Advice on Smart Phone/Carrier

[aztbrad]

Soliciting advice/feedback. Planning on SOBO AZT trip this Fall. Currently have old-school flip phone. Planning on picking up a smart phone for trip. Advice on "best" phone for pics, ease of posting, ability to recharge battery -and- which carrier service with best coverage on trail. Any advice on Solar rechargers/battery would be appreciated as well.
Thanks,
aztbrad

[azbackpackr]

Verizon. No other service seems to work as well in rural Arizona.

[The_Eagle]

Check out this forum topic on Solar Chargers / Batteries -> viewtopic.php?f=78&t=8669&p=117114&hili ... er#p107123

[trekkin_gecko]

tibber and i have moto pure x. reasonably priced, takes good photos. i have verizon, which i think has best coverage.

[Grasshopper]

Advice on "best" phone for pics, ease of posting, ability to recharge battery -and- which carrier service with best coverage on trail.

In my opinion Verizon : queen : RULES : king : in our AZ Back-country.. http://hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=577587

[outdoor_lover]

My Vote is Verizon as well. I don't really know much about them, but you might also look into a Mobile Hot Spot as well as it may strengthen your Coverage even more.

With that being said, I have a Friend who is a Trucker and he uses Walmart's Straight Talk Plan. He claims that Straight Talk uses Verizon's Towers, so you're getting the exact same Coverage as you would with Verizon. For half the Cost. It might be worth looking into. I'm actually thinking about myself.

[jonathanpatt]

Straight Talk uses Tracfone, which uses a variety of different providers, including Verizon. I use Tracfone directly myself, with my phone using Verizon's towers. Its prepaid nature won't work for everyone, but low-use people can get great deals with such plans, especially if you buy multiple years of service at once. Between doing that and Tracfone comping me some extra service time for mistakes they made while I was switching from a dumbphone to a smartphone, I'm down to something like $2/mo for the next 6 years. (Ordinarily it's been $6 – $8/mo for me, though.)

[chumley]

I don't really know much about them, but you might also look into a Mobile Hot Spot as well as it may strengthen your Coverage even more.

[joebartels]

A mobile hot spot broadcasts data from a connection to other devices. It would not be of any benefit for getting a better connection, rather for sharing a connection.

[Sredfield]

Verizon has remarkable coverage along the AZT. The downside is that you may have to enter a Verizon store, an act that rivals root canal sans anesthesia in my opinion. Their sales training rivals Amway's I think, they never ever let up.

[ljcygnet]

Whatever you do, do NOT get AT&T. They have zero coverage in many areas that Verizon has excellent coverage. They have zero coverage in areas you would expect them to HAVE coverage, like standing on top of Diamond Point or within a few miles of South Mountain, south of Phoenix.

I have Verizon and while there are always dead zones you can generally get a signal by gaining some elevation.

[outdoor_lover]

@chumley
And why did I know that you would respond. You've become so Predictable, I'm not sure why I bother anymore. @joebartels
So basically if a Ranch nearby has WiFi, a Hot Spot wouldn't help someone nearby then. Thanks for explaining it instead of Laughing about it. I guess someday I should get with the Program. I didn't understand the Concept from the Salesman apparently.

[CannondaleKid]

Verizon has remarkable coverage along the AZT. The downside is that you may have to enter a Verizon store, an act that rivals root canal sans anesthesia in my opinion. Their sales training rivals Amway's I think, they never ever let up.

My experience was nothing like that, but I did my research before going to the Verizon store.

My recommendation would be to take all the time you need to scan through all the various phones/plans/options on the Verizon web site to come up with the best plan to fit your needs. If you aren't sure about anything, call Verizon for just enough assistance to understand the options, thank them for their help then hang up.
Then whatever time you need to figure out your best option... take a day or more in needed, then go to a genuine Verizon store, not just a cell-phone store who has other providers.

By coming in the door knowing what you WANT/NEED (not what THEY want to sell you) you are more likely to have a pleasant experience.

BTW, when you tell them the phone you want (personally I'd stick with something NON-Apple/iPhone) they will give you a package price that allows you to choose from various menu options...
- Amount of memory (not much choice here with iPhone)
- Extra chip (not an option with iPhone)
- Battery (not an option with iPhone)
- Colorful/Designer/fancy cover
- Hard-shell case (MUSH cheaper elsewhere)

NOTE: The package price they quote INCLUDES three options (at least it was for me) but that DOES NOT mean you must take them. If you just get the basics the price will be lower than the package deal. So only get the package deal if you truly WANT the options.

Good luck!

[sandyfortner]

I have a Samsung Galaxy 5 with Verizon and am very happy with it. I'm sure that the phone has more capabilities than I, but the camera is easy to use and takes great pics. If I keep it on AIRPLANE mode, it will last me pretty much for 3 days - that's taking pics, using the Arizona Trail app - sometimes quite frequently - and also taking it off airplane, checking for service, sending texts, before putting airplane back on. As far as charging - yep, look at the above link in the forum for all kinds of ideas.

[SpicedRum]

Verizon service and Droid Turbo phone was what I used for my thru hike last year. Had service most of the time. My brother had AT&T and rarely had service. I used this solar charger (http://suntactics.com/shop/scharger-5-p ... r-charger/) after trying many different options in Southern California this worked great for me.Make sure you get the Guthooks APP for the trail also. ( http://www.aztrail.org/apps.html)

[FireFly]

As a visitor from Europe (with a smartphone of which the phone function probably doesn't work in the USA anyway) I was wondering if there are wifi hotspots in the gateway communities that you could use (paid or free).

I don't normally use a (smart or dumb) mobile phone at home but I would like to use one on the AZT for the AZT-app and ordering food online. Any chance wifi would work for this or do I need to buy an American phone (that I will never use again)?

[CannondaleKid]

do I need to buy an American phone (that I will never use again)

I have no idea if your phone will work here or what your budget is, but when you can buy an unlocked cellphone for as low as $34 it seems to me a reasonable investment for the benefit on the AZT.

Amazon has a 4.3 out of 5 stars-rated phone for $49.99

(Not that I would shop there myself, an on-line search had the $34 phone at Wal-Mart)

[FireFly]

do I need to buy an American phone (that I will never use again)

I have no idea if your phone will work here or what your budget is, but when you can buy an unlocked cellphone for as low as $34 it seems to me a reasonable investment for the benefit on the AZT.

Amazon has a 4.3 out of 5 stars-rated phone for $49.99

(Not that I would shop there myself, an on-line search had the $34 phone at Wal-Mart)

Yes I had already thought about that myself. But there are a few other requirements as well like a long battery life and a screen big enough for me to read. Before you know you are going to spend a lot of money... But the way you propose is probably a good way to go.

Do they sell prepaid SIM cards (or very short term contracts) in the USA as well with a carrier that works on the AZT?

Anyway, still wondering if going wifi-only is a possibility. After all I only need to go online to order supplies every now and then and to get an update on water sources. To use the AZT app (I guess?) and other resources stored on the phone I don't need a connection at all.

[DarthStiller]

@FireFly
My sister-in-law is currently visiting us from Serbia. She brought her smart phone and she's able to use wifi and do almost anything as long as she has the wifi connection. She even used some kind of app where her husband could call her from Serbia (but she can't call him ). Her phone is locked so she can't connect to any network here. FYI.