I realize that many people love their various apps and in some cases depend on them (I imagine any one using square) but all I want is a web browser, sms and if I have to: phone calls.
Though I'm very much in the ~200$/3yr range for phones so I probably can't afford one anytime soon.
I can live without the web browser.
I beg your pardon, but I think this is something yet non-existent with webapps - the best you can get is a prepared list of directions, and maybe you can set the tab to auto-update once in a while. And this is something any half-decent navigation app does.
For walking around, Google Maps works fairly well in a browser, and it will not take long for someone (possibly even me) to build a dedicated app. Worst case scenario, stick Google Maps inside Electron.
Again, not arguing that would be sufficient for everyone. Just that it would be sufficient for me, and that's good enough. I don't need to care about a general solution if I'm buying a device for myself.