GPS Reviews

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Thinking of getting a GPS Receiver to add data to OSM? These reviews are here to help. If you think about other mapping related hardware too, look at the Hardware Guide.

If you buy a GPS unit via any of our retail partners then up to 10% of the purchase price will be donated to OpenStreetMap. This helps to help keep our servers running. See the Shop for details.



Summary

Type can be:

PDA Data Logger GPS Receiver Navigator Mobile Phone Professional GPS
the GPS is included in a PDA. the GPS includes an automatic geographic position logging system with extraction possibility to another electronic device the GPS receiver can simply deliver a geographic position for another device or on a simple screen without navigation facility the GPS includes a screen with maps and software for navigation assistance the GPS is included in a mobile phone device the GPS is designated for massive or accurate geographic survey

Storage can be:

Internal Compact Flash (CF) MemoryStick (MS) MultiMedia (MMC) Secure Digital (SD) Smart Media (SM) xD-Picture Card (XD) None
Specify the capacity Compact Flash MS or MS Pro or M2 MMCor MMC Mobile SD Card, SD Mini or SD Micro SM Card XD card none

Common GPS chipsets are SiRF Star, I, II, IIe, IIe/LP, IIt, III, SiRFLoc, SiRFXTrac, Nemerix, RFMD, MTK, Sony Solution, u-Nav + iTrax 3rd Gen, Atmel Antaris 4l, u-blox, Ublox, Xemics, HP6515 AGPS, Skytraq Venus 5.

Methods of DGPS correction can be SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS,MSAS), Beacon, Glonass, NTRIP, Direct IP, RTCM correction.

Connectivity can be achieved by :

Bluetooth Wifi WLAN IrDa USB Serial RS232 ActiveSync SynCE PS/2
Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:WiFi.jpg Image:wlan.jpg Image:irda.gif Image:usb.png Image:SerialCOM.jpg Image:Activesync.png Image:SyncCE.png Image:PS_2.png


The file in ODS Format online GPS List

Brand Name Type GPS Chipset No. Channel Augmentation Data Logging Capacity Storage Connectivity Estimated Price
Acer n35 PDA SiRFstarII 12  ? Unlimited Internal 64MB, MMC, SD Image:Activesync.png Image:usb.png Discont'd
Adapt AD-850 Data Logger SkyTraq Venus 5 44 None 120000 points/16-20 hours Image:Bluetooth.jpg (charged over Mini-USB) €80
Airis T620 PDA SiRFstarIII 12 ? Unlimited Internal 64MB, MMC, SD Image:Activesync.png Image:usb.png Image:WiFi.jpg €250
Asus Mypal A636 PDA SiRFstarIII 20  ? Unlimited Internal 128MB, MMC, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:usb.png Image:WiFi.jpg Image:irda.gif Discont'd
Asus Mypal A636n PDA SiRFstarIII 20  ? Unlimited Internal 64MB, MMC, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:usb.png Image:WiFi.jpg Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:irda.gif Discont'd
ATP Photofinder Datalogger and GPS data to Exif SiRFstarIII 20  ?  ? internal 128MB USB OTG, Image:usb.png, ? SD Card ca. 100€
Blumax (also other brands) GPS-009 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII 20? SBAS (if enabled with the free SIRF demo pc program) None None Image:Bluetooth.jpg €40+ (one of the cheapest)
Cellink BTG-7000 GPS Receiver Sony 16 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 50
Emtac BTGPS II Trine Data Logger SiRFstarIIe/LP 16  ? 24k Internal 512KB Image:Bluetooth.jpg AU$ 450
FAC GDL30 MMC Data Logger  ?  ?  ? Unlimited MMC  ?
Falk N Series Navigator  ? 12  ? Unlimited Internal, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:usb.png
Freedom Keychaingps 2000 GPS Receiver MTK 51 WASS/EGNOS/MSAS None None Image:Bluetooth.jpg (charged over Mini-USB)
Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket-Loox N560 PDA SiRFstarIII 12 WAAS/EGNOS Unlimited Internal 64MB, MMC, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:WiFi.jpg Image:irda.gif 380-450€
Garmin Geko 101 Data Logger  ? 12 No 3k Internal No
Garmin Geko 201 Data Logger  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Garmin Forerunner 201 Personal Trainer  ? 12  ?  ? Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Garmin Forerunner 205 Personal Trainer SiRFstarIII 12  ? 13k Internal Image:usb.png
Garmin Edge 305 Personal Trainer SiRFstarIII  ?  ? 12k Internal  ?
Garmin eTrex Data Logger  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Garmin eTrex Summit Data Logger  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Garmin eTrex Legend Data Logger  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Garmin eTrex Legend C Data Logger, Navigator  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal Image:usb.png
Garmin eTrex Legend CX Data Logger, Navigator  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal, SD Mini Image:usb.png Image:SerialCOM.jpg GB£ 180
Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Data Logger, Navigator MediaTek MTK  ? WAAS/EGNOS 10k or to SD-card SD Micro Image:usb.png 190€ (April 2008)
Garmin eTrex Venture HC Data Logger, Navigator  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal 24MB Image:usb.png 150€
Garmin eTrex Venture Cx Data Logger, Navigator  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k SD Micro Image:usb.png Discont'd
Garmin eTrex Vista Data Logger, Navigator  ? 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg Discont'd
Garmin eTrex Vista Cx Data Logger, Navigator  ?  ? WAAS/EGNOS 10k or to SD-card SD Micro Image:usb.png  ?
Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Data Logger, Navigator MediaTek MTK 12 WAAS/EGNOS 10k or to SD-card SD Micro Image:usb.png 230€
Garmin GPSmap 60CSx Outdoor mapping GPS SiRFstarIII 12 WAAS/EGNOS internal or up to 2GB SD-card SD Micro Image:usb.png 349€
GlobalSat DG-100 Data Logger SiRFstarIII 20 WAAS 60k Internal Image:usb.png US$ 110
GlobalSat BT-308 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIIe/LP 12 WAAS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
GlobalSat BT-335 Data Logger SiRFstarIII 20 WAAS 60k Internal Image:Bluetooth.jpg € 80
GlobalSat BT-338 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII 20 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
GlobalSat BT-359 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII 20 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 80
GlobalSat BU-353 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII 20 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:usb.png
GlobalSat BR-304/5 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIIe/LP 12 No 0 None Image:usb.png Image:SerialCOM.jpg US$ 50
Hewlett Packard iPaq hw6915 PDA Globallocate AGPS  ?  ? Unlimited Internal, SD Mini (max 2GB) Image:Activesync.png Image:WiFi.jpg Image:usb.pngImage:Bluetooth.jpg Image:SerialCOM.jpg Image:irda.gif GPRS €500
Holux M-1000 GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS No None Image:Bluetooth.jpg 230 PLN
Holux BT-321 GPS Receiver RFMD  ?  ? No None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Holux GM-210 GPS Receiver  ?  ?  ? No None Image:PS_2.png
Holux GR-213 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII  ?  ? No None Image:usb.png ~70€
Holux GPSlim236 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII 20 WAAS/EGNOS (upgrade firmware) No None Image:usb.pngImage:Bluetooth.jpg(special USB cable) ~50€
Holux GPSlim240 GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII  ?  ? No None Image:usb.pngImage:Bluetooth.jpg(special USB cable) ~90€
Holux M-241 Data Logger, GPS Receiver MTK 32 DGPS (EGNOS/WAAS/MSAS) 130 000 Internal Image:usb.pngImage:Bluetooth.jpg ~ 75 €
i.Trek M7 GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS No None Image:usb.png Image:Bluetooth.jpg ~50€
Konet BGL-32 Data Logger MediaTek MTK 32  ? 100k Internal 16 Mb Image:usb.png 78 €
Leadtek LR 9553D Data Logger, GPS Receiver SiRFstarIII/LP 20 WAAS/EGNOS  ? Internal 4MB Image:usb.pngImage:Bluetooth.jpg
Magellan Magellan-320 Data Logger  ?  ?  ? 1k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Magellan SporTrak Pro Data Logger  ?  ?  ? 3k Internal Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Magellan eXplorist 400 Data Logger, Navigator  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS  ? Internal 16MB, SD Card Image:usb.png
Magellan eXplorist 500 Data Logger, Navigator  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS  ? Internal 16MB, SD Card Image:usb.png
Magellan eXplorist 500 LE Data Logger, Navigator  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS  ? Internal 16MB, SD Card Image:usb.png
Magellan eXplorist 600 Data Logger, Navigator  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS  ? Internal 16MB, SD Card Image:usb.png
Magellan eXplorist 210 Data Logger, Navigator  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS 2k Internal 22MB Image:usb.png US$ 275
Magellan eXplorist XL Data Logger, Navigator  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS  ? Internal 30MB, SD Card Image:usb.png
Magellan eXplorist 100 GPS Receiver  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS 0 Internal 4MB No
Magellan Professional MobileMapper CE Professional GPS  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS, MSAS, Glonass, Beacon, NTRIP, Direct IP, RTCM correction Unlimited Internal 128MB, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.pngImage:WiFi.jpg
Magellan Professional MobileMapper Pro Professional GPS  ? 14 WAAS/EGNOS, MSAS Unlimited Internal 128MB, SD Card Image:usb.png Image:SerialCOM.jpg
Mitac/Mio DigiWalker C510 Navigator SiRFstar III  ?  ?  ? Internal 512MB, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png ~270€
NavGear PX3015 Data Logger, GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, RTCM 170k Internal 16MB Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png ~80€
Navibe GB-732 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III  ?  ? No None Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 50
Navibe GB-735 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III  ?  ? No None Image:Bluetooth.jpg ~50€
Navigon GoPal 2.x  ?  ? 12  ?  ?  ?  ?
Navigon MobileNavigator 4.X/5.X Data Logger, Navigator  ?  ?  ?  ?  ? Image:Activesync.png
Navilock BT-348 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20  ? No None Image:Bluetooth.jpg 90€
Navilock BT-359 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20  ? No None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Navilock NL-302-U GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20  ? No None Image:usb.png 40€
Navilock BT-455PDL Datalogger, GPS-Receiver SkyTraQ Venus 5 54 max.  ? 100000 trackpoints, no waypoints internal Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png 100€
Navilock NL-456DL (EasyLOGGER) Data Logger u-blox ANTARIS®4 SuperSense® 16  ? 94000 internal 4MB Image:usb.png 100€
Navman N20 Navigator  ? 12  ?  ?  ? Image:Activesync.png Image:SyncCE.png
Navman N40i Navigator  ? 12  ?  ?  ? Image:Activesync.png Image:SyncCE.png
Navman N60i Navigator  ? 12  ?  ?  ? Image:Activesync.png Image:SyncCE.png
Navman PiN 570 PDA  ?  ?  ? Unlimited Internal 64MB, SD Card Image:Activesync.png Image:SyncCE.png GB £130
Navman 3450 IPAQ Sleeve PDA  ? 12  ?  ? Internal, Compact Flash (CF II)  ?
Nokia N and E series Mobile Phone SiRFstar II  ?  ? Unlimited? Internal, SD Micro Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png
Nokia LD-1W GPS Receiver SiRFstar II  ? No 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Nokia LD-3W GPS Receiver SiRFstar III  ? No 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg 85€
Nokia N810 PDA (Internet Tablet) TI GPS5300 12 None 5MB (Maemo Mapper) Internal 2GB, SD Mini Image:WiFi.jpgImage:usb.png 450€ US$ 400
Pentagram PathFinder P3301 GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg <69€
Qstarz BT-Q818 GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 85
Qstarz BT-Q1000 GPS Receiver/Datalogger MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS Yes, 100.000 datapoints, can log 5Hz Internal 8MB, Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 100
Qstarz BT-Q1200 Solar GPS Receiver/Datalogger MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS Yes, 100.000 datapoints, can log 1Hz Internal 8MB, Image:Bluetooth.jpgImage:usb.png € 130
Ricoh 500SE Digital camera w/ GPS  ?  ? No 1/photo Internal Image:Bluetooth.jpg GB£575
Royaltek BlueGPS RBT-3000 Data Logger SiRFstar III 12 WAAS/EGNOS 30k Internal Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 100
Royaltek BT GPS mini RBT-1000 GPS Receiver  ? 12 No 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Royaltek BT GPS x-mini RBT-2100 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Royaltek BT GPS x-mini II RBT-2200/10 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Royaltek RBT-2300 Data Logger SiRFstar III 20 WAAS/EGNOS 400k..650k Internal 64MB Image:Bluetooth.jpg Ext antenna
Royaltek Mini Xtreme RBT-2110 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20 WAAS/EGNOS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg
Royaltek RGM-2000 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20 No 0 None Image:usb.png
Royaltek Vnus RGM-3600 GPS Receiver SiRFstar III 20 No 0 None Image:usb.png Image:PS_2.png
Royaltek RGM-3800 Data Logger SiRFstar III 20 WAAS/EGNOS 650k Internal Image:usb.png ~65€
Scytex/Locosys NaviGPS GT-11 Data Logger SiRFstar II 12 WAAS/EGNOS 80k Internal, SD Card Image:usb.png GB£65
Scytex/Locosys NaviGPS BGT-11 Data Logger SiRFstar II 12 WAAS/EGNOS 80k Internal, SD Card Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png GB£80
Scytex/Locosys NaviGPS GT-31 Data Logger SiRFstar III 12 WAAS/EGNOS 80k Internal, SD Card Image:usb.png GB£74.99 launch Q1 2008
Scytex/Locosys NaviGPS BGT-31 Data Logger SiRFstar III 12 WAAS/EGNOS 80k Internal, SD Card Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png GB£94.99 launch Q1 2008
Sony-Ericsson C702 Mobile Phone  ?  ?  ? Unlimited Internal 150 MB, M2 Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png ~280€
TomTom Rider (Data Logger), Navigator SiRFstar III 20  ? Unlimited SD Card Image:usb.png 430€ (Discont'd?)
Transystem (?) i-Blue 717 GPS Receiver Nemerix 16  ? none none Image:Bluetooth.jpg 30€ - 50€ (ebay)
Transystem i-Blue 737 GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS, MSAS 0 None Image:Bluetooth.jpg US$ 45
Transystem i-Blue 747 Data Logger, GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS, MSAS 70k Internal 2MB. new version with 4MB Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png US$ 55
Transystem i-Blue 757 Data Logger, GPS Receiver MTK 32 WAAS/EGNOS, MSAS 50k Internal 1MB Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png US$
Telefunken SAfrica TGPS-374 / Axxion 374 WinCE device  ? 12 - 3rd party SW : Unlimited Internal 64MB Image:usb.png Image:Activesync.png R1,700 - R2,000
Wintec WBT-201 Data Logger, Navigator u-blox Antaris 4 16 WAAS/EGNOS 131k Internal Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png US$ 89 / ~100€
Xaiox Itracku Data Logger, Navigator Nemerix 16  ? 250k Internal Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png ~100€
Xroad V4150 Data Logger, Navigator SiRFstar III 12 WAAS/TCM (option) Upto 2GByte SD-Card Image:Bluetooth.jpg (with hacking) ~$160
Yakumo DeltaX-5 BT PDA SiRFstar III 12  ? Unlimited Internal 512MB, MMC, SD Card Image:Bluetooth.jpg Image:usb.png ~250€


Units are listed alphabetically (Garmin,TomTom and /Wintec_and_Woxter units are listed on dedicated page). PDA based GPS receivers can be found under the PDA devices heading.


Contents



Adapt

Adapt AD-850

  • Price: €80
  • Track rate: 1 point/second (configurable, but only from a (Windows) PC with dedicated application)
  • Battery life: around 20 hours
  • Connection: Bluetooth 1.2
  • Max satellites: 44
  • Chipset: SkyTraq Venus 5
  • Dedicated PC application can be used to read the log, clear it, and convert it to kml (Google Earth) format. It can also be used to read out the live position (NMEA).

Good things

  • Small and light (7,7×4,3×1,8 cm, 55g)
  • Quick fix and keeps working under foliage, underneath trees, inside some buildings/structures and often inside trains.
  • Goes a long way on one battery charge
  • High memory capacity for log points (120000)
  • Can be used as a GPS mouse (BT) (NMEA output)
  • It has two antislip 'feet', that (when new) allow it to be stuck against a window

Bad things

  • GPS traces seem to be "smoothed" sometimes - It's cutting corners when not under a clear sky. I see it do that mostly under foliage. This is weird, since it would have to 'calculate' those points. It would be better if it would simply interrupt writing points. Maybe this is something that happens during the conversion of the internal format over kml to gpx.
  • Not possible to reset logs without a PC, i.e. there is no application to do so from Windows Mobile and for Linux
  • No external antenna (not needed either)
  • Wrong position when next to walls like eg. houses leading in a specific direction.
  • Battery can be replaced but is proprietary: 3.7V Li-Ion Battery Pack ( Mobile Phone Battery ? )
  • Only a charger for in the car is deliverd with it, no mains. It's a standard mini-USB connector though, so it can be charged from a computer as well or with this: Keomo Charging Bank External Accu (2200 mAh). The USB connector does not connect to an internal USB-port. So no USB connectivity only BT.
  • Data format ( .log, .logg ) seems to be non standard. See comment below.
  • Not supported by gpsd. Therefore also no support for GPSDrive and other software relying on gpsd.

Remarks

  • When you get one and you are using Windows Vista. It may be necessary to do the following: Rename the tool that is on the CD-ROM from .exe to .rar and 7zip or WinRAR to open and start using it.
  • The Windows software which came with the device can convert the proprietary data format ( .log, .logg ) to Google Earth's .kml though. Linux's gpsbabel can translate this to gpx which in turn can be read by eg. josm

Adept

Adept AD-500

  • Price: Around 75€–90€
  • Track rate: one point per two seconds, one speed update per second
  • Battery life: around 20 hours
  • Connection: Bluetooth
  • Chipset: Nemerix
  • Max satellites: 16

Good things

  • Very small: around 2×3×4cm
  • Not terribly expensive
  • External connector (never used it myself)
  • Quite reliable, once it has a fix.

Bad things

  • Can take a while to get a good fix if not in open air

Summary I find the accuracy quite good once it has been given some time to get a good fix. However, if you go into a building and then come out it sometimes gets confused and needs some time to recover. If you try to use it in this state, the update frequency drops and become quite erratic. Being in a city probably doesn't help. I find just holding it on your hand for a minute is enough (the red light starts flashing when it's got a good fix).

I've only used it on my bike and on foot where it works fine. Can't comment on car usage. User:Kleptog

Alan

Alan MAP 500

Alan MAP 600

Asus

Asus GPS BT100

Asus GPS BT100
Asus GPS BT100

Good things

  • Bluetooth mobile phone should allow tracking with no cables
  • Small
  • Charged via mini USB connector
  • External GPS antenna connector

Bad things

  • Bluetooth requires re-pairing
  • No memory for standalone tracking

Summary

ATP

Photo Finder

Logging format not clear. The manual states "By connecting the ATP Photo Finder directly to your PC via USB connection, you can back up all the logged GPS position information" but does not indicate the data format.

Logging frequency not clear. The manual says "logging interval Approx. 5 seconds" (p11) and "Update rate Continuous operation: 1Hz" (p14).

Blumax

Blumax delivers a simple gps receiver that has no data storage capabilities itself. It can be used with any mobile phone supporting j2me and bluetooth (using mobiletrailexplorer).

Although it's one of the cheapest GPS-receiver one can find, I'm very impressed by it's accuracy.

Cellink

Cellink BTG-7000

  • Price: $30 – $66
  • Connection: Bluetooth
  • Has a built-in rechargeable battery of some sort, and a car charger
  • 4 or so LEDs for status
  • One "hard" power switch
  • Two buttons: power (stand-by?), and Bluetooth pairing
  • Antenna port
  • Rubberized housing
  • Outputs NMEA statements at 1 Hz (by default, at least)

Works great with the Nokia N800 with "Maemo Mapper" application, and the Treo 650 with the "Cetus GPS" application. Usually sees 7–12 satellites.

EMTAC

EMTAC BTGPS II Trine Datalogger

Good things

  • Memory capacity and battery life allows a whole day trip to be recorded. Best on the market at the time.
  • Highly flexible in what is logged: reading quality, time interval, distance interval etc.
  • All in one

Bad things

  • May just be my unit, but sometimes takes a very long time to lock on; best to stay in one place and put it on a flat, preferably metal, surface until the green light starts rapidly blinking.
  • Tacky by functional data download and adjustment setting software
  • Proprietary download format (spec provided)
  • Introduction of SiRF III chip makes this a little dated (2006)

Summary Excellent for a switch-on-and-forget datalogger if you are going out for a whole day, pity it uses older SiRF II chipset.

FAC

FAC GDL30 MMC DATA LOGGER

A simple GPS blackbox. It is designed to automatically logging an NMEA frame on a multimedia Card every time it is in use. No display, no POI on that stuff. It is used with an external active antenna and a external power supply (12v). It is possible to redirect the NMEA signal on a COM port for using with other stuff. You can't do many things with that device, but it is really easy to use for our Open Street project.

The GDL30 MMC Data Logger device
The GDL30 MMC Data Logger device
Opened
Opened

Falk

Falk N Series

The Falk N Series is a Window CE based navigator. The bundled Falk Navigator 4 software does not support data logging but after unlocking the Windows desktop you can use custom programs for data logging.

One of the free programs is POI Observer which is actually designed to display warnings when getting near a POI but also has data logging capabilities. The forum (in german) has the program, scripts and a walk through to unlock the Windows desktop and use POI Observer in parallel to the Falk Navigator software.

POI Observer is supposed to work with other Falk devices too.

Freedom

First impressions on the Freedom Keychaingps 2000 is that it is no good in urban areas, it seems to be very sensitive to reflections from buildings. In more open areas it seems quite good and the small size is good. Homepage

Garmin

Garmin now has its own page

Globalsat

Bluetooth

Globalsat BT-308

  • price approx. £80
  • trackpoints: 0 pts (no memory)
  • connection: Bluetooth
  • SiRF StarII/LP
  • Comes with Magnetic External Antenna and car charger (with splitter that allows the charging of Ipaq at the same time)
  • channels 12
  • Full review

Globalsat BT-338

  • SiRF StarIII (new generation ultra sensible chipset)
  • trackpoints: 0 pts (no memory)
  • connection: Bluetooth
  • Comes with car charger
  • Full review

Globalsat BT-359

  • SiRF StarIII
  • trackpoints: 0 pts (no memory)
  • Car charger & Wall Charger
  • 15 hours battery time according to review: Full review, 11 hours officially. Battery from Nokia 3310/3330 fits and works, but too thick, cannot close lid. Should be slimmed versions of these somewhere.

USB mouse

Both these are good and works well with laptops. I've heard from pere that his unit broke down, and stopped sending data, I've seen the same thing when it's too cold. They both use serial USB, so they should work with all GPS track programs, both loads pl2303 on Linux.

Globalsat BR-305

  • price 40–60€
  • trackpoints: 0 pts (no memory)
  • connection: USB
  • Sirf II
  • can't handle cold environment
  • channels 16

Good buy, but I recommend buying the 353 instead.

Globalsat BU-353

  • SiRF Star III based

Good buy, this unit will almost always get a lock directly, and I really recommend it over BU-303. The sad part is that the lock usually isn't that good. I've experienced very strange behaviour where it will lose GPS lock and get a new bad lock positioning it self 50m from the right position and then drift back to the right position. I'm not sure why this is, or exactly what is happening. It also has issues when you are stopped or moving slowly where the position jumps around by a few metres. Once it as been running for a 5–10 minutes this problem goes away.

Datalogger / USB mouse

Globalsat DG-100

GlobalSat DG-100 Data Logger
GlobalSat DG-100 Data Logger

Globalsat BT-335

  • price: €80
  • type: datalogger
  • trackpoints: 60000 pts
  • battery: Li-ion rechargeable, up to 24 hours from one charge
  • connection: Bluetooth
  • charge: Car and mains charger provided
  • channels: 20

RS-232

Globalsat BR-304

  • Price 50e-70e (new) 30e-40e (used)
  • Sirf II
  • Channels 12
  • No internal memory
  • Connectors RS-232 and USB or PS/2

As far as I know this is BR-305 with RS-232 connection instead of the USB. Bad thing about this connector is it doesn't have pins for voltage, so there is another connector (PS/2 or USB) for power, and that connector is in the end of a really short piece of wire, because of which I had to get USB-extension. It may seem stupid to use both RS-232 and USB, but the reason is that when USB is used only for power, the receiver doesn't need any drivers at all, in any OS. Another difference between this and 305 is that this one seems to work well in cold, I got to test it in −27 °C for about half an hour.


Holox

Holox BT 321

A Bluetooth GPS that talks NMEA. Only three lights (Bluetooth active, GPS fix/no-fix, low battery/charging), and no memory. The battery is easy to replace though, is the same as in many Nokia phones, and can be charged via USB. The GPS is nice and small (8cm by 5cm by 2cm), and generally sells on eBay for around to £30 mark (inc. p+p).

Since it talks NMEA, it works with most software, but you do have to do most of the processing on something else. There are a number of very nice programs for Series 60 phones (e.g. GETrack to log to GPX, nmea_info.py to log and show location, satellites etc), and also any normal PC software that does NMEA works fine too.

The Holox BT 321 is a rebadged BT74R made by the Telemax Technology Corp of Taiwan, it uses the RFMD chipset, and can even get a fix indoors. Sadly the RFMD chipset is not so great when using it on foot near buildings, it can give direction information that changes with every step. Walking down the middle of the road is fine however!

It does work very well in the car or on bike however, and doesn't need to see the sky; it will work in a pocket or bag. Overall for ease of use, price, its quick time at getting a fix, its a good entry level device.

More Info:

Holux

Holux GM-210

Holux GM-210 works with Windows Vista, Ubuntu Feisty and PalmOS. It's only an cable-based GPS-Receiver, so you need an extra device like a Palm or notebook. The GM-210 has a PS2 port and several adaptor cables to USB/Mini-USB/Serial. No specific drivers needed, works with gpsd (Linux).

More info:

Holux GPSlim236

This is a bluetooth device, about the size of a small matchbox (46.3x67x19mm). Its lithium battery lasts about 10 hours, and is a standard model so you can get a cheap spare from eBay etc. You can charge it via mini-USB but can't transmit data over this, as you need a special cable from Holux. I haven't tried this - Bluetooth is fine for me. The USB cable gives to possibility to upgrade the firmware (enable WAAS/EGNOS) and disable the Static Navigation (bad for pedestrian use) with SirfDemo.

Have used this with a laptop, Dell Axim PDA and Nokia 6230i with no problems. It has a SIRF-III chipset so is quick and accurate in getting a fix, with the usual caveats of 'canyoning' in cities. Standard NMEA output.

Had mine about 2 years. It failed after about a year but was promptly replaced. The newer GPSlim240 has a similar spec but no replaceable battery, though it's a bit smaller.

More info:

Holux GPSlim240

Also a Bluetooth device as the GPSlim236, but this unit is more compact (64x22x15mm^3), slightly less battery life (somewhere between 6-8 hours). Data is transmitted over SPP Bluetooth and gives standard NMEA output. Receiver should be up to 3 meters away. Packaging includes USB cable and car lighter adapter (Caveat: This should be obvious, but always remember to check the package contents list before buying; never had any trouble so far, but it's always good to be careful) for charging up the battery. Claims to have WASS/EGNOS demodulator included, but never tested this. The unit has room for a lanyard which is not included in the package. Its only control is the on/off switch, and it has three LEDs for indicating low battery power, Bluetooth connection status and GPS signal acquisition.

This unit was successfully used with Bluetooth-enabled laptops and Nokia N80 with only one firmware-related problem. Care should be taken not to use SiRFdemo's "Synchronize Protocol/Baud Rate" option on Bluetooth devices, or to otherwise tinker with this unit's baud rate, as this caused it to output garbage from that point onward. Turning it off and back on didn't work. Letting it run out of battery charge didn't work. What solved it was opening up the unit, finding the battery and shorting two of the three battery terminals.

More info:

Holux GR-213

This is a simple receiver that is to be connected to any computer. Delivered with a driver for most recent Windows. To make it run under Linux, just compile your kernel with support for pl2303 serial-to-usb (as a module or into kernel), then everything should be fine with GPSd.

It features a magnet, which is quite useful to put it outside your car, on the roof. I could ride at 130km/h in quite heavy wind without having it to move a millimeter. It is also completely waterproof (once, i've forgotten it, and after being covered by 5 centimeters snow for a few hours, it still works).

It outputs standard NMEA.

Holux M-241

Holux M-241 can be used as datalogger or as receiver via the Bluetooth interface. It runs with a single AA alkaline battery, in logging-mode up to 12 hours. Under Linux it can be used with BT747 (you will have to set the Baud rate to 38400 bps).

More info:

i.Trek

i.Trek M7

GPS receiver. Very fast fix time. 5 Hz updates. Charges via USB. It can be used both via USB (USB-serial emulation working fine on Linux) and Bluetooth.

Leadtek

Leadtek 9553 / 9553X / 9559X

Good things

  • Small and light (around 70 grams)
  • Charges via USB (though the USB cable is a custom mini-A, includes car adaptor)
  • The SirfStar III chipset gives a good accuracy
  • Good internal antenna

Bad things

  • No external antenna connector (except 9559X)

Summary

If you always carry around your PDA or notebook to get traces, this is a very good GPS receiver for a fair price.

Leadtek LR 9553D

Good things

  • good quality build
  • very long battery life (Sirf Star III Low Power chip)
  • both USB and Bluetooth are bidirectional port (can access to Sirf chip with SirfDemo)
  • Recognized as (pseudo) Ultra Mass Storage (as an USB drive) to get log file

Bad things

  • I said pseudo Ultra Mass Storage because to set the logging interval and erase the log file it (their software) sends nasty USB commands.
  • erasing the log only works by formatting the device under Windows. The device recognizes a special USB sentence to know it's being formatted. This doesn't work under linux (mkdosfs), meanning it's impossible to erase the log file.
  • LEDs are difficult to see.

Summary

A really great GPS, perfect for Windows users.

Magellan

Magellan 320

An old-ish model, a big player in its day. You can find these cheaply second hand, or maybe as gifts. Large black & white display plots your tracks and POI. Its big, gets a decent signal lock.

Memory is small, something like 500 POI or 1K of track points. Battery life is short, you definitely want to get some rechargeable AA. Data transfer is via a serial cable interface, so I had to buy a Serial-USB cable as well. gpsbabel understands the Magellan format, but not completely — timestamps are often missing from transfers, so I need to postprocess.

My more enthusiastic review from last year

In summary, if you find this in an old drawer, go for it. Otherwise buy something else. 

Rummy notes:
I have a similar timestamp problem with gpsbabel and my old Magellan 315 — the problem turned out
for the most part to be enabling debug output while downloading. Even without debug on the the 
dates are wrong (on my 315) typically somewhere in 1999, though the time seems OK.

Another item to watch when downloading is the Datum. The trackpoints downloaded from the Magellan 
unit are in the datum used when recording, and are not converted to WGS84 (the OSM standard). For 
this reason I have my unit set to use WGS84 as the primary datum and OSGB as the secondary datum.

Magellan eXplorist 100

No Interface. No Chance to get Data in and out.

Display: grey

Magellan eXplorist 210

Interface: USB

Display: grey

Memory: 22 MByte internal, not extensible.

Recording : 150 tracks, each containing up to 2 000 points. 2 AA batteries, 18 hours. Retail Price ~ 275 Euros

  • Pros:
  • Cons:
    • Loading time when manipulating tracklogs
    • Options for tracklogs are well hdden
  • Hints:
    • When using GPSBabel to convert tracklogs, don't bother to convert to Mapsend first.

Magellan eXplorist 400

Interface: USB

Display: grey

Memory: 6 MByte internal + SD-Card

Magellan eXplorist 500

Interface: USB

Display: color

Memory: 6 MByte internal + SD-Card

Magellan eXplorist 500 LE

Interface: USB

Display: color

Memory: 6 MByte internal + SD-Card

Magellan eXplorist 600

Interface: USB

Display: color

Memory: 6 MByte internal + SD-Card

Magellan eXplorist XL

Interface: USB

Display: color

Memory: 30 MByte internal + SD-Card

Magellan SporTrak Pro

Interface: serial cable

Display: monochrome

Memory: 3000 Trackpoints

Disadvantages: The Memory, 3000 Points means 30km in 10 Meter distance, which i use for mapping with bicycle. It starts to delete from the beginning without notification, so you have to watch the driven distance by yourself. Setting it to 50 meters gives you about 200 Kilometers which is ok for mapping with the car. What I'm missing is the ability to set points every second or so. Be careful if the device shows "Empty Batteries": 2 minutes later, when the device switches off, you will loose your track. So switch off, change batteries and switch back again.

Advantages: It can show maps, probably at some point in time OSM maps. But for now you can see the track you have driven on the map of the device and find streets that you want to map. It finds its position very fast, and does not use it while driving. Batteries (2×AA) hold for about 20 Hours.

Magellan Triton Range

The new triton range looks like it has the potential to be good... Details seem to be lacking a bit at the moment, but, as an example, the Triton 2000 is supposed to have the following features... 2.7" colour touch screen, 2 megapixel camera with location tagging of photos, voice recorder allowing audio to be attached to waypoints, SD card, 3 axis electronic compass, whatever that means, barometer, and SiRFstar III... That seems to be a pretty good mix of features, if it has some decent tracking options to go with them and generally good performance, this could be the new Garmin GPSMAP 60Csx...

Magellan Professional (ex Thales Geomatics)

Magellan Professional - MobileMapper CE

Mobile Mapper CE is a rugged DGPS device which runs on Windows CE.

The GPS feature offers 14 parallel channels and can use DGPS correction from EGNOS, WAAS or GLONASS. So you can get a submetric precision. Generally it take a few minutes to initialize and fixing a new position and a few more to get on DGPS. Then, it's very fast to get a new fix even when it is partially obstructed by masks.

It's rugged and waterproof (1.5m) and the lithium-ion battery is designed to give 8 hours of power.

You can directly share data with SD Memory Card, by connecting with ActiveSync or with Bluetooth.

The Mobile Mapper CE is particulaly designed for GIS professionals so you can find mobile GIS software which run on it like : Arcpad or Edipocket. Softwares takes benefit of the windows CE .NET environnement, the full-color display with touch panel and the integrated alphanumeric keyboard.

I have made a comparative log of a Thales MobileMapper CE (MMCE) and a FAC GDL30 MMC DATA LOGGER (a kind of GPS blackbox). You can see it here :