Caching with a Samsung i8910HD mobile phone

[+Dogs Dad]

Picked up the new Samsung i8910HD last week and have used it for a few caches so thought I'd post my (UK based) experiences here. The phone is on an orange contract.

 

I purchased 1:50000 OS maps from viewranger as a download and had no problem installing them on my phone as a direct download. The maps were swiftly followed by SmartGPX together with the SmartGPX add on, which is essential if you want to be able to sort caches by nearerest position based on the internal GPS. Finally, I subscribed as a premium grounspeak member to enable me to download and import smartqueries direct, all from the phone. The only use of the PC was to get a signed version of SmartGPX addon, which was easier using the PC browser rather than the phone.

 

The quality and size of the screen on the Samsung is great, bigger than an i-phone. It was a bit had to see in todays bright sunshine but definately manageable. The touch screen itself enables access to the viewranger features with no problems. Identifying individual caches on the map is a bit of a fiddle, but not hard.

 

Unfortunately, viewranger doesn't integrate with SmartGPX so there's a bit of juggling to be done between the two applications when near to the cache, but given it's entirely paperless, it's not much of a hardship. The in built GPS seemed to be spot on with coordinates and there was no problem finding any of todays caches.

 

Best of all is the ability to link direct to geocaching.com to log your finds immediately. I also love the ability to download routes from sites such as walkingworld, direct to the phone. Although you can do this "on the fly" using viewrangers built in functionality it's considerably cheaper to take an annual subscription to the site.

 

My only concern is battery life. We had about 4 hours out today, with the phone being used to display maps, browsing, or navigating for most of that time. The battery was still fine but I doubt I'd get more than a day on one charge without very very careful use. Hardly surprising given the power of the device but it does illustrate why my Garmin Vista CX will still get the odd run out, even in good weather. I can't imagine ever wanting to use the Vista in good weather for general caching or a gentle walk in the country though.

 

All in all, I'd recommend the i8910. If all you want is a "phone", go for something else, but if you want a phone for caching, walking, camcording, photography, browsing and some great apps, (and is not an i-phone) b go for this.

Edited May 24, 2009 by Dogs Dad