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uPRO....Anyone seen this latest entry in the GPS wars?


mrb

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Glad that you had a good experience with your upro.

I've had mine since July, and have not had any problems.

 

Regarding the measure feature, when I try to position the cursor at a point on the fairway, I often overshoot the point I'm trying to mark. Depressing the arrow keys cause the cursor to first lag, then overshoot. I have to press the arrow keys slowly and deliberately to mark the desired location.

 

Does your unit behave in the same way? I was expecting a very smooth and linear cursor movement when the arrows keys are depressed.

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Glad that you had a good experience with your upro.

I've had mine since July, and have not had any problems.

 

Regarding the measure feature, when I try to position the cursor at a point on the fairway, I often overshoot the point I'm trying to mark. Depressing the arrow keys cause the cursor to first lag, then overshoot. I have to press the arrow keys slowly and deliberately to mark the desired location.

 

Does your unit behave in the same way? I was expecting a very smooth and linear cursor movement when the arrows keys are depressed.

 

Mine does the same thing when using the measure mode. It is a bit problematic. It also locked up a couple of times when depressing multiple buttons too quickly. I'm still happy with the unit so far though.

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my one and only concern this point is the case action suit on the various different GPS companies.

 

I'm not too worried about potential lawsuits. 1) It usually takes "forever" to settle these things. If patents are infringed, the parties involved will probably end up paying a licensing fee. 2) Since there is no subscription for the Upro, we can still use the device as long as the courses have already been downloaded to the unit.

 

I can't imaging the Golf Guru being the only handheld gps "allowed" on the market. Don't let any patent issues govern your decision to buy any golf gps device. Decide on what you want to pay vs the features that you want. Add in ease of use, reliability, support, etc... and then go for it. Like others have said, some minor issues exist with the Upro. I'm guessing that similar issues exist for other golf gps units. Customer support seems to be more than willing to help resolve individual user issues (hardware/software problems). I own one of the first units to ship and have not had any major problems. So far, I'm very happy with the Upro device.

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my one and only concern this point is the case action suit on the various different GPS companies.

 

I'm not too worried about potential lawsuits. 1) It usually takes "forever" to settle these things. If patents are infringed, the parties involved will probably end up paying a licensing fee.

 

I agree about both issues, these things do take forever and they usually do end with license fees. My main concern would be if a company that is just trying to get off the ground could weather such unforeseen expenses.

 

Another factor is the age of the patent, which is nearing the end of it's life. Seeing that Guru did NOT take action when they were aware of violations for many years, it is possible that they have an unenforceable patent. Holders of patents have an obligation to take action when they are aware of a violation. No court would accept that Guru was unaware of SkyCaddie until earlier this year.

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I had a chance to do a side-by-side comparing the Guru (which I own) to Upro. While I like the concept of Upro and the distance to (measures to a particular spot) feature, the flyover view was very difficult to see outdoors, even with full backlighting. The screen shot Upro shows in their brochure can only be seen indoors....which defeats the purpose! :)

 

Guru was more accurate on the course I was at and Upro was up to 10 yards off. My guess it was an issue with the map they used and not a satellite reception.

 

Overall, if I could get a unit that clearly showed the fairway, had the distance to feature and offered mapping, I would be interested. So far Upro isn't it.

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I guess its just a matter of opinion or the course you are using. I found the exact opposite with h20. The Upro in basic mode was way better than the Guru. In fact, I thought the Guru sucked. Some holes it would have points, some not. The Upro had every point listed on the hole. In pro mode, using the zoom feature helps a lot in the sun. Even so just using basic mode blows away the Guru.

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What would make the upro the ultimate device would be if

 

They offered a rentable file. I think rhpasody used to do this with music files and i think Apple is doing now on Itunes. I dont want to own a course for 10 bucks that I may only play once or twice. I understand you can get the basic version but to me that defeats the purpose of buying this device.

 

Maybe someday

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It's not $10 per course unless you only play one course all the time. You can get 50 (Pro Mode) to 150 (Basic) courses for $120. That works out to $0.60 minimum to $2.40 maximum per course. It's a one time charge. Once you buy a course it's yours. Also, once they start offering the mapping and score entry with the software, it'll be even better. I've used mine for 10 rounds or so and it works great. The fairway image could be better in the sun, but it's still very usable.

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Guru was more accurate on the course I was at and Upro was up to 10 yards off. My guess it was an issue with the map they used and not a satellite reception.

 

I've used mine for 10 rounds so far and had no issues with the distances being off. My golfing partners use SkyCaddie units and we were never more than a yard or two off between units.

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I have not had any issues with accuracy of my upro. I have played about 5 rounds with it since I got it and it is always within 1 yard of my buddies skycaddie. Funny thing is I am the guy always giving readings for over bunkers and things like that to my group now. Skycaddie stays in his bag, oh and he's buying a upro asap as well.

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My course has 27 holes. Each 9 is a separate course for uPro. An 18-hole round can be many permutations of 9's. I couldn't figure out how to switch from the end of one 9 to the beginning of the next. I sent an email to uPro at 8 PM Eastern tonight. Three minutes later my phone rang. It was a uPro guy answering my question.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey, I just noticed this yesterday when going to download a new course on my upro - have you guys seen that they are now offering FREE basic courses?

 

By the way, I know I promised quite a while back that I was going to do a GPS unit shoot out... Sorry, I know my priorities are wrong but I got bogged down with work. Anyway, I will grab some pics to upload later tonight. Here is what is in the lineup so far:

uPro

SC SG5

Sonocaddie V300

Golf Buddy Pro

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Ok, I'm not sure how this is going to work - if anyone has a better idea on how to set this up, please let me know. Would this be better suited on a different thread?

 

Anyway, I'll add more to the mix as I come across them, but here is the start of a comparison between:

SkyCaddie's SG5 ($429 Retail)

uPlay's uPro ($399 Retail)

SonoCaddie V300 ($399 Retail)

GolfBuddy Pro ($299 Retail) (Note, this is the only non-color unit in the lineup so far since the "Tour" version seems to be delayed indefinitely - Color Tour version is $429 Retail).

 

This first installment is a comparison of physical attributes, overall look / feel, and a first look at display quality.

 

To Start, Three pictures are attached:

size_comparison.jpg - Left to right: SG5, V300, GBuddy, uPro

width_comparison.jpg - Left to right: SG5, V300, GBuddy, uPro

lcd_compairson.jpg - Left to right: V300, SG5, uPro

 

Notes on size / handling:

All of the units feel good in your hand, although the SG5 "feels" the largest. It is definitely the tallest, but it does have a little bit of an indentation at the midsection which promotes a decent feel in your hand. One handed operation is reasonably good with the SG5. The V300 easily takes the crown for the biggest waistline, and feels the most bricklike although it is still comfortable to hold. One handed operation on the V300 is the hardest of the group with 4 buttons located on the side, and tiny directional pad which is sausage finger un-friendly (yes I have problems typing on my blackberry too). The Golf Buddy is in the middle of the pack on size and girth, and although is probably the least comfortable to hold, it is slightly better than the V300 to operate the buttons one handed due to a "joystick" style directional nub. The uPro is without a doubt the most compact of the group - essentially the size of a small cell phone. It is also the only one that is truly pocketable. I tried a non-scientific pocketability test and you could hardly tell the uPro was there. The golf Buddy came closer to pocket size, and the V300 and the SG5 felt like I was packing serious heat. One handed operation on the uPro was also reasonably good - the buttons are spaced out well, and were easy to press.

 

Ruggedness:

All of the units feel solid. Not wanting to end the testing early, I decided to leave the real drop test to the end. However, I did drop them onto my carpet from about 4 feet, and they all bounced around a bit but were unharmed. The V300 sounded like it hit the hardest, but was still unscathed. In terms of weather proofing, the Golf Buddy and the V300 are in a tie for the best. They both have rubber seals "around" the unit, and pretty well sealed battery compartment. The SG5 is next best - doesn't appear to be as well sealed "around" the unit, and there is no rubberized seal on the battery compartment. The uPro is the least "sealed" of the units, and looks like it offers a little bit better than cell phone type environmental protection. To ward off rebuttals, I will mention that uPro offers a "protective skin" for environmental protection, but I'm sticking strictly to unit comparisons for now. One interesting thing is that ALL of the units have a USB style connector on the bottom which appears to be their collective achilles heel. I would not feel comfortable putting any of these units in a drink cup holder that had 1/2 inch of liquid in the bottom with the way the USB plugs tend to fit in.

 

Display Size:

Display size for all of the color units is identical. The SG5 and V300 are a little wider / shorter, and the uPro is a little thinner / taller, but they all measure out to 2.2 inches as confirmed by product documentation. After doing a little digging, I was able to determine that the resolution for both the SG5 and the V300 are the same, at 176 x 220 pixels (width x height). The uPro's screen resolution is somewhat higher at 240 x 320 pixels. In the LCD comparison, you can see the resolution difference in the images somewhat, but there is a significant difference in the text. Since neither the SG5 or the V300 are displaying much in the way of graphics it doesn't really require or need a higher resolution display. With the satellite imagery and videos, the uPro probably needed something with higher resolution.

 

Image Quality:

In the pictures that I attached, I made sure to take all of the pictures from the same angle and distance, and use the same strength of flash. The idea being that in addition to a general comparison of the units and displays, you could start to get a feel for which of these displays will perform better outdoors. Overall, I would say the LCD's were equally as bright, however both the SG5 and the uPro appeared to have better contrast than the V300. The V300 had a more washed out look to it. Of course, in one of the upcoming installments, I will redo this comparison in the sunlight outdoors. Overall image quality is the best on the uPro - it has good contrast, highest resolution, and is nice and bright. Next is the SG5 - resolution is a little "blocky", but good brightness and contrast. V300 has some of the same "blockiness", is bright, but doesn't seem to have as good of contrast.

 

Next time, I will do a comparison of features.

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It would be great to see an accuracy comparison. My usual weekend group has already done a comparison between two SG5s and my uPro on several courses. I'm sure we'll have three uPros in the group after Christmas. Curious to see if our results match.

 

I don't know about the need for another thread for your comparison. I found this just fine.

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Probably tough to measure customer service in your test. But, for what it's worth, here's my experience with uPro. I've had two confusing problems when downloading courses. (I'm old, after all. How do you think I can afford this stuff?) I sent an email to "support" both times. Shortly thereafter a polite and helpful uPro rep called and quickly eliminated my confusion. Absolutely amazing.

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  • 1 month later...
HI all, just wanted to let everyone know that there is new updatable software for the upro on their website. Its supposed to be more stable. Its really easy to do, took about 15 minutes on my computer. best neil

 

I updated to the 3.0 software last week and played 2 rounds last weekend with it. Definitely an improvement in speed and a few nice little additions. Definitely worth the download time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've read almost all of the 9 pages of posts about the uPro. I have it and love it so far. But I use a clicgear cart and would like a mount that will work to screw into the umbrella holder and also a case that will keep it protected. How does the belt clip work off the website, any ideas about a push cart mount, how does the soft case work?

 

Thanks for any help.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks to all who have posted their opinions here regarding the Upro GPS (and others). After doing quite a bit of research, I had initially decided to buy a Golf Guru, based on it's popularity on this site. However, I decided that the primary feature I wanted was to be able to see the entire hole layout, which doesn't seem to be available on the GG.

 

The way the Upro displays the hole, which looks like a yardage book, is exactly what I wanted. Since I don't play many different courses, the cost for the Pro downloads is not an issue for me. For the price of a couple of rounds of golf, I should be able to download all the courses I'll need for the forseeable future.

 

The most unique part of my purchase is that I bought it through Amazon.com. I got it for $349 with free shipping. Since I knew that I wanted to get a GPS, I had my family members give me Amazon gift cards for my birthday recently, and was able to place the order today with no out of pocket costs.

 

Just to make sure I would be getting a model with the most up to date software, I called the retailer that Amazon uses to ask when they received their most recent stock. I found out that the store had received a shipment from the manufacturer yesterday, and I would be getting one of them.

 

Now, if we can just get the snow to melt here in Chicago!

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i ordered one tonight... i've been using an iGolf for the last 18 months, and this thing just seems to have many more features and offers ALOT more points...

 

alot of my courses are already available, and the ones that aren't yet i can just use my igolf until they become available...

 

hope this doesn't turn out to be a regrettable purchase... i love the size too which is a huge plus... i hated the feel of the iGolf in my pocket... it was so bulky...

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Used my UPro for the first time today. While there a couple very minor things I would like to see different, Im very pleased overall. I only played nine and it was cloudy so I cant really comment on battery life or viewing the screen in sunlight.

 

1. I practically had the course to myself and was hitting 2-3 balls every time. Played maybe 2 1/2 hours and battery was still at 80%.

2. Unit never froze or exibited any weird yardages as others have said.

3. Measure feature is awesome.

4. I had the unit in my pocket all round. Never hindered my swing and never lost signal.

5. Never had a problem advacing to the next hole. A couple of times while near a green, it asked me if I wanted to go to the next hole. Just hit the "no" icon and it never asked again for that hole. I did have to manually advance it once, but no big deal. My SG5 did the same thing occasionally.

6. Customer service is UNPARALLED!! Mapped home course in 4 days, mapped some courses for me in NC in 2 weeks that were otherwise pending, (we are going in March) and a customer service rep has called me a couple of times to get my input/thoughts on their service and products. Just awesome. Good luck contacting ANYONE at SkyGolf. (SkyCaddie)

 

Now for the things Id like to see different..

 

1. It would be nice to have the mark feature in pro mode. Having to switch to basic then hitting mark then going back to pro was a little clumsy.

2. As others have said, turning the unit back on after sleeping was a minor annoyance, but I really didnt mind. Just hit the button while walking to your ball. Id like to play a whole round without having it go into sleep mode and see just how long the battery lasts. It may very well last 18. It seems to me UPro could come out with a longer lasting battery. Cell phones have em.

3. The video flyover before each hole is very cool, but more eye candy than anything. I guess it would come in handy more for unfamiliar courses. If you play the same 5-10 courses all year, Id just shut that function off.

4. It would also be cool if the screen would advance with you as you walk. Again no biggie. A few button clicks is all it takes.

 

The ONLY thing that Im corcerned with is the durability. With my SG5..Id walk to my ball, check the yardages, toss it on the ground, hit, then toss it in the cup holder. Played 2 years, twice a week with it that way and never had an issue. I doubt you could treat the UPro like this. I did buy the cart mount so I guess time will tell.

 

All in all very happy.

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Used my UPro for the first time today. While there a couple very minor things I would like to see different, Im very pleased overall. I only played nine and it was cloudy so I cant really comment on battery life or viewing the screen in sunlight.

......

 

Now for the things Id like to see different..

 

.......

 

The ONLY thing that Im corcerned with is the durability. With my SG5..Id walk to my ball, check the yardages, toss it on the ground, hit, then toss it in the cup holder. Played 2 years, twice a week with it that way and never had an issue. I doubt you could treat the UPro like this. I did buy the cart mount so I guess time will tell.

 

All in all very happy.

 

I added a Zagg screen protector & I use the Silicone cover (fits very, very tight) - & I feel like very well protected.

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The ONLY thing that Im corcerned with is the durability. With my SG5..Id walk to my ball, check the yardages, toss it on the ground, hit, then toss it in the cup holder. Played 2 years, twice a week with it that way and never had an issue. I doubt you could treat the UPro like this. I did buy the cart mount so I guess time will tell.

 

All in all very happy.

 

Put it in your pocket. It's small enough so you won't even notice it.

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