Perfect smartphone for overlanders?
 

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...e-mah-capacity - lasts over a week in normal usage, has wireless charging (you could rig that up in an X-grip!), is water/impact-resistant, and has acceptable internals by modern smartphone standards. Should run Waze/Maps no problem, maybe even Snapseed or another decent mobile photo editor.

Do you reckon that the walkie-talkie functionality will pass through to a Bluetooth headset?

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iJBQ...DSCF6653.0.jpg

dumb phone
 

The perfect smart phone for overlanders is not having a smart phone.

You travel to meet the people and talk to them, learn from them, so stop staring at your phone and talk to the people and concentrate on the riding!!!!

?c?

mika :scooter:

Interesting. I would be surprised if the walkie-talkie functionality would seamlessly pass through to Bluetooth (both directions) but maybe.

When out on your bike, a phone is more than a phone - it is your camera, navigation device, reservation maker and weather forecaster among other things. Most people see it this way. So despite snarky unhelpful comments by some, I appreciate the post.
Jim


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maybe you, I ride bike mostly to be alone...

Samsung S5
 

I have used a Samsung S5 to navigate from north America to South America. When my phones charging port broke in Argentina I was looking to get my phone repaired or replace it. I think it is great to have a resource for what phones work for travel work arounds charging using in the rain and using in bright sunlight. For me there are more pros than cons for using a phone to navigate with. So what works and does not work is great.

Pros
Waterproofish
Works well with offline maps
Has a built in compass
Has extra slot for sd card so great for storing maps and photos
The battery is user replaceable
Fairly cheap phone now as it as old model I got a second hand one in Argentina for $150 aus.

Con
The Charging USB is a weak area esp on a motorcycle
Small internal memory 16gb but had SD slot for 128gb
Battery life is short I try to keep mine charging most of the time.
I would not trust it to be fully waterproof but great as a backup to keep the dust out as well.

Hey Mika !! It's the world we live in. The only places you meet people now are where there is no signal or WIFI.

Smartphones are great tech when on the road to check email, banking, maps etc. But it also leads to an anti-social environment. When i started travelling, campsites and hostels were fun places to meet people and interact. Now they're just zombie waiting rooms. Full of people staring at screens who don't want to talk to anybody.

I'm glad I saw a lot of the world before Facebook/instagram/twitter existed !! It seems people are more interested uploading selfies for likes than actually experiencing the places they are visiting.

I don't see myself traveling without a phone because it's such a nifty device. Like what's already been said, it acts as a camera, a map, predicts the weather, and so on. I'm not one to actively seek out people normally, but I try when I'm on the road. I'm often comfortable on my own company though so that doesn't happen a lot :mchappy:

I used the Samsung S9 last year, obviously now there is the S10.

It made great pictures and movies. Especially if you put in a tripod you can even make stable 4K video. Obviously the difference becomes visible when there is less light.

Also used it for navigation etc. Has a microSD slot for extra memory.

An interesting programme on BBC Radio 4 yesterday - the Digital Human. This week it covered mobile phones and how we use them. One of the guests was talking about "phone snubbing" or "phubbing" as they call it (it was about 10 minutes in). For people that were brought up without mobiles it is considered rude to be using a mobile phone whilst "in company" and that this can lead to relationship breakdown. However for those that are brought up with smart phones they do not see it the same way and they understand that you can co-exist in two places simultaneously - in real life and on-line.

The item for those that have a smart phone is available as a pod cast via the following link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005mr2

The smart phone is my compass , Maps , and when on wyfy calls to home.
Then I am riding I like my motor and the view.:mchappy:

By the way, I find all the stuff about how "smart phones are bad, mkay" in this thread annoying. Yes it leads to non-social behavior when people are together and all that stuff.

But this is all offtopic. The smartphone is also just another tool for travellers on the road, even when there is no connection for miles. And such a thread is about using it as a tool.
Because in these days they are great cameras, they are great for (offline) navigation. It may be good to have paper maps as a backup and know how to work with them, but I'm always using the telephone as navigation on long trips. Why bring some kind of Garmin or whatever? Just more weight and costs. A garmin that can run on batteries for long is only good for long hikes, but for vehicle based travelling not so much use.
I would not bring anymore cameras when on a bike. Just a good phone and maybe such a tiny tripod to hold the phone.

So lets not use all that great and compact technology because some guys may be looking at their phone while in the company of others.

Agreed. It's not the technology that is bad per se, it's how we end up using it.

So who's posting on here instead of going out and talking to say the bloke outside the coffee shop with his can of Special Brew and Love/Hatt knuckle tattoos? :innocent:

The phone sized tablet computer has to be the most useful tool for riders ever. More navigation power than the Apollo programme had and access to pretty much every book and map ever.

Totally agree on the plugs, but I'd rather have a USB I can get data in and out of than rent everything from Steve Jobbie. Currently have a collection of three Samsungs (the work one gets turned off).

Andy

My Phone
 

For the pas 5 years I have owned a Blackview BV6000S phone.

It's basically a Chinese phone that is the same as a Samsung Galaxy in functionality in a metal case with Gorilla glass. It is shockproof, waterproof, dust proof and has a huge battery so it lasts for a couple of days between charges,

The only down side is the battery cannot be removed/changed without taking the phone apart and de-soldering it from the circuit board but I have not needed to change the battery yet after 5 years use.

It is 4G compatible, takes 2 SIM cards and a memory card.

I have dropped it, sat on it, and stood on it on more occasions than I can remember and it has sustained no damage. I paid about £ 130 (150 Euros) for it on Ebay and it came unlocked so it can use any network.

Cheap and rugged phone.

I only use it as a phone with a UK SIM for my WhatsApp and a local SIM in whatever country I am in for data so I can use WhatsApp to keep in touch with friends etc. This way is much cheaper than making calls using either my UK or local SIM cards..

I use paper maps to get around.

^ Sounds great, might look into that or another similar rugged phone.

Communication solutions
 

Folks, I need ideas! I am an old sod and on my proposed RTW trip I hope to use either a dedicated GPS device (Garmin Zumo 660) or an iPhone 7 to find my way around. Yes, the devices are old by today's standards but will they work today?
Obviously I need in-helmet communication (don't want music, bike-to-bike, radio or person-to-person)- just want verbal directions in my helmet somehow. I wear earplugs, as I have tinnitus. Are there earbuds capable of giving verbal directions loudly enough to overcome the use of earplugs while the earplugs are in my ears or, are there earbuds capable of shutting out outside noise while giving directions , with me leaving the earplugs out altogether?

Basic Bluetooth intercom from the auction site. Mine is TCom, 44 quid. Sena etc. also work and are maybe better made on plug connectors etc. but given they cost way more and are slightly better I'm sticking to the cheap stuff. Voice directions are clear to 50/60 mph and you can tell it said something at very illegal speeds. On a big trip I'd get a spare. I carry a battery pack to re-charge when I'm off the bike, but that's only because I listened to music 10 hours a day.

Watch legislation, most places ban in-ear devices, some ban any, some ban any that can give speed trap warnings. Its easy to pull the plug off the TCom while removing the helmet to show Plod it wasn't in use :nono:

Andoid devices are now so cheap as to be disposable. I carried four on my last trip, tablet for the interweb and editing photos, my phone, works phone (free interweb anywhere) and the ancient, no sim, "burner" I use for navigation if it's too wet to leave a decent one in the tank bag pocket. I refuse to rent my own data from Apple and don't use navigation constantly, so won't carry some huge Garmin thing from the 90's.

Andy

An iPhone 7 will run a navigation app easily enough. However, I can think of a few downsides:

* It will want to do online navigation. Yes, there are offline navigation maps, but smartphones generally want to have an Internet connection, and can get testy in various unexpected ways when they don't have one. A dedicated hardware GPS will probably be better for that.

* Your old iPhone probably doesn't have much battery life any more, unless you've recently replaced the battery. Yes, you have a charger on your bike, but Things Will Happen.

* For use as a smartphone as such... I would go with a multisim device. With a slightly newer iPhone, you can use an eSim for your primary home number, and the physical SIM slot for local cards wherever you are. (The advantage of an eSIM is that the QR code for setting it up is somewhere in your email, or you can ask for a new one... so if you lose your phone in New Zealand like I did, you can regain access to your phone number and two-factor authentications.)

So if you can afford it, I think it would be better to have a separate dedicated GPS that is hardwired into the bike, has a screen that works reliably with gloves and in harsh sunlight, and boots up quickly because it only has one job to do. Keep your mobile phone separate and use it as a GPS backup.

First things first: yes, you can wear earplugs and a modern helmet intercom will sound just fine through it. Navigation directions, podcasts/audiobooks, music, whatever. I ride with foam earplugs and my Cardos do just fine.

In terms of earbuds that go inside your ears AND shut off noise - well there are a few solutions, but they are very individual. (For example, I can't use true wireless earbuds - my ears are a weird shape and the buds just fall out.) There are wired earbuds with speakers and memory-foam tips that do a decent job, if you are okay with a wire running down to your phone/nav unit, for example Koss's The Plug. The best noise-cancelling true earbuds are probably the Sony XM4 buds, if you want to spend a few hundred dollars to try if they fit in your ears and under your helmet well enough... but realistically, also thinking about battery management, I think a fixed helmet intercom and foam earplugs are a much better solution.

In terms of which helmet intercom to get... if you're riding alone and just want a connection between your helmet and your phone/nav, then your choice is really unlimited. You can go for a cheap Chinese unit from ebay/aliexpress... but I would recommend investing a little more and getting a single-rider model from one of the top brands. I currently have a Cardo Spirit HD, and in my experience it pretty much just works without hassle, whereas the Chinese units I've tried have all been annoying in small ways, so the Cardo is worth the $150 I spent on it.

A few things I have found when using smartphones as a Sat Nav.

There are loads of offline maps these days. That don't need internet. They work well and are generally more up to date than Garmin or OS.

Google Maps IS NOT one of those. Even if you download offline maps for it.

I have wrecked two phones charging sockets when charging whilst on the go. These sockets are not designed for movement. So if you use a phone, rely on battery power only. Or charge when in a tank top bag where the cable isn't moving.

Blackview phones are full IP67 waterproof. And they work well as sat navs. But they are also notorious for uploading your privacy to China.

Or use wireless charging. Lots of options for holders with wireless charging pads these days.

Aye. But they're rather expensive aren't they. Do they work in heavy rain too ??

They are getting cheaper very quickly.

I have an SW Motech cockpit mount on my bike, and right now I have modified it to work with an SP Connect puck. The wireless charging module is 60 euros - but that's a branded, moto-specific, weatherproof one. The kit came with a big waterproof case that's way oversized for modern smartphones, so I looked at putting a powerbank under the phone inside a case - and there are already very affordable power banks with built-in wireless charging.

This fella is 40 euros in a local shop, with wireless charging off a 10,000 mAh internal battery:
https://vsf-api.klick.ee/img/806/100.../1/_/1_441.jpg

As for heavy rain, well the default answer is, I would trust a moto-specific wireless charging pad in any weather where I would also feel OK about leaving the phone on the mount, rather than putting it away in my pocket.

I used a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 on a trip last year, mounted onto a Quadlock wireless charging base with the vibration damper. The screen was too dim/small to see very well, the vibration mount allowed the phone to move too much so even if it had been bright enough to see, it was blurred. I could remove the vibration mount but the camera would probanly not survive. I think this solution would be great for off-road or at least slower routes but around France and Italy it wasn't very useful.

I've also got an iPhone 11 pro max which I put in the map pocket of my tank bag but again it wasn't easy to see. Maybe if I'd mounted it better ?

I'm glad I had the Zumo XT too which was always easy to see, bright, stable and fast to recalculate when I made a mistake. A dedicated GPS device is still the best solution especially if you're riding through cities or towns.

But for India I'm going to take the Zumo only for the main roads and use Osmand Maps and iOverlander on the iPhone as Garmin doesn't have the detail for Ladakh. Plus there are fewer roads to worry about :)

If your smartphone cover support wireless charging and fits well into the holder, it will work. Never buy a holder which offers a fixed charging socket, better choose one with a flexible cable to connect the phone.

But be aware that vibrations will kill the autofocus and picture stabilisation mode of your smartphone camera. Apple send out an official warning for this in 2020 but also Android ones who offer same camera features wil suffer from this after some time.

Another point when using a smartphone as a navi is display damage through sunlight. Direct sun irradiation and high temperature damage a display sometimes quicker than you think.(The display of a 4 months old Samsung A52 of my nephew got killed by this 3 weeks ago when he forgot to take out of sun while he was in the pool. 3 hrs of sun and heat to the display were enough...)

It seems a dedicated Sat Nav is still the way to go.

With a smart phone as a back up.

:rain:I was finding that the charging lead kept falling out of the phone when travelling along. I solved it with a magnetic connector that has more give and reconnects without falling away. The only downside with it is that the charging rate is not very quick - it keeps up and charges the phone but the other day it went from 10% to 40% in a two hour ride - two hours would normally take it from 10% to 80+% - but it didn’t disconnect at all so I will stick with it. This is the sort of thing I mean.

Interesting about the phone screen deteriorating - I have taken to removing the phone from its case to reduce the build up of heat.

This wouldn't be a good choice if you want to travel to US. First it doesn't support some common 4G LTE frequencies and second it doesn't support 5G.

US telcos actively rolling out 5G coverage by recycling 3G bands so if phone doesn't support something like band 66 or n71 it would have alot of no coverage outside of urban areas.

I mean yes, that first post is from December 2018 :) I am sure there are modern equivalents.

Irregardless majority of modern phones will have this issue. US carriers are known for using oddball frequencies especially T-mobile or any prepaid service based off them.

I use an iPhone 6S Plus I bought new and a Garmin 660!

I also have a Sena 30k comms device with speakers built into custom ear moulds to connect with both, and that works fine too. We've been using that basic setup for years, all good, though the Sena isn't the best for comms to the passenger. We may go to something else... eventually, when they die... probably...
Comment: I like the custom ear moulds with speakers, it's ONE thing to faff with. I have LOST custom ear moulds without the speakers as they're easy to drop, and with no wire attached, they're gone, and they're not cheap to lose.

I just bought a Beeline

https://i.postimg.cc/7hjSVfbd/20220813-171133-2.jpg

Gloriously simple to use, it just points to the destination or the way to go at a junction. You create a GPX file in the software of your choice or just tell the phone where you want to go. The battery lasts all day and I can connect it to any smartphone with or without SIM, so no need to charge the phone either. The manufacturer claims IP69 which looking at it I believe.

I haven't checked if it works everywhere but as it uses Google maps as the base and is only repeating what the phone tells it I don't see why not.

Carrying two on an extended trip would still be lighter and cheaper than many dedicated sat nags.

Andy

The obvious flaw to me is that this requires Google maps. Which requires at least 3G connectivity. Even when you download the offline maps it won't navigate you to a new destination unless you have data.

That's the case on my smart phone anyway.

I will try it and report back.

First test turn off wifi and mobile data, GPS on. It's pointing the right way if I walk round the garden.

Andy

Google maps work on 2G speeds but you are SOL if you get no coverage and make a wrong turn.

Just how big is your garden if you need GPS to get around it? :innocent:

[emoji23][emoji106][emoji108]

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Does size matter?

I have got a decent pear

https://i.postimg.cc/HW3mTccH/20220820-165734-2.jpg

Andy

I think you are spot on there Ted. The smart phones and social media have a done a good job of turning people into zombies.

I was a huge fan of the website couchsurfing, because it was a great way to meet like minded travelers when you were abroad. Over the years I have noticed a big change in the quality of people using couchsurfing. Now, there are a bunch of shallow people on there using the site for shallow purposes. When hosting younger foreign travelers, you meet them at the door and I would say it is about 30 seconds before they ask you for your wifi password and then disappear for an hour. Incredibly rude behavior when you are a guest in someone's home.