GPS device reviews
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.
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The correct term is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), though the most common system GPS have become the name most people use (if you go to your local shop and ask for a GNSS, the clerk will probably not know what you mean).
Legend for the summary tables
Units are listed alphabetically.
Type can be:
- Data Logger: the GNSS includes an automatic geographic position logging system with extraction possibility to another electronic device
- Recreational: the GPS receiver can either simply deliver a geographic position for another device or display it on a simple screen with no navigation facility.
- Navigator: the GNSS includes a screen with maps and software for turn-by-turn navigation assistance
- Mobile Phone: the GPS is included in a mobile phone device
- Smartphone: probably the most abundant GPS device these days
- Professional GNSS: the GNSS is designated for massive or accurate geographic survey. Many such devices also combines the various GNSS technologies, such as combined GPS/Glonass receivers and evaluate the different carrier signals.
Glonass is also available as a backup/augmentation in some GPS receivers, but at the moment not available as standalone handheld units.
Storage can be:
Internal | MultiMedia (MMC) | Secure Digital (SD) | None |
---|---|---|---|
Specify the capacity | ![]() ![]() |
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none |
Common GPS chipsets are:
- SiRFStar 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
- Skytraq Venus 6
Methods of DGPS correction / Augmentation can be
- SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS), Beacon, NTRIP, Direct IP, IALA are free services, with various coverage.
- Spotbeam, Inmarsat, Veripos, HP/XP are semiglobal services but requires licenses and are not likely in handheld units.
- Corrections can be transmitted as proprietary formats, single station corrections, or 'RTCM' format correction list. Some receivers might use RTCM as identifier for corrections, but the source than is one of the systems mentioned above.
Alternative forms of GNSS are named according to the promoters of the satellite constellations: the existing GPS system properly named, Glonass, Galileo (still in deployment), and BeiDou (COMPASS). On devices equiped with tuners capable of hearing multiple constellations, it may be possible to get more precision and better coverage than what can be done today with just the GPS alone (some newer constellations will provide additional services not limited to one-way geolocating, such as Argos-style emergency signals for search and rescue).
AGPS is an abreviation for Assisted GPS, and is usually an enhancement for GPS-enabled cell phones. It allows receivers quicker startup time, as well as continuing to give positions with weak or missing satellite data.
Connectivity can be achieved by:
WiFi | Bluetooth | NFC/RFID | USB | PS/2 | Serial RS232 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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GNSS: Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that can be received. Possible values are
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- BeiDou
As of 2021, some recent smartphones claim to support Galileo but in fact do not work with it. This includes the Fairphone 3 and 3+; Motorola Moto G Power and Moto G30. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite does not claim Galileo support (including on the manufacturer's own page), yet it works. The Samsung S10e is also confirmed to work.
Measured DRMS accuracy: Horizontal RMS (root mean square, or Distance Root Mean Square, DRMS) deviation of the measured position from the true (or long-term averaged) position. Should be assessed by measuring a point cloud under good visibility conditions for at least several hours. Not to be confused with the DOP accuracy estimation, which may not match the actual obtained accuracy.
Dual-frequency: If the device can use two frequencies for accuracy enhancement, such as E1/E5a for Galileo or L1/L5 for GPS.
Summary table
Xiaomi | Mi 8 | Smartphone | 2018 | Broadcom BCM47755 | ? | ? | 64 GB | 64 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
300 € | VDOP, HDOP | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo | 1.0 m[1] | yes |
Huawei | Mate 20 | Smartphone | 2018 | ? | ? | 128 GB | 128 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
400 € | yes | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo | yes | ||
Fairphone | 3+ | Smartphone | 2020 | Qualcomm SDM632 | ? | ? | micro-SD | 64 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
430 € | HDOP, VDOP | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, |
~5 m | no |
Holux | M-241+ | Data Logger, Recreational | 2018 | MediaTek MT3333 | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | 250,000 | ? | ![]() ![]() |
110 € | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no | |
ClearEvo | EcoDroidGPS | Professional GNSS for Android | 2017 | UBLOX M8030 | 72 | SBAS L1 C/A: WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, GAGAN | no | no | ![]() |
85 US$ | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | ? | no | |
Holux | RCV-3000 | Data Logger | 2017 (2010 old version/first generation ) | MediaTek MT3333 (MediaTek MT3329 for old version/first generation) | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS | 250,000 | Internal 4MiB | ![]() ![]() |
83 ~Euros (03/2018, amazon.de) | Yes (NMEA output); No (logging to memory) | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no |
Huawei | P10 | Smartphone | 2017 | Broadcom BCM4774 | ? | ? | 64 GB | 64 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
250 € | yes | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo | 4.3 m[2] | no |
Mio | Cyclo 605 HC | Navigator (Cycle) | 2017-06 | U-blox 7 | 56 | ? | ? | 360 € | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no | |||
Samsung | Galaxy S7 | Smartphone | 2016 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 | ? | yes | 32 GB | 32 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
300 € | VDOP, HDOP | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | 5.1 m[3] | no |
Garmin | GPSmap 276Cx | Outdoor mapping GPS | 2016 | ? | ? | WAAS, EGNOS | Internal 8GB | ![]() |
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600 US$ | ? | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no |
GNS Electronics | GNS3000 | Recreational; inbuilt battery | 2020 | Mediatek MT3333 | 99 | WAAS, EGNOS, QZSS, MSAS, GAGAN | SD card | Internal | ![]() |
126 € | yes | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | ? | no |
GNS Electronics | GNS 2000 PLUS | Recreational; inbuilt battery | 2016-12 | Mediatek MT3333 | 99 | WAAS, EGNOS, QZSS, MSAS, GAGAN | 54k (date/pos every 5s) | Internal | ![]() |
96 € | yes | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou | ? | no |
Garmin | eTrex 35 touch | Data Logger, Navigator | 2015 | MediaTek | ? | WAAS, EGNOS | 10k, 200 routes, 10000 points, 200 tracks or to SD-card | Internal, ![]() |
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245 $ | no | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no |
Navilock | NL-8002U | GPS receiver module | 2014 | u-blox UBX-M8030 | 72 | WAAS, EGNOS, QZSS, MSAS | no | no | ![]() |
70 € [1] | yes | GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU, Galileo | ? | no |
Samsung | Galaxy S5 | Smartphone | 2014 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC | ? | yes | 32 GB | 32 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
200 € | VDOP, HDOP | GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | 1.7 m[3] | no |
Navilock | BT-821G | Recreational | 2014 | Mediatek MT3333 | 33 | WAAS, EGNOS, QZSS, MSAS, GAGAN | no | no | ![]() |
90 € | yes | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no |
Solmeta | Geotagger Pro2 | Data Logger with Compass | 2013 | MediaTek MT3339 | 22 | EXIF and internal | 2GB | internal | Nikon Cord | 200 US$ | ? | ? | no | |
Transystem | i-Blue 747ProS | Data Logger, Recreational | 2013 | MediaTek II | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, AGPS | 250k | Internal 8 MiB | ![]() |
75 € (amazon.de) (~$80 on eBay.com) (2014-03-20) | ? | GPS | ? | no |
Bad Elf | GPS-2200 | Recreational, data logger | 2012 | MediaTek | 66 | SBAS, WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | 360,000 (100 hrs at 1 Hz) | 64 MiB internal | ![]() |
150 US$ | GPS | ? | no | |
Bad Elf | GPS-2300-GPS Pro+ | Recreational, data logger | ? | ? | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | ? (65 hrs at 1 Hz) | ? | ![]() ![]() |
? | ? | GPS | ? | no |
Ventus | G730 | Data Logger | 2012 | SkyTrac Venus 6 | 65 | WAAS, EGNOS | 256,000 points | Internal | ![]() |
45 £ - 60 £ | ? | ? | ? | no |
Royaltek | RGM-4600 | Recreational | 2012 | SiRFstarIV | 48 | no | 0 | no | ? | ? | no | |||
Wintec | WBT-202 | Data Logger | 2011 | u-blox Antaris 5 | 18 (tracking), 32 (aquisition) | WAAS, EGNOS | 260k internal / 134M with 2GB microSD | Internal and ![]() |
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109 € (2009-10-24) | ? | ? | no | |
Garmin | eTrex 10 | Data Logger, Navigator | 2011 | MediaTek | ? | WAAS, EGNOS | 10k | Internal | ![]() |
119 € / $109.99 / £99.99 | no | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no |
Qstarz | BT-Q1000XT | Datalogger, recreational | 2010 | MediaTek II | 66 | ?; A-GPS | 400.000 (42 hours logging at 1Hz) | no | GPS: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
? | ? | GPS | Horizontal: 3.0m 2D-RMS <3m CEP(50%) | no |
Qstarz | BT-Q1000X | Datalogger, recreational | ? | MediaTek II | 66 | DGPS(WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS), A-GPS | 200.000 (42 hours logging at 1Hz) | no | GPS: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
? | ? | GPS | Horizontal: 3.0m 2D-RMS <3m CEP(50%) | no |
Qstarz | BL-1000GT racing recorder | Datalogger, recreational | ? | MediaTek MK3333 | ? | ? | ? (20 hours logging at 10Hz) | ? | GPS: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
? | ? | GPS, GLONASS | ? | no |
Qstarz | BL-1000ST travel recorder | Datalogger, recreational | ? | MediaTek MK3333 | ? | SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, GAGAN); A-GPS | ? (25 hours logging at 1Hz) | ![]() |
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? | ? | GPS, GLONASS | 3m (2D-RMS) SBAS: 2.5m(CEP)50 % (SBAS :WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, GAGAN) | no |
Magellan | eXplorist 510 | Data Logger, Navigator | 2010 | SiRFstarIII | 20 | WAAS/ EGNOS/ MSAS | 500 MB | ![]() |
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220 € | ? | ? | no | |
Geneq | SX Blue II GPS | Recreational | 2010 | ? | 10 + 2 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, GAGAN | 0 | 0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
1500 € | HDOP VDOP PDOP | GPS | 0.3 m (claimed by manufacturer) | no |
Holux | GPSport 260 | Recreational | 2010 | MediaTek MT3329 | 66 | ? | 160,000 | Internal 4 MiB | ![]() |
$340 | ? | GPS | 2.5 m (claimed by manufacturer) | no |
Umax | i-gotU GT-120/USB | Data Logger | 2009 | SiRF III | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS | 65,000 | Internal | ![]() |
45 € | no DOP, but EHPE available | ? | ? | no |
Columbus | V-990 (Mark II) | Data Logger, Recreational | 2009 | MediaTek MT3339 | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | 50,000,000 (36 hours @ 1Hz) | ![]() |
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89 € | VDOP, HDOP, PDOP | GPS | Horizontal: 2.5m/CEP(50%); 8.0m/CEP(95%) | no |
Columbus | P-1 | Data Logger, Recreational | ? | MediaTek MT3339 | ? | ? | 4,600,000,000 (55 hours @ 10Hz) | ![]() |
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159 € | ? | GPS | Horizontal: 2.5m/CEP(50%); 8.0m/CEP(95%) | no |
Columbus | P-10 Pro | Data Logger, Recreational | 2021 | Broadcom BCM47755 | ? | SBAS, WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | 4,600,000,000 (55 hours @ 1Hz or 5 Hz) | ![]() |
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239 € | HDOP | GPS L1 and L5, GLONASS L1, Galileo E1 and E5a, BeiDou B1, QZSS L1 and L5, IRNSS L5 (?) | Horizontal: 0.5m/CEP(50%), 1.5m/CEP(95%) | yes |
Garmin | Nüvi 205 | Navigator | 2009 | SiRFstarII ? | ? | no | 940 MiB Internal memory and microSD-card | ![]() |
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Discont'd | no | GPS | ? | no |
Columbus | V-900 (Mark II) | Data Logger, Recreational | 2009 | MediaTek MT3339 | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | 50,000,000 (36 hours @ 1Hz) | ![]() |
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109 € | VDOP, HDOP, PDOP | GPS | Horizontal: 3.0m/CEP(50%); 5.0m/CEP(95%) | no |
Holux | GPSport 245 | Recreational | 2009 | MediaTek MT3318 | 32 | ? | 200,000 | Internal 4 MiB | ![]() |
$180 | GPS | ? | no | |
Apple | IPhone 3G | Smartphone | 2008 | ? | ? | 8 GB | 8 GB internal | ![]() ![]() |
200 $ | ? | GPS | 8.3 m[4] | no | |
Garmin | Oregon 300 | Outdoor mapping GPS | 2008 | STM STA2062 "Cartesio" | 32 | WAAS, EGNOS | 850 MiB internal or microSD-card (4 GiB work well) | ![]() |
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300 € (Amazon.com) | ? | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BT-368 | Recreational | 2008 | SiRF Star III | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS | 0 | no | ![]() |
47 GB£ | GPS | ? | no | |
Garmin | GPSmap 60CSx | Outdoor mapping GPS | 2007 | SiRFstarIII | 12 | WAAS, EGNOS | Internal or up to 4 GiB SD-card (since FW 3.90) | ![]() |
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294.15 US$ (Amazon.com) | GPS | ? | no | |
Garmin | Nüvi 760 | Navigator | 2007 | SiRFstarII | ? | ? | Internal 10,000 points | ![]() |
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300 ~€ | GPS | ? | no | |
GiSTEQ | CD110BT | Data Logger | 2007 | MediaTek | 51 | ? | internal 150,000 points | internal 4 MiB | ![]() ![]() |
60 GB£~ | GPS | ? | no | |
Geonaute | Keymaze 300 (see [2] for OSS driver) | Outdoor Mapping GPS | 2007 | SiRF Star III | ? | WAAS | internal 200 points | internal | ![]() |
89 ~€ | ? | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | DG-100 | Data Logger | 2007 | SiRF Star III | 20 | WAAS | 60k | Internal | ![]() |
110 US$ | GPS | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BT-821C | Recreational | 2007 | Mediatek MT3339 | 66 | WAAS, EGNOS, QZSS, MSAS, GAGAN | no | no | ![]() |
50 US$ | yes | GPS | ? | no |
GlobalSat | BT-335 | Data Logger, Recreational | 2007 | SiRF Star III | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS | 60k | Internal | ![]() |
80 € | GPS | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BT-359 | Recreational | 2006 | SiRF Star III | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS | 0 | no | ![]() |
80 US$ | GPS | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BR-355 | Recreational | 2005 | SiRF Star III e/LP | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS | 0 | no | ![]() ![]() |
60 US$ | GPS | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BU-353 | Recreational | 2005 | SiRF Star III e/LP | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS | 0 | no | ![]() |
28-57 GB£ | GPS | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BT-338 | Recreational | 2005 | SiRF Star III | 20 | WAAS, EGNOS | 0 | no | ![]() |
GPS | ? | no | ||
GlobalSat | BU-303 | Recreational | 2005 | SiRF Star II e/LP | 12 | no | 0 | no | ![]() |
50 € | GPS | ? | no | |
GlobalSat | BT-308 | Recreational | 2003 | SiRF Star II e/LP | 12 | WAAS | 0 | no | ![]() |
GPS | ? | no | ||
GlobalSat | BR-305 | Recreational | 2003 | SiRF Star II e/LP | 12 | no | 0 | no | ![]() |
50 US$ | GPS | 10 m (claimed by manufacturer) | no | |
GlobalSat | BR-304 | Recreational | 2003 | SiRF Star II e/LP | 12 | no | 0 | no | ![]() ![]() |
50 US$ | GPS | 10 m (claimed by manufacturer) | no | |
Bad Elf | GNSS Surveyor (BE-GPS-3300) | Data Logger | 2014 | u-blox7 | 56 | WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS, QZSS | 200 hours at 1 Hz | 16 MB | ![]() ![]() |
600 USD | HDOP | GPS, GLONASS | no |
See also
- RTKLIB-compatible GPS devices, for raw data outputting devices.
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- ↑ Assessment of Dual Frequency GNSS Observations from a Xiaomi Mi 8 Android Smartphone and Positioning Performance Analysis, Umberto Robustelli, Valerio Baiocchi, Giovanni Pugliano (2019)
- ↑ Performance analysis of GPS+Galileo smartphone raw measurements, G. Pirazzi, A. Mazzoni, M. Crespi (2018)
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Comparative analysis of positioning accuracy of Samsung Galaxy smartphones in stationary measurements, T. Szot, C. Specht, M. Specht, P. S. Dabrowski (2019)
- ↑ Accuracy of iPhone Locations: A Comparison of Assisted GPS, WiFi and Cellular Positioning, P. A. Zandbergen (2009)