of courses. I'm very satisfied.

Buyer's feedback: 5 out of 5 stars

- * Makes Skycaddie users jealous! ...
I love it! The first time I took the Sonocaddie out I hit more greens than I ever have on the approach. The full-color, full hole layout makes golf a real pleasure to play, on any course you choose. Nice little tip for the beginner is to start out just using the basic features of the Sonocaddie, yardage and the normal scorecard. Did I mention the scorecard feature is AWESOME??! The thing lets you keep track of your total score while you play, and if you use the pro scorecard feature tracks your percentages and stats as you play. Very handy for tuning the parts of your round that need attention.

The only bummer I can see two: you can't keep track of your buddies' scores on this unit, and for courses that don't have all the information entered it might take a couple more steps to use (full course info includes hole layout, yardage, and scorecard par for all holes). But nonetheless, even the Skycaddie users I've played with love the flexibility and color feature of this unit (haven't run into an SG5 user yet though). $50/lifetime is also hard to beat for the membership fee (one time!).

Makes Golf Fun!

Buyer's feedback: 5 out of 5 stars

- Sonocaddie V300 Color GPS Unit
We bought this for our son's birthday - he absolutely loves it! Does everything it says it does, now my husband wants one of his own!

Buyer's feedback: 5 out of 5 stars

- * Ultimate golf toy ...
Now this is the best toy a golfer can buy! Easy setup (Can't wait for them to get the software for Vista 64 so I can move it to my personal unit but for now it is on my laptop). Course description is perfect, yardages are spot on. The only thing I hate is that little golfer guys shows that I am in the rough a lot!

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The Wi-Fi Year in Review for 2007, and What to Expect in 2008

The rise and fall of muni-Fi (and rise again): Clearly, the largest story involving Wi-Fi in 2007 was the at-first continued growth in cities awarding contracts with no money involved on their part to have service providers build Wi-Fi networks--and the subsequent failure of these networks to be built. Starting quietly in late 2006, the market shifted for metro-scale Wi-Fi. During 2007, providers decided that bearing the full cost of a city-wide network without city contracts wasn't financially sensible.

The full scope of the low uptake rates in cities that had large portions of the network built out also became clear: rather than 15 to 35 percent of residents subscribing, just a few percentage points would put a network in the top tier. Revenue is apparently also pretty minimal even in cities like Taipei, Taiwan, the network provider for which was predicting 250,000 subscribers by the end of 2006, and had just 30,000 regular users each month at last public report in early 2007.

MetroFi started to tell cities that without an advance service commitment at a minimum level -- an anchor tenancy -- the company couldn't proceed on networks. In 2007, MetroFi lost half a dozen bids or saw contracts canceled due to this change. Its work in Portland, Ore., the biggest network it was building, won't be extended beyond current limited dimensions until additional capital or a city commitment is obtained; the city has said it won't commit to service fees, however.

Meanwhile, EarthLink lost its CEO Garry Betty in January due to cancer. A strong backer of new initiatives to change EarthLink's core business, his death was certainly one of the causes in a quick re-evaluation of the municipal wireless division. New CEO Rolla Huff pulled EarthLink out of new deals, suspended existing ones, laid off hundreds of employees while gutting the metro Wi-Fi division, and appears poised to leave currently built or underway networks, including their flagship Philadelphia effort. They may sell the division, but it's hard to see much worth in it given the current state.

In a smaller bit of news, Kite Networks, formerly known by various names, was sold by parent MobilePro to Gobility with conditions that according to SEC filings by MobilePro weren't met. Kite was once high flying, in the company of EarthLink and MetroFi as one of the major U.S. Wi-Fi network builders. Now it's still in that company, with work on its Arizona networks apparently halted. A suitor has emerged in the form of a regional telecom that specializes in the Hispanophone market (double entendre intended), and which thinks it could boost Tempe subscriptions from the current several hundred to about 300 times that number. Hope springs eternal.

And while AT&T was able to launch a Riverside, Calif., network with MetroFi handling the installation and operation, it backed out of St. Louis, Mo., due to a utility pole problem, and the bidding in Chicago, too. The Metro Connect consortiums in Sacramento and Silcion Valley were unable to raise financing despite the apparent blue-chip participation by Cisco, IBM, and Intel.

County-wide Wi-Fi was also hit again and again by providers who pulled out--CenturyTel in Pierce County, Wash., for instance--or problems with technology or utility poles. In a few scattered areas, Wi-Fi across counties has been built out, but it's not an idea whose time has yet come.

Muni-Fi isn't down for the count. While these high-profile networks in large cities and county-wide networks have mostly hit the skids, more modest networks with well-defined goals continue to be built with a focus on public safety and municipal uses in hundreds of small and medium-sized towns. Brookline, Mass., may be a good example, in which a public safety/public access network was built relatively quickly and with no reported problems.

And there's one big city success story: Minneapolis, Minn. While local provider US Internet wound up spending more than they'd intended, reports from the ground indicate that service works quite well, and subscriptions and interest are quite high. The company was able to respond almost instantly to the bridge collapse a few months ago by deploying additional mesh infrastructure to add network capacity in the area. And it says that it could reach positive cash flow in early 2008. One of their advantages? They secured a substantial commitment from the city for the services they built.

Other trends of the year gone by: Music and Wi-Fi are clearly more aligned, with the new Zune models and firmware from Microsoft allowing wireless sync (but not yet Wi-Fi purchases), and the introduction of both the Apple iPhone and iTunes touch, which allow music purchases over Wi-Fi but not synchronization. (While the MusicGremlin preceded both the Zune and iPhone/iPod options, it didn't seem to gain any market traction in 2007.)

Security continues to be a concern in 2007, although less of one as home users have clearly accepted WPA Personal, at long last, and networks are increasingly encrypted through better software from major hardware manufacturers. Wizards make encryption a no-brainer, when they work. Corporations stung by reports and by requirements from credit card issuers are also clearly protecting their networks better, although I'm sure we'll still see breaches at those firms that didn't cross every "t."

The 802.11n standard's emergence into an interim certified Wi-Fi state was also a significant milestone for faster wireless networking. Shipments of Draft 802.11n products in 2007 increased significantly, while prices dropped so much that it makes perfect sense to purchase a $50 to $80 Draft N router than a comparable G unit. Manufacturers made it clear as the year progressed that hardware sold today should generally be firmware upgradable to whatever the final, not much changed 802.11n standard is when approved in 2008.

Gadget-Fi continued on the rise, as an increasing array of devices included Wi-Fi as a connectivity option. Most notably, T-Mobile launched its HotSpot@Home service, the largest scale offering of converged cell/Wi-Fi calling. By year's end, they had four handsets for sale--two plain, a BlackBerry, and a clamshell--but subscriber numbers are unknown.

What's coming in 2008?

In-flight Internet (over Wi-Fi): 2008 is finally the year. It was supposed to be 2005. Or maybe 2002. But we should see a number of planes, mostly flying over the U.S., equipped with either in-flight Internet access or in-flight text messaging and text email. Connexion by Boeing's failure fortunately didn't discourage a half a dozen competitors who were in the R&D phase when Boeing wrote off its satellite-based Internet access venture.

AirCell, Row 44, OnAir, Aeromobile, Panasonic Avionics, and a T-Mobile consortium are among the announced or nearly announced firms with commitments or trials underway. AirCell and Row 44, focused on the U.S. market, plan to deliver Internet not voice to fuselages; OnAir and Aeromobile are working on mobile-based services, including voice, via existing cell phones and devices.

In 2008, American, Alaska, and Virgin America will launch trials over the U.S., and potentially move into production. OnAir should be expanding in Europe beyond the single French aircraft that's equipped in a trial now to RyanAir's fleet. And Aeromobile's Qantas trial could turn into real usage. There's likely action that will happen in Asia and the Middle East, too, that's not yet disclosed.

Other trends to watch

Wi-Fi in every smartphone with better integration. The iPhone was the leading edge, pun intended, offering 2.5G EDGE cell networking as part of the subscription price, along with seamless roaming to Wi-Fi networks. With RIM finally offering BlackBerry models with Wi-Fi, it's unlikely that any future smartphone model intended for serious users would lack the option.

Wi-Fi everywhere. Despite the setbacks in municipal Wi-Fi, wireless networks continue to expand, with better and better coverage found across larger areas and more locations. 2008 might be the year of hotspot saturation.

WiMax arrives. In 2008, we'll finally see production mobile WiMax in action in the U.S., and the questions about whether it works well enough and fast enough at the right price to beat current generation cell data networks, and make money for the disorganized Sprint Nextel will be answered. More certainly, Clearwire, with WiMax as its only option, will push aggressively to steal customers away from fixed, wired broadband, especially in markets with little competition.

Gadget-Fi a go-go. Wi-Fi will become an expected part of gaming consoles (already found in a few), cameras (found in crippled form in just a handful), regular cell phones (in dozens and dozens now), and music players (with more full functionality).

via Wi-Fi Networking News

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