Best Smart Phones for Cruisers

[blubaju]

I'd ad an e-sim. E-sim for my home country-phone number, local sim in the first slot and a larger memory for charts and pictures in the second slot. There is one Oppo with dual sim and micro-sd, this would serve same purpose.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by OnePapillon

Note to Apple slaves. Most I Phones DO NOT have "real" GPS hardware built in. Your GPS position is being derived from cellular triangulation.

So sailing offshore/out of range of cell towers, your charts if loaded, will not provide your position.

Cheers

Simply not true. Many of all later models have an excellent GPS receiver built in , with ability to pickup multiple GNSS, iPhone 6 onwards from memory.

What mobiles don’t have is SBAS the ability to handle satellite augmentation ( they typically use cellular augmentation ) this results in a loss of some accuracy off shore. Of course you can buy SBAS -> phone receivers if you’re really fussed

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Baaaaaaaaa

Yes indeed the alternative is the Google personal data collection device commonly known as an Android phone

[Joh.Ghurt]

To sum it up, Apple and Google are both evil and if you want a smart-phone it doesn't really matter which evil you choose. You could try Microsoft instead, but they are just as evil and their smart-phones suck on top of this and nobody makes apps for them. Or have the given up meanwhile?

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Yes indeed the alternative is the Google personal data collection device commonly known as an Android phone

I'm guessing you are one of these guys that has everything turned on, uses his real name, never uses ad block and doesn't know what a VPN is?

[mvweebles]

Phone is a personal choice. Budget, provider and plan is a bit more specific.i had been using Verizon which worked fairly well, even in Mexico. $93/mo was steep since I don't use more than 4Gb per month. I switched to GoogleFI 6-months ago. My monthly bill averages under $40, but that had been US domestic. Got a deal on a Samsung 20 which is fine. I also have a $2/mo 200gb Google drive subscription which is good for photos.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I'm guessing you are one of these guys that has everything turned on, uses his real name, never uses ad block and doesn't know what a VPN is?

Me, hell no , I’m firmly inside the walled garden ( 2 iMacs , MacBook , iPad , iPhone, Apple TV )

[Wotname]

How strong is the security on passcode protected phone?
Android - weak
iPhone - strong

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Wotname

How strong is the security on passcode protected phone?
Android - weak
iPhone - strong

Owner when threatened with a crowbar - very weak.

[Gonsena]

Originally Posted by dadster3

My phone has just died so I need to replace it. Since I hope to be heading south at the end of November, upgrading to one that will be the best compromise between service (i.e. apps) and cost seem like reasonable criteria. I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere, but I am unwilling to search through nearly 400 pages of threads to find this particular needle in this particular haystack. Two simple questions:

(1) I-phone or Android?
(2) Best/favorite models in both categories.

Thanks,

William Clark
Fredericksburg, VA

It honestly will depend on the use you want to give to it

Which phone did you have before?


In order to make a more accurate choice the main questions are.

• Budget?
• Use for the phone (text, internet, maps, camera, etc)
• Do you have the screen on constantly while not charging? (Battery size)
• Screen is important? (sharpness)
• Ram and size should be similar 6gb - 8gb max ram and 128 to 256 gb max size

Consider the lifespan of a phone is 4 years. New phones can cost near $1000.
If you are not needing the latest tech you can buy 1year old (2020) flagship phones for a discount (lifespan 3 years).

I bought my new Xiaomi poco f3 (2021) losing a bit on the camera and sound but gaining in screen quality, battery and lifespan and spent 300$

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Yes indeed the alternative is the Google personal data collection device commonly known as an Android phone

Unless of course you buy a Huawei, in which case its Microsoft Bing..

[RickG]

We have both - unlocked iPhone 6 on whatever SIM and a Google Pixel 3A on Google Fi for the Caribbean. The Google Fi plan at 22GB per month for $70 per month is our most expensive plan by GB. Digicel SIM cards give good performance and the best price per GB. In the US we use ATT on iPhone XS and iPhone SE.

Cheers, RickG

[Princessa]

We have been in the Caribbean for over 3 years. First year had unlocked iPhone ($$$$) and purchased a new SIM card for every island/country ($$ and hassle). Past 2 years we have a GoogleFi account for cel service and data. You have the SAME phone number no matter which country you are cruising except NOT in GRENADA. Buy a googleFi ready phone from them, get GoogleFi SIM card and activate IN THE USA. Plans are cheap and it works great!!!! Hope this helps

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by OnePapillon

Note to Apple slaves. Most I Phones DO NOT have "real" GPS hardware built in. Your GPS position is being derived from cellular triangulation.
So sailing offshore/out of range of cell towers, your charts if loaded, will not provide your position.
Cheers

Someone else may have jumped in but this is just flat wrong. W R O N G. What is misunderstood is assisted GPS (AGPS). What this does is use the location of cell towers as a seed for using regular GPS. That's why iPhones (and many Android phones that also use AGPS) to pop up a location faster.

I've navigated thousands of miles offshore (equals a couple of hundred miles outside cell range at least and crossing oceans) with an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 6. My current iPhone 12 mini is pretty new and only has one trip under it's belt - about 1100 miles offshore.

Cite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GNSS

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Gonsena

Consider the lifespan of a phone is 4 years. New phones can cost near $1000.

You must be hard on phones.
$40 ZTE zip bought in 2017 still going strong
$50 ZTE blade qlux bought in 2015 still going strong
$50 LG Optimus spirit bought in 2012 still going strong