The development of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System has brought new opportunities for satellite navigation technology. Compared to traditional geodetic receivers, portable positioning terminals that can connect to smart devices such as mobile phones have the advantages of low cost, easy portability, and suitability for large-scale applications. This paper mainly investigates the positioning performance and application methods of portable positioning terminals. We selected four types of portable positioning terminals and a customized integrated device for testing and analysis. The results indicate that in unobstructed environments, the RTD service of a portable positioning terminal with a single frequency achieves a planar positioning accuracy of 1~ 2 m, while the RTK positioning results of the Simple ST126K and the BeiDou Probe with a single frequency attain centimeter-level precision. However, in slightly obstructed or dynamic measurement scenarios, the performance of ambiguity resolution deteriorates, resulting in unstable attainment of centimeter-level positioning results. The BeiDou Probe with dual frequencies can still reliably achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy, albeit with a slightly extended period for first-time ambiguity resolution. In severely obstructed scenarios, the BeiDou Probes with both a single frequency and dual frequencies fail to resolve ambiguity, resulting in a planar positioning accuracy of 2 ~4 m. In contrast, the LiteRTK can address ambiguity resolution within seconds in any scenario, consistently yielding centimeter-level positioning results. With continued advancements in chip and antenna technologies, portable positioning terminals are poised for further extensive application in various scenarios.