no, gps would be WAY to power intensive. It uses an accelerometer to measure movement. Things like the body bogg go a couple steps further and measure skin temperature, perspiration, etc., but yes they have a monthly fee of between 6-10$ a month to track all the data. Those devices are still quite usable without the service but not as useful, IMHO. The new guy on the block is the UP band from Aliph (makers of things like the jawbone and jambox headsets and speakers) similar to the fitbit, uses a smartphone to show the data though.