Which Phone with GPS navigation to buy?

C-man

I am tired of getting lost when I go to Brisbane, everyone I ask for directions pulls out there phone and helps me.

My phone is a about to die anyway so I will be shopping for a new one with GPS

Not interested in a plan as I already have the lowest possible call rates from an old plan that does not exist anymore so I will stay with that and just purchase the bloody thing.

What is a good one for the money? I don't use it much anyway but I want it to last.

Thanks

Craig-

mycuppa

Craig - you might be better off getting a GPS - they are so cheap these days - we just bought a couple of TomTom via 280 to replace the 4-year-old units we have been using - they were taking forever to calculate routes - sometimes by the time it took to recalculate, you have well and truly gone past the turn - utterly frustrating in the constantly congested Melbourne traffic. You can get a decent gps for between $99 and $155 - with updated maps, bluetooth, 5 in. screen and infringement cameras (very important down here in Melbourne). In terms of phones - I just purchased a new Samsung Galaxy S4 last week after many years of iPhone ownership and updated my wife's iPhone 4 with an iPhone 5. I chose the S4 over the iPhone5 because of longer battery life - which is very important for me. Can't say I'm impressed with the S4 yet - interface a bit clunky and it does not look as strong as the iPhone in terms of being able to sustain wear & tear. Very thing and light - can see me leaving it in the back pocket of my pants and sitting down - like so many times with the iPhone4 and it survived. The S4 uses Garmin which is a leading GPS manufacturer. Used the S4 app yesterday on a quick trip down to Mornington Peninsula and it worked ok - but I prefer using the TomTom GPS. If you are on an old plan, you may want to check out your existing data allowance - when you get your new phone, unless you hook it up to your computer and/or use it on wifi, it could be very easy to blow your data allowance - app updates are hungry, sneaky little devils if you don't catch them beforehand.

Ol_Grumpy

I use Sygic (pay once App. and free updates forever) on my iPhone and I'm very happy with it. BTW via iCloud my iPad and other iDevices all get the same App free. So, I can and do use the Sygic app on my iPhone all day, for work, but use the iPad on 'weekend' trips, etc. once downloaded all the maps are saved offline so I don't have any data charges when I use it driving around. It's not perfect by any means, but it's 100 times better than my old dedicated GPS device. Funny, I've got the new iPhone and my wife has the new Samsung. I hate the bloody thing (S4) and my wife won't touch the iPhone for love'nor'money... Curious creatures, we all are.... In the car I have a power cable, so my iPhone is always fully charged... No problem. BTW, you need a power cable to keep charge up whilst using the Nav. apps.... They drain batteries real quick... Edit: I should mention my App has full voice, turn by turn directions. The latest update included the road works through Springwood, which are still under construction (very up to date info) and quite a few new speed and red light cameras I was unaware of. (Did I mention ALL updates are free) In addition it has either a 'walk-to' or 'drive-to' function? I've used the 'walk-to' function around places like Toohey Forest, Glasshouse Mountains, Straddie, Brisbane CBD, etc, etc. and it sounds quirky, but trust me, once you use it you will really appreciate it. Recently, at places like Rainbow Beach and the border range waterfalls... Well there's a function where users can upload photos of 'special sites', I dunno, unusual flora and fauna, natural features not otherwise documented, etc and the location which Sygic will take you right up to. We 'found' some really amazing 'bonus surprises' by using this fantastic feature. There is also the option of subscribing to live traffic updates, but I've never bothered. These Apps and the additional features that are so easily used make your experience so much richer that they are really on a much higher level than your basic car based GPS. Much cheaper toooo....

Koffee_Kosmo

A stand alone GPS unit will serve you better Look for features from different brands that will benefit you Like Voice input of destination Speed cameras Street name call on turn by turn instructions KK

Brett_H

Love Sygic! Was offered sat nav in the new car but saved some money cause 'we already got one'!

C-man

well that's 2 votes for the stand alone and 2 votes for the mobile. better check with my provider on data allowance, good Idea Jeff Do those things act fast enough when on the motorway doing 100kph? It is a great world now for Technology, I need to get updated.

UNM

mycuppa wrote:

In terms of phones - I just purchased a new Samsung Galaxy S4 last week after many years of iPhone ownership and updated my wife's iPhone 4 with an iPhone 5. I chose the S4 over the iPhone5 because of longer battery life - which is very important for me. Can't say I'm impressed with the S4 yet - interface a bit clunky and it does not look as strong as the iPhone in terms of being able to sustain wear & tear. Very thing and light - can see me leaving it in the back pocket of my pants and sitting down - like so many times with the iPhone4 and it survived.

For me, the apple interface is clunky and hard to use. I suspect, a least in part, it is what you are used to. If you can break a gorilla glass screen by siutting on it, I will be extremely surprised. My Galaxy and Nexus have both been sat on many times. I advise getting a soft silicone rubber case (about $0.80 on ebay) as mine gets dropped on roads/driveways a lot and has survived. Anyway, back on topic: Phone or dedicated gps? I say get a phone for this reason:

C-man wrote:

My phone is a about to die anyway so I will be shopping for a new one with GPS

Almost all phones have GPS these days and it works well enough for casual use. There are also advantages to a dedicated GPS for anone who uses GPS regularly. JB HiFi have regular 30% off sales for GPS units. I like TomTom. Navman sucks (for me). iGO is my current dedicated GPS software and it is OK, but not as good as TomTom. GPS apps and units are all fast enough when driving, it is recalculating routes when you take a wrong turn on 70/80kph trunk roads the old/crappy ones sometimes have issues - my 6 year old Aldi model sometimes lags a bit and I have passed the next turn by the time it has calculated a new route. Look for a good returns policy if you buy a dedicated GPS - next to impossible to try them out in store and usability is a major issue - I found Navman routing and interface was so bad it had to go back after 20 minutes use on the road. Different people will like different things though. I tried Sygic on my phone and hated it, but plenty people love it - easy to do a return of apps on google store though. If you intend to keep a phone for a long period of time, get one that will be supported for ages. Google Nexus phones, Samsung Galaxy 'S' series, Apple iPhones. SOME HTC phones are also well supported. Budget for $200-500 for a quality phone. Plenty near new apple phones hit the market as their users suffer terrible upgraditis. Yes, check data plans. I am on $19/month with 2GB data and $450 calls/text. Personally, I run close to the data limit and hardly get close on calls, but I am on the road all day and use a lot of data. the crappy 200MB plans will not be enough for anything more than intermittent use away from home.

Lacehim

C-Man, I've used the Tom Tom app on my iphone and it's just as good as the standalone Tom Tom devices. I avoid Navman products, owned a few and slow to respond to commands, and bad software. Tom Tom's standalones are easy to use and it was good. If your going to buy a standalone, get one with free lifetime maps! roads are always changing, especially in the big smoke. They are good in that they are in the car all the time, and you don't need a $500 phone in your pocket. FYI the Tom Tom app for my iphone gets free map upgrades, you just buy once (cost $80 I think). More and more manufactures are advertising life time map updates with some models. Check before you buy! Check with your phone provider re data as previously mentioned. My Tom Tom doesn't use a lot from what I can see, but smart phones will use it up if your out and about and away from your home wifi. I only have 500Mb data and it's fine, I'm always close to home wifi. 🙂

C-man

I desperately need a phone anyway, my old car phone just hangs up on people for no reason, and carrying a backpack with a car battery gets heavy and lots of funny looks. LOL I had a plan with Planet mobile where I had no flag fall and only paid for each second used at a very low rate, my monthly bill averaged about $4 because I just have the phone so people can contact me. When I make calls I keep them short and to the point. I will not use the Internet, just the GPS and not that often, but when I need it I must have it or I will just get lost. Planet was bought out by someone and they no longer offer that plan but continue to Honor mine, if I change then it will be gone forever. I need to find out if they have any data with that? I am not sure who bought Planet? I will need to track them down

Ol_Grumpy

@Cman, Using a Nav. app and GPS does NOT use Any Data allowance. As long as you update your phone (apps, etc) by cable to your computer, or via WiFi you will never need Data on your phone. You certainly do not need data to use a Nav App. You only need Data *if* you want to connect to say get emails, use google on the road, Facebook, Crema Chat, etc, etc, etc. Data is a switch on your phone you simply turn off, or on. The big Caveat is that if you do not pay extra for a dedicated data pack and you turn Data on you most definitely will be slugged exhorbetant rates. For example I have about 8 mobiles on my Master Builders Plan. I have a couple of 'extinct' $10- casual plans in that as well. I had cause to use one of the spare numbers with no Data and simply connecting to check emails 4 times over a month for 10 mins each time resulted in a WAP charge of $475- for a total of 45 mins Data for the month. Nasty s$&t right there. I can't be bothered explaining the whole story, but it was because Master Builders "forgot" to charge $15- for a casual Data Pack, for the month. The WAP fee will be credited because it was their stuff up, but take it as a warning. You don't *need* Data, but don't use it unless you have bought a Data allowance *before* you switch it on. Good Luck, there's only about 5 Gabillion phones to pick from..... Then there's at least a couple of dozen Nav App's. Ranging from Free to $400- odd for 'MudMaps' which is a full featured off road touring App. Very similar to Hema's off road setup. Personally I like and use Sygic, but as @UNM pointed out, some (many) people hate it. It is not perfect and they all have a learning curve, there is no perfect solution. I think Sygic is around $40-, Tom Tom (app) is around $99- and there is an option at every price point up and down from there.... Good Luck.....

Ol_Grumpy

I have a large Data pack on my iPad, but still I mostly only connect via WiFi... Many Cafe's, Maca's, Libraries, etc have Free WiFi. Still, I always run with Data turned off. I have so many Apps that use location services, etc that my Data allowance would be quickly consumed with cr@p if I lazily left it on. However, I might be out on site and for example... needing something like the waste pipe setback for a particular toilet plan.... The ability to turn Data on and immediately pull down the .pdf Spec. file from the interweb is worth it's weight in Gold...

conikal

Ol Grumpy wrote:

However, I might be out on site and for example... needing something like the waste pipe setback for a particular toilet plan....

Ahh, come on ! Ipad,..WiFi ?.. ..any self respecting tradie would have all those... " waste pipe setback for a particular toilet plans. " memorized and recorded on "hardcopy" ( IE scribbled in pencil on a broken piece of drywall in the back of the ute !) :stir 😃

C-man

Thanks OG as you say "clear as Mud now"

Ol_Grumpy

conikal wrote:

Ahh, come on ! Ipad,..WiFi ?.. ..any self respecting tradie would have all those... " waste pipe setback for a particular toilet plans. " memorized and recorded on "hardcopy" ( IE scribbled in pencil on a broken piece of drywall in the back of the ute !) :stir 😃

Hey, C'Mon @Conical.... If I don't walk in with all the fancy electronic gadgets, ... how the h$ll else am I gonna justify charging so $$$much for doin their cr@&&y jobs??? : rofl : rofl : rofl "You charge $$$WHAT for doin $What?" : stir Edit: I have, I dunno, 30-35 odd years experience... I pretty well know just by 'looking' what the problem is... I can either talk for half an hour explaining "why & what" is going on.... Or I can pull out a moisture meter that beeps and flashes red lights and within 10 seconds they are pulling out their blank cheque book.... People are curious creatures... And machines that beep and flash red lights never lie.... : pan

C-man

moisture meter always wins...

C-man

need a more modern phone

Car phone jpeg

Ol_Grumpy

Here yer go...

C-man

yeah, that with a truck battery in a pack-pack...