Which GPS

[geordie33]

I have tried using my smartphone with viewranger and it is good.Problem though is that I can barely see the screen in good light ( appreciate this might be peculiar to my phone) and anti glare covers have barely helped.I paid £230 for my Garmin 62s with full uk maps.I could reasonably get 10 years out of it so annualised the cost is very reasonable and I can read the screen as well as use other functions not available on the phone.Garmin maps are frankly a ridiculous price if you buy them from them but a mate of mine has just got a genuine discover uk sd card for £23.I think it really comes down to what you personally are comfortable with.

[pauldawes]

I have tried using my smartphone with viewranger and it is good.Problem though is that I can barely see the screen in good light ( appreciate this might be peculiar to my phone) and anti glare covers have barely helped.I paid £230 for my Garmin 62s with full uk maps.I could reasonably get 10 years out of it so annualised the cost is very reasonable and I can read the screen as well as use other functions not available on the phone.Garmin maps are frankly a ridiculous price if you buy them from them but a mate of mine has just got a genuine discover uk sd card for £23.I think it really comes down to what you personally are comfortable with.

As mentioned before all those "smartphone is the cheapest" arguments are predicated on assumption that you've already bought a suitable smartphone for completely other reasons...Apple I-phones, etc aren't cheap. ("only 25 quid a month for 24 months" equates to a purchase price of six hundred quid). I know that assumption holds for many people..but not all.


And if you walk a fair number of different regions laminated map option is not particularly cheap. I've spent hundreds of quid on maps over the years...at time you don't particularly notice 10 quid here, 20 quid there...but it mounts up. I reckon full UK laminated paper mapping, even at 1 to 50,000 would cost nigh on 2 grand.


And at some point...if you've got enough money and love walking (and we all do)...then you jettison the "which is cheapest" question and replace it with the "which is best for type of walking I do??" question.

[sussamb]

And at some point...if you've got enough money and love walking (and we all do)...then you jettison the "which is cheapest" question ....

Very true, or we'd all be on the hills in addidas tracksuits and carrying a few bin liners 'in case it rains' 

[Rhino]

Thank you Rhino for your constructive comparisons and measured observations 

Your welcome Pathcruncher
 
 

I have tried using my smartphone with viewranger and it is good.Problem though is that I can barely see the screen in good light ( appreciate this might be peculiar to my phone) and anti glare covers have barely helped.I paid £230 for my Garmin 62s with full uk maps.I could reasonably get 10 years out of it so annualised the cost is very reasonable and I can read the screen as well as use other functions not available on the phone.Garmin maps are frankly a ridiculous price if you buy them from them but a mate of mine has just got a genuine discover uk sd card for £23.I think it really comes down to what you personally are comfortable with.

Bright sunshine and direct glare is the worse conditions for any screen and in these limited conditions in the UK    you have to tilt and find a bit of shade to getter a better view. Even my Iphone has this problem but in normal daylight is ok. I think if you look hard enough you can always find something cheaper and the OEM of most products always charges the highest price for anything bought from them, Apple are a good example of this with there cables etc good quality but expensive. I agree is does come down to what your comfortable with.
 

As mentioned before all those "smartphone is the cheapest" arguments are predicated on assumption that you've already bought a suitable smartphone for completely other reasons...Apple I-phones, etc aren't cheap. ("only 25 quid a month for 24 months" equates to a purchase price of six hundred quid). I know that assumption holds for many people..but not all.


And if you walk a fair number of different regions laminated map option is not particularly cheap. I've spent hundreds of quid on maps over the years...at time you don't particularly notice 10 quid here, 20 quid there...but it mounts up. I reckon full UK laminated paper mapping, even at 1 to 50,000 would cost nigh on 2 grand.


And at some point...if you've got enough money and love walking (and we all do)...then you jettison the "which is cheapest" question and replace it with the "which is best for type of walking I do??" question.

They are not cheap and doesnt hold for everyone but for those billions of people who have already bought them and wanted the best phones on the market and were willing to pay for that then by using it for all the things it can do you are getting more value from your investment. My debate has always been based on if you own it gives the best cost option but you can also do it for £50 or less to try it out opposed to spending hundreds on the dedicated GPS to try it out. If at that point you like it but want more and are willing to pay you have more choices a better smarthphone or dedicated GPS. I am one of the billions who have one and in the last 13 months i have started using it for so many things i never did and now find myself asking myself why didnt i do this before.
 
I have spent probably about £60 on laminated 25k maps in the past year which would have cost me Half that on Viewranger which i could then use on 4 devices. I am now in the process of setting up a 2nd device as my backup navigation system and get all the maps i have already bought on Viewranger on that device as well. If i knew and understood this fully 13 months ago I would be at least £60 better off now.
 
Completly agree which is best for type of walking I do??" question is what we all decide for ourselves.
 

Very true, or we'd all be on the hills in addidas tracksuits and carrying a few bin liners 'in case it rains' 

You mean i am the only one carrying bin liners 

[Peter]

As mentioned before all those "smartphone is the cheapest" arguments are predicated on assumption that you've already bought a suitable smartphone for completely other reasons...Apple I-phones, etc aren't cheap. ("only 25 quid a month for 24 months" equates to a purchase price of six hundred quid). I know that assumption holds for many people..but not all.


And if you walk a fair number of different regions laminated map option is not particularly cheap. I've spent hundreds of quid on maps over the years...at time you don't particularly notice 10 quid here, 20 quid there...but it mounts up. I reckon full UK laminated paper mapping, even at 1 to 50,000 would cost nigh on 2 grand.


And at some point...if you've got enough money and love walking (and we all do)...then you jettison the "which is cheapest" question and replace it with the "which is best for type of walking I do??" question.

I don't think the argument ends with a smartphone simply being cheaper. Mine costs £12 a month, and its prime purpose is communication. However I think it is also better or equal to a dedicated GPS. I have seen no evidence of GPS function being significantly better either way. Accuracy is every bit as good. Granted the surveying level GPS is better but that is wholly different.
Battery use is improving all the time, I can now get 2 or 3 days tracking from one battery. I think the best app is ViewRanger but at a cost depending on mapping. HOWEVER if you settle on MemoryMap, you can download OS 1:25 for the whole of UK gratis.




PS With MM you can print off parer map of whatever area you want/need and laminate it at home.

[youradvocate]

I have written my views around this subject area on another thread but I have noticed that some people seem to hold the view that if a technology exists I must have it. One of my neighbours has an Iphone on a contract and he's always going on about an upgrade, of what possible importance is this? It dominates his world though. Even in my local council office, our main post office and our general hospital these organisations have spent huge, huge money on gadgets for the public which are often managed by human beings. In the old days (last year) I used to go to a member of staff at a desk, now they want me to punch in bits of information when I arrive then talk to a staf. The machines are just like just a stiles on a hike, just another obstacle to climb over to keep moving forward!

[Rhino]

I don't think the argument ends with a smartphone simply being cheaper. Mine costs £12 a month, and its prime purpose is communication. However I think it is also better or equal to a dedicated GPS. I have seen no evidence of GPS function being significantly better either way. Accuracy is every bit as good. Granted the surveying level GPS is better but that is wholly different.
Battery use is improving all the time, I can now get 2 or 3 days tracking from one battery. I think the best app is ViewRanger but at a cost depending on mapping. HOWEVER if you settle on MemoryMap, you can download OS 1:25 for the whole of UK gratis.




PS With MM you can print off parer map of whatever area you want/need and laminate it at home.

 
Peter
 
The potential is huge on the use of the smartphones just look at how far they have come and the number of devices they already can replace and where it will go in the coming years and what other things could and will be done with them remains to be seen. However i have come to learn from posts like this that this wont be for everyone for whatever there own reasons some people dont like it, want it or see it too costly and dismiss it or after trying it decide its not that good. I dont need to tell you this though 
 
I have the whole of the MM UK on 25k scale on the PC donated to me by a friend who has the unit and maps on disk, i can look at maps and plan routes but cant save or print off becuase i havent asked him to use one of his licenses, i can copy and paste the map though then print off but havent done this for ages since using the phone.
 

I have written my views around this subject area on another thread but I have noticed that some people seem to hold the view that if a technology exists I must have it. One of my neighbours has an Iphone on a contract and he's always going on about an upgrade, of what possible importance is this? It dominates his world though. Even in my local council office, our main post office and our general hospital these organisations have spent huge, huge money on gadgets for the public which are often managed by human beings. In the old days (last year) I used to go to a member of staff at a desk, now they want me to punch in bits of information when I arrive then talk to a staf. The machines are just like just a stiles on a hike, just another obstacle to climb over to keep moving forward!

Hi Youradvocate
 
Obvioulsy you dont want an Iphone but surely there must be something in life you want, would like or desire and talk to your friends/neighbour about? If not your a very lucky person to have everything you need   
We are all human and become obsessed with lots of things in our lifes not just the material things and although strange to some to others its perfectly normal.
Whether we like technology or not it happens and advances at a rapid pace, in most cases it makes life easier and in some more complicated. Whenever there is a huge leap it normally has teething problems as well but gets there in the 2nd or 3rd gen model 
I am one of those that love it. In our local Mcdonalds they have a new touch screen order thingymebob so you dont have to queue up, you can pay by contactless technology as well so i dont even have to worry about people looking over my shoulder, i also get my food quicker if there is large queues great stuff.
 
 

[pauldawes]

I don't think the argument ends with a smartphone simply being cheaper.

Agreed. Usually when we talk about which is best, we tend to look at device itself...how physically robust is it, how large is the screen, what is screen resolution like, how easy is it to read screen in dim or bright light, etc.


All important...but so is something that's less often discussed...the operating system, how intuitive is it, and how robust is it. (e.g. If you turn device off incorrectly, do you have significant problems next time you turn it on? Does it ever freeze for no apparent reason? Etc, etc.)


I think over time...that need to feel comfortable with operating system will drive more and more people to prefer smartphones, because the wider use of them in everyday life makes people more comfortable with operating system. (Doesn't apply for me, rarely use smartphone, )

[Peter]

Agreed. Usually when we talk about which is best, we tend to look at device itself...how physically robust is it, how large is the screen, what is screen resolution like, how easy is it to read screen in dim or bright light, etc.


All important...but so is something that's less often discussed...the operating system, how intuitive is it, and how robust is it. (e.g. If you turn device off incorrectly, do you have significant problems next time you turn it on? Does it ever freeze for no apparent reason? Etc, etc.)


I think over time...that need to feel comfortable with operating system will drive more and more people to prefer smartphones, because the wider use of them in everyday life makes people more comfortable with operating system. (Doesn't apply for me, rarely use smartphone, )

Can you still find the correct type of string for your tin cans? 

[pauldawes]

Can you still find the correct type of string for your tin cans? 

I heard legends as a kid about rigging up a telephone system by connecting tin cans via string...my best friend lived only 50 yes away...so really should have tried it out, but never did.


Did you give it a go at some point?

[Peter]

I heard legends as a kid about rigging up a telephone system by connecting tin cans via string...my best friend lived only 50 yes away...so really should have tried it out, but never did.


Did you give it a go at some point?

Oh yes, the issue with it is that the string has to be very taut. we found that shot firing wire (essentially twin flex used for detonating) worked better with old field telephones. 
Ah.. the good old days...