Just before the Olympics started, I was given a new GPS gadget to play with, called the i-gotU GT-600 USB GPS Travel & Sports Logger. Since I was planning on doing a lot of travelling around during the games, this seemed like a perfect way to test it out.
So what is it?
It’s basically a GPS receiver with onboard memory that tracks your current location via GPS and writes out some data to the device. You can then later download this data and do all kinds of cool things with it like plot your travels on a map, geotag any photos you took while on walkabout with the map data and export the geo data to other applications like Google Earth where you can make movies from your travels.
Wandering around Vancouver:
Taking the Alberta Train to Whistler:
My flight to Whitehorse:
I even took it dog sledding with me (the purple line is the trail we took along the river):
As you can see, the device is pretty tiny:
I just had it clipped onto my backpack for most of the games. Its onboard battery ran for days without recharging all the while it was downloading my location data.
The main thing I liked about this device over my other GPS photo gadgets is that it was always on, capturing data. My Nikon GP-1 needed a few minutes to acquire its satellite lock once I powered on my camera. It also has a motion detector so it goes into standby mode when you don’t move to conserve battery power.
What I didn’t like is the software support…unfortunately it only supports Windows XP and the 32 bit version of Windows 7 at the moment. No Mac support either. I have the 64 bit version of Windows installed on my MacBook Pro but had to use XP (under VMWare) to access the device and software. The good thing is the manufacturer is updating the software pretty regularly and once you do export the gps data, you can use it on anything. I’ve been playing around with my Whitehorse trip data file in Google Earth on my Mac. I haven’t had a chance to explore other gps apps that can accept the *.GPX data files. Also, while the geotagging option for photos is nice, I shoot RAW so I would have had to convert them down to jpegs then sync them with the software before being able to upload them somewhere like Flickr – a few too many steps for my workflow but I know lots of photogs that like the idea of being able to geotag without an expensive addon like the GP-1 (or they have a non-Nikon camera).
Overall I’m pretty happy with the device. I’ll be taking it with me to Austin later this week to track my SXSW attendance too.
Over the holidays, I picked up a Mophie Juice Pack Air
for my iPhone 3GS thanks to a great deal on Boxing Day ($48 @ London Drugs).
I’ve been considering one of these types of battery packs for my iPhone for awhile. I already have the Griffin Power Jolt which works really well when you just need a little more juice but sometimes you’re away from an outlet for longer than you’d like. The Power Jolt only gives you about 25% of your battery back on an iPhone 3G/3GS whereas the Mophie gives you one full charge back effectively doubling your battery power.
The form factor of the Juice Pack Air is very similar to the iPhone…it’s a similar shiny hard plastic case that completely envelops the iPhone. I kind of wish it wasn’t so shiny as for a case, it doesn’t offer any slip protection like most cases do. I’d prefer a matte finish or even a rubberized coating. All the iPhone’s buttons and switches are still accessible except the dock connector:
In its place is a micro USB port and a slider switch. The Juice Pack comes with the necessary micro USB cable that facilitates charging the Juice Pack and allows you to sync your iPhone while in the case. I wish it was a more common mini USB cable but at least it’s not a proprietary plug/cable although I don’t believe I have any other devices (or cables) that are micro USB so it’s one more cable you need to carry and hope you don’t lose. At least Mophie sells replacement cables inexpensively on their website.
The switch allows you to control when the iPhone receives its charge from the Juice Pack. You can charge it up and leave it in standby mode until you need it.
As I mentioned earlier, everyone on the iPhone is still available to use, including the camera as you can see above. The photo should also give you a good idea of how much extra bulk the case/battery adds to the iPhone. I have to say, when I first held a Juice Pack, it seemed bulky but after having this one for a couple of days, it’s really not a big deal.
The Juice Pack has a ‘fuel gauge’ and button on the back of the case:
This is similar to Apple laptops that display how much power is left in the battery. While charging, these light up and blink to indicate how far along the charge is. Press the button at any time and you’ll know how much juice is left in the case.
The only real shortcoming this device has is the inability to charge the iPhone battery directly through the case while plugged into your computer (or similar USB power port). You can only charge up the Juice Pack and then charge the iPhone by depleting the Juice Pack. I would have preferred to be able to charge up both (sequentially is fine) so that you have both fully charged up before heading out. The way it is now, you have to charge them separately. Removing the iPhone from the case is easy enough but it would be easier if you didn’t have to.
I don’t plan on using the case all the time, just on those days that I know I’ll be out for an extended time and don’t want to worry about my iPhone dying while using it heavily.
UPDATE (Jan 7, 2010): Thanks to C.K.’s suggestion in the comments, it does appear that the syncing while in the Juice Pack Air issue is related to a bad cable. I swapped cables and it worked fine. Contact Mophie’s support to get a replacement. Mine is on it’s way.
Just a quick review of this handy gadget I picked up for my iPhone. Battery power is always an issue for iPhone users that use their phones alot. I had looked at things like the Mophie Juice Pack and the InCase Power Slider but found these to be too bulky. I rarely need to double my battery life, usually just give it another 20-40% to last all day and into the night.
That’s when I stumbled across the Griffin PowerJolt Reserve ($45 @ Future Shop) which seemed to be the perfect thing. It’s a small little battery pack that ‘lives’ on a dock that you leave in your car which also has a pass-thru USB port in case you want to actually charge your iPhone while driving too which is a nice touch. Even cooler is the dock actually uses inductive charging to top up the battery pack – it literally just sits on the dock – no cables or pins to line up and it magnetically stays put while charging it up.
It charges while you drive and then when you get to that night time outing after a day of work, you just grab the battery pack and take it with you. If you run low on juice, plug it in…no bulky case to weigh you down.
I actually mentioned this item when I was on Couch Beers with Jordan…I had actually just bought it minutes before being on the show and hadn’t even opened the package or tried it yet so this is the follow up review.
The battery pack has a single button on it which lights up the five leds on it to let you know how much juice is left in the battery pack. On my iPhone 3GS it seemed to charge it up at a rate of about 1% per minute – while still using it. I’ve used it a couple of times now when my iPhone is down to about 20% and a fully charged battery pack will easily get me beyond 50% in no time while I’m still using the device.
It has a kind of strange shape when not in the dock but easily goes into your pocket while charging it up without too much trouble.
Another added bonus of this pack being small and not a full sized case – you can easily share it with your iPhone toting friends. I was out for drinks with a bunch of folks and we were all running low on juice and we just passed the pack around each grabbing a few minutes of charge each….not a full charge but certainly enough to finish out the night or to make it through the bus ride home.
Griffin also makes a wall plug version, called the PowerBlock Reserve
as well as a Powerduo Reserve
which includes both the car charger dock and the wall plug dock. Had I seen the Duo first, I would have probably bought that instead.
I’m pretty happy with this item and I don’t have to worry about charging my iPhone on the go after a long day of use. I bought mine at Future Shop but it seems you can find these anywhere that sells iPhone stuff – I’ve seen them at the Apple Store, Walmart, Best Buy, etc.
The fine folks at Phottix sent me their latest creation, the Geo One GPS module. This is an almost exact replica of the Nikon GP-1 GPS module I reviewed previously with a couple of minor differences.
The most notable difference is price. One of my main (if not only) issue with Nikon’s unit was it’s price. Listed at £95 on the Phottix UK site, it’s a fair bit cheaper than the Nikon version which comes in at slightly more than double that price. (I couldn’t find any North American pricing or availability – I’ll update the post once it is).
Like the GP-1, the Geo One comes with cables to connect it to a number of Nikon DSLR models including the D90 and D300 among others. It also has similar ports to the GP-1 except that the package also includes a wired remote shutter release which connects to the GPS module using a mini jack connection. A nice bonus that makes the price even more compelling since you have to purchase the Nikon cable separately.
As you can see in the photo above, the Geo One is slightly larger than the GP-1. This is barely noticible on the camera.
So how does it perform? Pretty much exactly like the Nikon version. Very fast satellite acquisition time, similar build quality and seamless interaction with the camera. EXIF data was captured exactly like the GP-1 and I had no trouble uploading photos to Flickr with the geotags being picked up and mapped correctly:
It also comes with a similar plastic strap clip to allow you to move the module from the hot shoe if you need to use it with a flash. As the module has the same USB port as the GP-1, you can use it with your computer and even came with a mini cd with some navigation software but I haven’t tried since it won’t fit in my MacBook Pro’s dvd drive.
Overall, an impressive module, if not a near exact copy of the GP-1. Assuming North American pricing is consistant with the UK, it should prove to be a nice inexpensive alternative to the Nikon module and I’m sure they’ll sell a ton of them. A lot of people seem interested in my GP-1…until I tell them what it’s worth. Phottix just may have hit the sweet spot with it’s extras and lower cost.
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