Cell phones had been available for years before I finally got one. I have yet to use the one I have for ANYTHING but voice communication. Now, as the time draws nearer to take off on my first hike of more than a week in over 35 years, I am thinking of a smartphone for online journal and Facebook entries. Normal use will be an hour or so a day to compose and send the entries. I was thinking that the phone would be off 95% of the time, turned on only when needed for entering and/or sending text. And a rare phone call. Then I thought of the need for it to take occasional pictures (most will be taken with an actual camera) for the journal and Facebook.
It's one thing to read about battery life in a device's specs, but (for me anyway) it's hard to equate that to real life usage. Used as a phone, my military grade Casio stays on all the time and goes four or five days before showing a need to be recharged. However, on average, it is in actual use less than five minutes a day. Will turning a smartphone on and off several times a day drain the battery about as much as just leaving it on? On average, about how many days can I expect between charges? And, something that I never had to consider on past hikes, how often can I expect to find an outlet to plug into? While I will be hitting towns every three or four days for resupply, I hope to spend most nights on the trail and use hostels or motels less than once every two weeks.
Understand that all I want it for is written and voice communication. It is useful technology that will allow me to easily share the walk with friends at home. I don't pay much attention to weather reports at home, and all the GPS I plan on needing will be good old paper maps and a compass.