In the early days of GPS when there was only a single set of satellites and the receiver inputs were struggling to separate signal from noise, a better antenna was a big advantage, however with modern receivers being capable of better signal to noise ratios and both of the units being able to receive not only standard GPS but also WAAS / Egnos and Glonass, a better antenna is not so important. Some cell-phone (with no visible antenna), out perform more expensive dedicated handheld GPSs