I purchased this unit to map hiking trails and set waypoints, many of which are in forest. After it is turned on, it generally takes a couple of minutes to get a satellite fix, but then the points seem to be within 20 feet except possibly in the forest. It comes with software that can be updated at the Canmore website, although some of it seems pointless unless you wish to collect raw data on GPS satellite positions. I only use it to convert track information into gpx or kml files. My only complaint: it would be nice to be able to suspend track recording instead of getting a new track when you have turned it on just to download the tracks to a computer. But for the price this is very good value.

First things first, if you haven't read any other reviews yet just know that the hardware for this item is great, the software not so much. However I purchased it after reading other reviews and therefore completely expected to have a bit of trouble with software, yet it doesn't seem to be as bad as I had thought it would be. I would recommend doing a bit of research before purchasing to make sure it's what works for you - Here's a reasonably good article that helped me: [...]Hardware - As I said the hardware is great, easy to use, good battery life, comes with a lanyard to help portability and overall does the job of logging data no problem (However you need to know what the different-coloured lights mean to understand it which is explained in the linked article). Something I discovered for myself is when it is on 'low battery' (flashing red light) it stops logging any data so just keep that in mind. This isn't much of a problem though because as I said it's got a good battery life, around 15-16 hours when set to 5-second recording intervals and only takes about an hour to fully charge it.Software - The main comment about this is the CanWay software is Windows exclusive, so doesn't work on Mac or Linux. There are a lot of reviews heavily criticising the software, but this depends on what your intended use of logging GPS information is. As a personal preference I don't use Windows unless I have to so I'm not experienced with that OS, but I purely use the software to import my tracks to then export them as KML/GPX files for me to use with my Fog of World app on my iPhone. For this purpose I have had no trouble with it (once it was installed) but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a lot worse for people who wish to use the software more intensively. I did have problems doing the initial firmware update for the logger, but as I said I'm not experienced on Windows so I had to do some research. After this, I've had no problems with the software.The main issue for me personally is if you want to change the interval logging time/distance or clear the memory to make space for further logging, you can only do that through the CanWay software because it doesn't even appear as a USB device on any computer, which would be handy if you just wanted to re-format it to clear the memory or something. But overall it does the job at a more reasonable price than alternatives I'd looked at, plus it has a really good battery life compared to certain other devices too.

I purchased this gadget for geotagging my travel pictures. On my first test, which happened in a relatively unobstructed area it worked very well with precise locations it recorded. The software is very intuitive and hassle-free. I usually take pictures on the narrow streets of old towns of Europe where GPS signals may not be so strong as suburban areas of North America, hence its final performance is yet to be seen until my next trip but so far it fully lived up to my expectations.

The logger works like charm.Having in mind the price range it's just brilliant.I had problems with the software from the original disc supplied with the device.After getting in touch with the manufacturer, I have been given the newest version and it worked beautifully.Here is link to the software( I believe it will help others): http://file.canmore.com.tw/canway/CanWay_1.1.12.exe

I got this in hopes that it would work well enough to record our road trips. My goal was to later use the track data to geotag my photos so I would know where they were taken. I hoped to eliminate the need for my Delorme LT-20 dongle that had to be connected to my laptop the whole trip just to record the track data.Well, I wasn't expecting a lot, but this device is perfect. Everything works and works well. Just had to charge it the first time, then took it outside. It took a while for the first lock-in, but since then it takes about a minute. Seems about the same or faster than my Delorme LT-20 GPS receiver.It is true that the data logging is not turned on at first. I just used the included GPS viewer.exe program to turn on logging. I use the freeware gpsbabel to dump and convert the data to kml (for Google Earth) and gpx (for geotag). With gpsbabel it is also possible to clear the log and do various other operations so it's the only main utility I use. I use the Linux and Windows versions. Both work fine with this device. Sometimes it doesn't read the data the first time on Linux, and times out. But by the second retry it always reads. Gpsbabel also has an option to save out the native binary dump file for later conversion without the device plugged in.The kml files can be dropped right into Google Earth and it shows my drive to work. I was surprised that it was able to show exactly which parking space I parked in. Sort of scary...The gpx files are for geotag. Geotag is an online free program that can read the gpx track file, and then you load in the photos you took on your trip. By interpolating the photos' date and time (from the EXIF data) with the logged times in the GPS track (this GT-730F device logs every 5 seconds by default), Geotagpulls up a Google map showing the track and the locations where you took the photos, with clickable thumbnails of the actual photos. It is really surprising to see this. Lastly, Geotag can (if desired) write out the geographic data into the photo's EXIF data for a permanent record of where the photo was taken, right there inside the photo's EXIF data!I do agree that the lack of documentation caused me to have a longer learning curve than I wished, but I got the hang of it within a couple of days of casual research. In short, the accompanying disk has a couple of useful things, particularly the windows driver (The device appears as a Prolific PL-2303 usb to serial port, defaulting to 38400 baud). The GPSviewer.exe is useful to see the device working, the satellites found, and their various signal strength etc, as well as turning on/off logging or clearing the log. The photo program I haven't played with very much as it seems their Google maps key has expired or something. Google pops up a message that the API key is wrong or expired. I might try downloading the other version from the canmore website, but it looks like it does the same thing as geotag.The two programs I use are both freeware: geotag and gpsbabel. They can easily be found with a web search. They both work well in Windows and Linux, which was a good thing for me since I primarily use Linux at home and Windows at work. Last thing: The GPS device is a Skytrak Venus based chipset. It reports on the computer as a Prolific PL-2303 but that is simply the USB to serial converter chip inside the package. So don't be confused by that.I am very glad I got this item. Hope it lasts.tl;dr: Works great in Windows and Linux. Appears as a PL-2303 com port/ttyUSB0 but is really a Skytraq Venus chipset. Use geotag and gpsbabel which are freeware available for Windows or Linux.