quicksilver27 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hi guys, was wondering if anyone could help my wife and I who are coming to Australia/ brisbane/ sunshine coast in March! Very excited. Will our Samsung galaxy phones work if we buy new sim cards? Also can you buy sat nav / gps at the airport? Any information greatly appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaria Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Hi guys, was wondering if anyone could help my wife and I who are coming to Australia/ brisbane/ sunshine coast in March! Very excited. Will our Samsung galaxy phones work if we buy new sim cards? Also can you buy sat nav / gps at the airport? Any information greatly appreciated. Thank you. yes they will work as long as they are not carrier locked. I used google maps on my android phone for a 1000km road trip from Perth down the south coast without problems. Just bought a car mount and charger along with me when I visited. Just need to ensure that you have 3G data enabled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver27 Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Thank you rvaria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Yup, go with a phone app rather than a new SatNav, just be sure to get them unlocked before you leave. Personally I like Sygic, been using it for years on my iPhone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver27 Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Cheers quoll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davlap Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Cost of mobile data can be high in Aus, you might want to consider sat nav with offline maps. HERE for Android has just been made free and you can download offline maps http://www.here.com I don't use this particular one (I use IGo) so there may be a few choices out there. Having said that, SatNavs seem to have dropped in price a lot, but I doubt airport prices would be very good. Quick look at Harvey Norman, $70 not even in the sale (no lifetime maps though) http://www.harveynorman.com.au/phones-accessories-gps/gps/gps-navigators/navman-move30-gps-navigator.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver27 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Very useful information davlap , Was expecting sat navs to be more expensive. Cheers mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Don't buy it at the airport, you'll get better deals in town. Remember to get your phones unlocked and you can just pop your Oz SIM cards in. We were glad we didn't buy a Sat Nav as the car we bought had a system built in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver27 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Nice one tina0101 , appreciate it thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 The phones should work fine. I would go for a separate satnav for the car. They are pretty cheap and it will prevent you from having a quick squizzy at your phone while you're driving and being a danger. I know you can get a mount for the phone but I still see loads of people on their mobile, or looking at it when driving. The cops here are having a massive blitz on using mobiles and driving. Big fines and they use unmarked motorbikes to catch people. Satnav is a godsend when you don't know your way around, especially in cities. When I go away on work trips I always get one from the hire company, saved me getting lost and stressed a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver27 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Makes sense Paul, thank you mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaria Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Cost of mobile data can be high in Aus, you might want to consider sat nav with offline maps. HERE for Android has just been made free and you can download offline maps http://www.here.com Google Maps caches maps or you can download areas while you are on wifi. I mapped my route while on wifi then my total download while on the road for 1000km of touring was around 50mb, that included live traffic updates which are free with Google maps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Google Maps caches maps or you can download areas while you are on wifi. I mapped my route while on wifi then my total download while on the road for 1000km of touring was around 50mb, that included live traffic updates which are free with Google maps. If you get one of the sat Nav map apps on your phone you don't access data at all. I turned my data off when I used to visit UK but always had the turn by turn instructions on the phone (in a cradle, not used as "phone" wile driving!) mine has lifetime map updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaria Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 If you get one of the sat Nav map apps on your phone you don't access data at all. I turned my data off when I used to visit UK but always had the turn by turn instructions on the phone (in a cradle, not used as "phone" wile driving!) mine has lifetime map updates. You don't need data switched on once your have set your route with Google maps and it will track you on the map, just not give turn instructions. Other big advantage of having data switched on is live traffic info and re-routing though based on my road trip, outside of urban areas didn't get much traffic anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEM44 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 We recently visited Perth, I bought a Vodafone sim for $20 and used the 3G for 3 weeks driving round using google maps on my iPhone and it was excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebo Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 There is an Optus shop selling Sim cards inside the arrivals area just to your right at BNE international, if like me you just need to get connected ASAP, as someone else said it may not be the best deal but I usually find time to short to shop around when arriving in a new country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicksilver27 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Yes frebo I feel the same. Will keep an eye out for optus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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