is this tech on the market yet?

i know Nextel has offered phones with GPS driving directions, and there are phones with mp3 playing capability (although most of them don't have enough storage capacity to be useful in that role).

are there any phones that will do both (including storing at least 512 mB, and preferably 1GB of mp3s)?

[Edited on November 16, 2006 at 6:05 PM. Reason : asdfa]

11/16/2006 6:05:23 PM

as long as you dont mind paying a subscription fee for hard to use GPS software, then yes

[Edited on November 16, 2006 at 6:11 PM. Reason : if you dont mind a bluetooth gps receiver with the phone you options increase]

11/16/2006 6:09:40 PM

what do you mean a bluetooth GPS receiver? how would that work?

11/16/2006 6:34:33 PM

you would get a smartphone and then purchase software that comes with an external gps antenna that the phone connects to wirelessly with bluetooth. its considerably more expensive than just getting a nextel or verizon phone and paying monthly for gps, but it will work better.

11/16/2006 6:51:52 PM

ah, i see. you'd use actual Garmin or Magellin software, not some bare bones stuff loaded on the phone, and you wouldn't be bound to areas that were under local Nextel coverage...

but then you would only be able to use it in your own car (as opposed to a rental/someone else's car/your motorcycle).

11/16/2006 6:55:17 PM

you could take it anywhere, a lot of the antennas arent that big

you are looking at about $300 for the antenna and software on top of a smartphone (that will probably start around $200 with some contract)

[Edited on November 16, 2006 at 7:01 PM. Reason : .]

11/16/2006 6:58:09 PM

Doesn't the Chocolate do all of that stuff? I don't know much about it, but I'm pretty sure it has all that stuff.

11/16/2006 7:56:32 PM

Quote :

"subscription fee for hard to use GPS software"

11/16/2006 7:58:28 PM

Quote :

"I like to put things in quote boxes too"

11/16/2006 8:00:45 PM

i am just waiting for the day when something like this will come out:

cellphone
30 GB music player
6 MP digicam

in one body, the same size as, say, an ipod.

11/16/2006 8:07:00 PM

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/turnbyturn.jsp

11/16/2006 8:17:38 PM

or you coudl keep your current phone and just get something like the nuvi 660. gps has a 4" screen has bluetooth, mp3 player and fm modulator so i'tll play through your car streo.


i don't understand why peopel would want everything in one all running off 1 battery. " i was gonna call 911 but i was listening to fergalicious and the phone went dead".

[Edited on November 16, 2006 at 9:04 PM. Reason : .]

11/16/2006 9:01:19 PM

well, obviously the battery would have to be up to the task, within reason

11/16/2006 11:17:45 PM

"don't call it a cellphone, don't call it a camera" helio

11/17/2006 10:47:39 AM

that Helio Drift looks kinda cool

what's the catch?

their website is kinda slow, so i haven't looked through everything about it yet.

11/17/2006 9:12:44 PM

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/11/10/helio-drift-hands-on/


we cover tons of these things just like this...they're just not very popular in the US yet, but they're huge overseas

11/17/2006 9:17:45 PM

^south korea ftw

11/17/2006 9:20:46 PM

http://blog.treonauts.com/2005/10/travelling_with.html

The SD card pops right out of the top so capacity is up to you.

[Edited on November 17, 2006 at 9:44 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2006 9:43:10 PM

^^^ damn those things are cheap on ebay

http://search.ebay.com/Helio-Drift_W0QQcatrefZC5QQfbdZ1QQfclZ3QQflocZ1QQfromZR6QQfrppZ50QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQfssZ0QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQnojsprZyQQpfidZ0QQsaaffZafdefaultQQsacatZQ2d1QQsacqyopZgeQQsacurZ0QQsadisZ200QQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ0QQsaslopZ1QQsofocusZbsQQsspagenameZhQ3ahQ3aadvsearchQ3aUS

11/17/2006 10:25:40 PM

i just wanted to say that as a former tom tom user I now have verizon's gps stuff on my samsung a990 and it is the shit. very up to date and very reliable, i recently let a guy driving the herse for my father in laws funeral use it because he'd never been to the graveyard and he was like dude can i get this for my phone. I REALLY like it a lot. doesn't load supper quick but one its loaded your good and the resturants/ stores are very up to date.

11/18/2006 3:48:11 PM

Sounds like a nightmarish combination to me.

I'll take my cell phone, ipod and a decent handheld GPS.

11/18/2006 3:53:55 PM

Here I have one that does all three and would be glad to fill ya in.

All of the higher end Verizon Wireless phones will do all three. Anything from the LG 8300, Chocolate, 9800 (The V), and the Mot RAZR/KRZR will as well as the Sam a990. I have an 8300, which is the most economical of the options. You can get one for about 100 bucks. You need to get a card to store your music on, which ran me 60 for a 1 gig card. You also need the Music Essentials Kit to get the USB cable to plug your phone into your PC and transfer your music. It also comes with stereo headphones that you can also talk on if somebody calls you. I like the 9800 or 8300 because the speakers on it are pretty damn good in sound quality and volume.

Cost:

GPS with Verizon is $2.99/24 hour period so if you just want to use it when your actually going on a trip. Or you can do the $9.99/month subscription. BTW, in the Oct. PopSci issue they compared it to Sprints similar system and another one for any smartphone and VZNavigator got the nod as the best overall. Sprint has no daily payment option, its subscription only (10/month).

Life:

My phone lasts a couple days between charges and I talk a lot, listen to the music a couple hours a day and still shoot videos/photos and use the Navigation system a lot. I don't think its that big of a battery drain.

As for Noens comment, I'm completely opposite. I LOVE having the ability to go jog or workout and still listen to music and get my phone calls without having 18 different damn things on my belt. And I do have a portable satellite radio (Nexus) and a cheapo handheld GPS system, so I know what its like carrying all that shit at one time with my older cellphones to do all the stuff I need.

So yea, look at Verizons options. They got some shit that can hook you up and I can say from personal experience works GREAT. I used to work for an authorized agent and after I left I made damn sure I kept my phone and service with them.

11/18/2006 7:04:00 PM

[Edited on November 18, 2006 at 7:06 PM. Reason : Stupid Ass Double Post]

11/18/2006 7:05:44 PM

^^what he said

i have a razr v3m on verizon and it has mp3/gps and i love it

[Edited on November 18, 2006 at 7:49 PM. Reason : verizon]

11/18/2006 7:48:31 PM

I have a Sprint A900m, which does all three (although it doesn't have expandable storage, so mp3 support isn't great).

Of course with Power Vision its more than fast enough to just stream mp3s from my PC at home. Get in on the SERO plan (there's plenty of info online), and download the GPS navigation app from Ringerpost or the like and you don't have to pay a cent for it.

11/18/2006 7:57:44 PM

For me, the times I want my iPod, i don't want my phone.

The times I need/want a handheld GPS, I don't want my phone.

I could see the potential benefit of combining the music+gps, but all three is ridiculous.

I've tried the Verizon and Sprint GPS services. They are slow as shit, extremely slow to program into (comparatively) and don't offer anywhere near the customization or recording ability that even a half decent standalone does.

But I definitely realize I'm in the minority here. Funny thing is, most people don't want an everything and the kitchen sink phone. They want a phone, and a secondary device to do everything else.

11/19/2006 5:09:15 AM

Some of us can't afford/don't need the best at everything.

Hell my Magellan GPS is an older handheld mainly used for hiking. It doesn't do any of the routing directions or anything. As for the iPod, I'd like to have one, but it was cheaper to just buy a memory card for my phone. Do I REALLY need to more than 250 songs at any one time? It almost never repeated on my 13+ hour drive to Arkansas 2 weeks ago.

Besides Noen, its a LOT cheaper to buy an all in one phone than to buy an iPod, Tom Tom, and a cheap cellphone seperately. And you'd be surprised how many phones like these I sold to people when I was working for Verizon. People don't need it to do 8000 things in one, but a lot of people DO want to have navigation and listen to their music and have a phone and not have to tote around 3 different things.

In the end, they don't do everything as good as each by themselves. But many people (myself included) are happy with the compromise. Only time I still need my Magellan GPS is when I'm geocaching.

11/19/2006 8:16:07 AM

I have the 8300 and have used it for all of the mentioned functions. As an mp3 player it is OK, except if you want to use your own headphones, you have to buy an adapter. Also there is very little volume control, so for my headphones only one bar of volume is too loud. The GPS function works well until you get out in the sticks and lose signal. Then you are SOL. This happened to me on the way to Danville, VA taking the back roads.

I thought I would like them all bundled together too, but the quality of these functions are not as good as their stand alone counterparts.

11/19/2006 8:34:03 AM

i always carry my phone, so having it play mp3's without the need to carry a second device is a huge benefit that i use often

11/19/2006 10:24:34 AM

^exactly. i wouldn't want a phone+secondary device to do everything else, because i'd never carry anything but the phone.

and i have yet to figure out what's so great about an ipod.

11/19/2006 11:26:35 AM

^I really don't need 80000000000 songs in my pocket. It would be convenient on the off chance I want to rock some Christmas tunes in the middle of July I suppose, or something, but I got the top 200 songs on here and that covers damn near anything I want to play.

11/19/2006 5:53:06 PM

upon further consideration, i think that i might be better served by a GPS equipped PDA. i don't need it for making appointments and stuff, but it i could use the basic internet access they offer along with plenty of mp3 storage, and the touch screen will make operating it easier than a cell phone could ever be (or my City Select equipped Garmin 96c, for that matter).

i'll just carry my phone seperately.

anyone care to offer a crash course in GPS equipped PDAs? what are some good models in terms of bang for the buck (probably lower on the buck scale--i think entry level will probably be all i need). what features should I look for?

11/24/2006 1:55:54 PM

i don't use my phone for the mp3 stuff wife got me a product red nano (red and white for all true state fans) phonese in my humble opinion suck for music, the gps i'll reiterate is MUCH more up-to-date than what I've experianced w/ tom tom and wasn't all that slow honestly, might vary by phone

[Edited on November 24, 2006 at 4:43 PM. Reason : ps. nextel sucks]

11/24/2006 4:42:59 PM

my Helio Kickflip has everything except for the GPS

i have a 1GB card with about 200 songs on it at the moment..plenty for most situations

the 2MP camera takes pretty good pictures, and the phone itself has 70MB of internal memory

11/28/2006 2:40:02 PM

verizon has an lg phone that will do what you want.

11/29/2006 10:48:12 PM