Garmin Mobile 10 GPS receiver no-go on iPad 2

I have a Garmin Mobile 10 GPS receiver from 2007 kicking around that I used to use with Windows Mobile. It’s not a GPS like the one you use in your car. It has no maps or even a software or a screen for viewing location. It simply connects to GPS satellites and passes the information back to a user’s device over Bluetooth.

https://static.garmincdn.com/en/products/010-00579-00/g/cf-lg.jpg

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=420

My version 1 iPad had GPS built right in. You got that option only if you picked a model that had the AT&T 3G functionality. Which is kinda weird because I never turned the 3G on the whole time I had it, and the GPS always worked fine without it (over WIFI/Mifi).

When I got an iPad 2 I decided to forego 3G (and thus internal GPS) as I never ended up using the 3G on the first one. I decided I could live without the “big-screen” GPS.

Not long ago I ran across some indications on the web that the iPad actually supported Bluetooth GPS. This was possible before with jail-breaking but I wasn’t interested in that. But there are actually 3 bluetooth GPS receivers that seem to work with the iPad:

• Bed Elf   http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-Receiver-iPhone-66-channel/dp/B0035Y7ZJ2
• GNS 5870   http://www.amazon.com/GNS-5870-Receiver-WAAS-Enabled/dp/B004289ZW0
• XGPS 150   http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150-Universal-Smartphones/dp/B004M3BICU

There’s some good info on all 3 here:

 http://aviationmentor.blogspot.com/2011/02/gns-5870-bluetooth-gps-for-ipad.html

However all references also mention an Apple certification program.  I can’t find any information about the certification program on Apple’s site, but I did find a document listing bluetooth profiles supported:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3647

Since I had the iPad 2 without GPS and I had the Garmin 10, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try and see if they could connect over Bluetooth. It’s not clear to me if the built-in “Maps” app could actually use the Bluetooth GPS, but I could at least see if I could get the Bluetooth pairing to happen, then worry about map software later. Unfortunately they do not pair. I tried various resetting and rebooting options, and nothing helped. I’ve used the Garmin 10 with multiple devices in the past including phones and laptops and PDAs, so I know it is somewhat complaint with the Bluetooth spec. Thus I’m guessing that Apple is the villain here, and the certification involves proprietary extras. Bummer. But I thought I would post it here to help others avoid wasting time or money on this. And hopefully if something changes or somebody finds a way around the issues (which doesn’t involve jail-breaking) I’ll hear about it as well.