The i-gotU Travel Logger: A Ridiculously Simple GPS Tracker
The i-gotU GT-120 Travel Logger Device
There are many examples of modern day running watches that support GPS, but these tend to come with a price tag much higher than that of a regular sports watch. Athletes on a tighter budget might be interested in a refreshing simple GPS tracking unit known simply as the “i-gotU” Travel Logger (pronounced “I got you”, abbreviated “IgotU”).
In the complex world of technology and gadgetry, devices tend to be packed-to-the-gills with excessive features and functions well beyond the average user’s capability to understand, let alone utilize to their full potential. Examples of elegent simplicity that technology is capable of are encountered very rarely. When such a gadget or device does come along, it is a breath of fresh air for those of us partial to simplicity in design.
So when Taiwanese company Mobile Action , asked me to write a review of their i-gotU Travel Logger gps data tracker, I was hard pressed to resist.
While the i-gotU Travel Logger is marketed primarily as a GeoTagging device for trips and holidays, endurance athletes are often seeking ways to measure the distance and pace of their runs and rides. GPS is a popular solution as GPS satellite tracking devices can determine the wearer’s precise location on earth very accurately to derive speed, distance and the altitude statistics of an athletes runs. The i-gotU device is capable of measuring any sort of outdoor adventure you could imagine, including endurance sports.
i-gotU GT-120/GT-200e Product Specifications
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| i-gotU GT-120 USB Travel Logger |
i-gotU GT-200e* Bluetooth Travel Logger |
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| Hardware specifications: | ||
| Dimensions | 44.5(h)x28.5(w)x13(d) mm | 46(h)x41.5(w)x14(d) mm |
| Weight | 20g | 37g |
| Memory | 64,000 waypoints | 262,000 waypoints |
| Chipset | SiRF Star III | SiRF Star III |
| Data Transfer | USB | Bluetooth |
| Battery | 230mAh Lithium-ion 30 hours |
750mAh Lithium-ion 80 hours |
| System requirements: | ||
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| * The i-gotU GT-200e supercedes the GT-200 and is due to be released in late September 2009 | ||
Mobile Action has released two i-gotU devices. The i-gotU GT-120 and (larger) i-gotU GT-200e Bluetooth Travel Logger – it utilizes Bluetooth technology to connect to PC instead of a USB cable as does the GT-120. Both devices are minature, the GT-200e weighs in at 37 grams, the GT-120 just 20 grams. Both can be easily taken wherever you go, whether you choose to carry the device in your hand, place it in a backpack or wear it in your pocket.
The device is shipped with the company’s proprietary @trip PC software package for PC (not Mac, sorry Mac users). @trip PC allows users to import their digital photos and GPS routes which can be merged together and elegently displayed by the software, or imported into their online web portal known as @trip.
The portal allows you to share your route with other travellers and can display your vacation in Google Maps (in a 2D top-down map overlay), Google Earth (in full 3D) and as a photo slideshow. Furthermore your trip journal is both text-searchable and geographic-searchable by like-minded travellers.
Operating the i-gotU Travel Logger
The operation of the device is simplicity itself. You are presented with a single large button, that requires a press-hold to power the device ON or OFF. Once ON, a blue LED light on the right hand side will blink intemittedly (the red LED light will blink upon switching the device off). To obtain a GPS fix, you simply present the device to a clear, open sky. The red and blue LED lights will flash to indicate that GPS auto tracking has begun and i-gotU has started to log your movements right away. The device records waypoints using a “breadcrumb” method of saving your position at intermittent times. When you have finished, simply press and hold the button again until the red LED right on the left hand side broadcasts the power-down signal. The red light will also flash in the event that the device batteries are low or the memory is full.
Analyzing Your Trip (or Workout) Data
@tripPC handles importing device data and presenting it in a map view that allows you to revist your trip, ride or run. The software also lets you configure the tracking interval of the i-gotU for different activities and lets you set variable tracking, a feature not supported in GPS watches.
Travellers will appreciate the ability to own a web presence and the ability to share their trips and GeoTagged photos with family, friends or even the public in general via the online web portal a-trip.com.
Runners, riders and skiiers have the ability to publish their routes online, a great way to share the best courses with other people in endurance sport communities.
The sporting view of a route
@tripPC offers three map profiles: classic, sporting and simple. Athletes will be most interested in the sporting profile as it allows for an in-depth analysis of their pace at various intervals over the course and presents a summary of your event duration, total distance, average speed, best speed as well as highest and lowest altitude. This view mode also offers four graphical representations of your statistics at various points of the journey. These include: Altitude vs Distance, Speed vs Distance, Altitude vs Time and Speed vs Time.
The speed vs distance graph of my run
Benefits of the i-gotU Travel Logger
The obvious benefit of i-gotU for athletes seeking to track their routes is the simplicity of the i-gotU compared with the much pricier and complex GPS watch and other GPS tracking equipment on the market. The device is small, light and easy to take with you when you train. Being a runner, I use i-gotU to confirm the distance of my regular runs and to analyze the pace of my runs at various points along the route. The i-gotU GT-120 device easily slipped into the interior pocket of my running shorts and was hardly noticable once I started running. Yes, the Travel Logger makes an incredibly simple and convenient GPS mileage tracker.
What the Travel Logger won’t do that a GPS watch can, is measure your instantaneous speed or pace and predict your finish time. It cannot present readings such as pace, distance or altitude alerts or any sort of real-time features found in a good GPS watch.
The Travel Logger easily clips onto a bike
Non-sporting-wise, i-gotU will automatically merge your photos to just about every outdoor activity imaginable. The information can then be organized and uploaded to the a-trip.com website and saved to your own personal travel blog. From here it can be viewed by family and friends either in a 2D Google Maps format, a 3D Google Earth format or slide-show view.
The software is compatible with all digital cameras and camera phones and the device data can be exported in a wide range of file formats, compatible with popular web albums like Flickr and Picasa and a wide range of third party GPS navigation software. The Logger is water resistant to IPX6, meaning it will hold up against rain and jets of water, but is not suitable for swimming or guaranteed to survive immersion in water.
The i-gotU Travel Logger is one of those elegently simple examples of technology that does what it’s supposed to do, with ridiculously ease. The device can be used as a training device or GPS tracker, Google earth and Google Maps compatible. Mobile Action have put a lot of love and hard work into designing and promoting this GPS tracing device, a somewhat rare thing in the competitive world of technology… and it certainly shows! The i-gotU can be purchased on Amazon through the links below, through Mobile Action’s official website, or from third party retailers.
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| i-gotU GT-120 USB Travel Logger |
i-gotU GT-200 Bluetooth Travel Logger |
| Price: $67.95 | Price: $64.00 |
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