Jump to content

Mobile Phone Contracts


ChannelFadge

Recommended Posts

Hey everyone.

I was looking to get a mobile phone contract so I could get a phone with GPS technology installed and use it for geocaching.

I was wondering if anyone could help me? Im not interested in any other features or anything flashy as long as it helps me find caches. I was looking to spend less than £30 a month.

Any suggestions?

Link to comment

My iphone is £30 a month, 600 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited internet. I use the Geocaching app along with the built in maps, GPS and compass

It's all singing. all dancing and I love it

 

cheers, but what network is that with?

ive been looking a bit more into it and I am undecided whether to get a contract phone or just save up 2 months worth of line rental and buy a cheap handheld gps. i dunno.

If only my girlfriend would trust me not to break her expensive satnav!

Link to comment

Get the iPhone as a PAYG deal for £350.00 (8GB version)

Free internet for 1 year.

GC.com application which is actually easier for logging than GC.com itself.

Thats's cheaper than a £35 a month (as it is now) contract. As you would have to buy the phone too.

 

But I would never rely on ANY gps phone alone.

Link to comment

But I would never rely on ANY gps phone alone.

 

what would you use?

I was just looking at contracts because it seemed like an easy way to get a gps quickly without spending too much money initially.

Now that ive been looking i think i might get a basic garmin for around £60

 

anyone think this would be useful http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/2174/...13c73e01188459b ?

or maybe this one http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/422/g...wly-overhauled-

 

the 3 caches ive found so far ive found by blindly stumbling around in the woods without any gps so anything would be better than the method im using now

Edited by ChannelFadge
Link to comment
Now that ive been looking i think i might get a basic garmin for around £60

 

anyone think this would be useful http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/2174/...13c73e01188459b ?

or maybe this one http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/422/g...wly-overhauled-

The first link is to a sat nav. This is no good for guiding you off-road.

The Garmin eTrex (second link) was replaced a couple of years ago by the eTrex H series. I would say that the H series is the minimum entry level device these days, certainly if you don't want to be upgrading after 5 minutes.

 

Try searching the forums as there are loads of threads on this subject which will help you chose.

You can compare device features at Garmin.com.

Link to comment

Hi - I don't know if I can help, but having recently found myself in the same situation I can only let you know what I've gone with!

 

I've got a basic but very functional Garmin Geko 201 for about £70. I manually enter coords so it's a bit slow to do but works great.

 

For mobile phone I've got a Nokia 5800 with Trimbles Geocache Navigator and now Geocache Live (although I can't get that to work reliably yet). I've got a Virgin 18 month contract, £18 a month, unlimiited internet, 500 texts and 150 mins.

 

Plus side is I haven't spent a fortune, down side is I'm not paperless which is a bit fustrating at times. Also the mobile needs a signal to work so my recent trip to the Lake District was virtually cache find free as I couldn't use Geocache Navigator to pick up local caches with no signal! Very fustrating!

 

Hope that helps - I must admit to wanting very much to be paperless so when finances permit I will be going for an Oregon I expect.

 

x

Link to comment
Now that ive been looking i think i might get a basic garmin for around £60

 

anyone think this would be useful http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/2174/...13c73e01188459b ?

or maybe this one http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/422/g...wly-overhauled-

The first link is to a sat nav. This is no good for guiding you off-road.

The Garmin eTrex (second link) was replaced a couple of years ago by the eTrex H series. I would say that the H series is the minimum entry level device these days, certainly if you don't want to be upgrading after 5 minutes.

 

Try searching the forums as there are loads of threads on this subject which will help you chose.

You can compare device features at Garmin.com.

 

 

I agree you need the Etrex H as a starter. Its a much better signal and can be used in wooded areas too.

 

It does not have a map and you may bet bored with it if you get into the sport.

 

Etrex H : http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/739/garmin-etrex-h

 

Also consider: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-eTrex-Legen...9887&sr=8-2

 

The legend is worth the money because if you get into the hobby you will not get frustrated with it after 5 minutes.

 

Goodluck and happy geocaching

Yorkie30.

Link to comment
Now that ive been looking i think i might get a basic garmin for around £60

 

anyone think this would be useful http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/2174/...13c73e01188459b ?

or maybe this one http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/422/g...wly-overhauled-

The first link is to a sat nav. This is no good for guiding you off-road.

The Garmin eTrex (second link) was replaced a couple of years ago by the eTrex H series. I would say that the H series is the minimum entry level device these days, certainly if you don't want to be upgrading after 5 minutes.

 

Try searching the forums as there are loads of threads on this subject which will help you chose.

You can compare device features at Garmin.com.

 

I'm with emgi.

 

I started with an old (very old) Magellan Meridian, then upgraded to a Geko 201.

Despite everybody nowadays insisting on having a Garmin H chip - or Sirf Star 3 - there is nothing wrong with an older gps - it'll still get you to the same place, and unless you stand still for a few minutes (like when you're signing the log - and by then, who cares :D ) they are perfectly OK for caching.

Newer chips are no more accurate than older ones (that bit's dictated by the US Dept of defence) - after all, despite the huge number of caches available now, most of them were still hidden before high sensitivity chips were available - they just tend to hold a signal for longer. Just go with what you can comfortably afford, and upgrade when (and if) you can afford to and know more of what you want from a GPS.

 

I still use a pda and a scarily old (3 years) bluetooth GPS with a SS2 chip - and I still walk straight up to 99% of the caches my partner and I are looking for - while she's still spinning in circles trying to calibrate her compass - or convinced the cache is 35 metres further on.....

Link to comment

I still use a GPSMap60CS and a Palm for me big caching days, but when I'm out and about, I've been using a Nokia 5800 with geocaching.live. The geocaching.live application is not maybe the most intuitive application but it did help me out with a hint I needed recently in the Lakes.

 

I've found the GPS signal to be accurate and it actually gets the GPS signal quite fast too. I couldn't bring myself to buy Trimble. I think £30 is too much. A tenner I might consider. (It's no longer advert supported peeps!)

 

I'm paying £35 a month with Orange with 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 500Mb of internet (which actually goes quite a long way on a mobile compared to what usage you might get at home). My contract was obtained back in May. I'm sure more cost effective contracts are now available.

 

<Edit for silly fat fingers>

Edited by scottpa100
Link to comment

I've got a contract with Three that gives me 300 free minutes to phones on the same network, 300 minutes to other phones, 20 minutes of video calls, and (most importantly) pretty much unlimited 3G internet access for a total of £20 + VAT per month.

 

With the contract I got a free Nokia 6220c, which includes a built-in GPS. My favourite app for geocaching is Google maps. It's great to have a moving map with you that shows you a satellite photo with your location and the cache marked on, especially if it also gives you driving directions and traffic info. Sadly it only works when you have network reception and internet access, but otherwise you can use Nokia maps from a memory card, although this is pretty much just streetmaps, unless you want to pay extra. I can log caches from the phone using the web browser, but GC.com is so clunky that I normally use a full-size computer with a broadband connection instead.

 

The GPS on the 6220c works, but isn't great. Often it can only get a fix to the nearest 80m or so, and it doesn't work at all indoors. If you've got a phone signal, it can use Assisted GPS (the phone network helps the GPS get a better fix quicker), and it can also guess its location from the mobile network itself (accuracy in the range of km!). For actually geocaching I use the phone's Bluetooth connection to hook up a separate GPS (either a Globalsat BT-338 or a QStarz BT-Q1000X. These are much more accurate and sensitive, working under foliage and often indoors without problems. The latter is also a data-logger, which can be controlled by an app on the phone. I can also use the same receivers with either a laptop, or a PDA.

 

My experience with my mobile-phone GPSr hasn't been great, but using a mobile phone as a console for a bluetooth GPS works well for me. I'd choose a phone you like (with or without built-in GPS), but make sure that it has Bluetooth, and you can install decent navigation apps. Then get a proper Bluetooth GPSr. That way you have a GPS that does what it's good at, and you don't have to compromise on features on your phone just to get a GPS.

Link to comment

I still use a pda and a scarily old (3 years) bluetooth GPS with a SS2 chip - and I still walk straight up to 99% of the caches my partner and I are looking for - while she's still spinning in circles trying to calibrate her compass - or convinced the cache is 35 metres further on.....

 

I'll remind you of that next time you loose your signal in the woods :blink:

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...