This will be about getting a spare device in case you decide to stop living in the mainstream culture and economy. There is no real reason for my interest, but I just speculated what it would take and experimented. Below are my conclusions.
Purchase a cheap Android phone from the years 2015-2017 for under $20 online that is refurbished or used but still fully functional. I used eBay because that is my go to site to get most things online. While these phones will be slower compared to the latest models, aim for one with at least Android version 7 since it seems to have enough support to install most of the applications I’ll mention below. You don’t need a SIM card to use GPS or wifi networks, and most all phones come with GPS anyway, including fast lock features and support for Chinese or Russian versions of GPS. Many of these phones are locked to cellular providers in Central and South America but can be found in the U.S. at a low cost.
- Motorola phones work really well. HTC phones have fingerprint recognition.
- The Koobee K100 has Android Go 12.
- ZTE phones offer a good mix of features.
First, download F-Droid and Droidify as it has a ‘free’ app store and completely bypasses Google Play authentication. Personally, I have found Droidify to be more stable and easier to use for updating apps, but I always install F-Droid first. They seem to all have the same applications in fact you can add more software repositories. These apps are standalone pieces of software that may or may not install on your device but generally don’t require additional dependencies.
Next, download Organic Maps or OsmAnd+ from F-Droid and get maps for your region or where you plan to stay for a while. Ensure the maps include topography or at least roads. If you plan on using the internet on the device, you’ll need to either sign in to the Play Store to get Brave or install a content blocker like DNS66. If you have a Bluetooth OBDII connector, download AndrOBD, which works quite well.
Additionally, you’ll need an ebook reader like KOReader for PDF and text files, an image viewer/editor better than the built-in Android one, and SpyNet Camera to use the device as a cheap IP camera if connected to a LAN or the internet. A Peer to Peer (P2P) ipcamera would be best, and I am still looking for one. I also recommend downloading VLC or a similar app for playing music and videos, as it offers more customization than the stock Android player.
To use telnet or SSH, download Termux. It is well-supported, includes a dependency manager, and can perform many tasks from the command line similar to a standalone computer. However, I can’t guarantee its stability.