Best phone for trail journaling? [Archive]

Stats 2012

07-13-2011, 21:02

Forgive me for speaking out of school here, but I, too, have been pondering this question and my research is pointing me to the Droid X. Please note I have not yet not purchased a Smartphone, so please correct me if my conclusions are off base. I’m sure you guys will!

The ones that I examined most closely were the iPhone, the g'ZOne Commado by Casio, and the Droid X by Motorola.

IMO the iPhone has lots of issues on the AT. First, Apple hides all your files from you; it works great when you have Internet access to the "cloud", but you can't count on that in the green tunnel. You don’t have access to the battery, which means you need to take along some type of charging device.

The Commando is a great Droid-like unit that meets military specs for shock, dust, and water exposure. (It can be submerged for 30 minutes in 3-feet of water without damage.) The problem I had with it when testing it in the store was the screen was so thick (for strength) that it often couldn't detect when I had pressed a button. This wouldn't be too much of an issue if you were simply placing a call, but I think it would drive me insane as I journal! So this is out.

The Droid X has a lot of advantages and is the one I’m currently leaning toward. The battery is easily removable, so I'll purchase two lightweight spare batteries and that should keep me going for days. (I can then recharge all three when I'm in town.) This phone stores all your files on a micro-SD card that can be easily removed, inserted into any PC, mailed home, backed up, replaced, etc. In other words, you have access to ALL your files. I'll be using Word for my journaling, which saves files to the micro-SD card -- that is, you can work without the Internet! Again, this is key for a thru! With the Droid you can intelligently turn on/off any or all of these: WiFi, 3G/4G, GPS, which will help save battery life. Also the Droid phone uses an 8 megapixel camera (the iPhone's is 5 megapixel), but the jury is out on which phone produces the best images.

I’ll put the phone in an Otterbox, which should protect it while on the Trail.

Furlough

07-14-2011, 08:47

Stats,
How would the Droid do as a camera option/alternative?

Myakka Mules

07-14-2011, 17:33

Who are the Myakka Mules? I live in Sarasota in the winter...just getting into AT hiking. Where will you be hiking to use the Trail Journals? Do you hike down south in the winter?

We live in Sarasota fulltime and maintain 20 miles of trail in Myakka State Park. Look for us on www.trailjournals.com (http://www.trailjournals.com) in the 2012 journals.

Stats 2012

07-14-2011, 20:09

Stats,
How would the Droid do as a camera option/alternative?

For the package, I am pleased with the quality of the images. I wouldn't recommend it if you desire telephoto shots or want to create poster-sized prints, but it will do nicely for a backpacker who wants to remember the places and people met on the Trail.

I need a cell to phone the wife and kids back home and I require an electronic journal for my book I am writing for my sabbatical. If I didn't have these needs I'd just bring a notebook and small camera. But since I do I feel that a Smartphone is a way I can simplify. The Droid camera has plenty of resolution for my book's needs.

LDog

07-14-2011, 22:49

... IMO the iPhone has lots of issues on the AT. First, Apple hides all your files from you; it works great when you have Internet access to the "cloud", but you can't count on that in the green tunnel.

I also intend to use a smartphone for journaling, light photo manipulation, email, and uploading to web sites. To deal with battery life, I intend to operate in airplane mode. If I can't get to a file while in airplane mode, well, that's a deal-breaker.

You don’t have access to the battery, which means you need to take along some type of charging device.

I think that might be preferable to carrying a bunch of xtra batteries. Droids have a reputation for sucking m/Ahs fast. A device like the New Trent external batteries might actually be lighter than a comparable number of spare batteries: http://www.newtrent.com/HTC-EVO-android-External-Battery-p/imp500_android.htm

The Droid X has a lot of advantages and is the one I’m currently leaning toward.

Have you looked at the HTC Incredible 2?

LDog

07-14-2011, 23:48

Apple hides all your files from you; it works great when you have Internet access to the "cloud", but you can't count on that in the green tunnel. You don’t have access to the battery, which means you need to take along some type of charging device.

Per Apple's web site:

When airplane mode is on, http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/APPLECARE_ALLGEOS/HT1644/iphone_airplane_icon.jpg appears in the status bar at the top of the screen, and no cell phone, radio, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth signals are emitted from iPhone. When airplane mode is on, you can still do things like:

Listen to music
Watch video
Check your calendar
Take or view pictures
Hear alarms
Use the stopwatch or timer
Use the calculator
Take notes
Read text messages and email messages stored on iPhone
When airplane mode is on, you can’t make calls, send text messages, surf the web, or check for new email.

Stats 2012

07-14-2011, 23:58

A device like the New Trent external batteries might actually be lighter than a comparable number of spare batteries: http://www.newtrent.com/HTC-EVO-android-External-Battery-p/imp500_android.htm

I'm intrigued by the New Trent extender, but I'm still thinking about just buying 2 or 3 replacement batteries. They weigh practically nothing (I don't have specs on the battery's mass, but the entire phone weighs less that the New Trent model you reference: 5.47oz vs 6oz) and it would mean keeping track of just one system -- the phone, its batteries, and its charger.

You are right that when in use with all the bells and whistles going any Smartphone will suck down power, but in standby mode the Droid's regular battery lasts 220 hours.

I've been thinking about this problem for six months and I'm still not certain what to do.

Stats 2012

07-15-2011, 00:09

Per Apple's web site:

When airplane mode is on, http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/APPLECARE_ALLGEOS/HT1644/iphone_airplane_icon.jpg appears in the status bar at the top of the screen, and no cell phone, radio, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth signals are emitted from iPhone. When airplane mode is on, you can still do things like:

Listen to music
Watch video
Check your calendar
Take or view pictures
Hear alarms
Use the stopwatch or timer
Use the calculator
Take notes
Read text messages and email messages stored on iPhone
When airplane mode is on, you can’t make calls, send text messages, surf the web, or check for new email.

Yeah, I know, but -- and here's the kicker -- the Apple notepad is truly pitiful and to work with something powerful (Word, for example) you must be on the cloud (Internet). I've tried using cheap-o notepad apps for the iPhone, but to get the text from the phone to a PC for editing is painful and I would spend days on the formatting.

So what I need is a full version of Word on the phone, from which I can open and edit a formatted template, and do so at the top of Clingman's Dome in airplane mode. I just don't see the iPhone being able to do that. I think of the iPhone as a consumer product and the Droid phones as producer products.

Can someone prove me wrong? Please.

attroll

07-15-2011, 00:10

The touch screen phones use more battery.

I thru hiked last year and wrote to my journal on my phone every night.
I only logged on the internet about every three days to upload the journals.
I carried about three extra batteries for my phone but really only needed one.
I used a blackberry curve and had not problems with it at all.
I purchased a word processor for it called Documents To Go before my hike and started doing a lot of practice typing before my hike.
Just keep it dry and practiced typing with it long before my hike.
I currently own a droid and the battery does not last very long. I think if I did it again I would use the blackberry again.

Stats 2012

07-15-2011, 00:26

I currently own a droid and the battery does not last very long. I think if I did it again I would use the blackberry again.

This was very helpful AT Troll. Thanks! I'm curious if you've tested how long your Droid batteries last if you turn off GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi, etc. I ask because I anticipate I'll journal while in airplane mode.

attroll

07-15-2011, 00:39

This was very helpful AT Troll. Thanks! I'm curious if you've tested how long your Droid batteries last if you turn off GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi, etc. I ask because I anticipate I'll journal while in airplane mode.
I have to charge my battery every night on my droid and that is without using the gps and Wifi.
Also keep in mind they when your phone does not have a signal it constantly continues to search for a signal until it locks onto one. If it is doing this it also drains the battery.
I had very good service my whole hike with my phone carrier. When I was in spots when the service was bad I would put it in airplane mode. This would save the battery too.
I also usually put it in airplane mod at night before I went to bed.

Stats 2012

07-15-2011, 00:47

Have you looked at the HTC Incredible 2?

I can't recall. I've been sifting through the quagmire for months and all phones are starting to blur together. I think any Android phone has major advantages over the iPhone. The Droid X is the one that keeps rising to the top of my queue, but I can't find any reason not to like the Incredible 2. In fact, the Incredible 2 has more memory, an additional camera, longer standby time, a smaller mass, and its global ready with a SIM card.

Hummm. Can nothing be simple?

LDog

07-15-2011, 09:51

I'm thinking a trip to my genius sister's place, and to the local Apple store is in order for me. Tho I am engaged in a great iPhone v Droid discussion on Google+ and I am being won over to the Droid side based on a number of issues. Being able to plug it into a PC and have it recognized as a drive is one. Having a removable SD card is another. The true multi-tasking nature of the OS....

attroll

07-15-2011, 11:03

Talk to anyone with an iPhone and a droid and see how long they can go before they have to recharge there phone. I think you will find out that if left one all day they will be dead towards the end of the day.

LDog

07-15-2011, 15:22

I've heard that with fairly aggressive power management, one can get a few days out of them. Leave em off when you don't need them, use them in airplane mode when you use functions that don't require connectivity, change email to manual vice push, turn off GPS checks in apps that use it, turn off notifications you don't "have" to have, close apps running in BG you don't need.

Myakka Mules

07-15-2011, 17:12

Sooooo, If all I want to do is Journal daily on some sort of Word program and every other day get on line and copy and paste what I have written to Trail Journals then turn off the phone I should be alright with the Droid or the Blackberry...... Right?????

Grinder

07-15-2011, 17:24

I tried to journal on a Samsung Intercept this spring. I couldn't do it!!! Skip coverage, which, admittedly is sketchy from Sprint. The phone had some "touch" commands that would rip the message I was typing from my phone and mail it. So then I ried writing using the note taking function. That wouldn't work either the message would get deleted

I specifically got a sliding key board to help me, but it was terrible!! You can't write while you're scared to death of hitting the magic button of death!1

Don't buy until you can try out the hardware.

Stumpknocker used a Verizon enV a few years ago and posted a bangup journal for his whole thru. Maybe his fingers are smarter than mine???

Pushup

07-15-2011, 17:43

Anyone use a netbook? I know they're bigger than a phone obviously but the advantage of the full keyboard seems like it might be nice

LDog

07-15-2011, 19:56

I considered a lightweight keyboard coupled to the phone, but lightweight keyboard is an oxymoron

theinfamousj

07-15-2011, 21:45

Several (five or so) years ago, I was following the journal of a guy who hiked the whole of Japan using a Nokia. As a result, I purchased then, and still use, a Nokia of the E-series. It has the same form-factor of a Blackberry, but the battery lasts considerably longer.

Nokia comes with a Documents to Go program where you can use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. The E72, which I have, has a 5 MP camera. I can go a full week on a battery, provided I don't make phone calls. It recharges easily off of my Solio solar panel (also how he managed his batteries). And my child-sized hands do not find the keys to be too hard to press. Files are saved to SD card. You can hook the phone up to a computer where it appears as a flash drive, or pop out the SD card and stick it in a computer. Also comes with offline GPS software so I always know where I am, even without connecting to any service at all. And I have no trouble keeping mine quite safe and dry in the small sized Pelican case.

The only down side is this phone is GSM only so won't work on Verizon or Sprint.

... because I know the subject just needed another contender.

(PS: I write my travel - be it hiking or urban backpacking - entries via LiveJournal email post option and the phone handles it like a champ.)

clipless

07-17-2011, 22:16

Check out this thread on hiking with a Droid:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?68284-Hiken-with-my-Droid/page3

You also might read Brian 'Gadget" Lewis journal on postholer.com. Specifically some of the early portions of of his CDT journal (which he is currently hiking) in which he discusses a new phone he chose and why. He has used a mobile phone to journal extensively (quite literally nearly every day) on the PCT & AT and now CDT. He has the trail name 'Gadget' for a reason. I believe he uses a blue tooth collapsible keyboard which I am thinking would be the way to go.

tenlots

07-17-2011, 23:30

Enic

07-17-2011, 23:31

A lot of us are in the same boat looking for the perfect phone. Since I am on Verizon, those are the phones I've researched. The suggesttion to check out the Incredible 2 is worth more support. I love the fact that it has the forward facing camera, because I can Skype video call people back at home, while in town at least. Another option I looked at was the G'Zone Commando, because no Otter Box is needed then. It lacks a lot though, IMO. Good luck.

LDog

07-18-2011, 13:46

Pixelgator

07-18-2011, 16:05

Haven't used my Droid X2 on a long hike but the battery lasts about a day with the GPS on and using Quickoffice in the airplane mode. I do wish I could turn off the searching for a signal.

LDog

07-19-2011, 09:21

I do wish I could turn off the searching for a signal.

Isn't that what airplane mode does?

attroll

07-19-2011, 13:54

I recently hiked 8days with my droid. I shut down the phone after texting and receiving perhaps once daily. My phone lasted without a charge. Next year I will buy 2extra batteries on amazon. They are cheap around 6.00 each. However, my friend was the only one to have one bar at war spur shelter to call for our shuttle. I had none!
Be careful of those cheap batteries on Amazon. I purchased three of the cheap droid batteries along with an external charger. The external charger works good. The batteries work good when they are charged. The only problem is that you can not charge the batteries when they are in the phone. You have to charge them with the external charger. This ends up being a pain in the butt.

MEB

07-19-2011, 14:17

I used the Blackberry Curve but I do not think they make it anymore. I bought a hard case for it and kept it in a ziplock bag, and then in a dry bag with other things.
I typed my journal entry in the Memo Pad feature.
When I had service I would copy and paste the entry in an email and send it home.
My sisters would than copy it on to Trail Journals.
I carried one battery and the charger and would plug in whenever I had the chance.
I kept the phone off most of the time and never had my battery ever go dead.
I have Veriozon and the service was really good most of the time.
Hope this helps!

-MEB

LDog

07-19-2011, 15:30

The only problem is that you can not charge the batteries when they are in the phone. You have to charge them with the external charger. This ends up being a pain in the butt. Not to mention the external charger is a few more ounces on your back.

BigHodag

07-19-2011, 23:42

Have you considered using TrailPhone.net (http://TrailPhone.net) and leaving an audio journal which family can transcribe to text while you're hiking?

I used TrailPhone and uploaded short audio reports. A co-worker transcribed my reports to my TrailJournal for everyone to follow my section hike. With TrailPhone, you don't have to worry about specific phones, extra keyboards, etc. TrailPhone also maps your approximate location based on the mileage you associate with your audio update.

TrailPhone has been completely redesigned and will be fully operation for the 2012 hiking season.

My 2010 TrailPhone audio hiking journal (http://trailphone.net/bighodag).

BTW, for 2011 I carried an unlocked LG Incite 810 (Windows Mobile 6) with a pre-paid T-Mobile sim card. Worked fine in NJ and NY sections. Sent 1-2 texts per day to a co-worker who transcribed them to my TrailJournal for family & others to follow along. Plan to resume using TrailPhone in 2012.

seabrookhiker

07-26-2011, 13:32

Last year I hiked with an AT&T iphone and used it to write and upload my journal. I had some problems with text file corruption, so I ended up making two copies of every post to keep locally. But otherwise it worked well. I kept it in airplane mode except to check messages and to upload the journals, except when I was in town. However I listened to audio all day every day, almost. Figure 8-10 hours of use per day. I turned it off at night. I carried an external battery (the 3G Juice) and between the phone's battery and the external battery, I could go five days before needing to recharge at an outlet. The recharging equipment is really minimal - a small plug for the wall and a small cable. 1.5 oz for the iphone's equipment, a little more for the 3G Juice's.

This year I'm carrying a Verizon iphone so I can get better reception in the boonies. It seems to be able to do more with less signal.

JaxHiker

07-29-2011, 15:59

Over Memorial Day I took my Thunderbolt out. I had 3 extra batteries and with limited GPS/camera usage and most of the trip spent in airplane mode I made it from late Sun to mid Fri on 4 batteries. I had to change to my last battery while enjoying the delicious post-hike burger.

I had planned on using the Wordpress app but that won't let you edit offline. I also tried Word but couldn't figure out how to copy/paste once I had a connection. I'm a neophyte Android user and I'm still trying to get the hang of some of the simple tasks.

Frankly, typing on a soft keyboard sucks. I've never liked it but they don't offer many phones with physical keyboards anymore. To do it right you really want a lightweight bluetooth keyboard but in my pre-hike preps I never did find such a beast. There's one online (can't recall the mfgr) for about $80 but I never ordered it to see if it works.

seebrookhiker, I switched from T-Mobile to Verizon and had much better coverage this year.

LDog

07-30-2011, 13:32

I'm in the same Verizon boat. The Incredible 2 and the Motorola Droid X2 are on my short list.

The Incredible 2 is available at the Verizon stand in my local Costco for $30. Probably going to snag one next week when my new every two is available.

LDog

07-30-2011, 13:39

Frankly, typing on a soft keyboard sucks. I've never liked it but they don't offer many phones with physical keyboards anymore. To do it right you really want a lightweight bluetooth keyboard but in my pre-hike preps I never did find such a beast. There's one online (can't recall the mfgr) for about $80 but I never ordered it to see if it works.

I'm going to try FlexT9 Speak-Trace-Write-Tap (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.nuance.flext9.input&feature=search_result) which uses Nuance's Dragon Dictation software to convert speech to text. I understand that you have to be connected for it to work, but it just might be a way to bang out a couple of paragraphs without fussing with a soft keyboard.