nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
Mobile phones
- Thread starter Drago
- Start date
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KnackeredBike
I do my own stunts
@User9609 everyone (including myself) before they get a smartphone says "they just need to call and text" and they have no need for anything more.
And then... you get a smartphone and suddenly realise you have the answer to any problem at the touch of the button. Don't know the phone number... find it. Get lost or need to find something, okay you have a map too. Want to listen to something on the radio... fine. Don't like what's on the radio - get iPlayer and listen to something else instead.
I could go on but if you have the ability to use them smartphones are much more invaluable then you would imagine. Needing to charge it once a day isn't really a huge problem if you have a plug socket by your bed or by your desk or within reach at some point during your day.
I say that as someone who would have written your exact post pre-smartphone. And they are only £35 on eBay if you do lose it or soak it.
And then... you get a smartphone and suddenly realise you have the answer to any problem at the touch of the button. Don't know the phone number... find it. Get lost or need to find something, okay you have a map too. Want to listen to something on the radio... fine. Don't like what's on the radio - get iPlayer and listen to something else instead.
I could go on but if you have the ability to use them smartphones are much more invaluable then you would imagine. Needing to charge it once a day isn't really a huge problem if you have a plug socket by your bed or by your desk or within reach at some point during your day.
I say that as someone who would have written your exact post pre-smartphone. And they are only £35 on eBay if you do lose it or soak it.
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
I always thought that was such a satisfying feeling as the aerial reached the end of its travel with a firm thud.
classic33
Leg End Member
T10s, T18s!
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
With regards to all the apps the OP first mentioned. You can delete everything that you do not want to see. I have a Samsung something or other which was as cheap as chips and I have very few apps on it. Its not the apps that make it expensive but the phone itself. I think you will always be able to get cheap phones.
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Why not? The satellites don't care whether you're on a road or not. They just tell you where you are. The only reason I'd hesitate to rely on one 'off piste' is that the energy consumption is so brutal. I had to rely on external battery packs when I used mine all day. The phone battery (that in normal use is good for a couple of days) would expire with a whimper after about two and a half hours.
Andrew_P
In between here and there
4 brand new ones sold on eBay for £675 others around at £180 so it not just me. I looked because I thought I might get one and switch my sim around as needed. It really is the perfect size for pockets etc. and just to use as a phone.
To a certain extent is shows what people want vs what manufacturers are forcing upon us. I do like the "smart" phones. I use it for music, navigation, photos, torch and reading books really for £99 + the cost of 128gb data card it is outstanding value. Great impromptu time burners when you get caught waiting for a long time unexpectedly just dip back in to the book you were reading! Probably as powerful as my PC in early 2000, with its enormous 1.2gb hard drive!! Even that puts things in to perspective, my kids can burn out 1gb of data easily in a few hours that was my total storage back then!
My Motorola does everything a £500 Samsung does that I need only slower and less pretty I guess. But most of the time as small light phone a T28 would be better.
Using a phone as a GPS in the hills would be better than not using one at all - they are quite good and even have some advantage over some dedicated GPS units in terms of the amount of screen space - but as you mention, battery life is an issue, so are water resistance, quality of the antenna and being able to operate it in shocking conditions with gloves on.
A dedicated unit can do a lot more than just tell you where you are, there's functionality that I don't know if a smart phone can match?
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
a dedicated device also leaves you with a phone that you might want use for its primary purpose to make calls. For serious use I would usually recommend using a device that was designed for that purpose, the phone excels at wrapping lots of things in one but leaving you very vulnerable if it goes wrong and it's your only device.
Andrew_P
In between here and there
You can get Bluetooth sensors for cadence and Speed for smart phones, the only reason I prefer a Garmin type device is the size and how it looks on a bike. I would say Android Navigation is better than Garmin bike devices I have used - 750 - 810 and 820.
mustang1
Legendary Member
- Location
- London, UK
Phones will become
Video projectors
Car unlocking devices
House unlocking devices
Some form of ID
Video projectors
Car unlocking devices
House unlocking devices
Some form of ID
classic33
Leg End Member
All ready in use for two of those. So halfway there.
