RoadTest: Panasonic PAN1720 Kit
Author: dwinhold
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Independent Products
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?:
What were the biggest problems encountered?: Available resources are not easily available.
Detailed Review:
First I would like to thank Element14 for the opportunity to review this product.
The PAN1720 was the most frustrating hardware I have ever worked with. After the hassle of repeatedly trying to sign up for the forum which is required in order to get the software, I finally used my business to do this due to the requirements. I downloaded the (Demo) software which was basically a hyper terminal that was very limited. I updated the Bluetooth software hoping to get more use out of them besides sending texts back and forth. I have tried everything with no prevail. I looked into developing my own software for this but got shut down quickly with the $2000 price of the developing software. I tried Windows 7 and 8 as well as Linux Kali to try to do more, nothing worked. When I tried to download the software to update the Bluetooth in Windows it kept blocking it saying it was an unsafe program and deleted it before it finished downloading. I finally got around this by shutting down my virus protection for the use of this software. The online manuals were of little help due to not being able to get past the demo software. To sum this all up, the PAN1720 has great potential with the required software to be available to use. Once this happens the true power of this device will be shown, but at this time $2000 to spend for road testing a hardware is too much. When a company let's or gives Element14 their product to test, they shouldn't limit the use if they want accurate results. I personally feel I let everyone down by not accomplishing what I set out to do. But after all the time I took to write this review and the 50+ hours I spent using and doing everything legally possible to make it work, I couldn't. I will add all my data to this review as soon as it is compiled together. I will continue to try to make the PAN1720 work the way it should, but until then I can't report any success.
