Rikaline, a well known GPS manufacturer, in their latest BT GPS receiver uses RFMD corporation's chipset, which is able to track up to 32 channels (satellites). Rikaline promises the quickest GPS TTFF from cold start, auto on/off function and of course, very good performance. We tested the Rikaline GPS-6033 comparing it to the BT-338 from Globalsat, a well known SiRF III enabled GPS device. First off, lets check out some background information on Rikaline the company.

- Rikaline background

Rikaline International Corp. is a professional hi-tech products provider, focusing on GPS (Global Positioning System) and high value added PDA peripherals. Rikaline has invested and consolidated in related companies and technologies in the following 2 categories:

• GPS applications products such as CF GPS, GPS Receiver, GPS Module and personal navigation device.
• PDA peripherals: CF GPS, CF camera, CF GPRS, CF radio, CF VGA

Rikaline's goal is: "...Continuously providing people with easy and convenient living facilities. We hope everyone in the world shares our achievement and enjoy the life..."

- Rikaline GPS-6033

The Rikaline GPS-6033 is a total solution GPS receiver with Bluetooth wireless transmission ability, designed and based on next generation indoor GPS technology with super sensitivity at -157dBm (-187dBw) and low power (<80mA) consumption.

This revolutionary system provides unbelievable positioning sensitivity, allowing you to have easy and quick position fix in urban canyon conditions.

You may use this device for strict requirements in positioning applications, such as car navigation, mapping, surveying, security, agriculture and so on.

The GPS-6033 communicates with other electronic devices using the wireless Bluetooth technology. It can acquire 32 satellites in parallel when cold start, and displays the best 8 signals for power saving purposes.

As Rikaline states, there are several other advantages of the GPS-6033: "...We built-in magnets inside the battery cover and include a set of round metal in the package for you to stick on anywhere suitable to GPS signal reception. Then you can place GPS-6033 on it. It will not move around in the car when you make sharp turn or sudden stop. If you need to bring it out, just use your fingers.

The world wide patented AUTO ON-OFF switch is the most important and useful feature of GPS-6033 when use it inside the car. Its function is controlled by the cigarette adapter. When you use it in a car and plug external power source to cigarette adapter, once you switch the engine on, GPS-6033 turns on automatically. Vise versa. When the car switch is off, GPS-6033 is off too. Therefore, you just need to find a place to put GPS-6033, then you do not need to care about anymore it in the future..."

- Used chipset

Rikaline GPS-6033 uses RFMD 8900 BT/GPS module, its full specs can be found below:

Comparing both chipsets, we can see that:

1. The RFMD doesn't support WAAS/Egnos, at least this is what Rikaline told us

2. The RFMD can track more channels in view (32 vs 20) compared with the SiRF III, but uses a maximum of 8

3. The RFMD has lower sensitivity (-157dBm) than the SiRF III (-159dBm)

4. The RFMD has lower acquisition times than the SiRF III

During our real-life tests, we will see how the RFMD chipset performs vs the SiRF III