Hey Joe,

I'm not sure you've actually hit the nail on the head here - you appear to have ignored everything people have said about dedicated units, I'm beginning to suspect you'd made your mind up before starting this thread..... in fact a quick look back through your posts indicates a certain, um, dislike, of Garmin...

I've had a really good play with the apps and maps you have suggested. Many of them are very good, despite quite a lot of the data being from dubious sources that are quite out of date.

I've played with the apps on my Android phones (all HTC I'm afraid so wasn't able to test on the Samsung jobs) and they certainly work well. The software is complex and difficult to understand - but then again - so is the Garmin set.

A quick experiment with the phones on my bike though demonstrates several things.

1 - If I don't do something to protect my phone it's not going to last long
2 - It takes too long to set up and the data bill will bankrupt me outside the UK
3 - At speed (25mph plus) it doesn't track well
4 - The battery went from a normal use-time of 4 hours to 30 mins using the GPS all the time....

In my mind that makes the smartphone unsuitable for the job unless:

1 - You go buy and custom fit a waterproof, shockproof holder for your phone
2 - You permanently wire in your phone (which damages the phones battery)
3 - You don't stress about turn by turn directions in an unfamiliar city

As ever - YMMV - but I will certainly not be dumping my Garmin Zumo for a smartphone any time soon - not even for my trusty iPhone with Tom Tom software.

Maps first, Garmin second, phone for emergencies - seems sensible to me!

There is one argument that does stand up... cost. The Garmin Zumo is currently retailing at $649 / £400 (https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=15000&ra=true) but you can get a decent Android handset free with a contract or for about £100/£150 without. A good waterproof / shockproof case is about £50 (cheaper are available but not as good) and the cost of wiring the phone in / buying a spare battery is minimal.

So for me it boils down to one of the oldest arguments in the trademans handbook.... buy a cheap tool that just about does the job or buy the proper tool that does the job very well.

__________________
------------------
http://thelondonbiker.com/blog

Watch some of my camp cooking videos

AIM: mattcashmore
SKYPE: matthewcashmore
MSN: matthew@matthewcashmore.com