Mobile phone for hillwalking / outdoors use

[Tom]

Hi,

I am thinking of upgrading my mobile phone. I would like a 3g phone
which I can use for email. I recently changed my job to one where I
need to be contactable, even on weekend hillwalking trips : ( My other
criteria for a new phone are that it needs to be reasonably robust
(but I'm thinking of getting a waterproof case) and also have a
reasonable battery life.

I wondered if any members of the group would be willing to make
recommendations?

All best and Happy Christmas to everybody

Tom

[Mike Mason]

"Tom" <tom.ed...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:2d1bb7a3-e0b3-47c8...@c13g2000vbh.googlegroups.com...

And where would you be walking and what sort of walking would you be doing
because that information alone should start to answer your own question I
suspect

Mike

[Craig Wallace]

What about a Sonim phone? They are very rugged and waterproof, plus very
long battery life. I think some models have an email client and 3G.
Though they are not exactly cheap, and are a bit heavy/bulky.

http://www.sonimtech.com/products/


--
Craig Wallace
http://craig.neogeo.org.uk
http://www.neogeo.org.uk

[robert]

On 15/12/2011 23:21, Tom wrote:

I am sure that you are aware that many "hillwalking" areas do not have
any mobile phone coverage !
A good waterproof case is probably a cheaper and better option than a
rugged phone if you dont expect to actually use it much outdoors.

[Mark in Sutherland]

I'm grateful for Craig's suggestion of a Sonim phone. I
originally had, and am still using, a Siemens A55, which is antediluvian
these days but works well where the signal's weak. I tried "upgrading"
to something more modern, which had a lot more facilities but simply
didn't work in places without strong signals. I can't help wondering
whether manufacturers have switched their attention from a phone
actually working as a phone to providing a computer with a camera and
all sorts of goodies, and, oh, a phone as well.

But as Robert rightly points out there are plenty of hilly places
with no signal; and even if there *is* a signal on the tops, you'll
probably need to call the emergency services if you fall; and there may
not be a signal where you land.

Mark

[Mike Clark]

In message <sbOdnZisHpr0VHDT...@bt.com>

Mark in Sutherland <nos...@no.spam> wrote:

> I'm grateful for Craig's suggestion of a Sonim phone. I
> originally had, and am still using, a Siemens A55, which is antediluvian
> these days but works well where the signal's weak. I tried "upgrading"
> to something more modern, which had a lot more facilities but simply
> didn't work in places without strong signals. I can't help wondering
> whether manufacturers have switched their attention from a phone
> actually working as a phone to providing a computer with a camera and
> all sorts of goodies, and, oh, a phone as well.
>

I would agree with that observation. Some of my older non-smart phones
seemed to be better at picking up weak signals in rural areas. So one
penalty for having upgraded to a smart phone is that it seems less
reliable in rural areas.

Mike
--
o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark
<\__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing,
"> || _`\<,_ |__\ \> | caving, antibody engineer and
` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" http://www.antibody.me.uk/

[Gordon H]

In message <55ca084452....@mrc7acorn1.path.cam.ac.uk>, Mike
Clark <mrc7...@cam.ac.uk> writes

>
>I would agree with that observation. Some of my older non-smart phones
>seemed to be better at picking up weak signals in rural areas. So one
>penalty for having upgraded to a smart phone is that it seems less
>reliable in rural areas.
>
>Mike

Some smart phones are smarter than their users, judging by the whinging
on consumer programmes from idiots who have incurred bills of several
thousand GBPs after using them to download data for a few hours whilst
abroad. ;-)
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

[Mike Clark]

In message <2A0X0JYe...@g3snx.demon.co.uk>

Yes the problem can be that the phone is downloading and uploading lots
of data in the background, such as emails, photographs, podcasts etc

[Nigel Cliffe]

Problem is that for voice calls and basic radio reception, many of the
current crop of 3G smart phones are much worse in quality than the average
phone of a few years ago. The design of many smart phones is optimised for
data applications in areas with decent mobile signals.

So, dust off a decent old style Nokia and a waterproof bag !


- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

[James Traill]

On Dec 15, 11:21 pm, Tom <tom.edward...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
I'm thinking of ditching my Xperia Smart Phone for a basic no frills
mobile. I could go on for hours about how crap modern smartphones are
for actually making calls. FWIW my Xperia a few days ago had a battery
life of less then 8 hours due to it picking up and notifying all the
email spam for Xmas. Sometimes it's OK for 2 to 3 days. reception is
very poor for 3g. My best phone was an old Motorola which was
extremely clear in hills and mountains. Why do we upgrade????

Jim AKA Jhimmy

[Gordon H]

In message
<b3e2d90b-98b0-4c69...@q9g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>,
James Traill <jtra...@gmail.com> writes

>>
>I'm thinking of ditching my Xperia Smart Phone for a basic no frills
>mobile. I could go on for hours about how crap modern smartphones are
>for actually making calls. FWIW my Xperia a few days ago had a battery
>life of less then 8 hours due to it picking up and notifying all the
>email spam for Xmas. Sometimes it's OK for 2 to 3 days. reception is
>very poor for 3g. My best phone was an old Motorola which was
>extremely clear in hills and mountains. Why do we upgrade????
>
>Jim AKA Jhimmy
>

My daughter passed her old handset to me when the provider pushed a new
one at her under her contract. I swapped my sim card into it and
tried it for a few weeks, then reverted to my simple, straightforward
Nokia.

It wasn't a smart phone, but to get a txt or a call out quickly from it
required so many more button pushes that I decided it would be a
handicap in an emergency, and that is the real justification for having
a mobile in the first place. Unless you are a child/teenager....
:-)

[The Welsh Windbag]

"Gordon H" wrote

>
>My daughter passed her old handset to me when the provider pushed a new one
>at her under her contract. I swapped my sim card into it and tried it
>for a few weeks, then reverted to my simple, straightforward Nokia.

>It wasn't a smart phone, but to get a txt or a call out quickly from it
>required so many more button pushes that I decided it would be a handicap
>in an emergency, and that is the real justification for having a mobile in
>the first place. Unless you are a child/teenager.... :-)

I believe they are known as hand-me-ups. That's how I got the one before my
smartphone.

If, like me, you like walking around with Hawkins Bazaar in your back
pocket, there is no contest. I'll go for a smartphone, even if I have to
struggle to make phone calls. But there was a hidden benefit for me. I had
stopped charging and carrying my old Nokia. I just wasn't using it, so when
preparing for a walk the battery was usually flat, and I'd rely on other
members of the party having a working cellphone. Now I won't be parted from
my smartphone. I am still in the honeymoon period though, so don't know what
our long term relationship will be like.
--
Lyndon

[a...@a.aa]

In article <2d1bb7a3-e0b3-47c8...@c13g2000vbh.googlegroup
s.com>, Tom <tom.ed...@googlemail.com> wrote on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 at
15:21:12:

>I wondered if any members of the group would be willing to make
>recommendations?

I'm very happy with my Samsung B2710 Solid Immerse.