Gps enabled phone

I use an old Samsung S5 and find it works a treat.

EDITED BECAUSE I WAS WRONG

Now for the total killer bonus - Google translate will look at a sign in Vietnamese and translate it to English for you without you typing a thing. Cool, eh?

It would be killer if it did, but it won't do Vietnamese from the camera - rats.
Does Mandarin and a load of other languages a treat.

Oh, and you can stick in into conversation mode if you need directions.

Thanks Fred...that sounds interesting ...will check it out!

Smartphones have gone wild over the last few years so even my 2 year out of date thing is shockingly great.
Apart from satnav and translate the thing is an entertainment centre and essential communications device. Whatsapp means I hardly ever make an old style phone call or send an SMS and skype means I can call pretty much any standard phone in the world.
Those from the US can use google hangouts dialer to make free calls back home.
Google's search box is outstanding as a way to find out pretty much anything.

These things are essential expat tools.

I call my sis in the UK using Whatsapp video or audio only calls, all for free from a hotspot or not much data if I use the phone's connection.
My technophobe mother gets calls via skype, as do non tech mates who don't have up to date phones. Skype also means I have a Sheffield (0114) local number that diverts calls to my mobile or an answerphone if it's off.

and the satnav is pretty great.

Dude, get one ... but don't go too cheap or you'll find yourself wanting an upgrade pretty rapid.

Best thing for travelling is a dual sim android phone with a minimum 5000 mAh battery. I've got a Leonova which when travelling, I use more than the iPhone simply because the battery lasts days after the iPhone is dead (doesn't even last a full day).

The biggest battery phone money can buy right now is the oukitel k10000 which I'm eyeing up. The beauty of these big batteries is that they can reverse charge your other devices meaning if your someone who is used to carry a power bank for your devices you can actually leave it behind and use this phone to charge an iPhone 6 3 times over.

Anyway, google maps with GPS kills the battery so if your using it just for navigation then you should be looking at sacrificing size for battery power.

Another tip for you.

Google Maps uses a lot of data but you can download regions (about the size of a city) for offline use when connected to wifi and the routing will still work.

Also, when you go for a data package you can pick a cheaper one that let's you continue using data after you have gone over the limit but at restricted speeds. If navigation is all you're using it for, it's still quick enough to route to your destination if you haven't downloaded the area for offline use. If you don't have data however slow or downloaded the local map prior, your phone is useless for navigation.

Thanks for taking time to reply and your advice guys....

phikachu wrote:

Anyway, google maps with GPS kills the battery so if your using it just for navigation then you should be looking at sacrificing size for battery power.

They big style eats batteries.

A power bank or in car charger is essential if you're going to use the thing for longer trips.
The more savvy backpacker carries an in car charger as well as a mains charger and power bank.

Waiting around in bus stations can be a handy time to charge your phone, but the phone can be handy as entertainment. I've just popped a load of music and a good number of films on mine, just in case I have nothing to do whilst waiting for whatever.

Down to preference and how long your trips are.

If you are on the road with maps running all day then a normal 2000-3000 mah phone won't last the day.

At home, I have a USB socket wired to my motorbikes battery. I then mount my phone onto the bike. In Vietnam, I would not put it anywhere visible unless your asking for trouble so that's not an option.

There's a new oukitel k10000s coming out soon so I'm holding off to buy that one. There is no need to carry a power bank for that, it is a power bank.

To the guys who have already posted a reply again thank you for your time.
I,m a little worried over the daily battery life as you have explained so now thinking of perhaps buying a motorbike satnav...the same as the bike hire outfits  provide here in Hcmc....anyone know where I can buy one and also have it fitted ?...the wiring to the bike,s electrics that is...realise the hand set is to be removed as it would be nicked...
Going to post this question under a separate thread

You can buy a USB charger for about £10 on eBay. It's dead easy to wire up just make sure you only use it when the bike/car's running to prevent it draining the battery.

I'd skip the sat nav and stick to a better quality phone.
The bike USB charger option is a winner.

Motorbike space is always limited and the sat nav would add extra pointless weight and is one more thing to get pinched out of your hotel room.

Hi Guys
The bike USB charger does sound like a better option...will follow that up before going to the satnav option.....less likely to get nicked I would guess as well.
For Phil...a little difficult for me to have delivered from eBay as already in Hcmc
but will ask around to see if it can be arranged
Will post to let you how I get on
Again thanks gents for your advice

Haven't owned a sat nav for donkeys, they're obsolete as far as i'm concerned, but it wouldn't surprise me if they are all USB charged these days. My point is even with a sat nav unit, you'd need a USB charger to keep it going all day.

The eBay kits are easy to set up, just a  positive and negative wire you hook up to the bike's battery. The wire is long enough to run through the bikes frame.

I've only ever seen 1 person in the whole of Vietnam who had one of these before with a phone mounted. Probably because anything on show would get stolen quick so locals don't do it. It's quite common to see bikers in the UK with these though, especially couriers.

Satnav units are alive, kicking and great for professional drivers.
We mortals stopped needing them when smartphones got GPS.

I have a built in satnav for my Vietnamese car, it mustn't update, since the new roads don't appear and I use my Vietnamese as a toy, I always have a passenger that helps when I'm in the car.  My car in Australia has a 'free maps for life' upgrade and works very well.

The taxis here use smart phone and apps but I learnt the roads by walking, all over HCMC - a pain but I learnt the main roads and just use the paper map when on my motorbike when I pull over to double check when I turn off onto an unknown road. 

The problem with looking down on a motorbike or looking for street signs (you won't here a voice on the phone when riding) is you may take your eye off the road and then have an accident.

Just trying to cover everything so any thoughts would be appreciated on......
1..A wifi hotspot.
2..Buy a cheap tablet which is wifi/ gps enabled...my IPad does not accept a sim.
3..Is it possible to block updates on google maps if I was to buy a mobolie phone...from previous posts it seems that the updates take up lots of battery power.I could when arrived home and charging could allow the updates
I,m not a tech person,should have kept up with it over the years so now I am paying the price
Thanks for your ongoing help guys

A mobile broadband modem obviates Wi-Fi, and you
can use any mini-usb adaptor to your iPad.

I use the Viettel model.  Cheap as chips, no lost signal.
(recent promo; 12 GB for 120,000 Dong)   30 days.

You can find all the blocking Apps on How-To-Geek

Gareth Uk wrote:

1..A wifi hotspot.
2..Buy a cheap tablet which is wifi/ gps enabled...my IPad does not accept a sim.
3..Is it possible to block updates on google maps if I was to buy a mobolie phone...from previous posts it seems that the updates take up lots of battery power.I could when arrived home and charging could allow the updates

1. Any android phone can turn into a wifi hotspot. This kills the battery faster than running google maps does. My 5000mah phone normally lasts 2 days by itself but with another device connected to it as a wifi hotspot it lasts a day. When travelling with the GF and she connects to it too, it doesn't last more than a half a day. Don't bother with those dedicated wifi hotspots, I've only tried it once in Japan where it's illegal for non residents without a japanese address to purchase a sim card and so there's a cottage industry that rents these wifi hotspots including sim cards to foreigners. They are like lugging around deadweight. Better to get a phone you can use the data for apps like maps.

2. if you already got a tablet just buy a phone to act as the hotspot. A tablet can be also be used as a hotspot but it won't last long.

3. There's different types of updates a phone makes, system update, app (like google maps) update...these can be set to download/install via wifi only and then there's updates within the app itself. Google maps downloads the map tiles as you request them and caches them. If you set a region to download for offline use it won't do this, you can also set the option to only update that region when connected to wifi (i think this is the default).

To me, I can't stress how important battery life is on a phone.  I've been lost in the sticks in Thailand because the girlfriend killed the battery on the phone with the maps. Despite warning her we might not be able to find the way home if she keeps using the wifi to check in on Facebook the entire trip.  I'm ordering the new K10000s as soon as its launched. It's probably overkill for average use and I'd describe myself as a heavy user as I rely on my phone to work remotely so it's important to stay connected. Laptop, iphone with a UK sim all connected to a Dual dim android with a local data sim running the maps and the VPN. That requires a lot of mAh.