how is the gps for mtb'ing is their a free ap on the phones or do i need to buy seperate software???

Im running Viewranger on my Nokia. It works pretty well, you just need to buy the OS maps of the areas you need. Downside is bad weather, if its pouring with rain using a mobile for a GPS gets tricky.

http://www.viewranger.com/

does it cost you in your phone bill to do the gps thing?

does it cost you in your phone bill to do the gps thing?

The necessary software is free.
Nokia Sportracker is anyway.

If you want mapping then something like viewranger has to be paid for.
Its not that expensive and you can download selected "map tiles" tailored to your needs.

I use both sportracker and viewranger on a Nokia 6220 classic.
Battery life isn't great but will do for short trips of 2hrs or so.

Will a mobile be rugged and waterproof enough to work? I'm assuming you'll want to strap it to your handlebars? I use a Garmin Geko 201 which has never let me down.

was thinking of using it only for when i get lost really rather than for whole rides. would that work? just to turn it on and it say go this way..turn it off. im doing off road coast to coast next summer and am not the best at navigating.
the appeal of it on a phone is well basically i can get it free with a upgrade. if i then need to buy software may look into just buying something like geko 201. although i dont fully understand how they work looking at screen shots??? i like to see a pic of a map with a line on it saying this way ha.

If you get something like a geko you will have to buy mapping software such as tracklogs or memory map, you then upload a route to the geko and follow the little arrow on the screen. My 201 is about 5yrs old now and still going strong, been used in all weathers and battery life is pretty good on rechargeable AAA's

With a Geko (or a mobile for that matter), you no longer need to buy expensive software to create routes for them. You can use http://www.bikehike.co.uk to create routes (there is also another one that I can't remember which is similar). They aren't as fancy as tracklogs or memory map, but they are £200 cheaper.

Viewranger on a mobile is great, but you do have to pay for it, and it isn't all that cheap, for a coast to coast, you'd probably be buying £50 worth of maps or something.

Mobile phone based things (or very very expensive – like £300+ garmin / satmap GPS units) are the only way you will get decent maps when you are outside. Most people who use garmin units just upload a route in advance and follow arrows / lines on screen, but with no map.

There are free OS map things for iPhone and Android phones, but currently they require you to have a mobile data connection to use them, which isn't so good if you're in middle of nowhere (like in big sections of the peak district & lake district if you happen to be with t-mobile).

Joe

I've got a Nokia 5800 with view ranger and a waterproof case:

http://www.waterproof-cases.co.uk/peli_micro_cases-c-22.html

I just zip tie the case over the stem/handlebars and off I go 😀

For recording GPS tracks I use Google My Tracks on Android, which works really well. There's also something similar called Everytrail for iPhone and Windows mobile that produces GPX tracks.

If you want OS maps on your mobile, you can use Multimap on Windows mobile to load the maps on before you go out, but you have to buy them. Or you can use OS Map on Android, but that does use mobile data and it doesn't work too well over non-3G networks, which is usually all you have out in the wilds.

reckon i'll look into a gps like geko and have a phone as a phone. thanks everyone great advice as always.