I am not very knowlegeable on this, but I prefer my dedicated GPS. Every time I tried to use my phone for a GPS, I had all kinds of problems. It also drained my phone battery quickly.
eTrex 30 has a lot of functions, as I see, and I can't imagine needing anything more. Although the price is somewhere around $250 to $300, which isn't that cheap.Garmin eTrex series can be picked up pretty cheap and they work great for a small limited function GPS. There' several models of eTrex to chose from and the price will go up depending on the functions.
I should have been more specific, I was referring to the older models of the eTrex GPS. An eTrex Lengend H can be picked up for under $100. I know the new ones are more. Geocaching.com has a forum where you came find GPS units for sale. In the Chicago area there is a group called GONIL (geocachers of northeastern Illinois) they have a site online and they too have GPS units for sale quite often. A few years back I picked up a unused eTrex Legend H for $30.eTrex 30 has a lot of functions, as I see, and I can't imagine needing anything more. Although the price is somewhere around $250 to $300, which isn't that cheap.
We prefer the dedicated, stand-alone GPS. It's quicker and it has a longer battery life than the cell phone, which we try to reserve for emergency use only.Do you prefer carrying dedicated GPS device or do you prefer to carry your cell phone that has this function? Please, go into details on this.
If you're looking to tract your movement, I'd go with the DeLorme PN60 with SPOT capabilities. Or if you just want to keep track of where you've been you can down load the GPS tracks into a mapping program or Google Earth.For short distances or day hikes the mobile phone can be interesting. iPhone has an app called motion x GPS. It will send your gps coordinates to facebook, twitter, or an email address at predetermined intervals. Of course, you better be lugging a battery pack, because the iphone gps will kill a battery. of course, you could do the same thing switching the phone on and manually texting your coordinates every hour.
I like the idea of being able to tell others where I am. The pn60 plus spot sounds good but expensive. I'd rather stick with my cheap gps and maybe an inreach.If you're looking to tract your movement, I'd go with the DeLorme PN60 with SPOT capabilities. Or if you just want to keep track of where you've been you can down load the GPS tracks into a mapping program or Google Earth.