Phone with reliable/accurate I & A GPS

Rockfella

Rockfella

Total bliss!
ex-Mod
Hi,
i might just buy a new phone only because i tend to get lost on roads. Highest priority/feature/prerequisite of the purchase is gps navigation in its best form (both I & A GPS). A music player supporting FLAC would be great but it is not a deal breaker/maker 'coz i can bear an mp3 player too. A camera would be nice (not-vga) no touch screen and i don't want a brick sized phone.
Thanks in advance.
Budget : ALAP (As low as possible).
Brand preference: None.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Nokia in general has been good with mp3. mp3 playback is available in phones starting 2k itself nowadays. AFAIK, FLAC support is not available.

Check the Nokia site tick off the boxes with maps. Some of the Asha series do not have GPS built-in but use cellular towers for navigation. Go for a model that has GPS built-in.
Choose the model, remember that non-touch screen ones would be showing a smaller map. If navigation is imp for you, that would a factor to consider. If you are open to used phones, try to get a N8 - exceptional camera even today, AMOLED screen & navigation.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
FLAC suport is not a must. N8 is way out of my budget and it is no longer available anymore. I know it is a damn good phone. Any other model?
Jambumali said:
Nokia in general has been good with mp3. mp3 playback is available in phones starting 2k itself nowadays. AFAIK, FLAC support is not available.

Check the Nokia site tick off the boxes with maps. Some of the Asha series do not have GPS built-in but use cellular towers for navigation. Go for a model that has GPS built-in.
Choose the model, remember that non-touch screen ones would be showing a smaller map. If navigation is imp for you, that would a factor to consider. If you are open to used phones, try to get a N8 - exceptional camera even today, AMOLED screen & navigation.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I will say the reason why people aren't commenting over here is because someone with more than 2739 posts in here should know that when you're looking for a phone with accurate GPS and FLAC playback but no touchscreen then you may as well use the "Phone Finder" of GSMarena. And when you do that, you get this: Phone Finder results - GSMArena.com Now seriously. Aren't these phones quite boring?

So let's say that you are now willing to let go of your "No touchscreen" condition. Then people will suggest you MMX or Karbon phone (>5000Rs) which would be real cheap to own and will have a decent GPS support you can also get FLAC player. But according to your requirements, I would suggest: Samsung Galaxy Music Duos S6012 - Samsung: Flipkart.com Good music player. GPS with Glonass (GLONASS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) But yet, it's a touch screen phone.

So guess there isn't really a phone suited to all your needs. But there are enough phones to match your wants.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks creative. I do have those number of posts but i am not much into phones, infact i have a cheap Nokia dual sim (i don't even remember the model number) which i bought for Rs. 1450 in 2011 and i am happy with it. Only reason to buy a new one is GPS as i tend to get lost on the roads of Delhi/NCR. Will look into the model you suggested.
creative420 said:
I will say the reason why people aren't commenting over here is because someone with more than 2739 posts in here should know that when you're looking for a phone with accurate GPS and FLAC playback but no touchscreen then you may as well use the "Phone Finder" of GSMarena. And when you do that, you get this: Phone Finder results - GSMArena.com Now seriously. Aren't these phones quite boring?

So let's say that you are now willing to let go of your "No touchscreen" condition. Then people will suggest you MMX or Karbon phone (>5000Rs) which would be real cheap to own and will have a decent GPS support you can also get FLAC player. But according to your requirements, I would suggest: Samsung Galaxy Music Duos S6012 - Samsung: Flipkart.com Good music player. GPS with Glonass (GLONASS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) But yet, it's a touch screen phone.

So guess there isn't really a phone suited to all your needs. But there are enough phones to match your wants.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
@Rockfella, I too had the same problem of getting lost, taking the wrong turns, missing the direction signs, etc. GPS in a phone does come handy in such situations. Personally speaking, with primary requirement being navigation, a phone with screen size between 3.5 and 4 inch is more suitable than smaller screen devices. Handling a brick-sized phone on road would be difficult, but it would be more convenient for you, if you visit a store and check different size models and check what size suits you.


Secondly, IMO maps work better on touchscreens as the UI is more intuitive. I have seen a friend using Nokia maps on his C6, and it's pretty good. With Android, you would get two good apps in -- Google Maps with navigation (which needs data connection to work), and a very good alternative in Sygic, which works offline. Personally, I use the cached version of the Google maps and navigation which work pretty decent for me. However, GPS and the map app would consume your battery a lot faster.


Under Rs. 10K, you can get Lumia 510, which has Bing Maps, Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive with GPS, A-GPS, and WLAN Network Positioning for GPS and Navigation-
Nokia Lumia 510 Review


A few cheap Android devices would be:
Samsung Galaxy Music Duos S6012 - Samsung: Flipkart.com


Lenovo A60+ Android Mobile Phone - Black . Buy Best Lenovo A60+ Android Mobile Phone - Black at Lowest Price Online


Sony Xperia Tipo - Sony: Flipkart.com


I think @DarkAngel has recently purchased Huawei U8500 - Full phone specifications at around Rs. 7.2K, he can give you more information on that model's GPS responsiveness.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks. Big screen phones scare me and i don't want to watch the screen while driving. Voice navigation FTW! So will look into the Nokia model your friend uses.
ayanavish said:
Rockfella, I too had the same problem of getting lost, taking the wrong turns, missing the direction signs, etc. GPS in a phone does come handy in such situations. Personally speaking, with primary requirement being navigation, a phone with screen size between 3.5 and 4 inch is more suitable than smaller screen devices. Handling a brick-sized phone on road would be difficult, but it would be more convenient for you, if you visit a store and check different size models and check what size suits you.


Secondly, IMO maps work better on touchscreens as the UI is more intuitive. I have seen a friend using Nokia maps on his C6, and it's pretty good. With Android, you would get two good apps in -- Google Maps with navigation (which needs data connection to work), and a very good alternative in Sygic, which works offline. Personally, I use the cached version of the Google maps and navigation which work pretty decent for me. However, GPS and the map app would consume your battery a lot faster.


Under Rs. 10K, you can get Lumia 510, which has Bing Maps, Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive with GPS, A-GPS, and WLAN Network Positioning for GPS and Navigation-
Nokia Lumia 510 Review


A few cheap Android devices would be:
Samsung Galaxy Music Duos S6012 - Samsung: Flipkart.com


Lenovo A60+ Android Mobile Phone - Black . Buy Best Lenovo A60+ Android Mobile Phone - Black at Lowest Price Online


Sony Xperia Tipo - Sony: Flipkart.com


I think DarkAngel has recently purchased Huawei U8500 - Full phone specifications at around Rs. 7.2K, he can give you more information on that model's GPS responsiveness.
Click to expand...

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.flipkart.com/sony-xperia-tipo/p/itmdcwudzyjfhph5?pid=MOBDCWSHSBAJY6GV&ref=7cd3c5a4-11cd-41c2-879c-90d933d86070&srno=m_1_1&otracker=from-search&query=sony%20xperia%20tipo#read-reviews

This looks good but han no IGPS.

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.flipkart.com/nokia-asha-308/p/itmdee6zkb9zzwgj?pid=MOBDEE4AT4BSQZRR&ref=308a551a-c3f9-4661-940e-da1e72efd2da

Hey this seems to have GPS and price looks good. Any thoughts?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
there is a C5-00 .old phone , but have voice navigation along with nokia maps. was helpful during my recent trip to goa.all one had to do was download the country maps and then on it wont need data connection for maps. offline navigation works fine.with A-gps it would consume data, but then the GPS lock would be quicker too.camera and music quality is average though. infact nothing to mention
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
@Rockfella: Xperia Tipo has the GPS chip: Sony Xperia tipo - Full phone specifications
Sony Xperia tipo review: Mini just got bigger - GSMArena.com
Sony Xperia Tipo review: Maps and apps | Phone Reviews | TechRadar
Sony Xperia tipo review - PC Advisor

However, reviews suggest GPS locking takes around a minute. Camera quality is also average.

As per Asha 308 is concerned, here's a detailed review: Nokia Asha 308 review: The tweener - GSMArena.com

The Nokia Asha 308 doesn't have a GPS receiver but Nokia Maps can use Cell-ID to get your approximate location. The app doesn't feature voice-guided navigation anyway and you can only plan pedestrian routes with it.

So, even if you hook up a Bluetooth GPS receiver to the Nokia Asha 308 it still won't function as a car SatNav. There's no option for a paid upgrade either.

Maps are downloaded through your data connection (no Wi-fi), which is something else to keep in mind.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Also try considering an used iPhone 3GS. It has GPS, 3.5" screen sufficient for GPS navigation, Google Maps with Navigation if you want online. You can download sygic or similar offline option incase you don't want online option.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Back
Top