Technology and blogging has changed travel. Now you can record and share your experiences with the world at the click of a button.
I love the fact you can blog about your travel as you travel; and in so much more detail than you were able to find in guide books.
I believe in ‘less is more’ when it comes to packing for your travel (see ‘Essential Backpacker Gear List’), but with the help of a small electronic gadget and the internet, you can easily add a new dimension to your travel experience.
Electronic Backpacker Gear List
- Camera / Video camera (with flash memory)
– Consider a video camera as an addition or alternative to your camera. - Netbook / Laptop
– Geo-tag your travel with built-in GPS.
– Netbook models: HP Mini, Sony Vaio P - Online storage account
– Free 2 GB at iDrive. Free 25 GB at Windows SkyDrive. - USB memory stick
- International plug adapter
- And of course, a blog account
Can you think of any other must-have electronic gear for today’s backpacker?
RoundPicture 
Good post. I’m a gadget geek but don’t travel with much more than my iPhone and digital camera these days. My only suggestion is to travel with at least 2 memory cards. Even if you won’t fill one up, switching them at some part of your trip can be a good idea in case of failure. Of course if you are backing them up on to your computer, that’s probably not needed. But then again, your computer can die as well. I always wait until I can offload them back home and burn them before I remove them from the computer. Better safe than sorry!
I just created a Backpacker gear list as well, but it’s more geared towards travel essentials other than electronics. Check it out at http://www.jeffpatch.com/?p=186
Nice article, I agree with you in traveling light, and that includes a good gps so I can pinpoint special places I went
Jeffery Patch,
Thank you and I agree with you 100%. I always carry a spare memory card and battery – I took this point out from the draft to keep the post concise. Nothing worse than running out of memory or battery when you need them the most! And there’s no point in taking hundreds of pictures if you’re going to lose them all afterwards, so make sure your backup is secure, folks! That’s why I think netbooks are a great travel companion – portable & useful for backing up (on hard drive and online) and blogging.
louis dipitr,
Thank you and you’re so right. With GPS, you can retrace all the little places only you know about. There is something personal and particular about every path you’ve taken, and now it is possible to share much more of your journey with others.
GPS is changing the face of travel. Possibilities are endless with technologies like geotagging and Google Earth.
Out of curiosity, how does the netbook GPS capability compare to that of a dedicated handset device?