rasgoat wrote:
While I would not recommend using the i-Phone 4 for mountian use. It is in my opinion THE best phone. I get better sevice (AT&T) with my i-phone 4 in my area than I did with my verizon phone. I used t get three dropped calls on the way home from work and now it is none.

I disagree. You probably had a very old out-dated phone by Verizon. Last I checked, Verizon is the only network available in the most rural remote areas across the US. It is the only network in the Adirondack Park. Last summer, it was the only network available at Camp Muir on Rainier. Also, this summer my VZ phone had pretty good connection throughout the Tetons, while others' AT&T didn't have any reception. When I go up to VT or NH, Verizon is the most reliable service.

To the OP, if you decide to go with Verizon, make sure to get one of their "world" phones. They come with pre-installed SIM cards and can pick up GSM signal when you travel outside of CDMA network (Verizon's network). Even if you don't plan on climbing outside of US or North America, it's great when climbing in the areas close to the Canadian border (Northern Cascades for example).

At least for my phone (HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon ) you need to be on the cell network to use maps/gps. Not sure if its the case for the iPhone.

So when you're out in the boonies, GPS will give you a location on the map - but the map will be blank. I had this happen driving out in the middle of nowhere on Highway 1 up on the Sonoma coast...wasn't the most useful thing in the world when I was trying to see if I had overshot a specific beach. I haven't looked to see if you can extract a coordinate from the GPS without map info (there's probably an app for that), but if you could I guess that would still be useful out in the backcountry. I wouldn't want to have to rely on it, however.

welle wrote: You probably had a very old out-dated phone by Verizon.

It was two years old and surely nothing special.

no2haven wrote:At least for my phone (HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon ) you need to be on the cell network to use maps/gps. Not sure if its the case for the iPhone.

So when you're out in the boonies, GPS will give you a location on the map - but the map will be blank. I had this happen driving out in the middle of nowhere on Highway 1 up on the Sonoma coast...wasn't the most useful thing in the world when I was trying to see if I had overshot a specific beach. I haven't looked to see if you can extract a coordinate from the GPS without map info (there's probably an app for that), but if you could I guess that would still be useful out in the backcountry. I wouldn't want to have to rely on it, however.

There is an app on the droid marketplace called MyTracks that lets you download portions of map ahead of time. Its actually a really nice gps for a phone although as stated previously, i wouldnt use it on anything too serious and remote.

http://mytracks.appspot.com/

Cell, Spot, sat, gps ... it's really situational.

I hike and climb in Kananaskis. The Bow River Valley is home to Canmore and Banff, and the networks cover these areas.

Cell towers are installed where the local population is large enough to attract the network companies. On some mountains, you can phone home to let them know you're coming down, if you are coming down on the tower-side of the mountain. On some summits, you can play a game of "hide and seek" with the network access.

Head into the ranges, just a mountain or two, and you're out of sight, and out of range, for those towers.

Where I go, there is usually a pay-phone on a land-line, maybe 5 to 20 kilometers away, so that's a possibility.

I call this "remote". That means, if I need to phone somebody, I cannot.

So I always carry my compass and map.

This year I also carry a Spot. It sends an email to my wife, when I stop to send one. No message, just "I'm OK". I'm not too sure what would happen if I send an SOS.

no2haven wrote:At least for my phone (HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon ) you need to be on the cell network to use maps/gps. Not sure if its the case for the iPhone.

AFAIK, iPhone is the same - the GPS is built-in, but you need to be online for the map service. What do you think of the Droid Incredible? Sorry to the thread hijack.

welle wrote:
AFAIK, iPhone is the same - the GPS is built-in, but you need to be online for the map service. What do you think of the Droid Incredible? Sorry to the thread hijack.

I like it a lot...compared to the other Verizon smartphones I think its the perfect size. The phone itself is quite fast, and internet over 3g and wifi is very fast. It takes nice pictures for a phone. The GPS is quite accurate and acquires satellites pretty much immediately.

I'd say the battery life is decent - I get from 7am-7pm without charging usually, though that's with light use at while I'm at work. The battery drains fairly quickly when doing lots of browsing, etc, though. Also, the screen is a bit hard to see in direct sunlight - harder than my roommate's iPhone.

If it broke and I could buy any current phone, I'd likely buy it again.

Verizon seems to have the best coverage overall, but in deep mountain backcountry, you'll be lucky to get a signal. I've used SPOT and currently use InReach. Both worked well in my hands. InReach allows 2-way texting. Not sure if SPOT has progressed in that regard. SPOT and InReach use different satellite technologies. InReach is the better of the two IMO.