phone with good GPS

kozak

Hello,

Planning on getting a new Pre-pay or sim-free touchscreen handset, but not sure which to get.

important features : GPS with free offline maps, TV out, decent camera, FM radio, battery life. Operator – preferably Meteor.

It seems my choice is Samsung Galaxy S3 or Sony Xperia S.

Could anyone suggest any pros/cons of either? Or advise other options under 500 eur.
The most important is GPS with free offline maps, TV out, quality sound when playing mp3. Mobile internet is not important, WIFI will be ok.

Thanks

Davy

N8 does all that you want, and inside your budget. Price might drop after 808 arrives shortly

g0g

If they're the main features you want then go with a Nokia N8!

ED E

Google have announced free offline maps are about to be released, so any Android phone will have them


The XS has one major advantage over the S3 in the fact that it has dual GPS, that is it uses GPS(American) and GLONASS(Russian). What that means is that you'll have roughly double(a little more actually) the satellites in view at any one time(From memory its 32 for GPS and 37 for Glonass, globally). Practically, this means a faster first lock and far more accurate traingulation(scary accurate!).

It also has the better camera.

Screen is smaller, but same res, so it has the highes pixel density of any phone going right now. That said, S3 has AMOLED.

kozak

Thanks for quick replies.

Nokia 8 is a runner, but Symbian and 3.5in screen with 640 x 360 resolution does not compare favourably to other phones.
Having said this, Nokia 8 can be a winner if it had distinct advantage in other features (for example much better GPS).

Sony Xperia S – it uses MicroSIM, can I use my existing number? can TV out be connected to non-HDMI TV via RGB? What Sat Nav soft does it use?

TBi

Nokia Lumia 800. Comes with free offline maps and GPS (Nokia Drive).

You can get your number transferred to any sim, even a micro sim. Just call into a shop and they'll do it on the spot. I had my number transferred to a micro sim just last week.

kozak

Unfortunately Nokia Lumia 800 has no TV out

ED E

kozak wrote: »

Sony Xperia S – it uses MicroSIM, can I use my existing number? can TV out be connected to non-HDMI TV via RGB? What Sat Nav soft does it use?

You can just trim the sim down, works perfectly.


HDMI could be downscaled, but, why? Are you still using an old CRT("Fat screen")? And why do you want TV out? Oh, in car monitor eh?


Its got gMaps, Navigation and Wisepilot

TBi

kozak wrote: »

can TV out be connected to non-HDMI TV via RGB

You'd need a converter and i don't think these are cheap.

You'd be better off buying a DLNA receiver and streaming from your phone to the TV that way.

kozak

Yes, I meant connection to old CRT TV. I travel a lot to wild places where HDMI TV (and streaming to TV) is still a novelty.
Its handy to have movies stored on mobile to watch them in hotel.

Anyway any idea how much roughly adaptor cost to connect Sony Xperia S to CRT TV?
I can connect my Sony Vivaz via headphone socket using 6eur RGB cable

Checked ebay - 4eur for HDMI to RGB cable

TBi

kozak wrote: »

Yes, I meant connection to old CRT TV. I travel a lot to wild places where HDMI TV (and streaming to TV) is still a novelty.
Its handy to have movies stored on mobile to watch them in hotel.

Anyway any idea how much roughly adaptor cost to connect Sony Xperia S to CRT TV?
I can connect my Sony Vivaz via headphone socket using 6eur RGB cable

Checked ebay - 4eur for HDMI to RGB cable

Digital to Analog without a conversion? Read the fine print

That ebay cable wrote:

This cable does not have an IC chipset to convert digital signals to analog signals, so it only works for the devices which itself can convert digital signals to analog signals, Such as SET TOP BOX(STB),projectors,Digital HD TV, PDPTV,RPTVs
It is not suitable for connecting PCs/laptops/xBox/PS2/PS3 to a HDMI monitor.

EDIT: When i travel to 'wild places' i find i never have time to watch TV. I'd prefer to soak in the 'wild place'. Why would anyone watch TV when they could go out and enjoy life. If the weather is extremely bad you could always watch regular TV (remember that?) or rent a DVD OR go out to a local pub and meet some locals

kirving

Have an N8 for the past 18 months, pretty bullet proof and does everything you need.

Honestly though, it's little dated in terms of apps ans screen size but it has just as many features as any phone out there hardware wise.

kozak

Can we leave discussion of personal TV habits outside this thread?

My question is what convertor / cable is necessary to connect Sony Xperia S (or SGS3) to CRT TV? How much does it cost?
I can connect my Sony Vivaz via headphone socket using 6eur RGB cable

ED E

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HDMI-Output-Composite-S-Video-Converter/dp/B005CAMFDI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339597960&sr=8-2

bluebeam

Take a look at the Galaxy Note - €430 from Amazon.de. Its blazingly fast to get a location fix. As mentioned above its dual GPS/GLONASS. I have CoPilot, Navigon an Sygic Aura installed and it takes a couple of seconds from opening the app to get a location fix an any of them. Camera is decent enough for my purposes. Stock radio is fine but I prefer Spirit FM. You can get a Samsung adaptor from your micro USB to HDMI for circa €25.

Twiki

Galaxy S3 has GPS/GLONASS support also so its GPS performance should be well up there.

kozak

Question on Galaxy Note – is there TV out? Can’t find in the spec.

Is battery life similar on Galaxy Note, Sony Xperia S, SGS3? Do they all play avi movies?

ED E

AFAIK S3 would win for battery.


"- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)"
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9300_galaxy_s_iii-4238.php

kozak

My apologies for technical ignorance but does TV-out via MHL A/V link means SGS3 can be connected to CRT TV without converter?
For example, I can connect my Sony Vivaz to CRT TV via headphone socket using 6eur RGB cable

ED E

Nope.

And pretty much no new phone will. RCA is dead for video, so there's no point in them building compatibility for it.


Just thinking, if you're travelling so much, why dont you have a laptop? Forget rubbish old hotel tvs.

Davy

ED E wrote: »

Nope.

And pretty much no new phone will. RCA is dead for video, so there's no point in them building compatibility.

The n8 supports tv out via Hdmi or RCA cable. The RCA isn't supplied anymore as they supply the hdmi adapter but it can be bought as accessory.

ED E

Davy wrote: »

ED E wrote: »

Nope.

And pretty much no new phone will. RCA is dead for video, so there's no point in them building compatibility.

The n8 supports tv out via Hdmi or RCA cable. The RCA isn't supplied anymore as they supply the hdmi adapter but it can be bought as accessory.

2010 isnt new man.

kozak

Sony Xperia P is some way looks better than Xperia S – replaceble battery, aluminium body, price.

Does GPS on Xperia P as good as Xperia S, does it support GLONASS?

Any other differences between P and S?

ED E

Replaceable battery - I'll give you that, but after a year the warranty is gone and its easy enough to swap yourself if you need to.

GPS - Havent seen tests so I cant tell you how well it works, but smaller form usually means smaller antenna. And nope, no GLONASS :S

Aluminium shell - Yeah, thats cool, kill the signal off and no NFC. Screen will still smash if you drop it. Everybody and their mother uses a case so you wont even see it, so pointless IMO.

Other differences:
Slower CPU
Weaker GPU(it seems)
Worse Camera
Worse 2nd Camera
SD screen(S has the highest pixel density of any phone on sale today)
Far less talk time.

There's a reason why its cheaper like....



http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4369&idPhone2=4436

kozak

What about that yellow tint in the Xperia S screen? It looks like common problem.

ED E

kozak wrote: »

What about that yellow tint in the Xperia S screen? It looks like common problem.

Was only first few weeks of production, so becoming less and less common, and they'll repair it if you're unlucky.

kozak

Hello

Bought Sony Xperia S, SatNav app lacks voice directions although maps are good.

What is the best SatNav app for Xperia S with voice directions and offline up-to date maps?

Heard about Navfree and Copilot – has anybody tried those?

Thanks

ED E

Just download the google plugin thingy. If you open navigation and try to route somewhere it'll prompt you.

EDIT: Missed offline maps, that'll come to gmaps soon.

kozak

Just to double-check: pre-installed Sony Xperia S SatNav app requires internet connection for navigation?

Heard about Navfree and Copilot (both use offline maps) – has anybody tried those on Xperia S?

ED E

kozak wrote: »

Just to double-check: pre-installed Sony Xperia S SatNav app requires internet connection for navigation?

Heard about Navfree and Copilot (both use offline maps) – has anybody tried those on Xperia S?

Well, there shouldnt be any compatibility issues so like, if they're good apps they'll be fine.