Touring - pda on tour?

when i was in guatemala, i ran into a quaker writing a book on a palm pilot and foldable keyboard. while i don't like technogeek stuff, i do like light stuff that has many functions, such as having manuals, games, word processor, address book, etc. having searched in the forum and on the web with little success, i put it to you all: what do you all think of touring with a pda? are there map programs available? if it's a good idea, which one would be most suitable for touring?

I took one backpacking during the winter. Loved it. Ran into a snowstorm and was stuck in a small shelter for 15 hours. I had some books downloaded into the memory and it saved my sanity! It was much lighter than carrying the books as well. As for bicycle touring I would imagine the experience would be similar. Although for extened touring you might run into trouble without being able to easily backup your data on the fly.

heres an article on touring with a lap top.

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/laptop.htm

havent seen anything on touring with PDA's. but id imagine there is mapping software since some PDA's can have GPS attachments.

PDA's are cool--mine has made a big difference in organizing my personal and professional lives.

As another poster indicated, you can download e-books (many for free) and play games on them to pass the time. This has been great at airports, waiting for appointments, etc.

I would rate my foldable keyboard as "functional" but wouldn't want to type War & Peace on it. If you're keeping a trip journal, it would work fine. For making occasional notes and comments, however, the graffitti software is just fine.

Power is always a problem; my Palm m130 advertised a battery life of one week (it's a rechargeable) but it really only lasts for a day or two of heavy usage (i.e., reading books in your tent at night). If you're going to be in areas where electrical outlets will be few and far between (you will also need to buy a travel charger for this option), you should consider buying a model that uses replaceable alkaline batteries instead.

Another use I've seen advertised for PDA's and biking is the ability to download maps, travel directions, etc. It would be worth checking into if you're really serious about maximizing the potential of your handheld.

Have fun!

B.

:beer: