Best new smartphone for outdoors use?

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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Anyone got any recommendations? Talking top range smartphone.

Are there any with better battery life too? know from past that they end up lasting a day if you are lucky so guess a high mAh (if that is the right units) is best. Like the new Sony Z / Z1 phones as more weather resistant (IP something rated). That sort of level though.
 

Clouston98

Woodsman & Beekeeper
Aug 19, 2013
4,364
2
25
Cumbria
Just had a google and the Sony Xperia ZR is a completely waterproof smartphone.

I don't even have a phone so I'm not the best one to ask :).
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
Galaxy S4 Active is waterproof. For camping I've an S2 and HDC7, both are waterproof in a ziplock bag. Batteries are cheap enough to buy, easy to carry three or four for a weekend of heavy use or buy a battery bank for extended trips. You can buy 'extended' batteries and back covers for most popular phones

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-3500m...085?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d075a8305 sort of thing. Makes the phone thicker but less battery swap out.

One of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Flip-...lePhonesCasesPouches&var=&hash=item27d4bf62bf and a zip lock bag gives you a 'rugged phone'

Son in law has the S4 Active and is happy with it, the bottom line though regardless of what you buy for outdoor use is make sure you can change the battery, make sure it has an SD memory slot (if you take a lot of photo's/video's), use a (simple) case to protect it and a little zip lock bag to keep the water out if your one of the many bushcrafters who seem to drop their phones in rivers); apart from that just take your pick.
 
Apr 8, 2009
1,165
144
Ashdown Forest
I have a sony Xperia Z - waterproof, but not sold as rugged. very quick compared with my old motorolla defy (which i did put through its paces by inadvertently throwing at the undercarriage of a train, and then leaving it on the tracks in the pouring rain until it could be retrieved by station staff a few hours later. It survived perfectly. Spec wise, the xperia Z is leaps ahead, but the screen resolution is so high that my favourite mapping app - Maverick- doesn't work on it, which limits for me it's outdoor usefulness.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Interesting thing about the Experia Z is that Sony won't honour the guarantee if it suffers water damage. It's in the small print, probably due to the port covers need to be closed properly. If water damages it with ports closed you can't prove it wasn't operator error.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Off topic but did you hear about the spoofed Apple iPhone add for iOS7 that said it conferred waterproof qualities to the phone. Said that it shut power off if the phone got wet.
A load of Apple fanbois later complained when their iPhone stopped working after they'd tested this new property! How true I don't know but it does point to how easy iPhones are to use if even people like that can use it (without their carers help that is)!
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
There's another water resistant phone out there I think. Other than the z / z1 or the s4 active. Can't remember which one it is.

like the LG g2. it's a very big screen at 5.3" but supposed to be no bigger than the s4 due to smaller bevel. Not convinced by the buttons on the back. The new nexus 5 has a stripped down android. someone said android version affects battery life so wonder if it is better on battery life.
 

Moosemap

Full Member
Sep 7, 2007
150
0
62
Kumberg, Austria
www.karteundkanu.at
I have been using the Samsung Xcover 2 for a while now, unfortunately never had it crash into the ground or into a river, so I cannot say anything about these features.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-S77...52216&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+galaxy+xcover+2

Samsung claims it is waterproof and rather rugged for some falls from over 1 meter. The display is 4", the GPS fix is rather quick, but there are some downs too, all connected with Android: there is only about one GB free memory where you can store your Apps and there is no way, at least for me, to put the Apps to the memory card you can put into the phone. Also, it is not possible to delete all the Apps Samsung put into the memory and that is updating all the time (so, a reduced Android like mentioned above could be the solution...)

The closures on the USB and the 3.5 mm plug opening can be closed tight, but I do not know how long it will stay waterproof.

The battery is changeable, yet I have to find an original one as a backup...

KR Heinz
 

widu13

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 9, 2008
2,334
19
Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt
only about one GB free memory where you can store your Apps and there is no way, at least for me, to put the Apps to the memory card you can put into the phone.

Search the Play store for the app "App2SD".

Also if you go onto the XDA Developers website you will see how to unlock/root your phone so that you can remove the Samsung bloatware.
 

Perrari

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 21, 2012
3,090
1
Eryri (Snowdonia)
www.erknives.com
I got an iPhone 4s in August. It is one of the best things I have ever owned (1st IPhone). I have owned other smartphones but this is awesome. (I know other up to date smart phones are just as good but I have never owned them so cant comment).
The phone itself is not waterproof and seems very delicate, but I bought a 'Lifeproof' case for it which did cost £50, and is 100% waterproof (allegedly and so far is) and will protect the phone for the next 2 years until I upgrade, and hopefully sell the phone for a reasonable amount.

Within a few days of owning it I did manage to drop it in to the quench bucket in my workshop ! Boy am I glad I bought the case ! I have since dropped it once on concrete, it landed on the corner, but there is no mark to the case and the phone works fine.
I bought the case from Outdoor GB http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/LifeProof_iPhone_4_Case/ which were the cheapeast at the time. There are copies on ebay for less than £20, but I don't know if they are 100% waterproof.

Battery wise the iphone lasts well in day to day use, I have the Landranger Gps app on the phone, and the first time I used the app, the phone was fully charged & I did a 10.5 mile walk with the gps on all the time, and when I got home the battery was on 52 %. I have since bought an external battery backup just in case.
 

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