Looking for folks with experience here. This not for hiking. All I need are good Latitude and Longitude coordinates. I will be in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. How reliable is the GPS in my Samsung galaxy S3? My wife has a new HTC something or another. Will be under a wide open sky. No trees. No obstructions. Again, not for hiking or mapping. I just want latitude and longitude coordinates. Thanks!

The GPS will be fine, but it will take longer to get a fix. Just make sure you download you maps prior to going.

Post on the outdoor board.

I think you'd have a map & battery issue.

Might be able to get a deal on a real GPS during amazon's July 15th sale.

Gps isn't run through cell service, only the maps that your position is overlayed onto. You won't kill your battery any faster using gps in the middle of nowhere. The drain comes from your phone looking for data from a cell tower. Get any app with a lat and long display. I have an altimeter / coord combo that I dled from the play store for free. If you need maps use offline map service like offline maps. Happy travels, weather is crappy here in CO this week.

If he's using his phone as his GPS in the middle of nowhere won't his phone be constantly searching for a signal?

Turn the cell radio off.