Hikers cell phone

Ask questions and share your experiences with hiking & backpacking gear, and share trail recipes and gadget tips. Please see classifieds forum for buying/selling stuff.
User avatar
turtle
Posts: 594
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Hikers cell phone

Post by turtle » May 21st, 2011, 2:38 pm

I'm thinking about joining the 21st century and buying my first cell phone. The cell phone function is less important to me than the camera and GPS app. Which phones or apps, based on your experience, do the best job of taking pictures, functioning as a wilderness GPS, and finally get the best coverage in the mountains? I understand that I won't replace my Garmin GPS or Canon DSLR but I am kind of looking for something that can multi-task when I don't feel like taking all that extra weight. I know very little about the world of cell phones so please keep it simple. Thanks in advance for your input.
Summer breezes caressed me, my legs stepped forward as though possessed of their own appetite, and the mountains kept promising. Rebecca Solnit

User avatar
Eric Peterson
Posts: 4097
Joined: May 11th, 2009, 5:39 am
Location: Oregon
Contact:

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by Eric Peterson » May 21st, 2011, 4:15 pm

Whoa, not sure if the Motorola brick phone will have a GPS function or not, but that old
phone was a classic! :)

But seriously, some guys on here mentioned Apple's iPhone as having a built in GPS unit that
can work regardless of cellular coverage.

User avatar
arundodonax
Posts: 1043
Joined: August 12th, 2010, 8:02 pm

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by arundodonax » May 21st, 2011, 4:23 pm

I have an iPhone and use this (free to those who ask) Gaia software that seems to be as good as any handheld GPS out there, and uses the mytopo maps:

http://www.gaiagps.com/

That being said, iPhones are pretty pricey for the plan.

User avatar
jamesthehiker
Posts: 209
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by jamesthehiker » May 22nd, 2011, 4:44 am

Just loaded the Gaia map you recommended on my iPhone. Very cool!

User avatar
mayhem
Posts: 3579
Joined: December 22nd, 2009, 7:46 pm
Contact:

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by mayhem » May 22nd, 2011, 9:25 am

turtle wrote:I'm thinking about joining the 21st century and buying my first cell phone. The cell phone function is less important to me than the camera and GPS app. Which phones or apps, based on your experience, do the best job of taking pictures, functioning as a wilderness GPS, and finally get the best coverage in the mountains? I understand that I won't replace my Garmin GPS or Canon DSLR but I am kind of looking for something that can multi-task when I don't feel like taking all that extra weight. I know very little about the world of cell phones so please keep it simple. Thanks in advance for your input.

The I phone 4 takes great pictures & great video along with good gps but I hear the iPhone 5 or rumor 4s is going to come out either June or September is going to be even better. That is what I'm waiting for.
Shoe Shine Boy Has Left The Building!

User avatar
Crusak
Posts: 3617
Joined: August 6th, 2009, 7:33 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by Crusak » May 22nd, 2011, 10:29 am

mayhem wrote:...but I hear the iPhone 5 or rumor 4s is going to come out either June or September is going to be even better. That is what I'm waiting for.
Same here, my cheap upgrade opportunity kicks in next month, I think. I'm also hoping that the iPhone 5 (or 4s, whichever it is) will be a sweet upgrade, and be released soon.

I have found that the GPS features of my 3GS phone don't work that well in heavy tree cover or canyons... hopefully the next generation will function better.
Jim's Hikes

Solvitur Ambulando

User avatar
Koda
Posts: 3466
Joined: June 5th, 2009, 7:54 am

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by Koda » May 22nd, 2011, 10:51 am

I have to chime in a vote for an Android phone using the BackcountryNavigator GPS app. Very easy to use...

BN allows you to still use the GPS, while the phone is in "airplane mode"... a must have feature to save battery consumption.

some of the high end Android phones have very nice cameras... Motorola DroidX has an 8mp camera with some nice features. Same with HTC Incredible... but these are spendy phones but you will want the processing power these offer anyways, its worth the price.

FWIW, Android is open source, iPhone is proprietary...
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

User avatar
turtle
Posts: 594
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by turtle » June 5th, 2011, 7:10 am

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up getting a Samsung Infuse 4G; 8 megapixel camera with a surprising level of adjust-ability, and the BackcountryNavigator app is an option. I just got it yesterday so the new toy experimentation is still in the early stages. :D
Summer breezes caressed me, my legs stepped forward as though possessed of their own appetite, and the mountains kept promising. Rebecca Solnit

User avatar
Roy
Posts: 2824
Joined: January 25th, 2010, 6:35 pm

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by Roy » June 19th, 2011, 10:57 pm

turtle wrote:Thanks for all the replies. I ended up getting a Samsung Infuse 4G; 8 megapixel camera with a surprising level of adjust-ability, and the BackcountryNavigator app is an option. I just got it yesterday so the new toy experimentation is still in the early stages. :D
You will not be disappointed I went the same route as you did I just feel more freedom not dealing with Apple. But I am the black sheep of my family.

Roy
The downhill of the mind is harder than the uphill of the body. - Yuichiro Miura

User avatar
Koda
Posts: 3466
Joined: June 5th, 2009, 7:54 am

Re: Hikers cell phone

Post by Koda » June 20th, 2011, 2:51 pm

I'd be curious how you like using the BackcountryNavigator GPS app. I've been using mine a bit more on day hikes and am finding it very easy to use with few bugs. I've been leaving my Garmin GPS at home for day hikes since the BN app works so well.
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

Post Reply