This is the first post in a series about gearing up for travel by new contributor, Douglas Getgood.
The world has gotten smaller in many ways thanks to modern technology; cars bring towns that were days away 100 years ago within just a few hours of (mostly) reliable transportation. A trip to a foreign nation an ocean away could have been months or even years in the past; now it is just a few hours on a plane.
Electronics bring the world even closer without leaving our homes. People around the world can join online communities and chat with folks they may never see and yet still become close. But this series of posts isn’t about chatting in forums, blogs or private messages; it is about deciding on our electronic needs while traveling. Being “connected” makes it possible to stay in close touch with those at home even if home is half a world away.
Priorities for travel equipment vary, but a few things will be common priorities for most of use — internet connectivity and photography at a minimum. There are other common electronics to consider as well including cell phones, dvd players, music players, video camera and extra storage for most of these devices…
A lot of stuff to carry, and charging all these electronic toys adds weight and complexity. I know a little about some of these issues because I am going on a trip to Africa in the near future and have put some thought into just what I’ll need. This is a question which is fairly serious: travel in the wilds of Africa is generally strictly limited to specific weights and a choice may have to be made between clothes and toys!
Let’s start with Internet Connectivity
How to Connect:
The Internet is just about everywhere using wireless or “mobile broadband,” but that does NOT mean it is always accessible; standards vary somewhat for cell phones (wireless computer modems are just “non-talking” cell phones) and open, non-secured hotspots are rare in most areas now. Consider where you are going and just how critical a constant connection to the world is; it is possible (or nearly so) but may be expensive! The same consideration applies to cell phones, of course, as they use the same frequencies and equipment.
I have chosen to go the cheap route. The places I will be all have internet access so at night I will be able to do just about anything I need: email, administer a web server, brag about my trip…. err, I mean stay in touch with folks elsewhere. I checked into getting a cell connection for the trip, and for about half my trip it is possible, but extremely expensive, and to cover as much as possible, I might need to connect to two different frequencies increasing cost even more.
For travel in a single nation, or to areas where the same cell frequencies are in use as where you live, this is less of an issue, obviously. Especially if you connect using a tethered cell phone.
Connect with phone? Computer?
Having an internet connection is fine and dandy, but there is also a question of what are you connecting WITH. Smartphones are enough for some folks. Laptops are the largest segment of the computer market now, and just about every techno-family has at least one. Netbooks are the fastest growing segment of the computer market and may be a good choice with a few caveats: netbooks have weak processors and most have little storage space as well as no internal cd/dvd drive.
They can be great traveling companions though; mine is an HP Mini 1010 with an upgraded drive, battery and memory. It is small and light, has 64 gigabytes of storage and lasts 5+ hours between charges when being used. Compared to my last laptop which was hard pressed to stay running for 2 hours, for my needs, it is almost perfect. Netbooks are NOT desktop replacements though, and they are not suitable for heavy-duty computing tasks.
But they are cheap and handy. Hint: if you are considering a netbook, dual-core netbooks should be out soon and will probably be worth waiting for. Much stronger.
With the Internet, cell phones and a connected device covered, in my next post, we’ll switch to the single most common electronic piece to consider when traveling: chargers!