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Currently have a HTC desire which I am using for endomondo/Strava/Memory Map/Photos etc when out riding.
I am due a contract upgrade soon and thought about trading the desire in on envirophone or the like but its only worth £47!!
Not wanting to bar mount my new phone (Samsung Galaxy Note) for GPS/Navigation (on the road) I took the sim out of the Desire to see if the other functions would still work, low and behold the GPS/Memory Map/Endomondo/Stava Etc all still work flawlessly. So no need for a new GPS - just a bar mount for the desire.
So if you have a smartphone that the contract is up on it will still work without a sim for all functions (including uploading etc via wifi) 🙂
Only a fool would use a phone-buying company. Desires go for about 90 quid on eBay.
But for that £90 i have a GPS, a decent camera, an MP3 player, a video recorder and player
Good PSA - but I just bar mount my current phone (iPhone 4). 😀
Old one got traded in to offset the cost of the new one.
What's the battery life like now that its not trying to initialise the mobile network the whole time?
I'd always assumed that aeroplane mode would knock out the GPS but never got round to trying it...
Indeed, my point being you'd considered selling it for half the market rate. I wasn't suggesting you sell it, just that if you did you got a decent price for it!
I've got an old Desire I carry when I'm out on the bike, I just put a pay as you go sim in it and keep it just for emergency use.
Aeroplane mode lets GPS work as its not broadcasting
Aeroplane mode lets GPS work as its not broadcasting
Might not. Depends on the phone.
Aeroplane mode shuts off GPS on iPhones for instance. No idea why, but it does.
I've just checked my Desire - the GPS stays on if airplane mode is enabled.
Aeroplane mode shuts off GPS on iPhones for instance. No idea why, but it does.
you can re-enable it though. apparently it will get a fix but not re-aquire if it loses it.
Is there a bar mount for the Desire, like the one for iPhones?
Ultimate Mobiles do some (available through Amazon) - they are waterproof-bag style, rather than custom-fit to the Desire:
http://www.ultimate-mobiles.co.uk/mobile-phones/htc/htc-desire-accessories/bike-bicycle.htm
Or the Topeak DryBag might fit it.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=57985
Android phones are fine on aeroplane mode using the GPS, used my old G1 in a similar way. The battery lasts for ages too, you can always turn it off and upload data via wifi when you get home too.
If you have a Spotify paid account you can even offline sync a load of songs before you go out and use it at the same time as Endomondo. Endomondo mutes the music if it wants to talk 🙂 Buying a cheap Sony phone specifically for this for jogging with, as they pair with ANT+ devices.
I've got the Ultimate Mobile case for my HTC Hero.
Moderatly waterproof, but it does mist up eventually as a bit of moisture gets in and the warnth of the screen causes it to fog up. Bar-mount is surprisingly stable though.
(use it in air mode, GPS on, lasts about 6-8 hours of MM Tracker)