Originally Posted by
ericy
You *can* go the smartphone route, but the problem you end up with is that you will generally need a data plan to download maps, It is possible in some versions of Android to "cache" maps in a specific vicinity, which would help eliminate some of that need, but that limits your options a bit.
So I guess my first question is, if you go the smartphone route, are you willing to pay the monthly (including the data plan).
The idea is to NOT have a data plan and caching would be limited to the area around my usual route, if I remember right Google maps will cache an area like 10 square miles around your route? This should give me more than enough latitude if I put in a basic route covering the direction I'm heading. I could always try and find some place with free or open wifi to update if necessary. I typically only go out about 30 miles or less so this should cover it.
Not ever owned a smart phone let alone one without a data / call plan I was wondering if it is feasible or if there is something that I am not anticipating.
I've even seem some cameras that sport a GPS and would consider them as I would also like to record my treks as well.