I recently bought an AGM X1 smartphone, intended for outdoorsy kind of use, rugged and waterproof to IP68, which is a great feature to have on a cruising boat( I've already had mine swilling about in seawater in the bottom of the tender, without damage!).
I find that I can keep it charged very easily using a USB 2.1A plug in a 12 V socket, whereas that setup doesn't keep up with the demands of my iPad.
I've added a LifeActiv mount to it so that I can fix it on the bulkhead next to the charging socket, and added a belt clip with a short webbing loop so that I don't drop it when hand-held, and a long webbing loop so that I can sling it around my neck.
It's performing very well as my small boat's chartplotter, my music centre (the speaker is good enough not to need headphones, when bulkhead-mounted so that sound is reflected back), and of course my communications device.(phone, SMS, email, FB, internet).
I got mine from a source on eBay.co.UK at about £280, about half the cost of an iPhone, for an equally able and better-protected phone.
edited by David Tyler on 5/30/2017
edited by David Tyler on 5/30/2017