Reviews

I got this tracker mainly to synchronize my photos with GPS data and it's promised battery life. I must say, I am not very happy with the product. - I never know when it is actually logging or not; had to turn off batter life saver which would cause logger to standby and take a lot of time to recover logging - Battery life is way shorter; I had real problems during my trips to remote places - I was not happy with Gisteq support - Battery cover soon fallen off; so now I am running with tape across it's back - Supplied software deleted 3 weeks of data from logger while trying to download it ... lost all my GPS data from Morocco, which included some climbs; I hoped to make latitude profiles

This device works great with its included software, which can only be installed a total of 3 times. If you have to reinstall the software for any reason, a new PC, system crash, etc, you will lose one of your allowed installations and if you need to work on more than one system, you are going to run out of them even quicker. Without the software there is no way to get the data from the device, however, you can still get "current position" info using any NMEA software. You may be able to get more installs allowed by purchasing the $29.95 software upgrade from GisTeq, but I have not checked on that yet. With this device you are locked into using the included software, there is no mass storage device retrieval of the log files.

Got this device just a few days before leaving on a vacation so I didn;t have much time to learn how to use it. I was interested in geotagging my vacation photos and using a Mac to match the geotracking info with the pictures from my digital camera. This was not an "out of the box" solution as I had to download the software for the Mac from the GISTEQ web site, and the first link took me to an old version of the software that did not work with Mac OS 10.5. After poking around their FAQ's and the web site I found a newer version of the software and everything worked great, but not as described in the support literature. The support lit was for the earlier version of the software. In the end I got the geotagging done, and the ability of the GISTEQ software to append the geotag into the JPEG allowed that info to go directly into iPhoto. I am very happy with the product and would give it five stars but for the Mac software issues.

I bought this product a month ago and have used it frequently and had four communications with the company which makes and sells it. The device is an amazing addition to the life of a field biologist: it takes about 90% of the work out of keeping accurate field notes and makes the final notes more automated and more complete. You just carry this GPS logger, turned on, all of the time, manually keeping time-noted observations as you go. When you get back to your office, you DL the tracks by USB with the included the software. THAT almost works perfectly. As far as automatically geo-coding the image files you've taken with all your time-synchronized digital still cameras at the exact Lat-Long locations of the photos were taken -- that works Ok, except with each file-write it corrupts the Exif tags which cameras place inside each image. Specifically, my Nikon 990 images emerge fine, but my Nikon D70 images are all corrupted. It is not the Lat or Long tags which are mis-written, it is some of the camera information which is rendered useless. Having said that, I also note that opening each JPEG with Adobe CS2 Photoshop (Tm)and "Save AS" the file, un-corrupts each image file. When I told GiSTEQ service of this problem, they asked for an example file, before and after, which I immediately sent them. After two weeks of waiting, I called California and talked with "Sean", and he promised to get back to me. After another 10 days he had neither returned my messages nor phoned. What is so useful to me is the tiny cell-phone-sized device that picks up satellite locks from almost anywhere, and blue-tooths the present location (but longer tracks need USB cable) to my palm-top computer (Sony VAIO)and also USB downloads long tracks to the computer after several days of fieldwork. For consulting cases which might wind up in expert-witness court cases, it will be invaluable. I recommend buying one, (and ignoring my above complaints about file corruptions).

The device has never worked properly for me. The problem is that software is rudimentary and fell over all the time. You cannot access the logs without the software. i.e. not a driverless device you have to use their software. Since the software did not work properly I could not get the firmware to update. I tried to get it working on PC and then Mac but could not access or download any logs. Turns out other people have had similar problems. The design of device is such that buttons are easily accidentally pressed if carried inside a bag, so the device turns itself on/off or changes states. It is then difficult to determine what state the device is in. Also had to use sticky tape to stop the battery door falling off. I paid to upgrade to pro version of software, but still nothing worked. I have given up on this device and purchased a different driverless logger (i.e. can be mounted like a usb thumb drive) and so does not rely on (flaky) proprietary software to download the logs. I really wanted this device to work out but despite spending a lot of time and money on it, it just doesn't work properly.

Reviews

Este dispositivo por su tamaño, robustez y larga duración de la batería me ha resultado de gran utilidad para mis salidas de camping, su facilidad de uso y compatibilidad con varios programas y dispositivos tanto PDA's como Celulares lo hacen una unidad GPS muy recomendada para aquellos que deseen tener un gps de gran fiabilidad.

I purchased this because a previous blue tooth GPS (Altina) turned out to be useless with both my notebook computer and Treo650. I use it for both air navigation using FlightSoft and ground navigation using Streets and Trips 2009 on my notebook. The bluetooth works quickly, acquiring satellites takes longer than advertised, but once locked on, the lock is good even indoors and moved away from a window, although the blue tooth range is adequate and the device can be left there. It will not, however, blue tooth to the Treo 650, which will blue tooth to other devices. I do not know if it is in the device or the Treo, but the Treo never sees the device. Nonetheless, given the reasonable cost, I think it is a worthwhile purchase for most of my purposes.

I use GPS and MS Streets and Trips daily in connection with my work. I purchased this item to replace an old Pharos GPS that finally died. The connection time is much faster with this unit. The battery lasts a long time and charges by USB. I get several 10 hour days on a single charge. I am very pleased with it. The unit also works with my Samsung Omnia.

This is a great value. For half a hundred bucks, you aren't gonna find a better device. Immediately worked out of box, paired with my Nokia N800, and immediately began reporting my GPS location. Not sure if it's the device or the n800, but the refresh rate is about 1-2 seconds I'd say, which is typical of most any GPS device. If you're going to an unbundled GPS device to use with your own device, this is the perfect buy. Rechargeable battery and auto-off make this device a 5-star.

I received the unit at night two days ago, charged it, read the manual and started using it first thing in the morning. It paired easily with my Nokia E61 and according to the navigation software and my own experience I had an accuracy of 6-8 Meters. Don't know yet as to how long the charge holds, but the user experience is great. PROS: * Simple to use * Delivers highly accurate data to the target device. * Solid build. * Very low price. CONS: * Could not find any so far.

Reviews

Either bad reviews are not being published or this unit is being purchased to provide a GPS signal for a certain phone or specified setup. PHONE: The problem is that if you have a locked phone and can't run application software this unit will not work with a phone. NETBOOK: Vista and Broadcomm Bluetooth Dongle remain incompatible but the BlueSoblell software resolved this problem even for the Broadcomm dongle. although Google Earth tracking includes only selections for Garmin and Magellan the Holux M1000 data can be received in real time. The problem is that Google Earth will freeze when there is an interruption in communication between the m1000 and the netbook or between the satellite and the m1000 preventing the unit from being used for tracking. The software that comes on the driver CD might fix this but undisclosed by Holux or the seller CECompass that software requires a product key that must be purchased at additional charge. Better to buy a stand alone unit at double the cost than to go through all of the hassle that purchase of this unit can produce. OTHERWISE: If you are one of those that this unit has been specifically recommended for to fit your use and situation it seems like a good unit.

I purchased this GPS receiver for my 1st generation iPhone. My primary motive was to avoid signing a new 2-year contract with AT&T, because I was told it was mandatory if I upgraded to the newest iPhone with built-in GPS. The Holux M-1000 is a lot smaller than I had originally imagined. But it's starts quickly and seems to always have an excellent signal, even indoors. It comes with a USB power cable and car charger, which is useful for long trips. I guess there's not much more you can really say. It's small but it does the job! Note - The 1st generation iPhone does not support this device natively. First you must jailbreak your iPhone. I'm currently using OS 3.1.3 (7E18). Then you must download and install an app called "roqyBT" to your iPhone. This application pairs your iPhone to the Holux M-1000 using Bluetooth. This application will continue running in the background exposing the GPS data to other applications on your iPhone. I have tested the Holux M-1000 with the following apps: Navigon, TomTom and the Maps app that comes with all iPhones. Each of these apps worked perfectly! It's a shame Apple doesn't support GPS Bluetooth devices natively. It would have made my life a lot easier. Score: (Holux 1) and (Apple 0)

This thing is small. Easy to use. Accurate. Long battery life. Couldn't be happier. It gets a fix pretty quick. No blue tooth issues. I used it on my bike with my palm treo and TomTom PDA edition. I had the treo on the bicycle handlebar and the Holux in my back pack . I navigated through a heavily treed neighborhood in pitch dark and never lost a signal. A true pleasure to own.

I bought this item used from a seller on amazon and I have to say I am impressed. The unit is light and easy to travel with. I paired it with my E63 without any hassles at all and like magic it started to provide that valuable information required. Tested it out against a couple other units, more expensive one and the accuracy of this little item was well within the tolerance limits. Battery (though used) is providing great life. Kept it on for a good 13 hours and it still had juice in it. Well worth it. Great product.

It is not often I take the time to review a product online; it has to be especially exceptional and exceed my expectations. The Holux M-1000 did exactly that. I purchased this unit after some extensive online research into how feed real-time GPS data into Google Earth on my Acer AspireOne netbook. I am planning on using this setup to track my location while driving through the countryside on an upcoming European vacation. In addition to the M-1000 (and the netbook) I used Google Earth Voyager 6.0 to perform automatic caching and GooPs to pass the data into Google Earth. If you are looking to track your position via GPS in Google Earth, I strongly recommend this approach. More on the GPS - This thing is LIGHT! Even with the battery installed, the unit feels half as heavy as my cell phone. The Holux M-1000 is easy to use (one switch) and the three different LEDs are simple to understand. I was blown away by the GPS reception in my house (11 satellites) and the accuracy - I took my netbook and gps for a walk around the block (yeah, I probably looked like a dork to my neighbors) and it showed my track on the sidewalk! You can charge the Holux with the included car charger, a standard Mini A USB cable hooked to your pc, or if you have a Mini A wall charger for a bluetooth headset or phone you can use that too. The included software application is simple to use - tracks satellites, their strength, your speed, etc. and is (like everything else) easy to setup and use. If you are looking for an inexpensive yet quality GPS solution, I strongly recommend the Holux M-1000 - you will not be disappointed.

Reviews

not so accurate whit 4 sat locked in slight drift. Short warm up time, battery life is long. works well with my nokia 3060, palm pro, macbook pro, axim

The receiver works fine. It seems to operate about the same as my last receiver (Holux GPSlim 236), which was stolen out of my car at the "full service" car wash. The 236 was a SiRF III chipset, and didn't acquire as many satellites, but was reliable for the 2-3 years I had it. I read some bad reviews about Blue-tooth dying in the current 236, so I opted to try a different unit this time. This M-1000 works the same, but it doesn't use a SiRF III chip set. The M-1000 connects to more satellites, but this doesn't really help make things works any differently or better for me. I am using TomTom Navigator 6 on my Treo 755p, and as long as I get multiple satellites, it just works. I have periodic issues with my Treo not syncing to the receiver. My previous GPSlim 236 had the same problem, but seemed to have them less often. Usually, I can just wait, or power the receiver off and back on, and it will connect fine. Seems to be able to connect inside when my GPSlim 236 might not have been able to, so I think it has a little better sensitivity. Battery life is good, though I haven't really tried to see how long it lasts. I only have to recharge it after I forget that it is on leave it going all day and overnight. I have not tried the included software, but I never have needed to, so I can't comment on it. I love the configuration I have. I like Garmins more than TomTom Navigator 6, but having TomTom on my phone is AWESOME! Some phones have GPS mappig capabilities, but they don't have voice guidance which is what TomTom provides. The Holux receiver is small, so it fits in my pocket or in a cubbyhole in my car dash. Good value at the price.

The Software is extremely bad and hard to figure out (and I'm a computer geek). The unit I got wouldn't pair with my HTC PDA nor would the software see its signal. I tried TomTom software - It couldnt be seen. If that wasnt a bad enough experience the seller would entertain the fact that the product was faulty. Beware of this sellers return policy. Read it carefully. I never had such a bad experience. I returned the inoperative product to buyGPSnow. With no refund notification for over a week I quizzed them. They eventually refunded 60% of what I paid. They informed me shipping cost is not refundable, charged me 15% restocking fee and charged $8.95 for the un-return free gift. So the FREE gift is $8.95. I just wanted the refund I deserve. I will use Amazon again and again, but will steer clear of buyGPSnow. " July 2, 2008

Pretty amazing little device. It locks on to satellites in seconds, and is very quick. I'm using it with my Dell Axim x50v with no problems. With TomTom it very accurately tells your position, and reacquires the link within a second after going through a tunnel. It has 3 lights. Red: Battery status. Unlit means battery is fine. Blue: Bluetooth. Blinking means it has a connection. Red: Satellite. Blinking means it has acquired satellite links. The manual is fairly worthless, but there is another manual which is much better that you can download from Holux. It came with a Free Universal PDA/Smartphone Mount. Believe it or not, this is a pretty nice mount. It hooked into my car vent just fine, with little effort. The sides expand out (from a button in the back) to hold the pda. 2 small feet open from the bottom. Padded insides (all around, even on the feet) make sure the pda is snug. There is a plastic tightening knob on the back so you can angle it any way you want. I didn't try the included Smart2go nav software. I paid 42.00 + 3.50 shipping.

Reviews

Everything works. Sometimes have to reset and have to turn off and on but works well. Seems to be very acurate.

Reviews

Frustrated ! USB communication doesn't work. Maybe it is Windows 7 related. The support web site is full of Driver downloads. A driver download resulted in some success, when I turn the GPS off and on, it produces some sound by the PC. But the Holux ezTour SW still can't communicate with the device. I sent an e-mail to the support group. No reply. I called, and most of the times I get "Lines are busy". When I get though, I get a Chinese phone menu. There does not seem to be support from within the U.S. or North America.

I own a standalone Globalsat BT-338 receiver, have a built-in GPS receiver in my HTC Touch 3G mobile, and have a GPS enabled Garmin Forerunner 405 watch/running computer as well. I needed one receiver with long battery life and data logging capability on an affordable price, so I went for the Holux M-1000C. Comparing the reception and the stability of the receivers the built-in Sirf III receiver of HTC has mediocre, the Forerunner has good and the standalone Globalsat and Holux both have excellent sensibility. The Holux gets fix quite quickly, usually in 30 seconds. It always helps if you don't move while it searches for the satellites, and once it gets fix it never loses again. In urban canyons, such as among the downtown high-rises the signal tends to bounce a bit in every direction, thus later I always modify the tracks with the so called 'clamp to the ground' function. It modifies the height vector based on Google Earth data and eliminates the vertical bouncing and produce a much more realistic elevation diagram - very similar to the barometric altitude meter results. Unfortunately the bound ezTour software doesn't offer this function, but for example the (ex-Motionbased) Garmin Connect web service or the free TCX Converter utility do it for you. The logger function of the M-1000C is excellent. There are 4 preset modes for logging: car, bike, running, hiking. In hiking mode for example records a waypoint in every 3 seconds and in every 10 metres, while these values in bike mode are 5 seconds and 5 meters. But it is possible to set these values manually according your preferences as well. The memory is huge, 4 hours of running log (recording in every 5 seconds) occupies 1% of the memory only. Handling is easy: you turn it on, wait for the GPS led blinking (meaning fix) and there you go. When you finished just switch it off. Later in ezTour you can see you track in Google Maps and it is possible to modify your tracklog, like delete unnecessary waypoints, moving waypoints etc too. Unfortunately you cannot see the map under your track while you in Track Editor mode, though editing your track is reasonable manageable. While ezTour will not be your primary GPS track managing utility it does the basic stuff. The Holux M-1000C delivers why I bought it: it can record the track of a week long hiking (with some external charging solution or spare battery as the battery last 'only' 28 hrs in logger mode), and I can use it as a bluetooth GPS with my navigation software on my HTC mobile if the built in GPS receiver gives up and/or I want to record my track. Oh, did I mention that you can geotag your pictures with it?

This product is a good GPS data logger if you are looking for a way to keep track files. It can be used for geo-tagging photos, recording paths taken on trips, and as a bluetooth GPS for navigation. It can log GPS track files internally while also being used as a bluetooth GPS. More pros is the ability to export the track files as raw NMEA files and KMZ files (Google Earth Files). It has a long battery life (I have had it running for over 16 hours straight) and has good reception (works in the NYC subway system, even under the east river). There are some cons associated with it though. It seems that the only way to export the data from the internal memory is through their proprietary software, which can be troublesome when using multiple computers (this is just when accessing internal memory, not while using it as a bluetooth GPS). Also, reception is good is rural, suburban, and underground urban areas, but when above ground in an urban area, don't expect an accurate path. I have tried to use this three times in NYC; each time while above ground, I have my actual path off varying from only a few feet to 3 blocks, though it works fine underground. (This is attributed to the signal bouncing off the tall buildings; I believe most entry level GPS loggers will do this.) I recommend this to everyone looking to keep GPS track files, unless your sole plans are to use this in an urban area with tall buildings, which I then would find another GPS logger.

I bought the Holux M-1000c with the purpose of geotagging my photos. The software was really easy to use, and the time synchronization worked great. The instruction manual says that you need a special mini-USB cable in order to communicate via USB, but a standard mini-USB cable worked fine for me to download the data and configure the device. I've also used the device in my car, and the it works great there as well.

Reviews

I've bought this cable from buyGPSnow store. Urged from previous review I've contacted seller and they said the cable is special one that is needed to connect Holux GPS. The cable is realy cpecial one. Whit microchip in middle. The only problem is driver. Windows XP does not recognize it. So i google USD to seroa cable and found Prolific USB to serial drivers here. http://www.serialgear.com/USB-Serial-adapter-drivers-windows-mac-linux.cfm Anothe one are from Microsoft. First I try drivers from Microsoft but they doesn's work. And Drivers from link above works fine.

This is an ordinary A-to-mini-B cable, it's not the special one you will need for the Holux GPS. You will need a cable with a built-in chip that acts as a USB to serial converter, because the GPS does not have USB functionality, they just used the same connector for charging and for plain serial data transfer. Here is the pinout of their USB jack: http://pinouts.ru/GPS/holux_m1000_pinout.shtml I have the M-1200 and when I plug it in with this cable, it's not recognized as a USB device at all. Sewell refunded me for this, and say they will be removing this listing on Amazon.

Reviews

This little bluetooth device is wonderful. Works with my ipod touch (jailbroken) and roqyBT program ($11). Also works with google earth (make sure u assign it to a low port number, google only goes up to about 20 or so), and just about any navigation software (Delorne, Windows Streets). A great buy!

So maybe battery life is horrible, I don't know yet. Otherwise, it does exactly what I want. USB and BT GPS. Manual is printed in 2 point font. No drivers included - have to use the web. Otherwise, nice GPS.

Holds a charge forever. Grabs signal fast. Holds the signal when stuffed into a backpack or when it falls on the floor of the car and slides under the dash. How's it do that? The switch feels a little cheap, but it hasn't broken. The LED lights are cryptic and require a manual within easy reach, which is why I docked it a star. Works great with my T-Mobile MDA. Very simple to use. Great!

I've used many little bluetooth GPS units before because I develop land surveying equipment. I've also used many survey grade recievers that cost $40K. I know what I am talking about. This one is by far the best cheap hand-held unit I've used. Battery lasts for ages and the satellite acquisition is really fast compared to other chipsets. I left it sitting outside for a week once, still turned on, and due to the power save mode it still worked when I remembered about it a week later and reconnected. Ran for another 8 hours or so before it finally ran out of juice. It will even get satellites in a basement under a 2 story house. Of course, the location isn't very accurate, but the fact that it even gets a signal is very impressive. Size-wise it is smaller than a deck of cards - about the size of a really small flip cell phone. 3 AA batteries together, and one lengthwise across them endwise is the approximate size. Can't go wrong with this unit. It is standard bluetooth serial port profile (SPP slave) and streams NMEA data the moment you connect. The strings it supports are GGA,GSA,GSV,RMC.

If you do your research you'll find out that this GPS receiver has by far the most channels (32), one of the most accurate chips (158dBm) and one of the most long lasting batteries (32hrs), but enough about technical details, if you're looking for a BT GPS receiver that will will work with your windows mobile device, don't look any further, this is the product for you. I couldn't get it to work with Google Maps but that was a google issue so instead I'm using it with Windows Live and it works great!

Reviews

I have two of these units, and have used them for over a year. This review is based on the Holux m241 with firmware v1.13. If you need a data logger or track/distance measurer or want to geotagging digital photos, then take my advice and avoid this unit. Multiple failures resulting in data loss have lead me to start looking for something else. If you just want something to display your coordinates, or connect to a computer then it works well, but you can probably find other units more geared towards those purposes. As a GPS data logger, it is horribly unreliable. My advice, if you already have the unit, is to simply take photos of the Long/Lat screen so you have a sure record. And don't expect its logging feature to work every time. Pros: - The satellite signal is good. Doesn't usually lose its signal when in a car or backpack - Battery life is good (but not enough for a whole day.) - Can be powered by USB, so you can get a USB phone charger (2xAA) to extend the logging time to over 24 hours, or use a USB car charger and not worry about batteries while you're in a car. (These are third party accessories, and don't come with the unit) - Has Bluetooth connectivity if you need it. Can even download your data via Bluetooth. - Will start logging automatically as soon as it receives signal, but only if you set it to do so (Note: was not available in original firmware. Also note: like the device in general, it's unreliable.) - When set to "Dist By: Point", the distance measure mode can be used for simple navigating (e.g. finding your car), although not reliably. See bottom of the review for details. Cons: - No Lock: There's no way to "Lock" the device. If you keep this in your bag or pocket you can accidentally switch it off or press a button, which could stop recording, lose your distance waypoint, or change settings, etc. The buttons are fairly difficult to press accidentally but it's still not something you want to rely on. - No accuracy display. Can never be sure how accurate the coordinates are. - Sometimes needs to be "jump started": power it via USB to turn it on (after that the inserted battery might start working by itself). This has been required at times on both my m241 devices. I tried multiple batteries (they weren't the issue) - Firmware / software is not reliable: The data format stored internally on the device changed between firmware versions (they increased its accuracy, which is good). All well and good, but if you use mismatched software+firmware when you download your coordinates you can end up with corrupted data, and think it was successfully downloaded. Too bad if you wiped your device after downloading the data from it, because your download is corrupt and there's nothing you can do. This happened to me after I used newer software to download the coordinate data from a device with older firmware. Note that I couldn't update the firmware without losing the data on there either, so it would have been a catch-22 even if I had known in advance that it was corrupting my data. I lost several days worth of logs because of this. Really wouldn't have been difficult for Holux's PC software to check the firmware version and deal with both cases. Instead they chose to have the software show success but silently fail. This is really lazy (or stupid) programming. Even if the issue is unlikely to affect me a second time, it increases my distrust in this unit, and I won't be buying anything with "Holux" stamped on it again. - Buggy firmware: certain settings change other un-related settings. To reproduce this bug: Set the device to log by time (15 seconds). Then go into the settings menu and choose "Log Rcd" -> "Full Stop" (which is the default setting, and probably selected already). For no particular reason it will now have now changed back from logging by time (15 seconds) to logging by distance (every 100m). Note also due to the two-button menu system, once you enter the "Log Rcd" menu (e.g. to see what it's set to) then you can't escape out of it without choosing an option. Even by re-selecting the already selected option you end up changing the unrelated "Log by" setting. This makes for a very undependable device, as you can never be sure what your settings are and checking them changes others. I'm not sure if this is an isolated bug or if there are others like it. - Sometimes it simply fails to record coordinates, even though the little "running man" logging icon is shown. I went camping for 4 days, and despite always keeping the thing powered during the day, and supposedly logging, the end result was exactly 0 records recorded. I've been using this thing for well over a year, but since this trip it rarely seems to keep logging (it didn't get wet or damaged in any way). There is no indication as to whether it is working or not unless you keep an eye on the free space screen. By the time you realize that it's not actually doing anything then it's too late. - The distance measure is lost when you switch it off and on or press the right button ("enter"). So forget changing batteries if you want to use this feature and be careful not to knock it. (although the rubber buttons are fairly difficult to press accidentally) - Distance measure ("ruler" mode) doesn't tell you the direction of the reference waypoint. If it did, the device could almost be USEFUL for simple navigation e.g. finding your car (See bottom of review for details on how to do this anyway) As is, this gps is not even as good as an XKCD-407 for navigating, although in a pinch you can use it as such. - Frequent firmware upgrades have been required to fix bugs (e.g. the original firmware gave Northern hemisphere coordinates for the Southern hemisphere). Thank you Holux for fixing the bugs, but it still has a few. - Software is Windows only. - Windows software is not so user friendly. E.g. it forgets the last folder you downloaded to. Another issue is that to upgrade the firmware you have to hit the "disconnect device" button first. This really isn't so intuitive. (And it's very likely that you WILL have to upgrade the firmware, in case you're wondering) - The "Menu" button is also the backlight button. So to turn the backlight on for the current menu/screen, first you have to cycle through ALL the other menus/screens. This is a mere annoyance. (They could have solved the issue by making the first press ONLY turn on the backlight, and the next presses cycle the menu, rather than combine the two) Summary: It can do what it says it does, but don't rely on it to do so, and don't expect a pleasant user experience. ----- How to navigate with this device: When you're at your car/bike/home/campsite, go the "ruler" mode and press "start", then you always know how far away you are. If the distance is going down, then you're getting closer. Up means further. However, this is really unreliable: You can't be sure if a fluctuating distance is just random or genuine (there's no accuracy display). The smallest unit is 10 meters (0.01 km). Also you have to hawkishly watch the display. If the device is switched off even momentarily or if the "enter" button is (accidentally) pressed then the location of your car is forgotten and you're on your own. I do not enjoy navigating with this device, but it's saved me in the past. Note you must have "Dist By: Point" in your settings, and there is no way to tell if that's the mode you're using without going into settings and changing it. Fortunately, it seems you can swap between the two modes at will (by point, by path) without resetting either measurement. I have never been desperate enough to try using triangulation to calculate the direction of my waypoint, although in theory you could do it too. How to do triangulation? This is an exercise for the reader.

The software supplied with the GPS logger (M-241) doesn't works with this item, I had to download soft and drivers from internet. The item can be powered by USB but only in case whne it's in OFF mode!!! Keep this in mind, connecting the item to USB doesn't save battery life! You should turn off the logger to go in usb power mode (that isn't written in the user guide which is almost useless an too short!!!)

This is a good compact GPS logger, which is primarily intended for geotagging digital photos. The idea here is that the GPS logger periodically records your GPS location and then, later on, the Holux Logger Utility takes this timestamped GPS information and compares it against the JPG timestamps on your photos. Then for each photo, it can find the GPS record that best matches the photo time and add that GPS location information to the photo. The basic idea works well. The M-241 is sometimes a little awkward to use, but I like mine enough that after I accidentally lost my first one, I quickly bought a second. I use the GPS info for both tagging photos and for generating route maps. Some specific positives: * The logger is very compact and easily fits into a pocket. * The Holux logger utility uploads GPS data as either proprietary TRL files or as Google Earth KML files. The KML files can be easily viewed with Google Earth. * GPS signal sensitivity is quite good. It can sometimes take several minutes to get an initial fix, especially if you are moving, but it tracks quickly thereafter. * The LCD display is useful: I enjoy being able to watch things like direction, or speed, or travel distance as I travel. Now some weaknesses: * A Duracell Alkaline AA lasts me about 15 hours and a Lithium AA about 22 hours. (Fairly typical battery life for a GPS device.) * The battery case cover is rather flimsy and needs cautious handling. * The two button control UI on the logger takes a little getting used to. I can now navigate it quickly, but I initially found it rather frustrating. * The logger utility UI is distinctly clunky and the manual is rather weak. The UI does the job, but not particularly elegantly. * You need to keep your camera time synchronized with the logger's time and you need to compensate for timezone differences when you do the photo tagging. You can use either USB or Bluetooth to communicate with the logger. I've been using USB on Vista, without any problems. I can't speak to the Bluetooth functionality. Some suggestions: * Make sure to download the latest firmware and logger utility from the Holux website. The latest versions have bug fixes and some feature additions. * In the logger settings, turn "AutoLog" to "on". This means it will start logging as soon as it gets a GPS fix, and you don't have to remember to separately turn on logging. * Rather than worrying about time zones, I ended up leaving my camera permanently in UTC+0 (GMT). The logger always writes its TRL records in UTC+0, so this means I can tag photos without having to specify a timezone adjustment. * By default, the logger logs every 5 seconds. I moved it to every 30 seconds, which I find adequate for photo location and lets me store over a month of records. * If you're using USB, it's worth turning off the Bluetooth radio to save power. (This is a new feature in the v1.12 firmware.) Overall, this isn't perfect, but I find it very convenient as a lightweight tool for GPS and photo logging.

I've had this for a few months, and it works. I take it hiking and use other software (GPicSync, free) to geotag the photos. Make sure you set your camera to the right time (get the "true" time from the logger). I seems pretty accurate, finds the satellites after a little while (< 1 min), and has enough recording options. I really like that it uses AA batteries; it will run all day on a lithium rechargeable (2700 mah) that I also use for my camera. When I'm away for a few days, I just bring extra AA's. It can store a lot of waypoints. It has distance and time logging options, can display speed, distance traveled, location, can be locked to avoid accidentally turning logging on/off. And it's been knocked around without complaining. The USB and bluetooth work fine on a couple of computers (XP); it is important to install the USB drivers before connecting it. I find the USB much easier than the bluetooth. You can adjust the settings from the software, which makes life easier. OK, some quirks: the software appears to offer geotagging, but does not; the GPicSync works great though. With the USB connection, you have to figure out which COM port it connects to; this is trial and error (COM6 for me), but it stays the same each time you connect it. If it runs out of power while logging, the file is lost (same thing if you accidentally turn it off); there is a low-battery indicator, but you need to be checking it pretty regularly, or have a good idea how long your battery will last. The battery cover feels pretty fragile. You can't tell it to start logging until you get a fix on the satellites, which means each time you turn it on you need to remember to start logging a minute later. I think for money and convenience (AA, reasonable memory, accuracy), it's the best logging option - at least in March it was!

Cute little gadget. It is a comparatively fast and sensitive little Bluetooth GPS unit with a tiny display that can show Lat/Lon/Alt/Speed/Compass/etc. and has a backlight. It will also automatically or manually log waypoints and routes with a modest number of configurable options. It works great with my Treo 680 Smartphone and DeLorme Street Atlas USA 2006 Handheld Edition. In fact it is more reliable than my DeLorme Bluetooth GPS's. Running 12 hours on an alkaline AA battery is rather amazing. The fact that the accompanying software can export the saved waypoint and route data in a number of formats, including NMEA and Google Earth KMZ format is cool. The software is a bit primative but it seems to work. I hope they come out with some updates. Now for the negatives. The USB driver doesn't seem to work properly on XP!!! It seems to work okay on Win2K Pro. Fortunately it is possible to connect your XP PC and the data download software to the M-241 over Bluetooth and get the data off of it. Slowly. And Holux Technical Support (email to China) seems to be strictly a one-way communication medium. You send them emails and nothing ever comes back. Would I buy it again? Yes! It's cheap and works great as an amazingly sensitive and fast little GPS. And if you can negotiate the usual quirks and user hostility of Bluetooth, you can make it do everything that Holux promises it can do. However it sure would be nice if Holux fixed the stupid USB driver for XP! -Christopher Erickson