recommend a smart phone for touring

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MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
Hi Guys...

I'm considering upgrading from my Nokia 6230i and getting a smart phone to take advantage of the satnav, gps and various other useful apps.

Main thing I'm concerned about is battery life... coz without that, it's useless.

I've heard both the iphone and android 'aren't too bad' regarding the battery life, when GPS, Bluetooth and other bells and whistles are disabled.... but obviously I'm keen on keeping the GPS active.

So, any ideas? Any advice? Any good contracts? (I've been PAYG for seemingly ever)
 

J-Lo

Senior Member
HTC Wildfire - fairly cheap, internet, GPS etc... Decent camera (5mp) and video ;)
 
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MontyVeda

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
Cheers J-lo, I'll have a look at that

I'm fairly ignorant about such things... with regards to apps, are they generally limited to the phone's operating system? i.e... all those folk with iphone who rave about a particular app... would i be able to use the same app on any smart phone? or is that a daft question :wacko:
 

leroy

Active Member
Yes, the main smartphones are either iPhone operating system, Android and windows following up the rear and all have their own apps, although some apps are available on multiple operating systems.
I have the desire and the wildfire which are both very similar phones using Android. Great for gps etc. The wildfire is a lot smaller than the desire, which means a LOT better battery life (its the screen that does most of the damage), but not all Android apps can work on it due to the screen size. Most apps using GPS will work however.

Oh, and It's considerably cheaper too!
 

jim55

Guru
Location
glasgow
iv just sold an htc wildfire and got an iphone ,,tbh i wish i never ,,im gona sell it and get another wildfire yeah some apps are good but you can get very similiar on android market ,,,,top wee phones :thumbsup:
 

J-Lo

Senior Member
I haven't got a wildfire or a smartphone yet, im still on WAP lol! However im toying with the idea, and peoples response in this thread is very reassuring :smile:

Maybe a daft question...

Can you get a handlebar mount or something? I know you can with some phones, nokia for example...
 

leroy

Active Member
The desire I have is the much better phone than the wildfire, but battery stops me using it for stuff like this.

You can get mounts for them, check ebay. I haven't used one however, I made my own for the desire..... can be done for the wildfire too
 

andym

Über Member
I suspect there's not a lot to choose between them given that it's the screen and the GPS that consume all the power.

I can see the advantages of a smatphone that does it all, but there's a lit to be said for a dedicated GPS - you can get something like a a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx for £120. Works with AA batteries I get a couple of days out of a pair of 1800mAh rechargeables. Much more wearherproof than a smartphone.

I'm posting this by the way with an iPod and unlocked Three MiFi. OK the combined weight of these plus phone and GPS is a lot more than an iPhone, but I have ni contract lock-in, no issues about using it abroad with non-UK operators, no contract and no data roming charges (although I do have a regular top-up of 20€ a month or so).
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
Hi Guys...

I'm considering upgrading from my Nokia 6230i and getting a smart phone to take advantage of the satnav, gps and various other useful apps.

Main thing I'm concerned about is battery life... coz without that, it's useless.

I've heard both the iphone and android 'aren't too bad' regarding the battery life, when GPS, Bluetooth and other bells and whistles are disabled.... but obviously I'm keen on keeping the GPS active.

So, any ideas? Any advice? Any good contracts? (I've been PAYG for seemingly ever)

I have an iPhone 3GS which I find suits me for everything I need. There's a free app called Motion X GPS which I've found very good for cycling BUT it eats up the battery. 2.5 - 3 hours is the most you can expect in my experience. I have got an external charger which will give a boost for another 2 hours or so but that's it.

If I can find a phone with decent battery life using GPS I'd buy it.

The one thing I don't understand is why a Garmin seems to have excellent battery life but a phone doesn't - even with everything switched off the iPhone can't get close to the Garmin on battery life.
 
Hi Guys...

I'm considering upgrading from my Nokia 6230i and getting a smart phone to take advantage of the satnav, gps and various other useful apps.

Main thing I'm concerned about is battery life... coz without that, it's useless.

I've heard both the iphone and android 'aren't too bad' regarding the battery life, when GPS, Bluetooth and other bells and whistles are disabled.... but obviously I'm keen on keeping the GPS active.

So, any ideas? Any advice? Any good contracts? (I've been PAYG for seemingly ever)


A recent test of my own phone showed that battery life was eaten in the following order

3G data connection exhausted the battery the quickest
Wifi 2nd but a long way behind 3G data
Bluetooth
GPS on but not being used

When the phone was on, the display takes the biggest chunk of battery life.

If you use GPS actively, then you are using it and your 3g data to haul the maps down from the internet, no phone will last long then which is why they ain't much good for Satnav unless it's plugged in and charging at the same time. I get about 2-3hrs out of my Android phone. I'd be surprised if people got much more.

If I turn the lot off in Android and on when I need them, the phone lasts about 4 days between charges. Turn them all on and by the end of the day it needs charging. Make a lot of use of data and half a day is normal.

Best bet for using it as a Satnav is to check your position rather than keep it permanently on.
 

J-Lo

Senior Member
I suspect there's not a lot to choose between them given that it's the screen and the GPS that consume all the power.

I can see the advantages of a smatphone that does it all, but there's a lit to be said for a dedicated GPS - you can get something like a a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx for £120. Works with AA batteries I get a couple of days out of a pair of 1800mAh rechargeables. Much more wearherproof than a smartphone.

I'm posting this by the way with an iPod and unlocked Three MiFi. OK the combined weight of these plus phone and GPS is a lot more than an iPhone, but I have ni contract lock-in, no issues about using it abroad with non-UK operators, no contract and no data roming charges (although I do have a regular top-up of 20€ a month or so).

Are the e-trex any good for cycling then? Or do you need one of those garmin cycle gps? I always wonder if there suitable for cycling - avoiding A-roads etc..?

I did not realise you could get the HCX for around £100 :smile:
 

chris-s

New Member
Location
Truro
Working in IT, I'm a bit of a techno-geek but for my forthcoming 10 day trip to Paris I would love to use my iphone for the lot, but battery life in these devices really is suitable for this. So, good old paper maps and daily crib-cards should be enough to get me there and back. I am still taking the phone and have loaded it up with images from Googel Earth of key town centre maps along the route and installed a mapping app 'View Ranger' that stores maps on the phone which can also be loaded with poi files.

I'm only really planning on using the iphone for blog updates and the occasional route check if I get lost. I've already got a slip-on battery extender for it which provides a full additional charge and to keep that topped up I'm taking a 2-amp USB charger for when mains is available (2 amp being much quicker than the standard 500ma ones) and a four-AA cell USB charger if I get caught short.

Chris
 

tbtb

Guest
I took a nokia 5800 (borderline antique now I suppose) and 4 battery changes to Europe last month. In offline mode, with maps of Europe preinstalled, and a smallish screen, and an energy-efficient OS, it was still no good for all-day gps. Emergency use only. I think the gps chip burns through the battery very fast - no doubt some phone gps chips are more efficient than others but I'd not bank on being able to receive "where are you now?" texts after an hour or 2 of gps use. I was camping so recharging was erratic.

Actually, having used a kindle for the internet (free 3g, you see) and the phone camera only in low-res mode (for low cost facebook uploads) I might just take a cheap light phone next time.
 

sadjack

Senior Member
Are the e-trex any good for cycling then? Or do you need one of those garmin cycle gps? I always wonder if there suitable for cycling - avoiding A-roads etc..?

I did not realise you could get the HCX for around £100 :smile:

I have a Garmin HCx. I use it all the time on the bike. The mapping on them are pretty basic especially when you get out into the wilds but I manage.

As already said it uses AA batteries which last and can be bought easily if they fail,

I also have an Android phone but to be honest the battery life is nowhere near as good and you need regular access to recharging.

If I could afford it there are better GPS devices with OS mapping but the cost is a lot more.
 
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