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GolfWRX.com > Community Encyclopedia of Golf > Equipment Domestic and Import > Home of the "GPS/Range Finders"
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stevestrike
Holy moly this thing looks cool!

Small, lightweight, and functional.

http://www.igolf.com/igolfstore/igolfindivprods/prod29.html

Also, I see it has the Sirf Star III GPS chip, which is supposed to be very good (20 channel).

At this price, I think I could justify a GPS unit AND a laser rangefinder!
newjedi
Holy Cow thanks for the link. I had heard the name but had forgotten to look it up online. For $149 that is definately going to be my next purchase.
mac94
How much is the annual subscription?
stevestrike
It should be the same as the iGolf and all the others ~$30/year. I think the small size will be a real benefit too. I think the only two features I need/want are distance to the green, and a shot marking function (to verify those big 300yd drives!).

Chief71
Annual subscription is now $34.99...it used to be $29.99.....but once you download the course and save it to your computer, it's yours. I no longer really need a subscription since I have all the courses I need. You can map courses on your own too. That's what's great about the iGolf compared to Skycaddie...you HAVE to have an annual subscription to use it(the Skycaddie).

I have the IGolf Caddie....the first model....and still use it all the time.
newjedi
It should be ready to go out of the box. If you are going to map your own course you will not need to buy anything go plot your points and you are ready to go. Granted it is better to go ahead pay the 1 year subscription to add courses you normally play then not renew.
stevestrike
Looking at the online documentation, it appears that the software stores courses you download or map yourself onto your local computer when you back them up. This means that even if you do not have the subscription (expired) you should be able to load up any of the courses previously downloaded to this folder.

I've found the 10-course limit is rather small, and that I have to change courses out frequently. I suppose I could keep the courses folder on my laptop, and load up any course I was playing in the parking lot if need be.

My only real concern is regarding the longevity of the company. I see that iGolf is a part of L1 Technologies, but I don't how big or stable they are. I would hate to own an orphaned GPS unit.

KammaQwazi
Well, I was thinking about getting something like this, but my boss told me that we are installing gps units on our carts this spring. smile.gif. Looks like I just saved a little money.
stevestrike
Update: I ordered one today. Will post a review when it arrives if anyone's interested. I just couldn't pass up this price point/feature set.
Gxgolfer
I have the original igolf. I usually stick it in my back pocket if I can't get back to my bag.
mcbush25
QUOTE(stevestrike @ Jan 2 2008, 10:01 PM) *
Update: I ordered one today. Will post a review when it arrives if anyone's interested. I just couldn't pass up this price point/feature set.


Please let us know what you think when you get it. This is one model I have been looking at and haven't heard any reviews on it yet.

harvest
Just got mine! Ordered only a couple days ago...got here quick. Out of the box it seems really easy to navigate around, add courses, etc.

My wife is due anyday now, but if I she holds out a couple more days... clapping.gif ...I be taking it for a test run this weekend!
stevestrike
I received my iGolf today. I placed the order Jan. 2 in the morning, and got it on the 4th via USPS. I did not have the option to choose the shipping method, but I am very pleased with the quick delivery.

I decided on the Neo for several reasons:
1. Price. This unit wins the price wars by at least $50, and that includes the membership.
2. I think golf GPS units will continue to advance over the next few years, and get much better. I don't mind passing on a $150 GPS like I would a $400 SkyCaddie when it's time to upgrade.
3. Accuracy. The 20-channel receiver should provide a high level of accuracy
4. Function. All I really want to know is "How far is it to the green?" and "How far did I hit that drive?" That's it. I don't need stat tracking, score tracking, or anything else.

Out of the box
The Neo comes with the unit itself (very small!), a mini-USB cable, a power adapter for the USB cable, a belt-clip, a manual, a quick start, and a CD-ROM. The packaging is sparse, but I guess there's not much else needed.

Software
The CD includes USB drivers and a Sync program which you use to load, download, and backup your courses. With the exception of loading courses, the software is a front-end to their website. Installing the drivers and software was painless, and my Neo was recognized in no time. Once in the Sync software you can choose from Sync Courses, Download Courses, Save Courses, Create/Edit, & Settings. These options are fairly self-explanatory. One odd thing is that you have to power on the GPS and put it into "sync" mode in order to transfer courses to or from it. I thought this was strange, but it's not hard to do.

Hardware
The Neo unit itself is made of a hard, molded plastic, with a small LCD screen. There is a small rubber cover over the USB port, which I figure will last about a week. There are six small rubber buttons on the bottom front of the unit that you use to control all the features. The buttons have a nice 'click' to them, so there is tactile feedback, which I like better than the 'soft' rubber buttons on many other devices. After turning the unit on, it goes from no satellite signal, to 'strong' signal in about 10 seconds 5 minutes. It's super-fast compared to the SureShot GPS I had been using. There are the usual menu options, play golf, edit course, delete course, settings, etc... Nothing really exiting here. The ShureShot will show you your coordinates and even calculate the speed you are moving, which was neat. No such tricks on the Neo. Even the satellite signal page is underwhelming, but as long as it picks them up, I'm OK with that. Clicking the power button turns on a nice green backlight. Very nice. This is something I'll need for those late-evening rounds.

The instruction manual leaves a lot to be desired, specifically in the "how to map your own course" arena. Luckily, the unit is intuitive enough to figure out on your own, and I was able to walk through it without needing instruction. Still, others might not be so apt to get it, and would need some help. My father-in-law comes to mind.

After loading in a few courses, you can then choose to play golf. The unit tracks F/B/C green, and 4 additional points, such as bunkers, hazzards, layups, etc.. The courses I downloaded have some of these points already mapped, and you can edit the downloaded courses to add/change your own points.

Downloaded courses come as files that you store on your computer, so they are yours forever. That's good, because you only get 100 downloads with the $34.99 yearly membership! I thought this was a bit ridiculous myself, and don't plan on renewing my membership next year. 100 courses should suite me just fine. And you can, of course, map your own courses to use for free.

I noticed that it tops out at 9999 yards, and does not go any higher. The SureShot GPS kicked into miles at that point, and would actually give me a reading to the green, even if it was several miles away.

The Good:
Smallest, lightest, & cheapest GPS available ($149?!?!?!)
20-channel GPS chipset (vs. 12 or 16)
Courses are stored on your hard drive
Backlit LCD
Syncs and charges with standard mini-USB cables (charges from your computer too!)
Shot measurement function
Large course library to download from
Downloaded courses are user-editable

The Bad:
Only holds 10 courses, I regularly play about 20
Smaller screen can be harder to read (compared with the color screen on the $400 SureShot)
Only goes up to 9999 yards--what about those really LONG par 5's?
Rechargeable internal battery, I'd prefer AAA's
Only 4 custom points per hole, probably enough but I'd like to have a few more
Only 100 downloads per year with membership, additional DL are currently 25 for $10


The Ugly:
$35/year for a membership? Really? I will not be renewing this one.

I plan on using it tomorrow on the course, and I'll update with more details on using the GPS on the course.

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
mcbush25
Great review so far. This is really helping me with my decision on this. Can't wait to here how it functions on the course so I can make my final decision. Thanks for the review.
stevestrike
Neo on the course
I got a chance to take the Neo out for a round today. Unfortunately, several small things really stacked up against my having a good day with it, not the least of which was some rain on the third, fourth, and fifth holes. However, after a few very wet holes, and waiting out the worst of it under some trees we were on our way to a full, and relatively dry day of golf.

While I can’t pin the bad weather on the Neo, I did discover some of its drawbacks today. First and foremost was the belt clip. It does not hold the Neo firm enough to prevent it from falling out! While raking a bunker today (in the rain no less) the Neo slipped out and fell right into the wet sand. Ugh. I had noticed that the holster does not have a very good grip on the unit, and it did not take long to prove to be and entirely inadequate way of carrying the Neo around the course. But it gets worse. On the next hole, the belt clip actually broke and the thin, cheap plastic excuse for a holster snapped in two. I couldn't believe it. This thing didn’t even last five holes. Now, I'm not particularly hard on my stuff. I like my things to last, and I take good care of them. I imagine that there may be sever hundred (thousand?) broken Neo belt holsters filling up land fills very soon. The engineer who produced this design should be flogged, and then beaten.

The second problem I had was with the course file I downloaded. The course must have gotten corrupted during the transfer from my PC, because I could not read any of the four custom points on the map. All that displayed was garbage (see pic). While the distances to F/B/C were OK, layup points, hazards, etc… were all useless today. Surprisingly, I didn't miss them all that much, which makes me think that four will be enough for most holes. When I got home this afternoon, I reloaded the course, and checked it. EDIT: iGolf has fixed the course corruption problem* Sure enough, the custom points were back, and this time I could read them. So it was a fluke, and not a real negative, but it wasn't a good way to start the relationship. Between that, and the broken clip, I couldn't help feeling like I had made a mistake.

Since the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, I shrugged it off and tried to enjoy my round. After all, I could still mark those 300 275 255 235 yard drives, right? And I still had my distances to the greens, which was what I was aiming for. On several of the greens, I checked the accuracy. It ranged from perfect (showing 0 yards to the front while standing on it) to just OK (7 yards off while standing at the very back). I suppose where the back was measured from makes a difference too, do you measure from how the green runs from the fairway, or to the absolute deepest part of the green? I suppose that's up to the mapper.

The Neo did help me where I wanted it the most—judging distances. Not once were we stumbling around like J-holes looking for yardage markers. On one par 3 that was marked 148, I could see that the pin was closer to the front than center (no pin sheets). The Neo gave me a reading of 126 to the front, so I played my ~140 club instead of my ~155. It was just right. 150 (like the course marking) would have been too far past. Seeing the 126 on the Neo gave me the confidence to take a bit less club, and play more aggressively. I'm sure the laser guys do better on the par 3's, but I wanted something that works without line of sight. Besides, lasers cannot penetrate the deep brush and trees that I often find myself in. No, a sky-bound satellite signal is my only hope in the dense ball-grabbing trees.

So what's the verdict? When I look at the overall picture, my negative impression was really due to some fairly minor things. Rain, broken belt clip, and a corrupted course download all combined to give me a bad feeling about the Neo. I could contact iGolf and complain about the belt holster, but all they can do is send me another one, which will be the same piece of junk. But I did not buy the Neo for a belt clip. I've already re-sync'd the course file and it's fine. And the rain has cleared up. So what am I left with? I pretty nice GPS that I picked up for $150.

I figure I'll have to fashion some type of belt holster myself out of leather, or maybe find one for a cell phone that will fit it. iGolf could have really made this a nice package by including a sturdy, thicker, more durable holster here. Especially since this is the smallest GPS on the market! You WANT to wear this one on your belt. It belongs there. But as it stands, I can't complain too loudly.

The Good
Distances were spot on
Satellite reception was strong all day, even in cloudy rainy weather

The Bad
Corrupted file download can spoil a round (I will be checking it before I leave next time) FIXED!!!
Battery life indicator seems inaccurate. Mine still says 95% after being on for five hours today

The Ugly
Cheap plastic belt holster is useless, and doesn't provide a safe place to keep the Neo

EDIT to reflect the fix of the corrupted course problem.
MCCA
I think you may have gotten a bad file from the looks of it. I have the original Igolf unit and love it i have about 30 courses on it and at least 15 of them i have all 8 custom points per hole saved. I went and purchased rechargeable batteries from walmart for $12.00 but carry a regular Alkaline as back ups. I think igolf is a solid company and should be around a long time.

mcca
mcbush25
Well, the review you posted on the Neo has helped me greatly. I am now strictly torn between the iGolf Neo and the GPS Golf Guru units. Now I just have to make my mind up on which one I want.
stevestrike
Besides price, one thing that steered me towards the Neo was the backlight, which the Guru does not have. We play a lot of night golf in the summer, and that will be important.

However, I'm not 100% convinced at this point that the Guru is not a better unit. Since they also have a 30-day guarantee, I may try both!
mcbush25
QUOTE(stevestrike @ Jan 5 2008, 11:04 PM) *
Besides price, one thing that steered me towards the Neo was the backlight, which the Guru does not have. We play a lot of night golf in the summer, and that will be important.

However, I'm not 100% convinced at this point that the Guru is not a better unit. Since they also have a 30-day guarantee, I may try both!


I am basically torn between the two units. I have had three e-mails answered already from GPS Golf Guru today answer questions I had about their product.

My main concerns with it are:

1. Not that many courses mapped in my area.
2. Doesn't come across to me as it will be around for a while.
3. Unit looks cheaper than models from other companies.

While I have my own concerns about iGolf:

1. How well the unit will hold a signal.
2. How well it will hold up.
3. Does it have enough features for what I want.

I really just can't decide.
AUDuffer
Anybody heard anything about the SG 2.5 from SkyCaddie? I saw it last night and was curious. Looks like a smaller version of the SG2 at $250, but SkyCaddie's website doesn't mention it at all. Anyone got advance word? This Neo looks pretty sweet, but it's not Mac compatible.
Skippy11
From what I was told, the SG2.5 is going to come in at the 250$ price point. It is going to have a smaller B&W LCD screen.

They should be out in stores in about 2 weeks, at least that was the word Friday from my local guy who was on the phone with skygolf at the time. It was actually kind of funny because we were having the discussion about the SG2 being discontinued when skygolf called so we were able to find out about it.

Weird how they do not have any info on their website yet though.


Rick
OpusXcigars
Somebody has the SG 2.5 on Ebay already. $250 is pretty steep, no?

Click to view attachment
stevestrike
Missing Course Data Problem--Fixed

EDIT: What I thought was a bug, is actually by design. Mike at iGolf told me today that the Neo ignores the course data (Hole length, par, & handicap) because it does not track your score like their other GPS products that use the same course files. So when loading a course into the file editor after using it on the Neo, the data will be "missing", but that is only because the Neo can't use it, and doesn't require it. The custom points you created are all still there. I'm relieved to know this one is fixed. Case closed.
OpusXcigars
Weird bug. Does anyone know if the other iGolf units suffer from this bug too? Seriously considering the Neo if something like this can be patched.
mcbush25
Hmmm.....I am curious to see how this plays out. Let us know how their customer service is as I know when I have e-mailed GPS Golf Guru that got back to me right off the bat.
PingG10
I've the iGolf GPS Caddie II (bought just before the NEO was announced). Very happy with the unit-never lost signal, accurate yardages (verified against 2 other SkyCaddie units and a Garmin), good battery life and easy programming of user defined features. I've also never had a "freeze" problem, unlike my SkyCaddie buddies-that's a problem that really would bother me.

Don't understand the problem some have with the 10 course memory limit-how many courses are you going to play before you can get back to a laptop or desktop where you've stored other courses you've downloaded (and which, BTW, belong to you even after your subscription lapses).

Requested a local course mapping-customer service came back right away and said that they couldn't get to the course immediately but would be happy to compensate me for mapping the course when I played it. Seemed like a reasonable exchange.

I might have considered the Golf Guru unit had I found it (like the scorecard and club tracking features) but I do think the unit looks a bit less well built than the GPS Caddie.

My 2 cents worth. good.gif
stevestrike
More problems. It looks like the corrupt course data is happening AFTER the data is loaded onto the Neo. I loaded up some courses, and check them to make sure they were good. Then, I powered on the unit when I was ready to play, and I noticed a checksum error during the power-on screen. I went in to "play golf" and chose the same course I had just verified to be good, and it had the same corrupt entries for the custom points. Not good. I am contacting iGolf support about this right now. Two strikes. One more, and I will be a Guru owner!

EDIT: The course corruption problem has been fixed by iGolf!!!
mcbush25
I know problems happen, but your problems are leaning me mroe towards the Guru that the Neo.

One thing I have noticed is that I e-mailed iGolf on Friday morning with questions about the Neo and I have still not heard anything back from them. I e-mailed the GPS Golf Guru group on Saturday, nonetheless, and got a response back that same day (within a few minutes) and have an in-depth conversation with them on their product. Right now, the Guru seems to be heads and tails above the iGolf group and the Neo.
stevestrike
QUOTE(mcbush25 @ Jan 7 2008, 01:30 PM) *
I know problems happen, but your problems are leaning me mroe towards the Guru that the Neo.

One thing I have noticed is that I e-mailed iGolf on Friday morning with questions about the Neo and I have still not heard anything back from them. I e-mailed the GPS Golf Guru group on Saturday, nonetheless, and got a response back that same day (within a few minutes) and have an in-depth conversation with them on their product. Right now, the Guru seems to be heads and tails above the iGolf group and the Neo.

Yeah, I feel the same way as you. My big concern with the Guru is if they will even be around in another couple of years. I mean, they are a small company, I'm sure the startup costs are huge, and they are giving away free subscriptions. How many of those $200 boxes are they really going to sell while competing with SkyGolf, Garmin, Sonnocaddie, iGolf, GulfBuddy, & the SureShot? Some of those players have deep pockets, and/or big-name endorsements. The Guru reminds me of the Commodore Amiga--superior to it's competition in every way, yet doomed to obsolescence through obscurity. Whatever advantages the Guru currently has, the other OEM's will pick up on them and integrate those features soon. If your GPS company goes out of business, then what do you have? (PS-I hope this is not true for the Guru company, just an observation!)

With the Neo, the product does work pretty well, it's cheap, and the courses are stored on your computer so you can use them forever, even if you cannot download new ones. Personally, I think the golf GPS market will be MUCH cooler in about 2-3 years, so I'm buying the Neo as more of a 'disposable' item. Think about it, what piece of electronic gear do you own that the "best" version of it came out 3 years ago? Look at cell phones as an example of what I mean by this. My cell phone gets my email, plays music, can browse the web, and takes pictures and cost about $100. Compare this to the best cell phone you could buy a few years ago.
stevestrike
An update on the corrupted course problem:

I recieved an email response that basically stated, "reset your unit back to factory defaults" Well, yeah I can do that but I will lose all my courses, and have to re-sync.

I emailed him back and told him that that was not a solution to my problem. We'll see what happens next.

Then I did what the guy said, and restored my Neo to factory defaults. Then I loaded some courses back into it. They were fine. Then I turned the unit off and on about four times. After that, one of the courses was corrupt again. This was very easy to replicate, so I hope that their support can figure it out. I guess you have to reset the unit every other time you use it? The SG2.5 is looking mighty fine right about now.


EDIT Corruption problem fixed by iGolf!
cb_golfer
QUOTE(stevestrike @ Jan 7 2008, 04:14 PM) *
An update on the corrupted course problem:

I recieved an email response that basically stated, "reset your unit back to factory defaults" Well, yeah I can do that but I will lose all my courses, and have to re-sync.

I emailed him back and told him that that was not a solution to my problem. We'll see what happens next.

Then I did what the guy said, and restored my Neo to factory defaults. Then I loaded some courses back into it. They were fine. Then I turned the unit off and on about four times. After that, one of the courses was corrupt again. This was very easy to replicate, so I hope that their support can figure it out. I guess you have to reset the unit every other time you use it? The SG2.5 is looking mighty fine right about now.


Unfortunately, restoring to factory default was probably the only thing can be done. Anyway, I ordered one this past Saturday (before the issue showed up in the thread). I'll try it out as soon as I can and post what I find.
joealtus
I just got the Neo and have played one round with it. I didn't have any issues with the belt clip breaking and it never fell out of the holster once. It performed well during the round. The only issue I have is that when you change to the next hole, it defaults to the "center" yardage, where I prefer the Front, Center, Back screen, so I have to change it every hole.

After seeing this thread, I turned my unit on and saw the checksum error. I tooled around in it and started a few games, but never came across corrupt screens. I went ahead and reset it and will see if it happens again. I've emailed their tech support.
mcbush25
That's definitely not good if two units are experiencing the same problems. I talked with iGolf yesterday about the Neo unit and informed that I had heard of units causing the files to go corrupt and they said they were unaware of this being an issue. Hopefully, since these units are newer they will figure it out and get the problem fixed.

I am interested to see what happens. This just keeps me in limbo. I would go with a GPS Golf Guru right now if I knew the company would be around for a few years, but who knows? They have a great product for what I have gathered, but not as strongly backed as other GPS units on the market. iGolf is cheaper and at least you know it will be around for a little while.

I just hope I can get my mind made up before the official start of golf season here in KY.
tdevils15
QUOTE(stevestrike @ Jan 7 2008, 07:14 PM) *
An update on the corrupted course problem:

I recieved an email response that basically stated, "reset your unit back to factory defaults" Well, yeah I can do that but I will lose all my courses, and have to re-sync.

I emailed him back and told him that that was not a solution to my problem. We'll see what happens next.

Then I did what the guy said, and restored my Neo to factory defaults. Then I loaded some courses back into it. They were fine. Then I turned the unit off and on about four times. After that, one of the courses was corrupt again. This was very easy to replicate, so I hope that their support can figure it out. I guess you have to reset the unit every other time you use it? The SG2.5 is looking mighty fine right about now.



I have had an Igolf for almost 2 years. For me from the beginning the support was great. Emails are really easy, but trust me when I say this give them a call. I spent an hour with Mike on the phone after I first got it. Nothing was wrong with the unit, but for some reason we could not figure out why courses tried to attach to a game on my computer. He stayed 50 minutes past what he was suppose to be there just to help me get a course uploaded the right way. To me that is top notch service.

Another incident was when I asked for a course to be mapped. They said it could not be done at that moment. Well my membership ran out and 3 months later they added the course. Called back one of the guys and he asked for my email and shot me the course. Told him my membership was over he said no problem. Again another good example.

Now I have a friend who just got a Neo and no problems as of yet. It could be you just got a bad apple. It does happen, but I would just suggest calling them.
stevestrike
QUOTE(mcbush25 @ Jan 8 2008, 10:08 AM) *
I talked with iGolf yesterday about the Neo unit and informed that I had heard of units causing the files to go corrupt and they said they were unaware of this being an issue.

That's the part of this that ticks me off. They better acknowledge the problem, or they will get nothing but ill-will from their users, who are the ones who tell everyone else to go buy one, or to steer clear.

I did get in contact with a higher-up yesterday, so I'll wait and see.


I did some testing and was able to confirm that the course file is getting corrupted inside of the Neo. Interestingly, if you dump the file back onto your computer, and then try to load it onto the Neo again, it will not go. This is a v1.0 product, so I may be able to wait for a software update to fix this. It's never easy being an early adopter.

QUOTE
Now I have a friend who just got a Neo and no problems as of yet. It could be you just got a bad apple. It does happen, but I would just suggest calling them.
That would be two bad apples. My friend has a unit also that did the corrupt course thing yesterday.

If anyone else here finds the corrupted course problem, please contact them so we can make this problem known!

Also, if any of you with Neo's are willing to help test this, I will email you the (clean) course file that ends up getting corrupted for us. Maybe it's just a few particular courses?


EDIT Course corruption problem fixed by iGolf!
mcbush25
Any word from iGolf yet on the problem??
Gsco
QUOTE(mcbush25 @ Jan 8 2008, 05:49 PM) *
Any word from iGolf yet on the problem??


Probably not. I've reported this problem weeks ago. Usually takes a few days for a response. I've only got the 'reset device' and see if that works.

Here's what I have found. If you load courses and don't do any mapping the unit will work fine and is very accurate. Once you try to edit a point the file will (start) to become corrupt. (I've reset twice and it did not corrupt the file immediately - it did before reset). The mapped point will be incorrect after registering. I remained at a mapped point after registering and it read 30 yards. It is very accurate if you leave it alone until hopefully a fix. We measured it against a Pinseeker and it was within 3 - 5 yards all day.
mcbush25
That sucks! They were pretty quick to answer on the sales side, but I guess after they sell the product they don't get in too much a hurry.

Question for you iGolf owners....Do you have any major issues with the Caddie II??

stevestrike
Quick update because this deserves it before I hit the sack:

I spoke with some people at iGolf/L1 today, and things are looking up. I'll post more when I have some details.

1. One problem resolved--see my post #23 in this thread. The "missing course data" is not really a problem after all.
2. I've received some new course files from them that so far (knock on wood) have not corrupted despite my best efforts.
3. I received a telephone call from the president of the company this afternoon. Although I did not have a chance to speak with him, or call him back (he left his cell#), it was nice to know they are getting involved. People from L1 are reading this thread, and so they are listening.

mcbush25
QUOTE(stevestrike @ Jan 8 2008, 11:10 PM) *
Quick update because this deserves it before I hit the sack:

I spoke with some people at iGolf/L1 today, and things are looking up. I'll post more when I have some details.

1. One problem resolved--see my post #23 in this thread. The "missing course data" is not really a problem after all.
2. I've received some new course files from them that so far (knock on wood) have not corrupted despite my best efforts.
3. I received a telephone call from the president of the company this afternoon. Although I did not have a chance to speak with him, or call him back (he left his cell#), it was nice to know they are getting involved. People from L1 are reading this thread, and so they are listening.


That is great to hear. Now if the course file wont get corrupted after you add points then you should be in business. I like to hear that the President of the company called you, that makes me feel that they care.

I'm still torn though.
stevestrike
I spoke with the president of L1 Technologies this afternoon. It showed a genuine level of concern on his part for him to take time out of his day to call me yesterday, and I wanted to tell him that I appreciated that.

Anyway, he told me some of the people they have working on this, and it seemed to be a very big priority for them. After our conversation, I have no doubt this will be resolved quickly.

Their sales guy Mike Cecchin has also been very helpful. I don't want to jump the gun, but what Mike and I have tried seems to have worked, and I think this corrupt course file problem will no longer be an issue. At this point, I'm not planning on returning my unit anymore. I'll post back full details when I can say for sure what's going on.

EDIT Course corruption problem fixed by iGolf!
Skippy11
Good to hear, I am interested in this unit at this price point. If all goes well they will have a winner, and I will be passing on the info to my local shop and club.

Rick
mcbush25
I am definitely considering the Neo right now. It seems that they are really concerned with the problem and looking to fix it. I also know that they have a majority of the courses I play already mapped so it would save me some time as compared to the GPS Golf Guru in which I would have to map all of my courses, but one.

Looks like it is iGolf for me.
junnel20
I just placed an order for the Neo today. My first intention was to order the Caddie II, unfortunately, golfsmith's website didn't have them on stock.

I hope I don't get a lemon.
stevestrike
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mcbush25
Question for Neo owners.....When you go to the next hole does it prompt you or how does that work?
stevestrike
Guys, I've posted my thoughts on the Guru in the Guru thread. They were not favorable in comparison with the Neo.

I also posted my thoughts on the SG2.5 in the SkyCaddie thread. Now I don't know which unit to keep!
tch_a
I got the Neo over the holidays. Have played several courses using it and it is an absolutely great piece of technology. As someone who enjoys walking it provides all the relevant info I need per hole. Though I have used the course mapping feature a few times I have found that I don't need it as much as I thought I would. The unit provides enough info to help make good club selections. One minor quibble is that the unit does not automatically advance from hole to hole. You have to manually tell it which hole you are on so it has a fairly high figit factor which might prove annoying for some. Not a problem for me.

The belt clip is really useless. Its not really practicle taking it in and out from hole to hole. It is small enough to slip into your pocket unobtrusively.

The major issue I have with the unit is the that periodically course info will get "corrupted" during a round. I still get basic info for distance to front, middle and back of green but everything else is gibberish. I have spoken to tech support and their solution is to delete all courses on the unit and re-sync. I have done this and the problem still occurs again. This happens for different courses regardless of whether I have tried to map any hole or not. I will be returning my unit for a replacement but my experience and what I have read on this forum I am not very confident that the performance will be any better in which case I will be asking for a refund.

This review is as much for iGolf as it is for people who are thinking of buying this unit. It really is a GREAT unit in concept, price and functionality but this course corruption issue MUST be resolved quickly if this is going to be the huge winner it has the potential of becoming. I am a real fan and I'm hopeful but I am also a consumer who wants a working as advertised unit.
stevestrike
QUOTE(tch_a @ Jan 16 2008, 01:12 PM) *
I got the Neo over the holidays. Have played several courses using it and it is an absolutely great piece of technology.
It really is, isn't it?

QUOTE
The belt clip is really useless. Its not really practicle taking it in and out from hole to hole. It is small enough to slip into your pocket unobtrusively.
This is also very true. I've mentioned it to the iGolf people now, so hopefully they do something about it. In the meantime, we found some really great cellphone holsters that fit the Neo like a glove!

QUOTE
The major issue I have with the unit is the that periodically course info will get "corrupted" during a round. I still get basic info for distance to front, middle and back of green but everything else is gibberish. I have spoken to tech support and their solution is to delete all courses on the unit and re-sync....
This review is as much for iGolf as it is for people who are thinking of buying this unit. It really is a GREAT unit in concept, price and functionality but this course corruption issue MUST be resolved quickly if this is going to be the huge winner it has the potential of becoming. I am a real fan and I'm hopeful but I am also a consumer who wants a working as advertised unit.

It seems that this is the common problem that most Neo users have. iGolf told us today that they are extending the 30-day satisfaction policy for anyone who calls about this particular problem. So if your unit has this, you should let them know it (nicely!) Based on my conversations with some people over at iGolf, I have every reason to believe that they are working as quickly as possible to get a fix for this issue.

The truth is, I've got a Neo, a GolfGuru, and a SG2.5 sitting right here with me. I've run them all through their paces, and can tell you that for the money, the Neo wins hands down. *If* they can resolve the mystery of the corrupting courses.

The Sky Caddie unit has the slickest interface, the nicest screen, and the really cool intelligreen feature. It is also $260 vs. $150 for the Neo. I really like how the Neo handles course files, and lets you back them up, transfer them, and keep track of everything right on your own computer. With Sky Golf you are captive to their website/service to even use your unit.

I also found out that when you map your own course, the SkyCaddie only lets you map F/B/C. It's no better than a sprinkler head. And to top it off, you can only map 5 custom courses. Ugh...

The Neo lets you store 10, and map as many as you want thanks to the software they use. I could have custom maps for dozens of courses. I could share custom mapped courses with people in my area (Hint: iGolf are you listening? Here's a huge opportunity for creating a community of users and buzz about your product!).

mcbush25
I got my Neo today. The weather isn't right for putting it to the test yet, but I did speak with someone about my concerns of the corruption that has taken place in files and they informed me that they are working on an update to fix this problem. They are taking it serious and are diligently working to fix the problem.
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