In the US I am rarely anywhere without a laptop but I would recommend against bringing a laptop while backpacking. First, you need to consider the weight. On my first backpacking trips I took way too much and it was miserable. You will want to pick up things on your trip and, remember, you are carrying it all on your back. Second, you should consider that unless you are traveling in the first world only it is really easy to damage your stuff; dirt roads, buses, trains and taxis take a toll. On my last trip backpacking through SA I brought my iPod, PDA Phone (I have the full replacement plan:)) and my cameras. I started out in Bolivia and the iPod lasted less than 3 days over bumpy dirt roads (in a padded case) before the dead hard drive click started. So if you bring a laptop, make sure it is very durable. But I wouldn't. It makes you a target for theft, it adds a lot of weight to your pack, and it wouldn't really be all that useful (unless you plan to code on the road!) as internet cafes abound. You'll either spend time and effort babying it, or it will be destroyed while in your pack and tied to the top of a bus, hauling ass over dirt roads.
The PDA phone, on the other hand, was great. I could make (expensive) calls when needed, I had an alarm clock that adjusted itself to timezones automatically, and it was a good place to type up little things which I could save onto an SD card. Keep in mind a few things: most places you will stay (unless you are in nice hotels) will only have an outlet or two, and you need an adapter for each thing you want to plug in. Adapters alone can take up a lot of weight/space. I know I'm ranting about the weight issue, but keeping your gear to a reasonable size makes a huge difference in your mobility and enjoyment of the trip. The only time I wished that I had a laptop was in a nice hotel in Buenos Aires that had wifi. But that was a very small segment of the trip, and there was an incredibly cheap internet cafe next door...
On the subject of taking a regular film camera, I'd recommend against that too unless you shoot film regularly and really want film with you. I brought a cheapo film camera backpacking through Peru a couple of years ago for exactly those reasons and while there were a few shots I got with that camera when I couldn't use my digital, the film went through several xray machines all but two of the photos were grainy beyond recognition. If you bring a film camera and travel through more than a couple of xray machines get your film hand-checked. Depending on the country this ranges from easy to very difficult. It definitely requires a good command of the local language. If you shoot film regularly, it's worth it. If you don't, it's probably too much of a pain. If you do bring film, bring at least 1 roll of fast (>400) film. Otherwise they will deny you a hand check outright in most places saying it won't damage film. But the damage is cumulative, and outside the US and Europe the machines can do serious damage in a pass or two. I passed through 15 machines on my last trip in South America... (got a hand check at all but one).
A backup device of some sort for your pictures can be nice, but don't rely on it; use it as a backup. Take a lot of memory cards, rotate through them. Lots of internet cafes will also burn memory cards to CDs/DVDs for you. I burned two copies of each, sent one home and kept the other with me.
Camera-wise, on my last backpacking trip I brought my digital SLR and a P&S digital camera, the latter was a much better backup than a film p&s in my opinion because 1) no need to worry about film damage 2) it takes movies 3) it was inexpensive enough that I didn't care if it got stolen, so I took it out in places where I'd never use my DSLR. I brought a backup battery for the p&s and a battery pack for my DSLR that holds two batteries & can be swapped out with AAs. The (short) movies were great, really captured the sounds and sites of the place and bring the trip back to life for me much more than the still s
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In the US I am rarely anywhere without a laptop but I would recommend against bringing a laptop while backpacking. First, you need to consider the weight. On my first backpacking trips I took way too much and it was miserable. You will want to pick up things on your trip and, remember, you are carrying it all on your back. Second, you should consider that unless you are traveling in the first world only it is really easy to damage your stuff; dirt roads, buses, trains and taxis take a toll. On my last trip backpacking through SA I brought my iPod, PDA Phone (I have the full replacement plan :)) and my cameras. I started out in Bolivia and the iPod lasted less than 3 days over bumpy dirt roads (in a padded case) before the dead hard drive click started. So if you bring a laptop, make sure it is very durable. But I wouldn't. It makes you a target for theft, it adds a lot of weight to your pack, and it wouldn't really be all that useful (unless you plan to code on the road!) as internet cafes abound. You'll either spend time and effort babying it, or it will be destroyed while in your pack and tied to the top of a bus, hauling ass over dirt roads.
The PDA phone, on the other hand, was great. I could make (expensive) calls when needed, I had an alarm clock that adjusted itself to timezones automatically, and it was a good place to type up little things which I could save onto an SD card. Keep in mind a few things: most places you will stay (unless you are in nice hotels) will only have an outlet or two, and you need an adapter for each thing you want to plug in. Adapters alone can take up a lot of weight/space. I know I'm ranting about the weight issue, but keeping your gear to a reasonable size makes a huge difference in your mobility and enjoyment of the trip. The only time I wished that I had a laptop was in a nice hotel in Buenos Aires that had wifi. But that was a very small segment of the trip, and there was an incredibly cheap internet cafe next door...
On the subject of taking a regular film camera, I'd recommend against that too unless you shoot film regularly and really want film with you. I brought a cheapo film camera backpacking through Peru a couple of years ago for exactly those reasons and while there were a few shots I got with that camera when I couldn't use my digital, the film went through several xray machines all but two of the photos were grainy beyond recognition. If you bring a film camera and travel through more than a couple of xray machines get your film hand-checked. Depending on the country this ranges from easy to very difficult. It definitely requires a good command of the local language. If you shoot film regularly, it's worth it. If you don't, it's probably too much of a pain. If you do bring film, bring at least 1 roll of fast (>400) film. Otherwise they will deny you a hand check outright in most places saying it won't damage film. But the damage is cumulative, and outside the US and Europe the machines can do serious damage in a pass or two. I passed through 15 machines on my last trip in South America... (got a hand check at all but one).
A backup device of some sort for your pictures can be nice, but don't rely on it; use it as a backup. Take a lot of memory cards, rotate through them. Lots of internet cafes will also burn memory cards to CDs/DVDs for you. I burned two copies of each, sent one home and kept the other with me.
Camera-wise, on my last backpacking trip I brought my digital SLR and a P&S digital camera, the latter was a much better backup than a film p&s in my opinion because 1) no need to worry about film damage 2) it takes movies 3) it was inexpensive enough that I didn't care if it got stolen, so I took it out in places where I'd never use my DSLR. I brought a backup battery for the p&s and a battery pack for my DSLR that holds two batteries & can be swapped out with AAs. The (short) movies were great, really captured the sounds and sites of the place and bring the trip back to life for me much more than the still s