Shopping for a cell phone for geocaching

In my last post I considered handheld GPS units for geocaching. Now it's time to think about getting a cell phone that does the same thing and more. In that last post I covered some of the reasons to consider a GPS-enabled cell phone instead of a dedicated handheld GPS but I left out an important one: the redhead needs a cell phone.

Let's start with the software. I like the looks of Geocache Navigator. That limits my choice of cell phones and choice of carriers to these. It's a shame that Cingular isn't on the list since that's the network I use, but oh well.

We'll probably choose Sprint as our carrier, which means our cell phone options are LG (535 and 550 [Fusic]), Motorola (KRZR, RAZR and SLVR), Samsung (A800 and A880) and Sanyo (5600, 6600 [Katana], 7050, 7400, 7500, 8300, 8400, 9000 and M1).

The LG 535 is discontinued. The Sanyo 5600, Samsung A800, Samsung A880, Sanyo 7400, Sanyo 7500 and Sanyo 8300, Sanyo 9000 don't have Bluetooth. The Sanyo 7050 doesn't have a camera. The Samsung 6600 (Katana) and Motorola SLVR have lame cameras.

Which leaves five. Phonescoop.com's product comparison matrix is here. My comparison chart is below.

Phone	MSRP	Features
Motorola KRZR	$399.99-$599.99US	64MB RAM, microSD card slot. See video review.
LG 550 (Fusic)	$379.99US	23MB RAM, changeable faceplates, FM transmitter, stereo Bluetooth, microSD card slot, 2.5 mm headset jack. See video review.
Motorola RAZR	$599.99US	30MB RAM, microSD card slot
Sanyo SCP-8400	$279.99US	60MB RAM, microSD card slot, 2.5 mm headset jack, call screening. See video preview.
Sanyo M1	$349.99US	1GB RAM (but no microSD card slot) 2 megapixel camera (the others have 1 MP), 2.5 mm headset jack, call screening. See video review.

Decision to come, after appropriate consulting with the redhead.