Smart Phone/Tablet

[landynut]

Hi All
Not sure if this is the correct area (feel free to move if not)
Anyway question now most of us have smart phones and tablet's so what happens when it all goes wrong?
Now I know the powers to be will pull the plug on mobile networks (but not on payphones)
What about apps on the phone like mapping GPS etc?
Now I know if you need to download data like maps etc, but what happens if the mapping is already installed on the table/phone would the GPS still work?
Any ideas
thank you all

[Yorkshire Andy]

Stick your device on aeroplane mode that should give you a good idea of what will still work...

I wouldn't get too hung up on using smart phones and the like for navigation in times of conflict the GPS network gets encoded to build in a big error to the civilian user to prevent it been used by the nutter element of the world....

get maps of the area your in and a compass it will work in all conditions

[unsure]

if you have no network , your mobile or tablet just becomes a mobile hard drive .all your info you have stored as a file is still there .

[metatron]

A small LED backlit netbook would be a better option in my opinion. Up the memory with a 4GB stick, swap the hard drive out with a cheapish 128GB solid state drive and install a good distribution of Linux like Debian (reduce's power consumption and removes moving parts).

Stick it in an ammo can with a rollup solar panel, a cheap Chinese 5W hand held radio and a data interface cable to do digital modes, a high power wireless card from Alfa for Mesh networking and a RTL-SDR supported TV dongle and a ham-it-up upconverter for decoding digital radios and other content.

With a laptop running Linux you will be able to run Ham radio tools, PirateBox to share files with other devices and other useful tools like aircrack and pwn-star if you manage to find someone with a working network, as well as scanning, decoding and encrypting/decrypting tools.

You don't need mobile phone networks and internet access to make a computer useful.

[Survivalist85]

Metatron seems like he has the right idea! I know with a little bit of Google work you can find "offline" apps that will run without being connected to anything. Im no expert on these but i know they do exist. I carry a kindle in my kit full of survival and bushcraft books, plus the odd one for entertainment.

[metatron]

If you want mapping you can always install microsoft mappoint using wine and just use a cheap USB GPS dongle if you want world wide maps locally stored.

[onyerbikeuk]

I use an android tablet with Viewranger software. The software is free as are some maps but more detailed maps like os mapping have to be purchased if they are held on you devices memory. As far as GPS goes I don't rely on it. Its handy to have but Best to know how to use your map with a compass. I also like to always have a method of finding north or south without any additional equipment.

[bettersafethansorry]

7/10 Smart phone's lie.... no stand alone GPS in the device they rely on location data sent from your phone buy mobile data.

my recommendation try it, Remove sim and see what you can use... if this will not allow you to do anything without it insert a £0 payg sim card.

Map of UK and compass are BoB musts anyway.

-M