Right, I’m living in the dark ages.

My mobile is a ‘phone’ and is probably 6 or 7 years old. Don’t laugh!

Technology didn’t use to scare me but I’m starting to feel like Homer’s dad.

Question, can I buy a relatively inexpensive ‘smart phone’ that can be used as an okay(ish) GPS?

I’m not going to be splashing out on an iPhone but I have £40 in rewards from Virgin and my ancient Nokia is having the audacity to be somewhat eccentric in it’s functioning. There’s a Samsung Wave 525 on there for £130 so that’d be a new posh phone for £90.

Any idaes?

Ta, J

As long as it has a GPS receiver in there it’ll be fine. Endomondo seems to be the popular choice of tracker and stuff.

EDIT – OS is Bada, so you may need to check on what you want out of Apps to log rides and stuff. Endo may work on it still though.

If you’re just logging tracks I would look at a gps logger. I got a Holux 1200 for about 25 quid. It’s better at logging and downloading than any phone.

c

If you want a dirt cheap phone then the Nokia 5800 is a good GPS unit. The OS is a bit old now but there are loads of mapping options including Viewranger, which is the best. Much better battery life than proper smart phones which is handy when you are in the middle of no-where.

If I was you I would get a cheap Android phone then you have an extensive market of Apps but no Apple premium.

This site is good. I have a Defy and thinks its great!
http://compare.androidphone.org.uk/phones/motorola/defy/white

The cheapest android is:

http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/viewProduct.do?productId=4328446

£20 more than your Wave but android massively opens out your options.

Don’t buy a Nokia, my wife had her E52 replaced 4 times and was eventually given an E5 which is also crap. The OS on them is useless, very slow and eventually ties up all the memory in conflicts so that it freezes permanently.

Probably best getting an Android phone (HTC or Samsung) as there are plenty of apps although I’ve got an iPhone and use the Kinetic GPS app for tracking. Personally I wouldn’strapap an expensive and fragile phone to my handlebars so keep it in my pack. If you want GPS navigation get a dedicated GPS unit (Garmin etc)

You’ve got two issues with smartphones – battery life (using GPS puts a big drain on this, expect to get about 4-6 hours max) and outdoorsyness. I have a Motorola Defy Android phone which is supposedly “rugged” and waterproof but one big drawback occurs when you try and use it in the rain – it thinks each droplet is a press on the touchscreen and basically becomes unusable.

I’d go with a standalone GPS if you’re planning to use it as a serious naviagational tool rather than just logging a local ride.

I’m waiting for: http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/xperia-active?cc=gb&lc=en maybe of interest to you.

Looks like that may well be what I’m after – bound not to be taken on by Virgin though…

Ta, J