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Smart Phone VS Garmin et al as a GPS tool Smart Phone VS Garmin et al as a GPS tool
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Photo by Lois Pryce, schoolkids in Algeria

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Photo of Lois Pryce, UK
and schoolkids in Algeria




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  #1  
Old 17 Apr 2015
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Ruggedness is almost fashionable
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Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
It being 2015 and the hardware hasn't been discussed in much detail for a while I did a quick search on ebay (for IP67) and it brings up more than 700 smart phones that have this as part of their specification.
Apart from the more well known brands there are plenty in there that I have never heard of previously!
The battery power of these ranges up to 4000-5000 mAH which should give good battery life, especially when used only for navigation.

Here is an up to date review of how the market for rugged mobile phones moved along during 2014 and it contains a clear explanation of the IP classification system as well.
10 Best Waterproof Android Phones | Digital Trends
Another 3 months of progress and it seems to me that the Chinese are manufacturing with this market in mind.
IP67 phones are now on offer at not a lot more than £100 in the UK.
DOOGEE Titans2 DG700- Waterproof, 8MP, Android 4.4 Phone

For a few more £ the specifications go on, and on.
AGM STONE 5S review:the first 4G rugged phone with Quad Core Tri-proof 5.0 Inch Screen 4050mAh battery | Vifocal

A bigger screen, more memory, more processor, massive battery capacity, more everything from yet another pair of phones that I had not heard of before today.
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  #2  
Old 25 Apr 2015
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Well a few tough pistes in Morocco and and some sandstorms and we had the following:

Garmin Quest - Failed on the final day (hardware/software error)
Garmin 62 - Failed (multiple battery problems needed a complete reset)
Motorola Defy (Failed due to prior firmware issue, needs updating)

Samsung Galaxy S3 was fine, but I'd previously got mine wet in 2013 and damaged the charging circuit which meant I couldn't use continuously on the bike.
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  #3  
Old 14 May 2015
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As an update on my previous post. All devices are now fully working again after a wipe and reset.

I much prefered the Orux Maps app to the dedicated garmin, but I imagine newer garmins have much better software than the old Quest or the 62.
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  #4  
Old 4 Aug 2015
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AGM Stone first impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
Another 3 months of progress and it seems to me that the Chinese are manufacturing with this market in mind.
IP67 phones are now on offer at not a lot more than £100 in the UK.
DOOGEE Titans2 DG700- Waterproof, 8MP, Android 4.4 Phone

For a few more £ the specifications go on, and on.
AGM STONE 5S review:the first 4G rugged phone with Quad Core Tri-proof 5.0 Inch Screen 4050mAh battery | Vifocal

A bigger screen, more memory, more processor, massive battery capacity, more everything from yet another pair of phones that I had not heard of before today.

So, I've put my money on the counter and bought the AGM Stone phone shown in the link above (for just less than £100 via auction on UK ebay).

It's early days but first impressions are excellent; the spec in the link above gives a load of detail, including some statements that I don't fully understand.
No matter, this thing is as fast as it can be - switch it on and the damn thing just works; maps come up as fast as I can press the buttons.

Incidentally, behind the back cover shown in the linked information (which is screwed into place) there is an additional cover with a rubber seal which protects the innards from H2O, dust etc.
I don't aim to deliberately test it up to the IP67 specification but it appears well capable of resisting rain water.
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  #5  
Old 8 Apr 2018
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AGM phone
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Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
So, I've put my money on the counter and bought the AGM Stone phone shown in the link above (for just less than £100 via auction on UK ebay).

It's early days but first impressions are excellent; the spec in the link above gives a load of detail, including some statements that I don't fully understand.
No matter, this thing is as fast as it can be - switch it on and the damn thing just works; maps come up as fast as I can press the buttons.

Incidentally, behind the back cover shown in the linked information (which is screwed into place) there is an additional cover with a rubber seal which protects the innards from H2O, dust etc.
I don't aim to deliberately test it up to the IP67 specification but it appears well capable of resisting rain water.
Some 2 1/2 years later and I remain very impressed with the performance of this hardware.
It has never let me down in running as a GPS/mapping system for my type of usage.

At the time of purchase I did wonder about buying what amounts to an unknown brand - not that I am a big follower of brands - but it turns out to be a company that is still in production with a range of mob phones:-
This one is about nearest to the specification that I bought - A8 SE (2GB RAM) | AGM Mobile
As ever, the technology has moved along in quality and quantity with increased specifications all round for not a lot more in the asking price (it even has dual SIM now). About the only thing that is the same as my model is the screen size.

And -
"The software of AGM A8 SE has been specially optimized for stable GPS and Glonass performance, which makes you never lose your way outdoors" according to their marketing blurb.

More from their blurb page:-
"AGM owns patents on smartphone rugged/waterproof design, and AGM models can meet IP68/MIL-STD-810 standard"
http://www.agmmobile.com/en/page/about
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Last edited by Walkabout; 8 Apr 2018 at 15:35. Reason: More from the blurb added
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  #6  
Old 17 May 2018
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How to put it all together on a bike
There's a good description about how to set up a smart phone - I use a chinese made copy of the same X grip on one of my bikes.
https://www.transeurotrail.org/forum...php?f=17&t=418
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  #7  
Old 17 May 2018
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Having joined this conversation very late in the game, I can only share my experience using a smartphone as a GPS instead of a dedicated GPS. I used my iPhone 5 to navigate through cities in Mexico to find hostels and on several occasions the phone overheated and shut down. Running the software often heats phones up, and under the blaring Mexican sun, it only made it worse.

A few times I was sitting on the side of the road after a long day of travel in some foreign city, fully kitted in my riding gear, sweating like crazy, tired from a long day's ride, simply waiting for my phone to cool down long enough to show me how to get to my hostel for night. Not again, no thank you.
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  #8  
Old 18 May 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
ps
Hardware.
Reading elsewhere, it seems that IPhones are prone to overheating when used for navigation - something to do with "the CPU working intensively".
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirtyOne View Post
I used my iPhone 5 to navigate through cities in Mexico to find hostels and on several occasions the phone overheated and shut down. Running the software often heats phones up, and under the blaring Mexican sun, it only made it worse.
Fortunately, more than 80% of smart phones sold nowadays are running the Android operating system.
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  #9  
Old 19 May 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
Fortunately, more than 80% of smart phones sold nowadays are running the Android operating system.


I had an Android for about 6 months and sold it last month to go back to Apple. It just plain works better for me. But, a dedicated GPS is in my near future.
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  #10  
Old 13 Jun 2021
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Sometimes I see people riding with a tablet on their bike, like Itchy Boots (the Youtuber) does. Does anyone know what kind of software/device they're using? It looks like proper navigation software on a normal tablet, or is it just a really big dedicated navigation device? My google skills weren't good enough to find out, so I thought to ask here.
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