i phone v's Blackberry v's New GPS [oregan ?]

[+Cache U Nutter]

I am sure that this subject has been covered before but given the onward march of technology [and the fact that my phone contract is about to run out] I thought it time to give it another run.

I don't have the means to upgrade my phone AND Gps [have a crap old phone and a serviceable Garmin Etrex Vista cx. Should I upgrade my phone and stick with my Garmin ?

What are the relative advantages of Blackberry / i phone [for geocaching purposes]

I am not at all fussed with non geocaching apps and will be using the phone for limited text / calls and e mails.

Can you plese help- currentely with 3 and other than their useless customer services they have very good phone coverage.

Cheers

Andy

[+geohatter]

Moved from the UK & Ireland forum to the GPS & Tech forum

[+user13371]

If you're a serious, active cacher who frequently ventures beyond fair-weather urban caching, you're better off putting your limited budget into a better GPS. Better battery life, more weatherproof more rugged, better receiver. From your user profile I guess those kind of details will matter to you.

 

Picking a smartphone primarily for geocaching -- as your post seems to hint at -- strikes me as a bit silly. An iPhone or Android can provide a lot of value if you're going to use it for a lot of things, and you can use it effectively for fair-weather urban geocaching. But it simply won't be as good a GPS as a dedicated unit like a Garmin Oregon or 62 series.

[+Cache U Nutter]

If you're a serious, active cacher who frequently ventures beyond fair-weather urban caching, you're better off putting your limited budget into a better GPS. Better battery life, more weatherproof more rugged, better receiver. From your user profile I guess those kind of details will matter to you.

 

Picking a smartphone primarily for geocaching -- as your post seems to hint at -- strikes me as a bit silly. An iPhone or Android can provide a lot of value if you're going to use it for a lot of things, and you can use it effectively for fair-weather urban geocaching. But it simply won't be as good a GPS as a dedicated unit like a Garmin Oregon or 62 series.

 

Thanks for your input . Yes ,As I am also a gardener I am worried about durabilty [guess I would also purchase a waterproof container and/ or insurance] .I was possibly looking at combining the two functions.

Using the Garmin for actually finding the cache, but the phone for all the other applications that seem to be around for geo caching [like not having to be glued to a p.c all the time]

What do you think ?

[+user13371]

Using a good GPS for the find and a smartphone for accessing cache details and logging is a common and practical approach. Just keep the phone in an inside pocket on a rainy day

 

Though I am VERY biased iPhone user, I would not presume to recommend any specific model to someone outside of the USA. I don't know what else is available and price competitive in the UK, don't know if what your carriers charge or what kind of coverage you get, etc.

[+iMacDaddy+Son]

Not sure if this will help but. I have a iPhone 3Gs and bought a Garmin 60CSX and a Garmin 62s. I started with my iPhone and the $9.99 geo app. The phone is ok but the problems I found where poor battery life and very slow to refresh. I got sick and tired of walking past GZ only to have the iPhone catch up and show its behind me. I bought a 60CSX from Costco because it was only $219 and I figured the lack of paperless caching would be ok because I have a iphone to look up stuff. Ya, that proves to be ok, but kinda a pain going between the two. So I bought the 62s and compared all three. The iphone will get you there finally when it catches up. The 62s did a better job in my opinion of getting closer to GZ than the 60CSX. Not having to keep the GPS flat to read the compass also proved helpful on the 62s. The paperless caching works well on the 62s and had me going to the iPhone less and less. I didn't intend to return the 60CSX when I bought it and I know its kinda a sucky thing to do to retail stores but I retuned the 60CSX and primarily use only my 62s and am very happy. So ya, the long and short of it is, if you think you will be doing this for awhile, invest in a good GPS.