For those of you wondering about our multi-functionality, here’s our awesome list of what we will achieve by using the new phones. (Note: we are looking at various apps to maintain our systems when we are out of wireless range.)
Communication
An agreement Chelsea and I made early on, being two women alone on the road, is that we won’t separate from each other for any distance at all.
That means we carry cell phones with us at all times so we can call each other with questions or concerns. The most common situation we run into is when we pull up to a store or market. One of us generally stays with the bikes and gear while the other runs inside. It’s been really handy to text or call each other when the person inside has questions, rather than having to abandon the shopping cart to run outside.
It’s also a lot easier to make a call to find a hotel or pension and book a room than have to bicycle around hot and tired and discover that everything is full.
With a few keystrokes, I can now send and receive emails on our Traveling Roses account and my two personal accounts without having to have my computer or laptop on. That means anytime we have access to wireless in another country, we can very quickly catch up on emails without having to drag out the laptop.
It’s much easier to take out a phone than a laptop, and there have been situations where we don’t really want to advertise the fact that we have a laptop with us.
Contacts
All our contacts, from both personal and Traveling Roses, are now easily available to us, and we can easily enter new contacts on the road. Again, we don’t need the laptops for that, nor do we need small notebooks and little pieces of paper.
Skype calls
The Droid 3 has both front facing and back facing cameras and is Skype enabled. With the front facing camera, I can now make and receive Skype calls easily, right from my phone. We are so looking forward to this, as we miss our family and friends a great deal when we’ve been gone awhile.
Calendaring
Thus far Chelsea and I have each carried a small paper calendar to note things and keep track of things. We’ve used Google calendars for years now, and with the Android phones, we can now use the calendar far more easily than having to get out the laptop each time. Reminders, appointments, alarms – we’re all set.
Music
By getting a larger memory card we can have all our music on our phones, which means we no longer have to carry iPods or Walkmans. It’s a savings on weight and bulk right there. Our headphones for the phones will double for listening to music and making Skype calls.
Quick photos and camcorder video
In a pinch we can take photos of something we don’t want to miss, but might miss if we have to stop and drag out the camera. Same goes for the camcorder. The Droid 3 is supposed to have a beautiful high definition camcorder on board. That could be very useful for doing interviews on the spot, or capturing something special in a hurry.
Google maps
What can I say? Google maps are awesome. When we aren’t using the Adventure Cycling maps, I have relied extensively on Google maps to plot our route. It also enables us to quickly find lodging, restaurants, and so on. That’s an amazing advantage when we are travel-weary and don’t think we can ride another mile.
Apps for bird watching; shell, snake, scat, footprint identification; stargazing
We have carried around small but bulky and heavy bird books for several years, along with a shell identification book and pamphlets for identifying scat, animal footprints, stars, and snakes. No longer. We are ditching those and getting apps on the phones instead.
Language dictionaries
Same with the language dictionaries. By having our Kindle and apps for the phone, including a Kindle app on the smartphone, we have been able to pack all our language dictionaries and travel guides (those suckers are heavy!)
Finding local resources through Google
Again, what can I say? When we are in towns and feeling a bit overwhelmed, we simply find wireless locations and look up resources using our phones. I always do that ahead of time, too, to ease our arrival in new places and allow us to plan more efficiently.
Adding notes
When we are on the road we are constantly making notes on a million different things, from something we saw to someone we met, or something we need to remember or do. We tried using a small notebook, which worked pretty well, but then we have to manually transcribe everything to another system or things still get lost. Now things will be going right into a document on the phone.
The advantages of using a global smartphone are legion for us. We’ve got lots to do to find all the right apps, get them installed, and learn how to use them, but it makes the trip feel that much closer, so it’s fun instead of work.
We’re still saving to get an extended battery and a 32GB memory card, but we’re in good shape for the time being just getting the systems set up on the phones.
For now, I’m delighted to have all the advantages of a great smartphone while still being able to access the CDMA network. When the time comes to leave the country, I simply activate the global settings and turn off the Verizon network settings. We head into each country, buy a local SIM card, and we’re good to go. When we visit the US again, I turn off global settings, turn on Verizon networks, and activate my monthly data plan.
How totally cool is that?