Smartphone or tablet for a bicycle?

WildcatRudy

Active Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
172
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39
Location
Near the lake in SCS, MI
Current Phone Model
Pixel XL
I am getting back on the bike after an absence of a few years. I like the option of having my Nexus 4 along for the ride, using it for GPS and Google Tracks, along with geocaching duties (primarily c:geo but also the official Geocaching app). When I am geocaching, I often will take the tablet along, since I cannot read the Nexus 4 all that well without glasses. While I can toss the tablet into a carrier on the bike, it's the phone I'm worried about, as it's my primary phone for now. I've already taken a spill from an older bike (with the surgical scars to show for it :D ) so having something out in the open on the handlebars just seems unsettling. So, a cheaper "throwaway" device is probably what I'm after.

I would like to mount a phone, or even a smaller tablet (probably no larger than 6") on the bike, keeping the Nexus 4 in the padded carrier for the data connection. There seem to be plenty of mounts available, but I'm wondering if anyone here has seen a cheap-ish tablet/phone in the 5-6" range, even if it's slightly outdated, which could reliably run the apps I need. I know there are sub-$50 7" tablets, but those are a bit too large. But something similar in a smaller package might fit the bill. No cell connection needed, as I'll be using WiFi to grab data from the Nexus 4.
 
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