i-gotU GT-120 Review
The i-gotU GT-120 from Mobile Action is a GPS logger and receiver which you use in conjunction with your camera for geotagging your photos.
The i-gotU GT-120 from Mobile Action
You may have seen a few reviews in the past on tracyandmatt.co.uk of photo geotagging devices. Well, I think I may have been given the tiniest one out there to try out! Good timing really as I’m off to Spain for a week so perfect to try this out!
What’s in the box?
- i-gotU GT-120
- USB cable (Proprietary connection to the device)
- Mini-CD with software and manual
The i-gotU GT-120 – packaging
i-gotU GT120 Specifications:
- Dimensions: 44.5 x 28.5 x 13 mm
- Weight: 20g
- SiRF StarIII 65nm GPS low power chipset
- Built-in GPS patch antenna
- 16M flash memory to store 65,000 way points
- Built-in 230mAh Lithium-ion battery
- 2 LEDs for on/off/charge/logging status status indication
- Average acquisition time: Cold start: < 35 seconds
- USB 1.1cable for charging and PC connect
- Operation temperature: -10 to + 50 degrees centigrade
System requirements:
- PC with Windows 2000, XP, Vista
- PC with USB 1.1 or 2.0
General:
This is such a simple device with just a proprietary USB connection on the bottom of the i-gotU GT-120 and the button on the front of it.
The i-gotU GT-120 from Mobile Action
Highlights:
- Size – small and lightweight
- Simple to use
- Water resistant
Lowlights:
- Can take some time to locate GPS signal
Review:
Although I’ve seen geotagging devices I’ve never used one before. The i-gotU GT120 looks simple to use from the outset.
The software “@Trip” needs to be installed. You can get this off the Mobile Action’s site as well which is handy if you lose the mini CD. The installation is pretty quick and the software looks quite straight forward, but I’ll come back to this later in the review.
To switch the i-gotU GT12 on you just hold down the button until you see a blue light appear and flash on the front of the device (you can’t see when it’s not on as it’s located under the plastic). Now, here is my only moan about the device – you may have to wait a minute or two. or three.(you get the idea) until the device fixes on a GPS signal (and you have to be outside – but this is normal). You’ll see when the GPS signal has been found as a red light will then start to flash along with the blue one.
This is where I got confused! Any one who has used one of these before will be laughing at me now! I was convinced that there was more to it – Like pressing the button when you take a photo to track that specific position or something – but no, that was it! It logs data roughly every 5 seconds to track your movements. simple huh?!
To switch it off you just hold the button down again until the red light flashes a few times on its own.
The next step is to upload the data from it to your pc using the USB cable.
The software isn’t the most exciting looking but it is easy to use.
@Trip software for the i-gotU GT120
Uploading the data only takes a few clicks. The ‘Import’ button at the top left opens another window with an import wizard which guides you through the process. Once the data is uploaded you will then be able to see the tracked data. Google maps are used with this application.
Of course, this is then where your photos come into it. Any photos can be added to the map. The clever part is how they are positioned in the right place on the map. The i-gotU GT120 tracks the time when logging the GPS data. The software then synchronises the time that the picture was taken against the data tracks of the GPS information and then places your pictures accordingly on the map.
There are a few map interfaces. One of them is a sport view, where speed, trip time, total distance, etc are added to a bar at the bottom.
Conclusion:
My only real complaint was that it can take quite a time to fix on a GPS signal when you switch it on. This became annoying if i found something that I wasted to take a picture of quickly and the device was switched off.
But, otherwise, the small and lightweight i-gotU GT-120 from Mobile Action definitely impressed me!
Review by: Emma
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