Cell phone question

[Pete Moss]

I go with a droid and use an extra extended battery, the one that doesn't require a new back (after market). I also only turn it when I want to use it. Got Verizon service which is good. As mentioned, apps running in the background will eat up battery life. So, I downloaded an app that I use to kill apps when it is on. I just use what I want. Being able to just view weather radar with it is a great feature. Especially when you are in or getting ready to be in some inclement weather.

+1 for the droid. a little less finicky than the Iphone and can do everything an I phone can. I personally think they are better made as well. (More rugged) Also, the camera on the droid has 8 mega pixels compared to the 5 I think an Iphone has.

[10-K]

+1 for the droid. a little less finicky than the Iphone and can do everything an I phone can. I personally think they are better made as well. (More rugged) Also, the camera on the droid has 8 mega pixels compared to the 5 I think an Iphone has.

What droid though? There seem to be about 1000 different models.

[Pete Moss]

I have the orignial with a rubber casing around it for protection and ITS TOUGH! I think the X is pretty close to the original.

[Spokes]

It's where the Space Ice Cream goes.

Get In My Belly

[Buhzerker]

I have a 1st edition Motorola Droid. Works great.

[Dogwood]

Slaves. Row slaves. Row. Put your backs into it. Row. Faster Faster Faster

Don't you know silly celly phones are linked to brain cancer? I don't care. Gimme my cell phone. Hopes I got a full charge.

Sorry, I coudn't resist.

Let's talk about UL gear instead! I's gots an ezen better idea. Let's weigh our phones to see which weigh less!

[TheRaven]

Lightweight (4oz) and rugged, easy to charge and proven (used in in several motorcycle trips in which it's been gotten drenched and fallen on the ground.) Youtube also has videos of it getting run over and still working

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE_F3

[vic_doom69]

i thru hiked with an iphone and it was an excellent choice i thought. it took the place of my phone, maps, compass, journal, mp3 player, camera. when in airplane mode it uses basically no power. i used a setechi external battery that would charge it around 3 1/2 times. i actually started the trail with solar panel as well but quickly realized it was unnessesary. the external battery was plenty and weighed a little less than the phone. on the downside if something does happen to you phone then you loose it all. i kept mine in a ziplock when the weather was bad and had no problems. there was however and incident with a washing machine in stratton. i was sick to my stomach but was able to recover my pics

[Bucherm]

Dunno if 10-K ever got a phone, but if he hasn't yet he may want to consider the Casio Gzone
Commando

here

Introducing the Casio G'zOne Commando, the first G'zOne Android phone. Continuing in the rough and tough G'zOne heritage, the Commando now adds the versatility of Android for a powerful mobile experience. Rugged - with MIL-STD-810G certification - the Commando meets military standards for water, shock, and dust resistance making it perfect for any situation that life can throw at it, from the boardroom to the beach.

[10-K]

Dunno if 10-K ever got a phone, but if he hasn't yet he may want to consider the Casio Gzone
Commando

here

I have not... Still using the G'Zone Boulder. But this one looks promising - thanks for the info.

[ironman y2k]

I just upgraded from original Motorola Droid to Samsung Charge because Droid died after 2 years. Charge weighs 5 7/8 oz (with protective case) and Droid is 6 oz. (no case). However Charge screen is huge compared to original Droid. When I purchased I mentioned to sales rep I hiked and was thinking extra battery. He showed me a portable charger by Motorola (P793) that can recharge most phones 2 times before it needs recharging. It weighs 2 oz and is 4 1/4" x 2 x 1/4. At Verizon costs $40 but on Amazon it's $25. I prefer it to carrying extra batteries because I don't have battery contacts exposed and it can be used to charge different phones where extra batteries are for 1 type of phone only.
One nice feature I found on Samsung Charge is an indicator showing apps running in background and with 1 touch I can turn off any or all which saves battery power. It's 4g and no you won't use that power on the A.T. and it also has an 8 meg camera and a removable 32 gig micro sd card which will hold more photos than you will take on a thru hike. Also HD (720) video rated at 20 hours with 32 gig sd card.

[Wise Old Owl]

Ok I don't get it - if you can open the I phone here is the battery on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...hone+4+battery

[Wise Old Owl]

I have the motorola Dual core 4g on Att it has blown away the company provided Blackberry... I will have it solar powered shortly

The apps allow me to dictate
find the North Star in a fog
Show where I am on a Google map
record audio
play music
play you tubes
post on WB
pull traffic maps as pass thru states
pull motion radar maps of storms
sunrise sunset features
compass features
full GPS
doesn't make coffee - but spare batteries are available.

[Bucherm]

I have the motorola Dual core 4g on Att it has blown away the company provided Blackberry... I will have it solar powered shortly

You are making this nerd rage.

[Wombat Farm]

I wouldn't bother with an iphone if you're not interested in the smart world thing. I have one and use alot but that's me. It's useless out in the woods for more than a couple of days because even brand new the battery doesn't last very long. Besides....just leave it at home. :-)

[Wise Old Owl]

Elgranola - I will have this thing working in the woods! For days at a time.....

[LDog]

Just saw the HTC Incredible 2 at the Costco Verizon Booth for $30 on a new 2 year contract. It's $199 at the Verizon Store.

[Don Newcomb]

So... I'm thinking about getting the iphone for around the house and overnight/weekend hiking trips and switching service back to my Boulder whenever I'm going out for a week or so which isn't so often that it'd make swapping phones a hassle.

You can do that, right (switch phones back and forth on the same line)... ?

With GSM phones you can move the SIM card from one phone to another. One problem is that (as I understand) Apple used an almost unique micro SD card in the iPhone4. It would be very difficult to use that SIM in a different phone. CDMA phones (Verizon) do not use a SIM card and you can't easily swap service from one phone to another.

Android phones have a reputation of needing to be recharged frequently.

Standard GSM service has a hard range limit of 35 km. This is not normally a problem as most handheld phones can only reach a tower about 20 km away (depending on elevation). CDMA does not have a hard range limit but you will still run out of signal. For remote areas a phone with an external antenna jack and a small light-weight Yagi antenna will provide the best range.