[El Mocho]

Ok, so I tried to read the other thread... 

We're off travelling for a year (Aus, NZ, USA) and we need to upgrade from our current £10 Nokia to something more useful. Never owned a smartphone, but I have held Adam's...

We'd like to take pictures and small videos, search the web a little bit, phone and text, use it as a GPS (does this use up your internet allowancy stuff?), and probably do facebook and maybe even twitter if I get around to joining the 21st Century. We'll be camping in Aus and NZ, but with a car for charging - but it's going to need some kind of case or we'll break it in days. In the US we'll probably have wifi at home, but probably nothing spectacular. At the moment my Nokia lasts for 10 days on its battery...
Please can someone who knows what they're on about tell us which phone to buy... Don't mind getting second hand/older models so long as it works.

PS If anyone is getting rid of one and wants to trade for climbing gear (or even some cash) let me know.

[kelvin]

I still use a £10 Nokia when I go away - six weeks in Switzerland this summer and the old, broken screened button phone will probably only need six charges. My Sony smart phone needs one at least every two days...

I'd be tempted to carry on using a cheap Nokia and buy a tablet for use when you can get free wifi. Cafes, service stations, McDs even have free wifi and that would save on roaming charges. The GPS is something I'm not sure about but I'd have thought that if the maps are on the phone, there'd be no need to access the phone network.

Slackers will know.

[slackline]

What is your budget?

The Moto G is very good value, a lot of phone/decent specification for not much dollar.  Downside is there is no expandable SD slot for putting a card in to expand storage (possible issue if you take lots of pictures, although I stick loads of music on mine and use phone as MP3 player) and the camera isn't that great (but you may well have a compact for this stuff anyway?).  Also no interchangeable battery.

Very dependent on budget really, new Galaxy S4's are good spec phones and are around £300 (although despite being advertised as 16Gb internal most of this is taken up with Samsung's crap applications), but it takes a microSD card to expand your storage.


Pretty much all phones will do pictures/video (of varying quality), web-browsing, email, farcebook/twatter.  You will almost definitely want to get one that is Multi-band/Multi-mode so that it actually works in different countries.  Not done it myself, but your cheapest option might be to pick up cheap pay-as-you-go SIM cards upon arrival in each country rather than taking UK ones and roaming.

use it as a GPS (does this use up your internet allowancy stuff?)

If you were to use Google Maps then generally yes, it would (you can however get someway around this by downloading up to 6 maps covering given areas, which might get you between WiFi hotspots).  Alternatively you could fork out for OSMAnd as the purchased version allows you to download any number of maps you want (free version is limited to 10 sets which isn't enough to cover all of the UK).  A third option is the NavFree application but it might not cover all the countries you're intending on using.

At the moment my Nokia lasts for 10 days on its battery...

How you use your phone dictates how long the battery will last, leave it in Airplane Mode and don't turn the screen on it might last several days, but its not actually doing or being used for anything.  Screen drains power, so even if you've airplane mode on (which stops it connecting to the mobile network) taking pictures/video is going to drain the battery.  GPS also drains battery, but a cigarette USB adapter will obviously help you hear (and you can still use GPS when in Airplane mode if you've downloaded the maps in advance).

[El Mocho]

Thanks Kelvin, Slackers.

Would be happy to stick with my Nokia but I am making sure that a) it is easy to keep up with extended family via facebook etc and b) I keep my sponsors happy (I am staying on my current deals even though I am going to be out of the country for nearly a year) so will be having to facebook etc a little (was gonna say a little more but I do zero at the moment). It is very unlikely I would take photos on camera and then upload to computer/tablet (if we buy a tablet) then upload to internet when get to cafe a week later... There are Australian pay as you go contracts with unlimited facebook and twitter access and if the photos/vids are on the phone I can just upload it straight away via the phone. (when have correct signal) etc.

Budget: would like to get as cheap as can, that said I took a vid of Adam the other day on his (ipone 4?) and I was amazed with how good it looked so having a good camera would be nice.

Will look at Moto G and Samsung...

[slackline]

Android will always be cheaper than iPhone's for the same/similar specification.

Look at the S3's too or the S4 mini's.  Some of the HTC and LG's get good reviews, but I'm not so familiar with them so can't suggest which models are just behind the cutting edge all-singing, all-dancing models.  nai and Paul B have I think got Moto G's and might be able to give their thoughts on them. 

Myself I've had a Samsung Galaxy S2 for 2.5 years and recently upgraded to the S4.  The S2 did everything I needed to and if it weren't for the USB port starting to fail (would only charge and not connect as USB device, likely to to be full of dust) I would have hung onto it for longer.  With the S4 the camera is better which is a big bonus as if I don't take my SLR out I often can't be bothered take my point and shoot (which is pretty much reserved for taking on climbs, no lanyard on phone).  Battery is bigger so lasts a bit longer, but then the screen is bigger too so is a greater drain on the battery.  If so inclined I could now play 3D games on the S4 but I've a tablet for that so don't bother.  It does have 4G support which is slowly being rolled out across the country on the Three network, but I've no idea what the 4G service is like outside of cities in Oz/NZ/US.

If you can get your hands on any models you're considering before buying then thats a good idea just to make sure you can use it comfortably.  The S4 is the maximum size I would have as I can only just reach the far corner of the screen when holding it with one hand.

As you're travelling a spare battery (if the model permits swapping them) and/or a battery power pack might be worth considering too.  I've an Anker which does what it is supposed to just fine (although like all lithium-ion batteries don't expect it to hold its charge indefinitely).

[chris20]

The Moto G is very good value, a lot of phone/decent specification for not much dollar.  Downside is there is no expandable SD slot for putting a card in to expand storage (possible issue if you take lots of pictures, although I stick loads of music on mine and use phone as MP3 player)

The new 4G Moto G which is due to be released soon will come with SD slot and apparently no increase in $$$

[kelvin]

I think the 4g Moto G is out at the end of June - was thinking about getting one myself as my current contract ends in July. £150 seems a steal to be honest.