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5 Dec 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mossproof
Does anyone have any experience of different makes of smartphone in terms of suitability for use with gps? Speed of location (outside of phone signal areas), ease of use, ruggedness... At the moment I'm looking at Motorola's Defy+.
PPS This question is SPECIFICALLY about phones. I don't want to hear about dedicated gps from Garmin etc. Got a 276c. Love it. Doesn't run Viewranger. Thanks.
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You'll be lucky if this thread stays on topic!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie
You will BTW need a car charger unless someone has found a phone smart enough to control it's power use any better, USB charging won't keep up.
Andy
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USB needs to be more than 1 amp: I have a host of 1 amp adaptors before I realised that there is a 2.1 amp adaptor which does the job well.
+ a host of different lengths of USB cables (type A to USB mini/micro) to suit different circumstances.
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Hi
I've used this phone on several occasions, extremely happy with it.
Android 2.something (old) but OSM software (Maps.me) can be installed no problem. Extremely rugged / manly 
more info:
RugGear "World's Most Rugged Phone"
On the other hand... you can buy a rugged case for almost any phone.
I'm using a Doogee DG310 (looks and performs like a Samsung Galaxy S5 except for camera and resolution) and costs USD80 new from ebay. Great screen, get a rugged case and presto...
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5 Dec 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reallybigtruck
I've used this phone on several occasions, extremely happy with it.
Android 2.something (old) but OSM software (Maps.me) can be installed no problem. Extremely rugged / manly
more info:
RugGear "World's Most Rugged Phone" |
I would call that rugged!
It is interesting how the specifications have moved on in what is about 2 years, roughly, between your two phones.
Regarding the software, I have tried out the free version of Maps.me and now moved on to try other Android apps; there are masses of them which take OSM maps and put their own "face" to those same maps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reallybigtruck
On the other hand... you can buy a rugged case for almost any phone.
I'm using a Doogee DG310 (looks and performs like a Samsung Galaxy S5 except for camera and resolution) and costs USD80 new from ebay. Great screen, get a rugged case and presto...
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That Doogee looks like a very good value find - it is on UK ebay for about £60 or thereabouts.
It looks like the 2000mAh battery is replaceable - a decided advantage - and the screen is made by LG according to the ebay advertisements.
LG supply screen technology to a range of other manufacturers IIRC.
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5 Dec 2014
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Many thanks folks. Good rapid response!
In no particular order:
I've a lot of respect for Nokia phones but don't hear many good things about the Windows system. Glad to hear earlier Android versions are ok (the Defy+ runs on 2.something too)
So the "mini" bit relates to internals rather than physical size? That clears up a bit of confusion thanks!
So is a Doogie a rebranded/packaged Samsung? (I'll do some research next click...)
I'll have a 12v power supply for the majority of the time. Moto do have a good rep for battery life though (Droid Razr Maxx, best in class, was another model I was looking at, but not as robust as the Defy+)
Apart from the politics of Apple corp., I work with a lot of mechanics with iphones and round where I live none of them have good signal/ reception and they've all got cracked screens!
Cheers for now,
Simon.
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5 Dec 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mossproof
I've a lot of respect for Nokia phones but don't hear many good things about the Windows system. Glad to hear earlier Android versions are ok (the Defy+ runs on 2.something too)
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l used a basic Nokia phone for years.
Nokia isn't making phones at present, although they may come back into the market later.
Right now, after selling the right to use the Nokia brand for smart phones to Microsoft phones, "Nokia" are concentrating on the provision of mapping services.
Android have about 85% of the smart phone market.
Apple about 11%.
Which leaves around 4% for Microsoft and Blackberry to fight over.
I hope someone can give feedback about your current phone of interest, the Motorola Defy.
It did get a mention, quite a while ago, in another thread. You could do a search for those words.
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6 Dec 2014
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Re cracked screens, we've had two on iPhones, both where people put them into their back pocket, forgot they were there, then got into a car and sat on them. You'll get charged about £40 to replace the screen but the bits are only about £10-12 to buy. My son did it as a job for a few months back in the spring, buying (iPads mainly) broken ones on ebay, fixing them and reselling. He could do a simple screen replacement in about 30 mins.
His own HTC Android phone fell out of his pocket running across the road and the screen broke when it hit the tarmac. He tried to get the parts for it but it was easier just to get a broken 4S iPhone and fix that - which is what he now uses.
Interesting about the relative market share for Android vs Apple. Often when I'm working at various sports events people will ask me to take photographs of them with their phones. I've probably done several hundred of them this year and on the basis of what they hand me I'd have guessed 50:50 Android vs Apple. Probably says more about the running / cycling / charity world than anything else though.
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6 Dec 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by backofbeyond
Re cracked screens, we've had two on iPhones, both where people put them into their back pocket, forgot they were there, then got into a car and sat on them. You'll get charged about £40 to replace the screen but the bits are only about £10-12 to buy. My son did it as a job for a few months back in the spring, buying (iPads mainly) broken ones on ebay, fixing them and reselling. He could do a simple screen replacement in about 30 mins.
His own HTC Android phone fell out of his pocket running across the road and the screen broke when it hit the tarmac. He tried to get the parts for it but it was easier just to get a broken 4S iPhone and fix that - which is what he now uses.
Interesting about the relative market share for Android vs Apple. Often when I'm working at various sports events people will ask me to take photographs of them with their phones. I've probably done several hundred of them this year and on the basis of what they hand me I'd have guessed 50:50 Android vs Apple. Probably says more about the running / cycling / charity world than anything else though.
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Well I feel sure that there is a battle going on for market share.
My figures are based on IDC: Smartphone OS Market Share 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011
whereas there are other market surveys which show Apple to be fighting back with their 6th generation phone.
The far East market is where the really big battle is taking place: in comparison, the likes of the UK, and even the USA, are small  .
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkabout
The far East market is where the really big battle is taking place: in comparison, the likes of the UK, and even the USA, are small . |
When we were in China about five years ago we all had iPhones - or at least we bought Chinese copies of iPhones with whatever cheap electronics they could fit inside that made it capable of making a phone call and nothing more - a bit like a £5 Nokia in a fancy case. Load of the locals had them as well - or they may have been real ones - it's hard to tell at a glance, which is exactly the point.
Five years is a long time in China these days so things may have changed but it was a strange experience to wander through an (empty) glass and chrome western brands mall full of aspirational stuff from the US, Europe and Japan at the usual astronomical prices and then walk a couple of hundred metres to a (packed) windowless brick cube of a building full of small shops selling Chinese copies of exactly the same stuff. The Italian brand name leather wallet I bought is still surviving day to day use although I can't say the same for the Swiss watch. Still, it was only a few pounds. 
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