Using an external battery pack when traveling

In the past, I used to carry spare smartphone batteries. I would carry an extended battery or a standard spare in my bag. However, I stopped that trend last year and now I carry a small external battery pack that allows me to recharge my smartphone when I'm traveling.

Given that I replace my smartphone roughly every 2 years (through the Verizon "New Every Two" plan), I found that it really didn't make sense for me to go out and buy many accessories for my smartphone. Therefore, I no longer buy spare batteries. I also don't buy cases. I simply use a screen protector and that's it.

By using an external battery pack, I know that I can also use that same power source to recharge my iPod, my Bluetooth headset, and a few other small electronics. Plus, when I replace my smartphone, I can still use the same battery pack. I recommend getting something small and something that simply has a standard USB port. This little 5V outlet can recharge many devices as long as you carry a USB cable.

Always carry a spare smartphone battery

I've seen so many people experience a "dead battery situation." Maybe they forgot to charge their smartphone last night. Perhaps their phone was frozen and it sucked all the juice out of the battery. Maybe you had to take call in the hospital at the last minute and you didn't have your phone charger. Many of us would admit that we'd feel utterly lost without our smartphones. Given that our entire lives are on these devices, we really can't afford to experience a dead battery situation.

For those of us who have a user-removable battery, it's easy to keep a spare in our bags. Dead battery? No problem! Pop out the old one and insert the new one. Perhaps you even have the luxury of using an extended battery.

For others who have smartphones like the Apple iPhone, you'll need to keep an external battery pack (who else makes smartphones like this?). I've heard rumors that the Apple iPhone 4G will have a user-removable battery. Let's hope that this particular rumor is true. Would you be willing to buy an iPhone that's slightly thicker if you could remove the battery? Given that the lifespan of a typical lithium ion battery is roughly 2-3 years (before you see significant decreases in performance), I think that iPhone users will want the option of changing the battery themselves.

Using an Extended Battery

Do you use an extended battery on your smartphone? I've been using one on my HTC Windows Mobile phone for the last few weeks and it's been great having the extra capacity. My wife currently uses a Samsung smartphone running Windows Mobile and she hasn't needed an extended battery because she doesn't do a whole lot of e-mail or browsing on her smartphone. I don't have to worry about the battery dying if I do some heavy browsing on Skyfire or tweet using Twobile or PockeTwit.