what GPS?

[geocycle]

Purchased a Motorola Moto G mobile for the Mrs and I am well impressed. At only £124 its a full featured 3g smartphone with a better screen than any iPhone, quad core processor decent camera that takes pretty good pictures and of course a GPS. Absolutely crazy price.
It has just 8GB of storage and no simm card slot but there is a £149 version thats 4g and has an expandable memory. You get 50 GB of Google Drive storage too.
The Mrs just wanted a new phone that texts easier with a decent keyboard, its over the top but its perfect, check it out if you are looking for a decent phone with GPS.

Al

Yes, the lads got one, great value, brilliant phone with great processor. Shame about the lack of memory card which forces you into google drive or similar cloud. It's the only one that's not been wrecked in 6 months!

[theDaveB]

I have been trying different map apps with my iPhone 4s recently and battery life is a real problem. This is due to using GPS not data, as others have said he phone shouldn't be using data or it's going to start costing you on tour. Best way to test it, is to switch data off and go for a ride and see if the app works fine.

To combat the waterproof and battery problem I have bought a waterproof handlebar case, £6.99 at Lidl and a £9.99 solar charger from Aldi. The charger won't charge the phone while it's running a map app but keeps the phone on with no apparent loss of battery. So if I start my ride with say 30% battery, it is roughly the same at the end.

Still not decided on the perfect app yet, must have about 10 installed.

Dave

[De Sisti]

Is the Etrex 20/30 much different from the Edge Touring?

[Graham O]

Is the Etrex 20/30 much different from the Edge Touring?

The biggest difference/drawback for me is that it uses a Li-Ion battery rather than AA's.

[gloomyandy]

A quick question for you phone on a bike users. Can you actually see the screen in bright sun light? Also what battery life do you get if you have the screen on all of the time? I know that my Google Nexus phone is pretty much impossible to see in bright light and the battery life is not good if the screen is on for a long period.

[Psamathe]

I use an iPhone 5:

Can you actually see the screen in bright sun light?

For me Yes. And I actually have my phone screen set to only 1/3rd brightness (i.e. less than half brightness) - as screen uses a lot of battery power.

Also what battery life do you get if you have the screen on all of the time?

I only switch on the screen occasionally; either to check my position on a map or record a pothole (using the CTC iPhone FillThatHole app).

I know that my Google Nexus phone is pretty much impossible to see in bright light and the battery life is not good if the screen is on for a long period.

I guess different phones have different quality displays. When I had an Android phone, there was an info screen giving power usage for different phone components. And the screen was always a major power drain.

Ian

[freeflow]

I use a Sony Xperia Z ultra (6.4 inch screen!! - see my earlier posts). The screen is just visible at 100% in direct summer(June/July) sunlight whilst wearing dark riding glasses. Occasionally its necessary to shade the screen to kill reflections, even using an antireflective screen protector. If I allow the screen to autodim then I get about 4-5 hours running time from a fully charged battery. With a 12000 mah external battery I can do a 200k Audax with the screen on permanently at 100% brightness. Those figures are with ANT+ running for heart rate, speed and cadence. For the 200k Audax its with Osmand running in the background for voice instructions and ipbike in the foreground for ride data and route following. The 1200 mah battery is basically 4 18650 cells in a square rather than rectangular package.

When running at 100% screen brightness the external battery can still charge the phone so that when the battery expires I'm usually left with a 100% charge on the phone but I prefer to start with as fully charged a phone as I can manage.

Also, ipbike and osmand use offline maps so there is no data download whilst riding.

[al_yrpal]

After long experiments with dynamos and power packs I gave up trying to use my smartphone and got an Etrex 20. Seems very crude after Apps on the phone but at least it can be left on all the time with a readable screen. I would much prefer the whole thing to be possible with a phone but battery life is the problem

Al

[[XAP]Bob]

I could be very tempted by a hammerhead though.

Tablet doing GPS in the pannier, Hammerhead as a visual aid.
Probably still run my GPS logger stick though - that does about 4 months cycling for me before I *need* to empty it (although it gives no warnings)

[bikes4two]

Tablet doing GPS in the pannier,

Nice idea but good luck with the GPS signal quality

[bikes4two]

I've been reading this thread with interest as I'm looking to change up from my GPSMap60 (not even an SD card). I can see that Android/IoS phones and off-line mapping apps are well poised to take the lead (The Xperia Z Ultra has been quoted along with the Garmin Montana and others: the Montana seems like half a brick but great battery life/options whilst the Xperia Z is sleek, light and multi-function but requires external battery packs for extended running) but what worries me about some of the latest devices is

SEALED BATTERIES

Once they've got to the point of not holding a charge (which will happen and probably in 18-24 months), are they then to be thrown away as manufacturer replacement is often (if available at all) a stupidly expensive option.

What say you all on the SEALED BATTERY dilemma?

[al_yrpal]

The mobile phone market seems to run on a 'replace after two years at the end of my contract' basis, so at the end of that period tbe batteries are still good. I think you can get replacement batteries on the knternet with full instructions as to how ti change them on Youtube. And, most phone manufacturers will replace your battery at a price.

Al

[[XAP]Bob]

Same with most of the Garmin style devices, although their expected life might be longer.

[bikes4two]

The mobile phone market seems to run on a 'replace after two years at the end of my contract' basis, so at the end of that period tbe batteries are still good. I think you can get replacement batteries on the knternet with full instructions as to how ti change them on Youtube. And, most phone manufacturers will replace your battery at a price.

Al

> True enough re the batteries being 'good' after 2 years, but they won't be as good as when they were new of course and if you are using your phone as a bike GPS then you may well reach the useful charge/discharge limit sooner rather than later.

> A good clue as to whether the batteries can be changed (or not) in any particular device is to:
a. see if you can buy replacement batteries in the likes of eBay
b. is there a youtube video on the subject
c. ask at your local independent phone shop if they'll do a battery change (I wonder f they'll do sealed GPS units too - must ask the next time I'm in town).

I remain optimistic about smartphones being the way forward, but as yet I'm not quite there yet (close though ).

[al_yrpal]

Just checked for my HTC One S. Battery replacement looks dead simple with the right tools.

Al