recommendations for phone to use as GPS on-the-trail

Hi,

It is about time I got myself a new phone and finding ORUX maps has inspired me to go for an Android phone.

Was wondering if anyone had recommendations / reflections on the best phone for on-the-trail use.

I think my requirements are as follows :

• nice big screen, with good visibility outdoors
  
• 3 axial digital compass
  
• accurate gps receiver (I don't care about agps this just helps you get a signal quicker when you first turn on but most phones come with it anyway of course)
  
• good build quality
  
• would be nice to have good quality video with good sound pick up too.

I wonder if there is a lot of difference in how well a phone picks up a gps signal under a forest canopy.

I should say I have an external blue tooth GPS. I wonder if using an external gps is still the best solution when you want the best gps reception?

One advantage of having an external gps is that you can stow the receiver in the top of your back pack or wherever will get the best line of sight to the sky and keep your phone in your front pocket where it is easily accessible.

I think there are many external gpses that are based on a good chipset and get very good reception.

I have this one :

http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%20Products/BT-Q1000X-F.htm

Jamie
---
If visiting Chiang Mai, Thailand come hike with us http://cmhike.com

jamiesensei wrote:I should say I have an external blue tooth GPS. I wonder if using an external gps is still the best solution when you want the best gps reception?

One advantage of having an external gps is that you can stow the receiver in the top of your back pack or wherever will get the best line of sight to the sky and keep your phone in your front pocket where it is easily accessible.

I think there are many external gpses that are based on a good chipset and get very good reception.

I have this one :

http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%20Products/BT-Q1000X-F.htm

Jamie
---
If visiting Chiang Mai, Thailand come hike with us http://cmhike.com

Hello;

Personally I am very pleased with the gps of HTC devices. I always carry the phone in a pocket, never had coverage problems. Of course, the forests of Spain are certainly not as profound as those of your country.

But there has been some reliability problems with the gps of some Samsung devices.

Although I have an external antenna, I've never used it, because you can get a good energy-saving setting OruxMaps to turn off the GPS several seconds between measurements.

orux

Thanks for your reply Orux. Good to know I still have the option of using an external GPS but can get the benefit of the compass as well.

I use a Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT9100) which has an accurate GPS also under bad conditions.
With the big and bright 4,3" AmoLED-Display it`s perfect for a GPS-Handheld and the battery works about 12 hours in "only GPS" mode and sometimes "screen on". I only bought it especially for this reason.
But finally YOU must compare the specs which are important for YOU.

Thanks Zmart.

I am doing a lot of comparing.

It is a pity there are not more reviews around from a offtrail GPS user's point of view. Because the wants of someone who is going to take the machine into the forest are slightly different. It is very good to hear from you that you are happy with your S2.

I am just about to buy a Samsung Galaxy S2. Decided on that model in the end because of the reviews on engadget.com particularly. I guess I can do without the water proofing of the defy or defy+ and it sounds like it might be worth the extra money to get a really outstanding device.

For the waterproofness in my tropic holidays i use a cheap clip-bag (such where small parts are sold) that fits perfectly the S2 and also the touchscreen is still working fine with this.

Don't forget battery life......
Check if there is a good high capacity battery is available, which can be very convenient on the trail.

I have a Defy with stock battery. This works very good, specially since I do not use it as a phone, the battery life is very good with GPS on. I think (by feeling, did not check) I can reach 10+ hours with GPS on and screen off.

I run Xperia X10, and although I am doing my best to keep it in position for the best reception, it works fine even if it is in mu trousers pocket.

Earlier I had no problem to get 10+ hours of battery life, but lately that is not the case. It lives up to 8 or 10 hours. I am not sure if that is due to phone itself or new version of OruxMaps.

Good thing with recent phones is that you actually do not have to look for bigger battery for specific model. Just get one of the external battery packs with USB port. Then you can connect phone to that pack using common USB cable and get much more autonomy.

Good trick to extend battery life is to go into Airplane mode. That turns off all wireless devices within phone, thus radically reducing power consumption. Of course you will not be able to receive phone calls but if GPS battery life is priority, there are some things one must give up