Garmin 510 would be ideal, but that’s still around £200
Spot Tracker is around £150 with “Additional service required” for the live tracking.
External battery case would need a cable with a vulnerable plug on it. A micro USB port doesn’t look very robust at the best of times, I’m sure I’d soon break something with it plugged in in my backpack.
My HTC would probably work as well as an iPhone, except the battery’s usually pretty low by the end of an 8 hour shift anyway and Endomondo would soon finish it off.
I know if I was lying in the brambles at the side of a track somewhere for 12 hours with a broken leg and a smashed phone, I’d think £200 was a bargain, I’m just trying to find a cheaper option.
I thought about buying a dedicated cheap second hand phone which I can charge up every day specifically for this job. I don’t fully understand how the system works though, but I’m guessing it’s web, not text based, so a monthly data contract could soon add up to the price of a 510.
I think, until I find a better solution, my best plan is to always charge my phone at work before I leave. The only problem with this, apart from remembering to do it, is that I could be anywhere in a big workshop and yard and probably wouldn’t hear it ringing. But then, the only person who is likely to phone me late at night is Mrs MTG, and she’s got the workshop number.