Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I really wanted to like this product, and it definitely has some great features. But in practice, the camera and its accessories unfortunately were disappointing. I purchased the Contour GPS, along with the newly available connect-view card, for a safari trip in Africa. I also purchased a spare battery. There are some major design flaws that quickly became apparent. THE "HIDDEN BUTTON"-- I suspect this design flaw is not yet called out because the use of the "hidden button" is quite new. You can now add a "Connect View" card to the Contour GPS which gives it bluetooth capability, and thus the ability to link to an iPhone so that the phone can be used as a viewfinder. This is a very cool feature and it worked just fine. The problem is that to activate the bluetooth, you press on a "hidden button", which is just a button located underneath a plastic top layer. That's the problem. The plastic top layer is very weak, and after I pressed the hidden button only 5 times, the plastic started to crack. This is completely unacceptable and a major problem, as it obviously allows water and moisture to penetrate the camera, not to mention the problem of having an ugly, cracked top of the camera after initial use. The hidden button was only sparingly used before this bluetooth capability was added, so I suspect you will start seeing many reviews highlighting this defect. THE DEFECTIVE BATTERY DESIGN-- This was also a major design flaw that I'm not sure how was overlooked. I purchased a backup battery, which of course means that it has to be swapped out with the main battery. After pulling out the main battery only 2 times, another design flaw emerged. The battery clasp rubs against the side of the battery, and the top cover of the battery is a very flimsy, glued on piece of plastic. The clasp catches on it and peels it off almost immediately. I thus ended up with 2 batteries with detached covers, with each only being inserted and replaced a total of maybe 5 times. If the covers fall off, the battery doesn't seat properly and doesn't work, so you can't just get rid of the covers. If you're not switching out the battery, this defect won't be apparent, but for anyone looking to supplement the very mediocre battery life of this unit, you're in for a disappointing discovery. PROS: The angle of view is very good and captures a huge swath. Picture quality is pretty good in bright light, but basically useless in low light conditions. The "connect view" feature is very cool (albeit a bit buggy at this time). Overall construction, with the exception of the hidden button and the battery, is good. The camera is compact, light, and sleek. CONS: The battery life is terrible, especially with GPS activated. You might get 90 minutes of standby with GPS on. Maximum of about 2 hours with it turned off. Design flaws as discussed above. This WILL be a great product someday, but I can't recommend it until the hidden button, battery cover, and battery life issues are addressed.