Originally Posted by
bikemig
Is a smart phone the way to go for long distance touring (and you just need to deal with the recharging issue) or are 2 devices that use readily available double A batteries the way to go? I'm leaning towards the latter. A smartphone is sweet but I'm not sure I want to pay for a smart phone plus data plan.
I don't find my iPhone to be that onerous to deal with regard to power issues. I do have an external battery with solar charger which comes in handy for those times when I'm not near a plug. Just having a phone is fairly useless in my experience but having access to data and information about where you are riding is worth the hassles. It frees you up in terms of routing and locating services. Paper maps and guide books only go so far while a smart phone will tell you everything you need to know.
Depending on locals can get you into trouble as well. They think in "car" not in "bike". I've learned the hard way that "Oh, it's just 20 minutes over there," means usually means more like 40 minutes by car and is 40 to 50 miles away.
I try and make everything else work on AA batteries, however. Any camera I carry is powered by AA batteries. If you get too many devices, the number of chargers you need to carry explodes.