Mobile phones!

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compo

Veteran
Location
Harlow
I don't know if this is the best place for this query.

Yesterday I ended up cycling on the A602 between Ware and Hitchin via Stevenage. It wasn't the road I wanted to be on not having a death wish. Hammering down with rain and reduced light levels made it a very scarey experience, more so as I am not a very fast cyclist. I wanted to find a route off that road but forgot the map I had put out for the journey. Eventually I got to Stevenage and was able to buy a map book in a garage.

I am now seriously thinking of a mobile phone that will have maps, or that I can download maps. I know that Nokia do free mapping so I am looking at a Nokia Lumia 520, which I can get on 24 months with 500mb of date permonth, plus usual calls and texts for a tenner a month which is really about all I can sensibly afford. Bearing in mind I still carry 4 pennies and look for buttons A and B when I use a phone all this mobile technology is a bit beyond me. I understand I can do my downloading at home in my WiFi without using my data allowance, but when out and about if I use the maps do I have to connect to the internet to view them (not use a satnav), or can I download them then view them offline? I would have killed for a phone based set of maps yesterday! Also, if I use free wifi in cafes and the such like is that also separate from my data allowance.
 

winjim

Smash the cistern
Not sure about Nokia, but Google maps can be looked at online, which tbh doesn't use up much data, or downloaded, which is useful if you're going to be in an area with no data signal (eg most of the Peak District). Free cafe wifi is separate to your data allowance but may not be secure.
 
I use a program called NavFree (UK version for obvious reasons!) which already has the maps downloaded onto the phone in advance - so offline maps (rather like a paper map in that it is always there, battery permitting). that way no data allowance is used and more importantly when I am in an area with no 3G signal (or no phone signal fullstop) I can still use the maps.
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
Cyclestreets allows a free download of UK maps, and I use it in preference to Google Maps when I don't want to use up mobile data.

NavFree sounds interesting..
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
You can use the Nokia 520 off line to view Google maps or the Windows equivalent, but you can connect over the mobile network if needs be, that will make it more accurate to show where you are on maps. You need to download online. The phone is very good despite being a budget model, my cousin has one and I have used hers. Maybe not quite so intuative to use as Android or iOS. The screen is very good. Just be sure you are comfortable with the Wiindows OS before buying. If you have a laptop or tablet with windows 8 it will integrate nicely. Be awre there is no front facing camera on the 520.

Welcome to the 21st century!
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
There is better if you become expert but Cyclestreets also has a CycleStreets UK Map Pack. (Android, not sure about the rest)

No data needed so a free low data £6.50 a month Moto G deal would suffice.
You can also buy cheap PAYG smartphone, from £30, though they might all need a battery pack for extended screen-on time.
 

Durian

Über Member
The best option is not to forget your map!
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
Worth doing . It has been there ages and is limited to areas that you have to choose.

Getting that UK map pack thus ensures you are not caught short.
 

PeteXXX

Cake or ice cream? The choice is endless ...
Location
Hamtun
I have an Xperia S and don't turn the data on for Google Maps (or Strava) and they run perfectly just using GPS.
Makes for longer battery life and more stuff to use Data on, like browsing here etc...

:smile:
 

marknotgeorge

Hol den Vorschlaghammer!
Location
Derby.
Don't worry too much about the data with a Lumia 520. HERE Maps has offline maps which are updated over Wifi. The only data it will use is for such things as traffic data, which isn't much in the scheme of things. You can set it to automatically connect to your home WiFi if it's in range, and (if I've read it correctly) the new version of Windows Phone, 8.1, coming in the summer can automatically connect to any free public WiFi providers you're signed up with. My daughter has a Lumia 520, and it's a cracking phone for the price. 8.1 will bring Bluetooth LE too, to connect to cycling goodies such as heart rate monitors and cadence sensors.
 

Roadhump

Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
I have a Samsung mobile which uses the Android operating system. This links into the owner's Google account and gets Google maps for free. As Andy said above, that data allowance should be fine to use Google maps, I use it when I'm travelling and combined with other data usage I get nowhere near the same limit each month.

The one thing I would caution about with using a mobile phone whilst cycling is the rain, especially if you have a touch screen. I find the rain activates the screen without me touching it, so for example, when sending a text all kinds of letters appeared on the screen without me touching it. On another occasion I had my phone in a pocket in my wet weather cycling top when it was raining and water got in and ruined my phone. I tried leaving it to dry out but it was useless and I had to get my phone replaced. Now I keep it in a plastic sandwich bag in my saddle pouch....might seem a basic precaution but quite a few people I know have been caught out similarly.
 
OP
OP
compo

compo

Veteran
Location
Harlow
I now have the phone and had a quick look at it. The phone has Drive Nokia installed which is UK mapping and turn by turn navigation, which can be used off-line. Obviously map updates require going on line but that can be done at home on my home WiFi.

I suspect the rest of the phone and it's facilities is going to be a steep learning curve.

@Roadhump thanks for the reminder about keeping the phone dry. I use a pannier rack pack, and in yesterday's rain I had my phone, my wallet and my cash pouch in individual plastic bags, plus a waterproof cover over the pack, so I was glad when I got home and all was bone dry inside the pack!
 
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