With 3G shutting down, I’m looking at new phones, but so far the specs aren’t very helpful in assessing which would be best to take into the field!
Key features I’m looking for:
- Sturdy - unlikely to break if dropped, rained on, etc.
- Good battery life, ideally supporting multi-day fieldtrips but at minimum allowing active map use for a full day’s field work without going flat
- Good geolocation accuracy, i.e. not the up to 2km error I sometimes get on my current device
- Decent camera, suitable for clear images of fast-moving, small, and/or distant wildlife
- Not too large and heavy, able to fit securely into the inadequately-sized pockets of women’s trousers without falling out or being ‘pickpocketed’ by dense vegetation
- Able to run the TrapNZ app (of course)
Recommendations of phones that have performed well when rigorously field-tested by fellow trappers would be appreciated, as would mentions of any phone models that didn’t survive in the bush environment!