Maps, GPS logging, camera and communication, all in one device.

Paper maps are big and an unnecessary weight. They might tear when wet  (if not waterproof) and are expensive. I also get lost easily with normal paper maps.

GPS logging is useful to keep track of the trails and to share them with other people (in this blog for example).

A camera is good for taking pictures of Laetitia and food.

Communication is essential on emergency situations and quite nice to keep in touch with some parts of the real world.

Instead of using many different gadgets, for each of these purposes, I decided to use just one smartphone for all those purposes.

But I had never had a smartphone before. My trusty old Nokia 1100 died recently after 9 years of constant use. So I had to go and choose a smartphone.

I wanted an Android phone, because it’s open-source and there are a zillion apps. The most important issue for me was the battery: it had to last very long. I also needed a good camera. Based on that, I started my search, reading reviews, comparisons, and looking on online shops. I came to the conclusion that there were way too many models, the prices ranged from “kind of expensive” to “really expensive” and after a few days I still had no idea which one to buy. In the meantime, I thought a larger screen would help, since I can’t type properly on such a small keyboard.

My head was overwhelmed with so many reviews and so much information, so I just picked one already: the Samsung Note 3 Neo.

It’s not a workhorse smartphone, so the battery doesn’t drain too fast. It might be a little bit slower than other models, but that didn’t bother me.

It’s somewhat big, which became a problem. Since it’s an odd size (unlike the S4 and such), I couldn’t find a cover for it. No protection, which is important for hiking. It’s also hard to hold if to take a picture with just one hand.

I’m still lost in this Android world. I keep hitting the back key inadvertently.

I’m using the GPSLogger App or logging. It’s lightweight and exactly what I was looking for.

I use Google Maps and OSMNavigator all the time. I really mean it: all the time. With the maps and trails cached for offline viewing, I use the compass and the GPS and I hardly ever get lost now!

The camera is not that good. Oh, well. Too bad.

When I stop in villages with some WiFi, I check my e-mail, use WhatsApp and try to post something. It’s hard to write letter by letter on such a small keyboard though. Laetitia helps me type the posts, since she has small paws.

The feature I use the last is the phone itself. I never liked phones anyways…