It turns out I’m due a phone upgrade and the 635 is on offer and the mapping functions look useful. I tried a smartphone a couple of years and quickly got peed off with daily charging so since then have used a £15 basic Samsung that goes a week or more between charges. The smartphone I kept and used occasionally without a sim for GPS and camera duties on rides. That one has now died.

My typical daily usage at the moment is a handful of texts and maybe 5 minutes of calls but I realy want to be able to go away for a day or two without needing to be umbilically attached to mains power.

Am I really asking too much?

I’ve got a 625 for work.

To be honest, I grumbled a bit when i found out that would be the replacement for my old phone (mainly because I wasn’t keen on Windows mobile), but it’s been alright.

It will go a few days on one charge if you’re using it very lightly, but don’t expect it to last long if you start using resource hungry apps.

There are two types of phones…basic ones that just call/text/email and have great battery life, or smart phones that run hardware and software to support things like mapping functions which means they have not so great battery life 😉

I reckon there are probably better options out there for the same money as the 625/635…I don’t know what those are though!

You could get one of those power jacket cases, or a powerpack charger if you regularly need to charge your phone when you have no access to power (which I assume is the problem as eveyone else with a smart phone just charges up at night?)

It’s a bit of a catch 22 situation. I’ll only be using apps (mostly GPS, mapping and camera) when I’m out and about. If I’m at home or work I’ll have access to a pc or laptop.

The problem with charging the old phone overnight was that it would sound an alert when it was fully charged that you coudn’t turn off without losing the incoming text alert as well.

I see the problem.

Issue is, smart phones are pretty rubbish for use as a one-size-fits all gadget simply because the battery is generally so poor (as you’ve discovered!).

I had the same problem a few years back. I was using my phone for Memory Map and photographs while away on biking/climbing/walking/camping weekends, but the battery would rarely last one day. Photos are fine, but it’s the GPS and screen use that kills it.

I ended up just using the phone as a phone (stick it on flight mode when you’re not using it and it last for ages), then bought a separate GPS and camera.

That said, I also have one of these , which lives in my pack when I’m away somewhere that I know I won’t have any power for a few days and might “need” it to charge something.

Being as it’s a very smart phone and it’s creator has deemed you worthy of swapping it’s battery why not just get a couple of spare ones.
I always have a spare in my wallet and would never buy a phone where I couldn’t swap.

In my experience, nokia/windows phones are limited in terms of available apps. Everyone develops for iOS and android but not so much for ms.