Like it says -- can anyone recommend a good GPS module? My requirements:

1. Must plug into my Sony Vaio laptop -- this is going to require USB, firewire (4-pin), PCMCIA. No serial.
2. Must work with decent mapping/route-finding software -- only the UK required at the moment, but Europe and the US in future, maybe.
3. It'd be cool if it had a storage facility, so I could stuff it in my backpack, and retrieve "telemetry" later -- where I've been, how fast I was going, etc., etc.
4. It must be reasonably cheap.

The idea occurred to me while snowboarding last week. Fortunately, I don't have to map the resort I was at -- someone already has.

magellen meridian gps sounds like what you need. it is serial, but i'm sure there are serial->usb converters around. not sure if it records data though. i wasn't able to mess with it.

I used a Magellan 320 connected to my laptop when I drove from Norway to the Netherlands a couple of years ago and it worked like a dream.... It also stores where you have been, but I don't know if you are able to retrieve the data about where you have been to your PC. But most every GPS receiver is able to output NMEA 0813 which pretty much every mapping-software use. And it shouldn't be any problem to use a serial -> USB converter.

Stig

I'd prefer not to use serial -- there's no point in getting a supremely small and light-weight laptop and then cluttering it up with cables and adapters -- any other suggestions?

Then why do you need to actually connect to the laptop buy a small all in one unit there is a few on the market

Depends what you're doing, but for anything serious,
xastir and a good set of maps kicks the hell out of anything a handheld can do, for me.

*If you want raster maps* neither a handheld nor gpsapp is particularly what you want. For non-raster maps gpsapp will probably be all I need

I've got a Holux GPS mouse for my laptop. I'm using it with Microsoft Autoroute 2002.

I have the serial version, which uses a PS/2 plug to draw power from a laptop.
There's a USB version too.

I bought it in the UK at Racelogic, but they don't appear to sell Holux anymore.

Pim

Then why do you need to actually connect to the laptop?

Fair point. I wanted to connect it to the laptop for three reasons:

1. Better quality display
2. Potentially better route-finding software.
3. To extract the "telemetry", so that I can do cute things with it -- GPS art is one, an animation of my progress down the mountain would be another.