Mr Steinberger said the spotter, partly obscured by a power pole, had got it wrong.
"I did nothing wrong," he said. "But if they don't listen to me then I lose $80."
He is hoping the police will listen as he was working with his employer to get information from the phone to show he was not on it in the minutes leading up to being pulled over and ticketed.
"They stopped me at 9.48am - and I had not been on the phone earlier."
He said he had extra reason not to use the cellphone. He had seen the police earlier setting up down Stoneycroft Rd and even called his mate about it.
As well as getting the sighting wrong, he said the spotter had also got the location wrong - she had him turning off at a corner a block away.
He was slightly bemused at the officer who pulled him over's response to his insisting he check his phone to confirm it had not been used. "He said 'no, we don't do that' and then he said 'we saw you.'
"I don't know what they saw but it wasn't me using my phone and I'm going to fight it, although I shouldn't have to."
Hawke's Bay Road Policing Manager Senior Sergeant Greg Brown said Mr Steinberger was entitled to challenge the ticket.
"He can argue it," he said, adding that the logs of calls were just one aspect of a cellphone as they could be used for other reasons.
For that reason, and the time factor, the logs were generally not checked at the roadside.