Questions about Eris

[octoberdana]

Thinking of getting our daughter and droid for her 16th birthday. Since she is not yet due for an upgrade we have to purchase outbreak side of contract. We are considering an Eris for her. How is the gps on this phone? With her starting to drive soon this is important. Also how is the battery? She won't be able to charge the phone during the day.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Kevkelsar]

GPS has been great for me. I've used Navigation quite a bit and CardioTrainer while running to record my routes, distances, and time.

The battery may be a deal breaker. The stock battery will most likely not last through the day of a teenage user. However, you can buy batteries that will last longer.

 

[doogald]

Another thing about the battery: using Navigation is extremely processor-intensive and really sucks the battery down so long as you have the application displayed. It is possible to hit "home" while you are using Navigation (and letting the display sleep) and it will continue to navigate, including with voice prompts, but of course you lose the heads-up display.

Of course, if she is in the car, she is likely very close to a source of power to charge the battery and power the phone.

 

[octoberdana]

Well she isn't allowed to use the phone during school so if she left it on sleep during the school day she might be okay. And sorry for all the typos in my previous post. Still learning how to type on my new droid incredible.

 

[mc48]

The navigation is great on my Eris. My 18 yr old son and 20 yr old daughter both have android phones (LG Alleys) with google nav. With both having drivers licenses, cars and jobs, I have certainly felt a bit better that they have this option when they are out and about. and for myself, I haven't had to use my TomTom since getting the 2.1 update. and, with the TomTom you have to pay for updates, not the case with google maps. Nav like most apps on the smart phone is a battery drainer, so some form of battery recharging is necessary. A simple car charger is pretty inexpensive though.

 

[xx_bishop_xx]

I've been very pleased with the GPS. Battery life is more than likely the biggest issue. If one is cognizant of how the phone is being used, the battery can be somewhat "reasonable". I agree with mc48, car chargers are very handy, even a spare device cable for charging from a notebook. Seems like all students have notebook computers these days.