Holux GPSport 260 GPS Positioning Data logger for Biking/Running/Walking

Pros: I wanted a GPS data logger for keeping track of my mountain bike rides and viewing these on google earth. This unit does exactly that and more!. Right from when I pulled it out of the box I was impressed. Its small, light weight and well constructed. I powered it on and it got a fix within a minute. Not bad since it had just travelled from China to New Zealand. I compared the number of satellites it picked up with my Tomtom in car GPS and they were identical. It is easy to operate with the little joystick and the mount although it doesn't show it clearly can be used in such a way to mount the unit to the handle bar stem on your bike. You can program in routes using the supplied software and save recorded routes on your PC. The software allows you to view all sorts of data about your trip eg speed, altitude, rate of climb, distance travelled and many more. You can view statistics based on all your trips and export these to excel. The software and driver installed with no problems on my Windows 7 64bit. The driver just worked.

Cons: Thought the software bundled with it might be just another piece of cheap "fancy buttoned bloat-ware", but how wrong I was. The software and hardware combine this unit into an awesome data logger. Also had concerns about the mount not putting up with the shocks of Mountain biking, however the clip has plenty of "Meat" to it and holds the unit firmly. So far so good! No ability to show maps on the unit, but by being able to program a route in, this is not necessary.

Other: If you are looking for a data logger to record your bike trips or walks/runs/tramps. look no further. This is an excellent unit and well worth the $125. Compare that to Garmin units at 4 times the price.

Pros: Bought this because (1) its spec said that it can last 20 hrs on a single charge; (2) it's much cheaper compared to Garmin. Didn't test the battery to its limit but it's enough for my biking usage (longest was 8 hours so far). In any case you can get a battery pack and charge it through the USB port while continue using the GPS (don't do that during wet weather). GPS on power up detected signal pretty fast. Tracking was accurate for my purpose (to review the route that I travelled and to geotag photos). Mounting on bike with the provided mount was easy and with the clip on mechanism it allows quick mounting/dismounting of the GPS. The software ezTourPlus works well (see note below on Cons).

Cons: Not really a con, but the software didn't work out of the box due to a change in GoogleMapAPI. Took me a while to find out the fix: You need to download the latest ezTour Plus software (Ver 3.1 as of this review). Go to the Holux FAQ Main Page (http://faq.holux.com/index.php/Main_Page) and look for the link to download the software.

Other: A nice gps data logger for biking and other outdoor activities. Great for geotagging photos as well. Highly recommended.