The following iPhone apps are mostly only applicable in the UK;

Tivizen App - but you will need a Tivizen DVB-T WiFi receiver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcfzriQigKE


Memory Map - 1:50,000 USGB DVD of the complete UK is available and maps are transferable to the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoNorronqFU



Other non-uk applicable apps;

Denon Audio App - Excellent audio app graphic equalizer and Internet radio.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/denon-audio/id520604518?mt=8



3CX app - turn you iPhone into a VIOP mobile phone and use a 3rd party VOIP provider

http://www.3cx.com/VOIP/voip-phone/


SPOT connect app - You will need a SPOT connect though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ar1niSpGWQ



If you find yourself in a poor reception area an unlocked MiFi which will take an external antenna for the various microwave frequencies bands to cover 2.5G, 3G and 4G networks could prove useful as a backup using another wireless network provider may prove to be invaluable. i.e. a high gain antenna could provide 10dBi or more signal gain

http://dx.com/p/1710-2170mhz-12dbi-direc...ma-female-37398

Not entirely portable for everyday use, but the external antenna's can be kept in a vehicle.

Edit.. A dual band microwave antenna for a ZTE MF60

http://www.amazon.com/T-Mobile-Hotspot-E...;keywords=zte60

I don't rely on my smart phone for long term assistance during a disaster. I do have Help Bridge installed on my smartphone, and that's available on Windows Phone, iOS and Android. Its a simple app to signal your status - get help - and also if you are remote from a disaster, has ways to give help immediately.

The status signal is an email or SMS text to sets of contacts, "I'm OK" or "I Need Help". There's also a free text option. It has the option to send your coordinates if you need help (or I'm pretty sure if you say you're OK). So if I'm under rubble when it happens, they know where I am and can direct assistance to me, or if I move to a shelter they can also correlate that. I have several lists of contacts pre-made, those for work, my extended family, and for the Red Cross.

In terms of giving help there's an option to send money via PayPal to Red Cross and other responding organizations, something that tracks time and needs for volunteering your time or actual goods. Donating money is almost always preferable despite the good intentioned donations of folks filling pickups with food water and clothing in the initial rush after a disaster.

Its a pretty good tool, and free.

Introduction here:

http://video.app.msn.com/watch/video/hel...r-2-19/qmvyvvhn

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nikon-spoton-ballistic-match/id399224811?mt=8

What would be a nice iPhone app would be one that would control an Auto ballistic Scope controller!

i.e A combined BT communication chronograph, clinometer and Scope turret stepper motor controller.

Plug in the distance to target. i.e Distance data from a IR Laser ranger finder. Plug in the cross wind and bullet weight in grains. Atmosphere air pressure sensor data can also be incorporated along with the ballistic co-efficient of the chosen ammunition.

Muzzle end bullet velocity from the previous chronograph measurement is sent to the iPhone via Blue Tooth and the ballistic drop/gain and left right compensation are sent to the attached scope turret stepper motors after calculation of the ballistic bullet gain or drop etc. Calibration tables of the specific scope calibrations in the iPhone app can be incorporated or can be entered by the end user after testing at the range.

Parralax, magnification and focus adjustment would still be manual use.

It makes sense that GPS works without data capability. I guess my real question is, how does my carrier (Verizon) treat that data coming from the satellite? It's not free, I assume. So, is that data attached to my talk plan or my data plan? Technically, the satellite data is neither, but does Verizon disable satellite data if talk and/or data are disabled? I'll have to call Verizon tech support...

If my GPS works even if my talk plan and data plan are disabled, then I will structure my phone's survival apps to maximize the capabilities of GPS. Satellite communication is likely to be most reliable type of communication on my phone, followed by text, then email, then talk.

No its been paid for from your taxes and the Russian Taxpayer.

Its all free for me being in the UK.

My iPod doesn't have a carrier, doesn't have an inbuilt GPS engine, but it doesn't stop me using GPS apps such as Memory Maps or making very very cheap phone calls.

I just added a Garmin Glo BT GPS and a ZTE MF60.

I don't want Google know what mapping tiles I'm downloading and where I am and I don't want any carrier knowing where I am calling from let alone the telephone number I am calling or the telephone number I am using.

The carrier is legally mandated to be able to track your position using triangulation of your cell phone using timing information from various cell phone towers. This basic geo location is passed back to your phone and provides the GPS engine inbuilt in your phone to more quickly obtain a faster GPS lock just in case you decide to start making and finish calls within 45-60 sec. They really, really want to know where you are calling from with 10-20 square meters rather than 2500 - 4000 square meters.

Apple is even more sneaky as they track log everything even using previously recorded WiFi LANs that Google have surreptitiously and illegally recorded when they created Google street view. These organisations work hand in hand with each other. Considering many companies such as Facebook etc are CIA seeded off shoots this is not surprising.

Does the phone have a GPS chip? If it does then it uses neither data nor voice plan. Hmmm something else to check. I'll put the phone in airplane mode and see if the phone still knows where it is.
Edit: never mind, airplane mode turns that off too.

An important point, espeically with a power hungry smartphone. There are any number of other tweaks--and even apps!--to let you squeeze every last electron of battery life out of your phone by adjusting settings or eliminating unnecessary processes that consume power.

Airplane mode is better than turning your smartphone off because really, your smartphone is just a miniature computer, and it takes a considerable amount of juice to boot it up from an off-state, and we all know how much activity goes on when we're waiting for a computer to boot up.

A phone is for communicating, so finding other options for communications would be logical.

If cell towers are overloaded or down in some incident, but you can still find a WiFi signal, then you can still call or text or even video chat with people with apps like Skype. Pay a little extra and you can dial out to other phones or have a virtual phone number that people can ring you up on (although you're consuming your battery waiting for a call).

And for lots of people, other media such as Facebook and Twitter have replaced voice calls and text messages.

Often, it's just that initial, "Are you OK? Are the kids OK?" that is most important to a person. After that, if you're out of touch, it's not so bad psychologically and you can just carry on.

Does it? just because its not displaying the GPS coordinates doesn't mean it still not recording a geo-track log for Apple.

In the UK there is a paid for network of open WiFi hotspots called British Telecom Wifi, FON and Openzone etc

There are millions of them throughout the UK. Connecting to them for free doesn't represent a problem if you know how to go about it.

http://btopenzone.hotspot-directory.com/results.php?txtQuick=edinburgh