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Testing Sony GPS-CS1’s tracking capabilitiesApril 3rd, 2007
The Sony GPS-CS1 is a no-nonsense GPS logger. It doesn’t have any of the features that GPS devices usually come with. In stead, it is designed to do one thing really well: continuously log and save your location to automatically geotag your photos. The GPS-CS1 is a location beacon in its purest form and its lack of features actually makes it innovative and useful.
The idea behind the GPS-CS1 is that you switch it on at the beginning of your trip, carry it with you (in your bag or pocket, or attach it using the small karabiner that comes with it), and don’t think about it anymore. When you return from your trip you copy the data to your PC (Mac support only for Intel Macs running OS X 10.4.9) and synchronize it with your photos using Sony’s GPS Image Tracker software. The result is that your photos are geotagged instantly, so you can see them on a map on the location you took them.
Although Sony markets the GPS-CS1 as product for geotagging photos taken with Sony cameras, the device can do more than just that. The GPS track points are stored on the device in NMEA format with a 15 seconds interval. The storage medium is an ordinary USB Flash Drive (ThumbDrive), which makes it very easy to copy the files from the device and upload them to the web. This makes the Sony GPS-CS1 suitable for uploading data to web services such GSPVisualizer and EveryTrail (disclosure: my company) in order to view your trips overlaid on Google maps.
Tracking capability
In order to examine how well the CS1 performs its tracking function I did a couple of tests with the CS1 and the Garmin Forerunner 205. I chose the Forerunner 205 as a reference because it is one of the most accurate devices on the market, mostly due to its SiRF Star III chipset.
The screenshots compare the tracks in an urban setting and in an outdoor setting. The Forerunner 205 easily outperforms the Sony GPS-CS1 in both scenarios. The Forerunner tracks both the road and the trail almost exaclty, while the CS1 is zigzags a bit around the actual paths.

Other observationsUnlike most other GPS devices the Sony GPS-CS1 doesn’t require you to go through an extended learning curve before you understand how to effectively use the device. The small size and the trendy look will definitely make this a device that travelers are much more likely to use than most of the traditional GPS devices. The storage capacity of the device itself is about 30 days, (assuming 12 hours of logging each day), which should be enough form most trips. The battery life is approximately one day with a standard Alcaline AA battery, which could be an issue for extended trips. But if you use lithium batteries you should be able to squeeze at least 3 days of logging out of each battery.
If accuracy is of the essence, for example if you want to record trail runs or city drives, you are better of with a device equipped with the SiRF Start III chipset such as the Forerunner 205/305. Also, the fixed 15 second interval adds some additional errors as compared to devices that employ automatic sample periods. Another slight issue is that the GPS led sometimes blinks as if it doesn’t have GPS coverage, but after uploading the data it seemed to have had coverage pretty much the whole time.
ConclusionThe Sony GPS-CS1 is a great, simple data logger, which does what it is supposed to do. It is a great choice for plotting your travel itineraries on a map, especially if you are not worried about sub-3 meter accuracy. In the next post I’ll review the geotagging capabilities of the GPS-CS1.
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