- mobile phone
- internet surfing abilities
- embedded GPS
- photocamera 2Mpx
- videocamera 320x240
In 120g you have at least two devices you would probably carry along: the photocamera (say 150g for ultracompact year 2008 models) and the GPS receiver (that's 100g for my Geko201). You might or might not want to film your activation, that accounts for 400g or more. A light mobile phone is around 90g. Some crazy SOTAers have carried laptops with them, that is at least 1kg... Let's try a comparative table:
Tool | Weight (g) | Weight gain (g) | Cost (EURO) | Saving (EURO) |
Mobile phone | 90 | Assuming i780 | 30 | Assuming i780 |
GPS | 90 | with second | 130 | Costs 400 EURO |
Camera | 150 | battery is 160g. | 100 | |
Videocamera | 400 | 160 | ||
TOTAL w/o laptop | 730 | 570 | 420 | 20 |
Laptop | 1000 | 300 | ||
TOTAL | 1730 | 1570 | 720 | 320 |
As of mid April 2008, this smartphone seems to be both a weight and a cost saver for technologically sick SOTA activators.
Drawbacks found so far:
- it has a non-standard connector for audio in/out, so it cannot be easily used for digital modes with PocketDigi
- the battery does not last very long, and Samsung sells the device with a second battery