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Best Technology For Long-Distance Travel?
An anonymous reader writes "Over the past year I have traveled across the globe for work but I can't seem to find the right balance of technology to take with me. After reading a CNET article about tech for traveling, I'm still slightly undecided about what hardware suits me best. On the work side of things I need a laptop, nothing fancy but it can't be too heavy or slow. I also need a smart phone that can receive emails across the world and if possible a satellite navigation device, as I need to get to less-traveled locations on a regular basis. From a personal perspective I need my music but I don't care about video, so I'm looking for something with high-quality audio and great battery life. A compact camera wouldn't go amiss but dSLRs are too heavy for my needs and carrying strength, so something I can tuck in a pocket would be perfect. Any suggestions greatly appreciated."
The best technology for Long-Distance Travel is high speed aircraft.
Jet airliner?
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
I'm holding out for transporters!
Anybody want my mod points?
A towel and a copy of your HHGTTG,
And maybe a hammer to whack Marvin with. If he's going to be so depressed all the time, might as well give him a reason to be.
a plane ticket
I'd recommend an eee pc from Asus. I've got mine running a slim version of windows XP, a 16gb sdhc card pops the free disk space to about 19gb, 2gb of ram, and with a bit of patching, you can even run oblivion on it (albeit at extremely low settings). I swiped this one off craigslist for 100 bucks a few days ago, so they're pretty cheap if you know where to look.
- Aetheral Research -
OK, how many times are we going to get asked what to bring on our trip around the world? I swear this exact same question has been asked at least twice just this year already, and the year is young! It's getting old. (tagged: gettingold)
If you're traveling and need a laptop, I can't recommend a tablet enough. I don't know exactly what you're doing, so I can't say whether a slate or convertible would be better for you.
Though if you need a keyboard, (and you carry it quite a ways), it might be better to go with, say, a MacBook Air or a Flybook or something. Convertible tablets aren't as light as their pure slate brethren. Really, it very much depends on what you're doing.
All comments are properties and trademarks of the voices in my head. Not like I'm gonna claim them.
"Best Technology For Long-Distance Travel?" Hmm I'm gonna have to go with Federation Transporters. Oh wait, that's not what you meant. Okay um, laptops are out because all the little 9" tablets are just awful for various reasons. Anything laptop or tablet sized has to be kept in a bag then you look like you're carrying a purse and that's a huge target for theft. Plus none are really light enough. I'd suggest the largest, most powerful PDA you can find. I won't mention any models or brands cuz I never really researched it but I've seen PDAs with a high res screen that can basically run anything a PC can. I think some even run windows tablet edition instead of windows CE. You can even play starcraft on any 640x480 compatible ones! Not that you'd want to, I just mean one like that would be the most functional, compatible one ever! One that has USB and uses normal drivers and has built in speakers and a headphone jack and is the most like a PC would work fantastically. On the other side, the iPaq for example can only run specially made software and is very restrictive and all that so it's boring and can't do nearly as much. You can't just throw a standard windows executable on it and run it and that's just not acceptable to me at least.
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
Consider an N800 or N810. See the N810 article for a summary of the differences.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
If you strive for the perfect setup, you'll be miserable. Just try to find a combination that's good enough.
Someday, we'll all be wearing digital clothes and contacts like in Rainbows End and it will meet all your needs. Until then, you're going to have to choose between carrying a few different gadgets and giving up capabilities.
P.S.
Does the "the government can revoke your certificate and kick you off the net" idea freak anyone else out? It sounds like Vernor Vinge understands trusted computing.
HTC TYTNII
Quad band GSM, 3.5G data, bluetooth, wifi, 3.0 MP camera w/autofocus (no flash)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Kaiser
As for music, I have a 2 gig micro sd card (You need more than 2 gig b/c typ nav prog and maps run 1-1.5 gig) and have it loaded up with phil hendrie (I love ted's of beverly hills steak house) and some music. Helped me get through many 70 hour weeks in the office. Use BTaudio to toggle audio redirection to the bluetooth headset if you don't have something that does a2dp.
Built in GPS great. You don't plan on getting lost, you just do. Having a GPS always in your pocket has saved me many times.
I must warn you though, many users are royally 3.14ssed about the video performance due to "missing drivers". see http://htcclassaction.org/ and http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=469774&from=badge for more info.
Grump
Is it true that more people vote for the winner of American Idol, than vote for the president? -Ali G.
I got myself a used HP nc4010 for cheap. I maxed out its RAM, put a big HDD in it, installed the 802.11g wireless board, and got the optional travel battery. To cap it off I got a mini bluetooth mouse, and its been great. I can dual boot it to windows or gentoo and it runs just dandy. It can even play WoW at about 7fps. Total investment was about $500. Its small and light even with the extra battery.
You could probably do as well with something similar, I've read that the IBM ultra-portables are pretty nice also.
Clickety Click
Get a good multi-charger so you only need 1 outlet and 1 transformer.
Try something like iGo, where it works in planes, cars, and with wall sockets from most countries. Then get tips for your various devices. When buying new devices, make sure they are supported (e.g. avoid Sony) Don't forget to make sure that your camera can be charged (e.g. custom tip, via USB, or via a tip for your AA battery charger). Although the iGo notebook charger isn't light, it will save weight overall.
I charge/power 7 devices off my iGo, many simultaneously using splitters: notebook, phone, bluetooth headset, MP3 player, camera, GPS, camcorder.
I assume you want to travel and use a real, arguably 100% secure OS so your stuff you are writing doesn't end up in the hands of criminals. I assume you also desire a laptop that you won't be ashamed of when you open it.
Buy a MacBook Air and the 64 GB SSD. This is the perfect machine you are asking for. The EeePC is great, if you can't buy your kid a OLPC... other than that, its useless for real work.
- Thinkpad P42 Work Laptop
- 80Gb Video iPod
- Nintendo DS
- Standard (non-noise cancellation) over-ear headhones
Never used the laptop - slept ~6 hours, watched/listened to iPod with no battery concerns for ~6 hours (Family Guy, Harvey Birdman, Original Star Trek, History Channel), played DS for ~2 hours (tetris) and did crosswords the rest of the time - had a great flight. Of course, I should mention that I was in business class - I've had 2 hour flights in coach that I wouldn't have traded for this 15 hour one.For post-flight I'm not much help, I'm happy to concede cell-phone and mobile email when overseas.
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
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If you're flying to, from, or through the US, don't take a good laptop, and don't put anything confidential or private on it, because the US customs/TSA agents can steal it at will, under threat of force.
Does the submitter need a phone that can RECEIVE emails or a phone that can READ emails? There's an important difference.
I read all my emails on my phone by logging in to gmail via http. But I don't download my email to my phone.
Get the lightest laptop you can afford (to buy & to lose).
If you don't need much, just word processing & email,
my friend bought a 4-5 years old Fujitsu ultraportable
from fleabay. It's not the fastest, but it gets the job
done, plus you don't have to worry much if it gets broken
or stolen while you're on the trip. (Always backup your data!)
MacBook Air seems solid enough. Very light & usable.
We'll have to see when Lenovo releases X300.
For phone, Nokia N95 has GPS, simple navigation software.
It's quad-band + UTMS, so you can use it almost anywhere
in the world. It comes with an OK media player & decent camera.
Granted, N95 UI isn't anywhere as elegant as iPhone,
but it doesn't have 3G,GPS. If you use local sim card,
you also have to unlock the phone.
In the worst-case scenario, if for some reason
Apple decides to cripple your unlocked phone while you're
in a middle of nowhere, you're screwed.
If you have a little more room & want a real compact camera,
get Canon SD870is.
Seriously, compact digital cameras have gotten a lot better lately. I got my wife a Canon PowerShot SD600 a little while ago, which is purse-sized, and takes very acceptable photos. The main differences between this and a DSLR are: first, the DSLR has a much faster shutter speed so can take much better action photos; second, the SD600 has a small non-replaceable lens with a limited zoom, so it is not much good for wildlife or sports where you can't get up close. But for landscapes, it is hard to distinguish its photos from those made with a high-end camera.
'Nuff said. Just go somewhere high and aim well, then jump off the tower (or whatever, it really doesn't matter - cliffs work fine) and you're good.
On a clear day, you can get to Asia like this. Then it's just a matter of endurance to get anywhere else.
Just remember to bring your own cake.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
Best technology for long distance travel? why cant you build huge star trek transporters and beam around the galaxy? why do you even need the spaceships?!?!??! huh?!??!? im going to get some crap about localized interference, magnetism, and stuff, but really, if you can beam something one inch, one mile or one lightyear really shouldn't be any theoretically different. oh and im drunk =D
People like you and I are a bit ahead of the technology curve. I am constantly traveling (mostly for fun) around the world. What we need has not really been created yet. The technology is here, but companies like Apple would rather bleed us to death than give us the ultimate device now. I can't blame them though. I would do the same thing if I were in their shoes. * I use a simple 12" laptop. The new Macbook Air is making me drool. Lighter is always better. However I can't afford that now. * I have the new iPod 160 gig. Fantastic! Big storage and battery life in one. Thank you very much Apple! :)
* My telephone is a simple smart phone I would prefer the new Nokia N95 (smart phone, wifi, 5 mega pixel camera, and GPS all in one), but I can't afford it (traveling a lot keeps you poor in wallet, but rich in life).
- the perfect device would be the 3rd or 4th generation iPhone. It should have have GPS, 5+ mega pixel camera, wifi, 3G, and 100+ gigs of storage. All-in-one! They can do it now, but they won't.
Unlike you, I have an added disadvantage. I am a photographer, so I have a dSLR with 3 lenses. It is a pain in the butt to take around. Consider yourself lucky you don't need to carry one of these things.
My best advice is to get used to carry more weight. Build up your mussels a little. ;)
I recommend the Cowon iAudio 7. It has great sound output and comes with decent headphones, and the battery can easily last for two days straight. I have never seen the battery meter below three bars. It also receives FM radio. Small but not too small. It supports MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC, which was important to me and may be a value add for you. Newegg has the 4 GB version for $114 and the 16 GB version for $199, Amazon has the 8 GB version for $125. The interface is a little sensitive and may take some time to get accustomed to. Be sure to download the latest firmware.
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." - Bob Dylan
I have one of these and it's brilliant once you've loaded your chosen playlist. Adding/deleting individual songs is not so painful, but en masse, it is very horrible. Other than that, the noise cancelling works great and it's really cool how charging for 3-5 minutes gives you 3-5 hours of play at normal volume. Charge it for an hour and you've got 50 hours :)
I bought it off woot.com for $50 which was a great value.
http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-nw-s705f-noise/4505-6490_7-32111531.html
Cheers!
--
Vig
Atheist: Buddhist in a Prius
You seem to be describing a Nokia N95 (or N96 when it comes out). Music, good camera, quadband, gps, email, the works... along with some lightweight PC
Presuming you're:
...Unteather yourself. Sure. Take a camera, obviously. Don't burden yourself with too much technical junk. You're probably going to 'relax' and get away from this kind of stuff. A phone that does e-mail, and sat nav? I'm as much a technophile as the next Slashot reader, but let it go already...
A) American
and
B) Going on a holiday as opposed to work
Scramjets are the best for long-distance travel around the world, because they will save the most time.
2GB RAM, 80GB HDD, OS X, decent screen... not too darned bad. Fits (it really does!) in an 8.5 x 11 manilla envelope. And if you really need a few Windows apps, VMWare Fusion will let you run Windows under OS X, and it works great! (I run XP in a dual-boot configuration on my MacBook, which is the best of both worlds... I can run Windows in VMWare if I just need to use a Windows app for a little while, or I can boot it up straight into Windows if I absolutely need the native Windows-to-hardware performance.)
As long as you aren't burning CDs or anything, the Air is a very good solution. If you really need to burn CDs, there is an external drive available.
There are a lot of phones out there that you could find useful. the Iphone gets you on the net pretty well for a phone, doubles as an Ipod, gets your e-mail. It only has a 2 megapixel camera, but there are phones out there with better cameras that have ok net interfaces and you can just carry an ipod, or other non apple product for listening to digital music. Not meaning for this post to be an apple commercial.
Duh!
The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device should be all you need for long-distance travel. And don't worry about hot climates - all Aperture technologies are rated up to 4000 degrees Kelvin.
ROMANES EUNT DOMUS
An iPod Touch makes for a very nice accessory while travelling. The battery life isn't all that great, in comparison to other similar devices on the market, but its WiFi and large screen make it immensely handy. I personally purchased one, after avoiding iPods for a very long time, and I would hate to go a day without it, in retrospect.
I know I'm going to get slapped around for suggesting this ... an iPod Touch would ALMOST be the ideal pocket size, travel computer IF the darn thing could be hooked up to a digital camera via USB. It's tiny, it has WiFi, a web browser and a great interface.
The Olympus SW cameras are really great to take everywhere you go. You should check them out.
--- I w00t, therefore I'm l33t.
Come on dude. Ubuntu is much nicer than XP for day to day stuff. But if the guy is working and typing a lot the keyboard is rough on the eeePC. A regular laptop at 4-5 pounds is reasonable. How about we give this person some practical advice...like buying a laptop bag with wheels. If going someplace that can't handle rolling wheels, hire a pack animal when you get there.
I thought this would be a neat thread about next generation interstellar engines.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
A roll of toilet paper is a really good idea.
What?
Get yourself a Nokia N95 with 8GB onboard, and a T series Thinkpad. The N95 isn't the sexiest or sleekest, but it combines most of the functions you are looking for (email, GPS, Media, light PIM and a decent camera) and quadband GSM coverage. The T Series Thinkpad is resonably thin and light without sacrificing performance. With Centrino and a 14" screen you'll have a nice light and powerful system for working 'in the field', while a docking station will allow you to use more of the power when at home. In the end niether will be perfect, but they'll do most of what you are looking for with a resonable degree of performance for weight. Just don't expect it to be Cheap. Remember, you only get two (Cheap and fast but no good, Fast and good but not cheap, or Cheap and good but not fast). Lurking for years and this is the post that I signed up for... work really is dull.
Code only fails when no one is looking.
I want cling peaches, in thick syrup.
-- "In order to have power, I must be taken seriously." -Mojo Jojo
- LAPTOP: Get one of the small Vaio.
:)
- PHONE: Get a Nokia e61i/SonyE P1, they have a real keyboard and gsm, grps, edge, 3g, wifi, should get your mail mostly everywhere. I also have a crackberry subscription with intl roaming works on both phone with some added software and I use the gmail phone app when I need to search through my old emails. (it also work with exchange push mail, depending on what your company is using.)
- GPS: Get a real GPS. I suggest the Garmin 60Csx. It has a lot of memory, a sirf3 receiver, is rugged and waterproof. Otherwise you can get the GPS module from nokia for the e61i. I would never go for a GPS that doesn't use AA battery but that's just because I use my GPS a lot while going through no-mans-land and it would really suck to die in the desert because I can't find anywhere to plug my Nokia power adapter... Oh and it has relatively good map coverage, although not always up to date in some remote countries. And remember that almost no-one will be able to give you their GPS coordinate so unless you have the maps to look up addresses it's mostly useless.
Oh and the 60C* series will give you an adventurer look, and you know all the girl likes Indiana jones. j/k
- MUSIC: Get an mp3 player. If you travel for extended period of time, and can't live with your music get one that works on AA(A) batteries that you can replace, otherwise just get anything they are all the same anyway. I stopped using mine, I have some music on the phone's flash memory, I only carry headphones to use instead of the broken piece of junk they give you in planes.
- CAMERA: The e61i has a crappy camera but enough for snapping the white-board after a meeting. Imho Canon has very good products, last time I check you could find 7MP camera that will fit in your pocket very easily but still give you control over many settings. (iso, white balance, shutter speed, flash etc..)
- Get a good bag. Case logic has a wide selection of smartly designed laptop bag. There are other brand some with matching carry-on.
Don't forget the 7 in one plug adapter you can find in most airport. always useful. If you have the stamina, an additional battery for the laptop is always handy. I don't know what you wear but if you have to suit up, it good to have a special bag for suits as you can't always find a iron in the hotels.
there.
Have fun traveling.
You don't say what kind of work you do, but if you can get away with a smaller screen there are plenty of 12" notebooks with very good battery life. That's my favorite screen size since I can still use it in cramped coach airline seats, especially if I can hook it up to a larger display (ideally 20" or better, but even 17" helps) when I get to my destination or home. (Unfortunately there isn't a new Mac laptop w/ a 12" screen available any longer, but Lenovo has a decent one.) If you need the screen real estate all the time, or can't get a larger display at the office, then suck it up and go with a 15" laptop.
Get a good wireless mouse (the Logitech laser ones have worked well for me), too, as you just can't get the same level of speed or precision with trackpads or sticks.
As for phones, the BlackBerry 8800 is excellent (assuming your company runs BES or Good), although you will need to charge it every day if you get a fair amount of email. It also includes the built-in TeleNav software that works pretty well, so it meets your need for GPS assistance. You can also store some MP3s on it as well if you don't need a ton of music with you. Personally, I use an iPod Shuffle because I keep a bunch of aggro music on it to listen to while working out, and its solid-state flash memory doesn't mind getting bounced around while running. (The 8800 is just too big to run with.) The Shuffle works well and lasts a long time on the plane, too. The rest of the time I'll listen to slacker.com, last.fm, or similar streaming services when I have network and power connections.
You're right that a full-sized DSLR is too big, so go with the Canon G9--very good quality and RAW output make it the perfect every-day-carry camera. I'm wishing my Canon S500 would die so that I'd have an excuse to get a G9, but Canon's compact cameras are built quite tough. I've even taken mine scuba diving (with the Canon waterproof case, of course) about half a dozen times and it does very well for the price. I'm a Nikon fan when it comes to full-sized DSLRs, but Canon gets my money in the compact market.
Check out the E90 from Nokia. It has most of what you need, a 3MP camera, GPS, full support for email, etc.
cell phone: Don't ask me. Find someone who really cares about the different models. You'd probably be best with a combined phone/GPS rather than having two separate units.
Camera: If you tend to travel into strange places, you might want to consider one of the waterproof/dustproof models. (I know that Pentax makes one)... It's not too good for zoom range but they have few exposed parts and can easily handle dirty/wet environments, if you want to take a picture in a (dust) storm. They also tend to be more able to take a physical beating. ... wherever. (also good for other units that take AA or AAA batteries).
Most small cameras, these days, take AA batteries -- You might also want to get some NiMH batteries and a charger that will take varied voltages. Many NiMH chargers also have a cord that will allow you to charge off of a cigarette lighter plug -- smaller and more universal. With a 15 minute charger and a cigarette lighter plug, you can charge your batteries on the way to/from
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
Do you really need to go?
I gave up plane travel years ago.
GSM quad band phone - communications and 3G connectivity. WiFi for non-cell 'net access. VGA screen so browsing is actually usable. MicroSD cards so you can have several 4 GB cards to store pretty much anything. Built-in camera. Windows Mobile Pro so you can read/edit Word docs, use PDF readers, etc. GPS so you don't get lost. And the keyboard for when you need to type for more than a few minutes.
You'll get all the media player capability you want, all the connectivity you could want, hours and hours of battery life, and it all fits in your pocket.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
It's called "a book".
If you buy a nintendo DS (or older PSP), you could just upload your music onto that device. The battery life isn't as good as an iPod, but it'll last most lengthy flights pretty well (assuming you don't want it on while you sleep).
You just need the right hardware/software along with your DS, of course. Which isn't that hard to come by.
Check The mod goDS at http://www.themodgods.com/ for more information and (best of all) links to more information sources beyond themselves. The basic "kits" will run about $100. Personally I just use my DS for playing a few games I own so I never bothered buying all the extras, but after seeing all my friend's things, I kinda regret buying an MP3 player...
Ginga no Rekshiya Mata Each page.
First thing I would do is get away from the notion that you "need" your laptop. Taking that off your list will make you a LOT happier. There are Business Centers and Internet Cafe's all over the world. A gotomypc account and a USB drive should handle all of your situations. Seriously think about that one. Once you stop lugging that thing all around the world you will be so much happier.
Sure you might want to work on the airplane while you fly over the ocean. Print it out, bring a pen.
This submission is a ridiculous shill. Put in my anonymous hmm? Could our theoretical traveller with vague needs be..oh I don't know..an editor of CNET?
The first priority is to minimize cords and chargers; pick devices that can share the same chargers as much as possible. Blackberrys and Motorola phones both charge from the same mini-usb charger or through the laptop. If I could find a camera that did the same, it would go a long way. Disposable or AA/AAA format rechargables might sound good, but they really are a pain in the ass.
..?
After you manage that feat, see if you can find a laptop that just needs 24V or 12V external power source that you can find a generic power supply for that can be multi-function in some fashion with easily interchangeable tips will get you that extra distance.
Skip the dedicated GPS-- unless you will really be out in places that you can die if you don't find your way out. (A guide might actually be a better investment then...) If you are doing a lot of driving... it might make sense, but if you are scattered over a lot of different places it won't be as effective as you might hope.
Camera... the DSLR is a pain to lug, especially with extra lenses, but the quality is better. Go with a smaller camera (I like the Pentax Optio series) and take more pictures.
Laptop... if weight *really* matters, as I have said in other similar threads, I used to use a Palm V with an external keyboard. A Nokia 770/800/810 would almost do today, if your storage can be a server elsewhere. (This is often more of a challenge than one would expect. I have had to wait 24 hours for information to upload before...) In a lot of places, you can tether your phone to something like a N800 pretty cheap.
Main key is to decide what your primary need is-- infotainment, communication, "work," documentation of your days,
I've tried the IBM ultraportable (no CD/DVD) and the Dell, and wound up liking my Sony Vaio TX Series the best. It's extremely light (2.84 lbs), 11" WXGA screen at 1366x768, and a keyboard that is only slightly smaller than normal and very usable. It's one of the few ultraportables with a builtin DVD, which is important for me because I hate carrying around an external drive. I get about 3.5 hours on the battery, and since I have a spare I have plenty of power when I'm on the plane. I haven't seen anything else (include the new Mac or the new IBM) that would make me give it up. Runs Gentoo beautifully.
I basically use it all day, every day, not just when I travel, that's how much I like it. It's so light that I have to double-check to make sure I have it with me.
The Garmin Nuvi Phone should be available in a few months:
Here's a Review
Garmin's Site
I'd like to get one a these, although I don't travel as much.
This line has evolved to be waterproof (dive 33 feet deep), dustproof, crushproof, freezeproof. But is still small and light. Just feels a bit more solid than most. The latest model has 10 megapixels.
I own the model from a couple years back (stylus 800, 8 megapixels). Not yet waterproof, but has survided a fall into the pool. Not yet crushproof, but has survived a 6ft fall onto concrete.
Only minuses: takes proprietary Olympus (xD) memory cards, but adapters for miniSD are available. Also, picture delay is bigger than some.
All in all, could not be more satisfied. Get that latest 10 megapixel survive-everything model and you will be pretty much set.
The best thing I can think of is this, the Nokia N95 8GB, it has:
1. Built-in GPS + maps
2. A 5 MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics
3. Full multimedia capabilities (video and audio)+ 8GB of flash memory (expandable)
One of these and an eee pc and you're set (total cost approx $900 new).
The ideal solution is to simply find a job that allows you to stay in your basement. I hear that people that have mastered this art seem to have congregated at some website that combines the '/' and '.' characters.
*ducks*
Comment removed based on user account deletion
While read this this "Ask Slashdot" I kept hearing the voice of some flaky blond chick asking her friends what top she should wear to go clubbing. WHO CARES! Just pick something and wear it. It doesn't really matter.
I kinda got the impression that the author was looking for an excuse to brag about how he gets to travel the world for a living. It least that is why I hope he submitted this question. Because if he can't do a little shopping around for himself... well, that would just be sad.
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
I'm travelling at the moment so I feel qialified for this question ;)
Your first problem is weight as you've said, this is worse because your going to have to carry all this kit around with you alot of the time due to its value. Second problem is battery life and charging, it's a complete pain not only do you have to haul around the device itself but myriad chargers.
So to make life easier, whatever devices you buy try to make sure they have standardised charging ports, this effectively means some varient on USB, which allows it to be charged from your laptop meaning all you probably ever need to carry is your laptop power supply, and everything else charges off it. That's potentially 2-3 extra power bricks you just lost.
Now in theory your Smartphone either Windows Mobile or Symbian (iphone doesn't do gps and android ain't out yet) will do gps + music + whatever. My suspicion is that Windows Mobile has more in terms of map software available but that symbian has far better battery life. Either way though battery life on smartphones is not good, if your going to be using it regularly, realistically your going to have to charge it everyday. So realistically you can get away with a good smartphone and your laptop and if you buy a couple spare batteries for the phone you'll take care of the battery life problem.
To throw some other things into the mix. If your going to have multiple devices try and make sure you standardise on an sd card format aka nowadays, microsd. This means you can pop the card out of one device and into another, especially useful if two devices support mp3 playback.
Also there are some options with mobile phones, you can buy pretty good quad band gsm dual sim phones in asia, samsung especially has a nice model out. That's one phone with two working sims in at the same time, meaning you could keep an international sim and a local sim in the same phone, which can save alot if your going to me making alot of calls, and is alot more convenient than carrying two phones. Unfortunately to my knowledge there are no smartphones that currently support this.
Finally on the same topic you could setup a skype call forward on a number in your home country that forwards to your local sim, I'm using this at the moment, I have a UK number which forwards to my chinese sim, the costs are relatively cheap (around 2c per min approx) which gives you the added benefit of having a single number you can be reached on no matter where you are in the world for a cheap price.
Some things to consider at any rate.
It's a pretty good phone, and the camera on it (5 MP, although megapixel counts are largely useless) is decent in that the autofocus is useful, and low-light performance is good without using the flash. In addition you can use it as a bluetooth or USB modem, when in 3G coverage the speed is pretty nice. As for satnav, the N95 also has GPS. Google maps is usually a better experience than the bundled navigation software, as it is has snappy performance, and can utilize both GPS data as well as cell-tower triangulation. However, you will have to be in data-coverage to use it. Outside of data coverage, you can use the bundled nav software with pre-downloaded maps. It's an adequate music player, and you could probably even watch movies on it. Full youtube access is nice, and emTube lets you download youtube movies for non-networked viewing. Of course if you are using all these features, an extra battery, or a USB charging cable would probably be good. I just ordered a Fujitsu P1620, on reports of it as a lightweight convertible tablet with an SSD option and gobs of battery life and good linux compatibility. Might be a good option to consider, given your requirements.
Warp Drive.
Quidquid Latine dictum sit, altum videtur (anything said in Latin sounds important)
For the laptop, I use a HP TX, AMD dual core tablet with 3h batterry, 4lbs, burner, sd/ms reader etc. for ±1k$, you can find driver for Xp and Linux
For the music, you have plenty of choose
Same for GSM phone with gps, I got the HTC, nice package
For the camera, today, only one can have all the SLR function/benefice without the weight it's the canon G9. Hope this will help you.
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
Thus you want a camera with digital image stabilization, as good wideangle as possible and at least 5 megapixels. Last time I did the round up (a few months ago) there were surprisingly few cameras that met these conditions - mostly because most of what is on the shelves in "Best Buy" (not best for at least several years) does not have any wideangle whatsoever.
My purchase was Panasonic Lumix LX-2 which, at the time, was not available in any store in Boston so I had to order it from Vahns. I was not disappointed and even found the movie mode to be useful - it has a higher resolution than my camcorder (which is NTSC like) and, best of all, the movie files are mpeg4 encoded and play readily on my Kubuntu systems.
I don't think cnet is going to tell you anyting other than who is paying the highest price for advertising this month.
From what he said I think I know what he needs. A Nokia e90. My wife has the e61 and it does 90% of the computing tasks I need. Wi-Fi, 3G, phone, office documents, acrobat, web browsing with Opera, Blackberry support, exchange, & Skype. The e90 is big enough to do any office task on and small enough to take with you. It has 2 cameras (one 3m with flash) and is a great MP3 player. If you don't believe me read Maddox's review of the iPhone vs. e70 titled "The iPhone is a piece of shit, and so is your face." . Granted the e90 is a little different than the e70 but who is going to notice that the e90's balls are made out of tungsten instead of steel with kicking them? Plus it runs on Sybian, a great OS with lots of support and not a bitch of M$ or a BSD rip off with flashing colored baubles.
You know it is a great product because the US cell phone companies will only sell a crippled piece of shit version (e62) in the US.
So you really need a modern laptop and a modern Nokia that can interface with you're laptop?
First, you don't need your music. You simply want it.
Second, anything you return to the USA with may be taken at the border and searched, including computers and storage devices. Be aware of the information you're traveling with, and where it's backed up otherwise.
Thirdly, don't take anything you can't afford to lose. The USA are not the only border guards you'll face, along with all the other predators out looking to take advantage of the richly equipped foreign traveler.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
The most frequently used item in my recent travels has been my quad-band cellphone and the features that were most used were telephone, alarm, 2MP camera and GPRS/EDGE. Some other ones in the camera that I used: LED flashlight and bluetooth. I wish it had a qwerty keyboard and that would have been perfect and ideal. I had a p&s digital camera with me for other times, but only when I really wanted to take a picture. Any cheap P&S will do. Laptops are too heavy and handheld-small PCs are too cumbersome. Whenever I needed a laptop, I needed a good, normal-sized one. Otherwise, try to maximize the use of your phone. That is what most people do.
I'm very partial to the HTC Kaiser (aka "ATT 8925" aka "ATT Tilt" aka "HTC Tytn II").
It is GSM quad-band for global travel, uses UMTS/HSDPA 3G technolgoy for awesome global mobile broadband and it also has WiFi built in (though European and Asian standards vary slightly it should still connect to most foriegn wifi hotspots). (GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz + 3.6Mbps Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100Mhz + 2.4Ghz 802.11b wifi)
It also has a GPS built in. When combined with Google maps, it has all the GPS technology you need (note, google maps requires internet connectivity where you are browsing from). If you need offline GPS, you can purchase a TomTom package for it and install it on a large micro SD card.
The best feature is the full-thumb-sized QWERTY keyboard. These HTC phones are the king of mobile-phone typing, backlit keyboard and killer features.
In a pinch, it also works as a reasonably capable mp3 player, though the battery life isn't great so it probably shouldn't be your primary.
Frankly, the battery life will be your biggest issue as they only run about a day and a half on batteries when getting email all the time and shorter if you're using it a lot. I have an giant extended li-poly battery in mine to get 3-4 days out of it but it adds a ton to the bulk and is an akward shape.
Still, along with Windows Moble functionality, there is a capable (though not really too nice) 3mp camera, it could be an all-in-one for the things you need, though I would recommend a seperate camera as well (the Canon Elph models rock for image quality vs small size).
SI
The best tech to take with you is a homebuilt mod (it's not that difficult to make) to let you run your PDA, phone, camera, or whatever using standard AA batteries that can be bought at any kiosk or supermarket. Trust me, when you travel, even if you carry 4-5 or more batteries for each device with you, at some point you will find yourself with no power for your device and no power socket to recharge it.
I could carefully analyze your requirements, survey the available tech, and propose a set of devices that might satisfy your needs... but I think some comparative empiricism would be quicker and less nerd-tastic. I'm based in the US, travel extensively & work in third-world/quasi-decrepit first-world locales, and like to travel light. I also like to buy all sorts of new doodads... so let me dig thru the backpack and describe the items that have not been tossed as useless, broken, or given away over the past 3-4 years.
The laptop is the previous generation T-series Thinkpad. (A T42p to be specific.) Two reasons: durability and versatility. I simply have not had good luck with Dell -- two broken screens and several other hinge/latch/key problems in a handful of years. My office right now is basically on the edge of a desert, and the tpad cleans up more easily when dusty and gritty. The Ultrabay design is also tremendously useful, allowing me to add a second battery, DVDR or pop in a second hard drive w/o tools. (Truecrypt is your friend.) When I'm parked in a client's site for a while, I bring a tpad dock that has an ultrabay slot for the second drive, which helps with *actually* doing a full backup every week. (Think of it as very very slow RAID 0.)
There's a Sony-Ericsson P1i phone. Slightly more advanced than its predecessor M600i, it gives me worldwide GSM roaming with WCDMA/3G and wifi. It runs Skype (Fring), gmail, opera, quickoffice, pdf+, printboy, and a few other useful things. The camera is a bit slow, but 3.2mpix served me well for taking pics of Petra and the Taj Mahal. It's the smallest and most portable form you will find a full QWERTY keyboard.
There's a small no-name bluetooth GPS. With a AAA nimh battery, sirfstar chipset and USB port/charger, it works with the laptop as a wired device and doesn't require its own charger. I run GPS software on the phone when I need a portable display. Larger gps units have proven quite redundant and not worth the weight and hassle -- if there are good road maps for an area I just print them and take the small unit.
Back at the hotel/apt/office, there's a battery-powered HP Deskjet 450. It's probably the biggest compromise weight-to-value-wise, but for longer gigs I would not go without it. If I bring it, the power supply is similar to those for Thinkpads & doubles as a back-up for the laptop. (This does not work with the newer T60/similar.) The newer DJ460 is even smaller.
A Canon TX1. This usually stays in the bag until I need something very nice. 7mpix, image stabilization, HD video, and with a small mod (clipping the screen-closed shutoff button) it is unobtrusive enough for snapshots in military dictatorships. It also takes the same rechargeable battery as some older models, so replacements are available in remote places. It looks like a silver cigarette box unless you see the lens from the front. Walking across the border from Gaza, would I want to have the similar-function competitor from Sanyo (Xacti)? It looks like a pistol. 'Nuff said.
A Buffalo Airstation hi-power wifi card, and its matching folding 9dbi antenna. I have more wifi gear than you do, but am I gonna pack the 19dbi flat-panel everywhere? Thru customs? Puh-leez. This one fits in a jacket pocket, doesn't get a second look from security people, and it works well on win/linux/mac. *Someone* in the area will have an unsecured AP when you need it.
A Molskine pocket notebook and pen. For those 12-hour waits at the border, nowhere near a power outlet, while some underpaid socialist frontier guard holding your passport is waiting for a fax from the consulate to determine whether you're CIA or not.
Just my $0.02.
I think not...(*poof*)
For the curious, the reason I had two iPods is that I took my 40 gigabyte hard-drive based model that has my complete library, for listening to music in the hotel, and my Nano for listening to audio books and podcasts in the hotel and on the go. The flash-based players are better for the latter, because they are more response if you miss something and need to skip back a few seconds.
If I were doing that trip again now, I'd probably buy a Kindle. That would be perfect for a train trip.
You also might want to open a free account on one of the web desktops such as http://G.ho.st, YouOS, or DesktopTwo. In this way you'd have all your documents, pictures and email incorporated and easily accessed from any place in the world. G.ho.st actually is giving out a free 3GB for emails and 3GB for data.
If you leave home, you might best enjoy the change in environment. Take in the local music, it is an experience in itself.
Or you might live in your own little 'bubble' and keep everything just like at home, but then why travel anyway?
Hire a sherpa, and take your desktop, Hi-Fi, portable darkroom and a satellite dish?
... and then they built the supercollider.
You ask advice but fail to mention what it is you DO.
.. you state you NEED a laptop yet you don't already have one? Or your going to buy a new one for the trip?
Are we to assume most of your wish list is frivolity?
Are you walking to Uzbekistan after swimming the channel??
I don't recall a mention over where your going either. Makes a difference you know, but you provide little information beyond a wish list. For instance
It does sound an awful lot like your setting up to be roadkill.
And what is with people having to take their music everywhere? Is it that damn important? How many times can you listen to the same old shit (and it all gets to be old shit on the twentieth play no?) ?
As someone who has been around the globe on more than one occasion.... Take what you need that can't be provided once you get somewhere... Don't fret over smart phones that likely won't be worth a tinkers damn in foreign lands. GPS? How about a compass and a map? Leave your apartment at home.
Do take a good camera if possible but most of all, don't be one of those smucks that obsesses over toys and gadgets and five pieces of luggage while missing every positive experience to simply haul your miserable baggage around the world.
I'd bet you don't need half the crap you think you do.
Your description seems to be almost like the N810.
Has GPS, WiFi, great sound, decent battery life, if you get a bluetooth keyboard it's almost like a complete laptop.
I'm not affiliated with Nokia, just fan of the device.
...you can safely skip the smartphone and mp3 player. All you need is a triband phone for accessing internet via GPRS/EDGE/Whatever in the unlikely situation that you can't get WiFi or LAN access.
A bluetooth GPS+software will get you fantastic navigation capabilities. Need music? Use your laptop.
If you are fanatical about image quality in a compact camera, you can go for this: http://www.sigma-dp1.com/ , or a Leica.
Less money? Try the Canon Powershot G9. Can't afford that? STFU and stop whining about image quality.
So here's your shopping list:
1. A laptop that fits your lifestyle
2. A multiband cellphone
3. Bluetooth GPS
4. A compact camera you can afford
Other stuff like headphones, plug adapters and ninja training manual to protect your bling is left as an exercise.
I'm travelling myself, and I've really grown to love and appreciate my Nokia N95.
Quad-band GSM, 3.5G HSDPA, 5Mp Carl Zeiss, NTSC/PAL Mpeg4 Video, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11b/g, Micro-SD, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. It even has stereo speakers! And it all works like it's supposed to.
Each country I go to, I buy a pre-paid SIM card and in 3 minutes I'm making calls and checking mails.
The Symbian versions of Google Mail and Google Maps are really useful.
It seems to be the perfect travelling companion - for phone/data, music, photo stills and video, GPS, and a bunch of other stuff that Symbian apps enable (I find the native Putty/SSH very handy, for example).
As far as laptops go, the only thing I'd suggest is to include an all-round optical drive. Being able to write and read DVDs and CDs is too useful to miss out on. Personally I like to have it integrated so that precludes the eeePc and the Mac Air straight away.
In my experience, different jobs require different gear... that said
I either take my Thinkpad X60s or my macbook on every job. Weight matters.. If you need a lot of mobility the toughbook T series can go a long way in the travel world (they are not resistant to being stepped on however). There is nothing worse than lugging around a huge laptop, pulling it in and out of your bag at security.
Also check out flyclear.com for fast track at security lines..
airplane power adapters are crucial on the overseas flights.
For phone, nokia n95 or iphone, either one will give you data over wifi when you are in a bind, and both can give you mapping from your location (preference on the n95 overseas). Stick with GSM as it works anywhere.. AT&T had an unlimited blackberry international data plan once upon a time, but I am not sure if that is still the case.... it saved me thousands of dollars several times.
a good bluetooth headset is also good to keep on hand for skype/SIP calls back home, or long conference calls.
if you frequently have to check your luggage, and have excessive gear, look into getting a durable pelican case for everything.. make sure the case will fit in an overhead bin however..
I am sure this goes without saying, but bring plenty of pens and paper, and keep them in your pocket for when gadgets are too cumbersome.
as always, stick to the essentials, and do your best to never check luggage.. sooner or later you will end up at home with what you need. If you want more media, get a bigger HD, don't lug around unnecessary peripherals.
When traveling for pleasure I leave all the gear behind to disconnect, thats what vacation is for.
best of luck...
I use 12Mp Nikon D2x and on sort focal lengths, all my lenses are of the non Images Stabilised type and I get perfectly sharp images with it handheld.
I think you are very wrong in this statement.
Many compact Digital cameras these days may well have a pixel size far greater than 5MP. They will also include quite long zoom lenses. Some will even include image stabilisation so all the objections made by the poster can be overcome.
however, the main thing I would want in a compact camera is a viewfinder. Why you may ask?. The simple act of putting it up to your face/eye to take a picture solves many of the blurry image problem you get with other compact camera that have only LCD screens. Also taking a picture at arms length while trying to use the LCD as a viewfinder is a sure fire way to get blurry pictures unless, you have image stabilisation built into the camera.
Much of what the poster said may well have applied 3-4 years ago but not now.
I'd rather be riding my '63 Triumph T120.
Why bulky USB modem instead of using your 3G phone as a modem?
Again, without (heavy) lenses, for non-professionals DSLR offers very little advantages over carefully chosen compact camera, if the total weight is a major factor. I would go with Sony R1 - it has almost DSLR-sized sensor and excellent built-in optics. Similar optic for DSLR would cost 1-2 grands and weight 2 kilograms.
I would also skip the Sennheisers for plug-type earphones e.g. from Etymotic. They offer even better noise isolation and weights a tiny fraction of Sennheisers.
I think you meant Symbian not Sybian.
Man! I know there are Microsoft 'bots out there, but modding me as "troll" just because I recommend a Mac product, is nothing more than sabotage!
Hint: It is exactly that kind of behavior that has been getting Microsoft in trouble!
Especially since some prick will probably steal your stuff at the first possible moment. I recommend anything that just has enough capability you *need* not want. When traveling, expect your shit to be stolen. That way you won't get as upset because you'll be constantly uploading your crucial data to a server somewhere. Having the best will just make you a target. Save your cash.
.
The Cowon iAudio 7 is compact, rugged, has superb audio quality and outstanding battery life. It has excellent tone controls and supports Ogg and FLAC encoding as well as MP3 and WMA. It has an FM radio and can record. You should get better earphones to go with it and for travel, you can't beat a noise isolating type. The Shure SLC2 is a good match for it. These have near audiophile sound quality and sound isolation as good as the big, expensive noise canceling types. This combination is vastly superior to any iPod model and you can get much more substantial discounts. http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/7/ http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/PersonalMonitorSystems/us_pro_earphones_content Happy Landings, Mike
Apple Macbook (black, as it shows dirt and wear less, and not a Macbook pro as the non-pro is more durable)
Nokia E90 phone (smartphone, email, quadband GSM, GPS, you can fit maps of the world on an SD card)
iPod Classic 160GB (highest battery life of any MP3 player)
Canon PowerShot SD950 (metal case)
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled"
I use a Nokia E61i and I am happy with it. I don't want push mail when travelling as roaming data is rather expensive on a European contract but the E61i has Wi-Fi so you can use that to check mail when you need it. The music player is very good, it seems better then my iPod Touch. I have a 1gb card in it - guess today you'd get a much bigger on. It synchronises contacts, appointments, pictures and music with my MacBook seamlessly through bluetooth or usb (which also charges the phone). The pictures are decent enough with good light. I have a dedicated gps device with the whole of europe that also comes with when I travel. I will look into buying Tomtom for my nokia provided it can take the whole of europe on one card so I can carry one less item. VOIP: the Nokia E61i has an excellent VOIP client than can cut your costs tremendously in combination with a Wi-Fi connection. Skype is possible through Fring. Both SIP and Skype do really work well, also over 3G. Web: the built in browser, based on KHTML works fine for simple tasks. I use it lot to log in to my company's CRM and pull up client and product details. For real work, say more then 3 days I will take my MacBook with me. It is unbeatable for portability/comfort and great wifi support. Well maybe a MacBook Air, but it is not really a workstation. The MacBook is a great workstation and a great portable. Summary: Get a Nokia E61i with a bluetooth GPS or another phone with VOIP,WIFI, MP3 and GPS and camera. Bring a laptop for longer trips if you need to do real work. Don Stenk.
The Macbook Air is completely unsuitable for long distance travel because of the poor battery life and non-swappable battery.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled"
Laptop:
Refurbished Thinkpad T40/T41/T42/T43 (still IBM made, good price, light, workable)
dont want to spend too much money, cause all the gear can be stolen
Camera:
Canon Powershot A540, A530, A560, A570
If you can't get new ones anymore get a used one.
6 MPixels are more than you will ever need, above the picture actually gets worse,
Canon Powershots are the best. Better to get the A540 than the A560.
Those work with standard AA batteries. So you can get cheap rechargables that last long and can replace them anywhere with normal batteries.
Mobile Phone:
GSM works most in most places around the world.
Best models for you: Nokia 5140i or 5500 (5140i is either cheaper or used, because it is older).
MP3-Player:
IRiver T60. Standard battery, sturdy, supports MP3 and OGG, simply a good player.
GPS:
For navigation you didn't write if you need maps. You should either buy an expensive one from Garmin that has maps everywhere. If you buy a smartphone look for a GPS mouse and map software.
Smartphone:
If you don't want the laptop and mobile phone, but instead a smartphone (or all three) I recommend a model from HTC.
The HTC TyTN and the TyTN II have keyboard that slide in and out below the phone.
The HTC S620 is a blackberry-type device. Depending on what you prefer you either get the slide out or the blackberry type.
Also if you have a smartphone and regular access (every night) to power recharge you can also dump the extra MP3-Player, because you can just use the phone.
You can install navigation software on either one of those and attach a GPS mouse via bluetooth.
There you go, now go shopping and don't buy any products that I didn't recommend!
...after a few years of testing out many items. For easy traveling, your items should be flat and thin. 1. Thinkpad X series (had to wait 3 years for the price to drop around USD1200 after rebate/coupon), a bag where you can fit the laptop on its side (easy to carry around) and a PCMCIA modem card (many Asian countries you will get net access through cellphone service providers) 2. Canon TX1 3. Any quad band cellphone with an FM receiver and a bit of memory for storing any music 4. A small LED torch 5. Earplugs 6. flat/thin LED book light, a flat Swiss army card etc. All the above will fit in a thin laptop bag (Wilson has nice leather laptop bags - and they look like normal bags) and will not weigh more than 3.5 to 4 pounds.
Tat Tvam Asi
Well,
olympus makes the stylus 770 sw...
not perfect but:
SHOCKPROOF (5FT).
WATERPROOF (33FT).
FREEZEPROOF (-10C/14F).
CRUSHPROOF (220LBF).
2.5" HYPERCRYSTAL LCD.
DIGITAL IMAGE STABILIZATION.
MANOMETER.
Resolution: 7.10 Megapixels
ISO: 80-1600
Shutter: 4-1/1000
Max Aperture: 3.5
Lens: 3.00x zoom (38-114mm eff)
The thing I like the best is the waterproof.
http://openphoto.net/gallery/index.html?user_id=178
And not just for underwater. It makes for a nice experience walking around shooting pics on a day when the weather is iffy. You do not have to be paranoid if it starts to rain.
I have not found that shooting in bright light works well though. I wouldn't mind a viewfinder for those situations.
all the best,
drew
FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
Unfortunately matching suggestions to your requirements is left to chance as the OP does not state needs and usage.
Reading into the wording perhaps more than is warranted, have a look at the Nokia N95 8gb (be sure to get the 8gb model). For a phone, it has an excellent camera - no match for a good standalone but it's one less thing to carry/lose/be killed for. It also does email and has SatNav, plus the screen is actually usable (very handy to have google maps in your pocket). While it can make use of WiFi, it can also be used as a wireless broadband modem for the laptop. Music too - "high-quality" is rather subjective but I assume you're going to be using earbuds anyway...
You'll need to figure out if the phone can do satnav and mobile broadband in the countries you are going to.
Assuming you just need the laptop for general office type use, everything I see in the shops is very easily powerful enough. Just get something fairly light, small enough to tuck into a backpack and cheap. Remember encryption if there's any data you would mind being in the hands of criminals. Backup to online storage, either paid for, windows live skydrive or whatever.
I'll 2nd the E90. I have one. I've had all Nokia's communicators over the past 10 (ish) years. The E90 can play music, has an FM radio, basic quality 3MP camera. Usable keyboard & screen on the inside, built-in GPS and maps (& Google maps is just a download away) You can get PuTTY for it, if that's your thing, use it as a GSM/GPRS/3G modem to your laptop. Don't leave home without it. (And a pocketfull of PAYG SIM cards for each country you visit!)
Just don't lose it... (or have it taken off you by the various licensed thieves round the globe )-:
You don't need an unlimited budget to get a Thinkpad. I picked up a Thinkpad X41 for $560 off of ebay (it even came with the 8-cell battery AND the UltraBase for this price). I even saw a refurbished Thinkpad X61 with a 3 year international warranty for ~$1K (though the warranty wasn't through ibm/lenovo, it was some other company based in New Jersey).
- NetBSD, wifi, X11, text editing, spell checking, PCMCIA, Compact Flash... what more could you ask for in late 90s technology now available for less than $100?
:-)
- and, it runs off AA batteries if need be!
If you are going to remote places, you should check out a Solio Charger, which will charge your gadgets (at least, the phone, camera and other small stuff) using the sun.
My mother-in-law got me one for Xmas, and it is quite cool.
is why I wonder why anyone bothers to ask a question here. There are more wannabe commedians than there are people providing practical answers, which is pretty much the norm here. That and the 'you're an idiot for asking this question' posts. All we need now is some M$ bashing and everything will be complete.
At least this time some people actually DID manage to answer the question, which is far from the norm. Of course you have to wade through all the BS to _find_ these answers.
EK
...a Nokia E90 Communicator (which do have a GPS, a multisystem cellular phone GSM/EDGE/UMTS and WiFi), you'll need some backup for it 'cause S60 is, unlike S80, more phone than computer and got some annoying limitations.
The laptop for work would be an IBM/Lenovo X61s (running Linux or XP) unless you need a rugged one.
I have a very inexpensive mp3 player that uses an AAA battery so I do not have to worry about recharging for several days. .wma to .mp3, another rant.
I did have to fuss to find a program to change
Anyway, on long trip to foreign place you can count on finding AA and AAA batteries, but you may find >1.5 days w/o recharge or longer.
http://www.pharosgps.com/gpsphone/
It does most of what you want. Camera, quad band GSM, FM receiver, GPS, music player, bluetooth, wifi, etc.
It's only deficiency is that it runs windows mobile, which means you need to reboot it from time to time or else it gets flaky. Oh, it can charge through the USB port on your laptop so you do not even need the charger.
With that and a 15" Macbook Pro (dual boot with XP just in case), I have traveled around the world happily.
strike
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
> Best Technology For Long-Distance Travel?
Jet aircraft are very popular.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
To be fair and tip my hat to this century, on my last trip to China, aside from the above, I also brought an aging iBook, one of the first white ones I think, a G3, a laptop that I didn't care in the least if I lost.
First, I wiped it clean. Next I set up two accounts, on that I would use, the other set to be the default, no password login, in case customs wanted to see what I was up to. Browsing was done through an SSH tunnel to my home proxy server (mainly because my own blog was on China's great firewall) and any files I wanted to keep were SCP'd back home.
Web mail is better than a POP app, as long as you avoid Nigerian net cafés and use your own laptop. Skype seems fine everywhere.
Take a pocket digital too. The one you have from a few years ago. Use that for all of the crap photos you will inevitably take and save your film for the good stuff. Upload all of the digital junk to Flickr or whatever from your hotel every day, so you won't worry about losing it.
For the real pictures, use film and take your time to enjoy it. Slow down and write down your impressions of the place and give it some real thought.
Enjoy your trip.
-- My Weblog.
I travel for work about 20 times per year, about seven days per trip. All travel is domestic. I spend 10-15 hours per day in hotel ballrooms or convention centers. The rest of the time is spent in bars and my hotel room.
One thing that needs to be addressed, what to carry all your gear? I've always used a backpack to carry my stuff (14 in. laptop, mp3 player, digital camera, disk case, PSP, assorted cables and chargers, and a couple magazines and/or paperbacks) as the messenger bags tend to get too bulky. I'm currently carrying The Crumpler Sinking Barge backpack as I've been traveling with my Canon DSLR and two or three small lenses and this bag was designed to carry the camera stuff and a laptop. The Crumpler brand is well known in the photog arena for their capacities, durability, and funny names.
Some of what you want can't be done - there's no such thing as a smartphone that works across the world. I spent 5 months in north and west africa last year, and it's often the case that there are no roaming agreements for european or US networks, so your phone won't work at all. And even if you get a local sim card, you'll still be stuck with no data in many places.
The rest - well, it depends on whether you are going to a hospitable or hostile environment. If you're going to a hostile place, make sure you take something to keep yourself amused. A portable game device and LOTS of reading or tv shows and books are essential.
Do you guys have one device that contains all of your music?
Intentionally, or unintentionally I've spread my mp3s across my laptop, PSP (4GB mem stick pro duo), phone (1GB mini SD), and two iPods (4GB iPod mini and 1GB 2G Shuffle). It ensures at any given time, I've got at least four hours of music on my person...
Not too hard a problem. Grab a Nokia N95 for your GPS, Music, 5Mp camera (which actually takes decent pictures) and GSM 3G access.
For your laptop just grab whatever you actually need as long as it has Bluetooth to plug into the phone.
Although you've not mentioned it, the bit that you really need is a GSM SIM with reasonable roaming data charges. Your options are to work out where you're going to be going and to pick up a SIM that offers the best roaming over all regions, or to pick up a PAYG SIM in each area (which usually works out far far cheaper) - so just make sure your phone is unlocked.
CHDK is a free software package that runs on Canon compact cameras like A-series and S2 and gives RAW capability among other neat features.
My advice? Take the minimum you need for your flight and ship the rest. Yes, that includes your laptop.
Last time I went on an international business trip, I took one carry-on with my clothes packed in vacuum-sealed bags. As far as electronic items, I took my 60Gb iPod and my HTC TyTN... oh, and a set of noise-canceling headphones. Not to mention an eye-mask and ear plugs (so I could sleep). That's it... nothing else.
I had packaged up my laptop and other business-related paraphernalia in a secured box and shipped using an insured carrier the day before I departed. Yes, that meant I was "sans laptop" for a day... but really... with my TyTN able to get my email and web browsing I didn't miss it. The laptop and stuff arrived the day after I did and was quite secure... I didn't have to run the rigmarole of dealing with the TSA or their foreign counterparts with my laptop, and I had the security of knowing all my luggage was in the overhead during the entire flight and wasn't getting lost somewhere in the depths of Newark's baggage handling facility (those who've gone through Newark know this pain).
Sure, the shipping wasn't cheap but I was able to write it off as a business expense since all I was shipping were business items. I treat either carry-on or checked bags as an insecure location to store critical information. Yes, there's a risk that a loss may occur with a carrier like Fedex or UPS as well, but if it's insured then you can claim it back. Oh, and make sure the data on the drive is encrypted if you're really feeling paranoid.
So what if I'd wanted to work the day I arrived? Yes, that would be a catch. However, the first day after you arrive internationally, you're almost never going to be functional. You're going to want to sleep. However, just on the off-chance I had a bug up my butt to actually do some work that day, I put critical information (critical to the project at hand plus a few other minor items) onto the hard drive of the iPod, and a copy on a 2Gb USB stick... both encrypted of course. That way, I'm pretty much covered.
Did the same on the way home and couldn't have been happier. There's little reason to take a laptop onto a trans-oceanic flight these days... most of the airlines do in-flight movies. Even if not you can put movies on your iPod or iPhone or (insert media player of choice here). I have considered in the past getting one of the nice portable media centers to carry on international flights, but to-date I have never needed them. Plus, I make a point of getting red-eyes (overnight flights) so that I'm almost forced into a position where I get a few hours of sleep. That makes the travel much more bearable.
Think about your priorities and make a decision from there what you need to bring... but bear in mind a laptop is LOW priority if you're sensible about your other technologies. Laptops are also a risk, and when I travel the only places I like to carry my laptop are between the hotel and the office... and then ship it to my next port of call. I find travel a LOT less stressful since I started this because it means you have a minimum of stuff to keep a track of, and so long as you make sensible use of encryption your data is as secure as reasonable.
If you regularly travel internationally on business, it is a good idea to use a laptop which does not carry personal information and just contains non-confidential materials related to the purpose of your trip.
I second the Nokia N95. It does smart phone, email, GPS, plays mp3s and has a good camera. I believe that covers everything you said you needed but the laptop. The 8 gig of memory will let you keep a decent selection of music, and the battery life is supposed to be stellar, like a week of phone standby.
I would highly recommend the Nokia N95 8GB instead.
The phone has:
- 3G Quad Band GSM Phone
- Wifi (to access Internet via Hotspots and your emails)
- Bluetooth
- GPS Built in with Nokia Maps AND Google Maps
- MP3 Stereo Player
- Real Player Video
- Internet VoIP Telephone (Use where a hotspot is available)
- 5 Megapixel Camera with NIGHT SHOT Mode Also records 30fps videos too.
- 8GB of internal memory No need to carry extra SD Cards...
- Tethering capabilities (to connect your laptop to the Internet via Cellular services)
Also I would highly recommend picking up the following 2 items to help you get power when you are traveling:
- Duracell LED/Radio/USB Charger flashlight with Hand Crank generator (Available at Costco) You can charge your Nokia with the hand crack so if you ran out of power, you can manually recharge it.
- Get a USB to Nokia Charger wire or equivalent.
These are the only pieces of equipment you need and is light to carry around.
As for a Laptop, I would recommend the Apple Airbook as this is extremely light and compact. Otherwise if you need Windows, I would recommend ANY Centrino Tablet Laptop PC WITH BLUETOOTH so that you can tether via your Cellular phone. These are usually light and functional for your travels.
Here is a nice 1.5lbs laptop that you can use for your travels...
Fujitsu Lifebook U810 Notebook Laptop
Since Slashdot blocked the URL look up at EBAY for the above laptop.
Go ahead. Fly around the world. Spend your time photographing things, not looking at them. Don't contemplate, type. Don't observe, just blog it. When something unusual and different appears, retreat to the safety of your laptop. Above all, make sure that your travelling experience is as much unlike travelling as possible. After all, learning something from your experience is not the point.
You need a laptop and the Nokia N95
Why
-Decent Carl-Zeis lens with 5Megapixel camera (sample pics at http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nokia/n95/) also video recording at 30fps at 640x480.
-Built in GPS with Nokia Maps, maps can be stored on device or updated where ever there is Internet, either over 3G or Wi-fi (you can also load TomTom onto this device)
-Built in email reader support. Microsoft Exchange via roadsync or inbuilt POP3 and IMAP client, can use wifi or cellular network.
-It also has a great SIP client on the phone itself that I use regularly, make really cheap calls where ever internet is available over (wifi or the cellular network)
-You can get a small bluetooth keyboard that connects to the N95 for writing emails as this device lacks a qwerty keyboard)
-Excellent media device, MP3 player and video player. Store mp3s on device or listen to internet radio and youtube over the internet again wifi or cellular.
-Good web browser, supports javascript (but no flash)
Personally, I don't even carry a laptop anymore.
BTW, all this comes at the cost of battery life. If I use all these features, I have to charge the phone daily. If I only use the phone and phone alone, then every 3-4 days. Further having said that, video, GPS and wifi suck the most juice off the battery, listening to mp3 doesn't impact the battery life much.
Based on your needs you may want a spare battery and a battery charger. also get a 4GB or larger micro SDHC card
Disclaimer: No I don't work for Nokia, Just a very happy N95 user.
Baring the use of Santa's Sled, I usually pack as light as possible.
For leisure this is a Nokia N910 and a Panasonic DMC-TZ1. This is tethered to a SE M600.
To this I might add a Bluetooth Keyboard if I think I might need to write something.
All of this almost fits in my pockets.
If I know I am going to be taking serious photos I take a Digital SLR and battery powered hard disk / card reader.
For Business it is an older thin 14 inch notebook with clean drive and Ubuntu.
That is fairly fast and secure, and no loss if lost.
All my important docs are on an usb key in anycase.
The joy of travel is not what you bring, but what you leave behind.
Have fun and discover how little you really need in this life.
I also like the e61 but I don't think the 3G works in the USA (just Europe). I wish it was easier to setup the phone's VPN software without being forced to use a Nokia VPN gateway. It would be even better if the VPN certificates were locked in a miniSD smart card to make it difficult to copy when the phone is searched. I haven't found the appropriate smart card Symbian software. There are also good dictionary/translation packages available for the phone.
Eee for price depends heavily on how you intend to use it. If you're not going to be using it heavily outside the hotel, the Dell Inspiron 1525 comes in at only $50 (CAD) more than the 8G Eee PC. They still have reasonable battery life, twice the display size, more storage, etc.
On the other hand if you need something ultra light with the most battery life then yes.
half the camera shake comes from people holding the camera at arms length and squinting at an LCD they can't really see in the sunglight. Get a camera with a viewfinder that you can hold steady resting against your face. Canon still makes some.
Get the version three.. the version threeee! (bigger battery)
I honestly never thought I'd live to see the day when the USA was listed as one of the countries you are most likely to have your laptop seized. I think I grew up watching too much American TV.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
I travel a lot. 13 different countries last year. I use an iPhone for music and phone. Casio Exilim for camera. XPS M1330 for notebook. I do have to carry 3 chargers.
The Nokia E90 Communicator is the only thing you really need on this trip.
First, my credentials: I travel all over the world for business, frequently. I have lugged Macs and PC's. I take multiple backup phones with me when I travel. I have personally used chinese tech-support spreadsheets to hack GPRS data settings into my phone in places like Mozambique.
Basically, you want an unlocked 3.5G phone, high quality e-mail support, probably occasional office format support, camera would be nice, but instant-on data is critical.
I've traveled with a bunch of HTC's, and still use an S710 as a backup / second SIM card phone when I travel, (and an iPhone for receiving personal calls) but I've found I don't really use my laptop that much when I travel as long as I have the Nokia on me. The keyboard is large enough that you can write something approximating business communication without major headaches.
Little features like instant internet data settings for 600+ cell providers world-wide are programmed into these phones: within a minute or two of landing in almost any country in the world, you can be up and running at 1.5 to 7 megabits on your damn phone!
The E90 has a built-in SIP client, so if you have a SIP-compatible provider in the states, you can even sign up for local data on a local SIM and have your home number ring through instantly.
Also, it has a FOCUSING 3megapixel camera, TV quality video camera, an okay media player, can print using bluetooth or infrared, has FM (and AM?) Radio, has fax support. Really, there's nothing like an E90. Did I mention it has a videophone built in? And a backlit keyboard. And it uses (I believe) Konqueror as the web-browser.
For what it's worth, I also typically travel with a thinkpad X61s (soon to be an X300), but it just doesn't come out of the bag that often unless I'm working on spreadsheet modeling. If I had to pick between losing my backed-up laptop on a trip, or my E90 so that I would have to downgrade to the HTC, I'd probably choose to lose the laptop.
I'm no expert on notebook computers being a gamer they are all prohibitively expensive IMO. Mobile "devices" though... what you're describing you want in a phone pretty much is summed up in a Helio Ocean IMO... it does email, GPS, IMs, video (with built-in spotlight), camera (with flash), acceptable battery life, etc... it's no dSLR but it's got an OK digital camera that can double as a video camera. Not cinema quality but not bad for something that has a full keyboard and fits in your pocket. The device also works pretty much all over the world -- even in Japan (where cell phones from anywhere else don't usually work). And while you're at it you've got internet browsing and if you're bored, YouTube Mobile. Hope that helps you a little.
If you really dig portability, take a look at the Olympus E-410, the smallest and lightest dSLR ever and great, just as light and small kit lenses. Also better build quality than Big Two's cameras far bigger, heavier and more expensive.
Even smaller should be (haven't checked) the Leica M8, if you have spare change on that scale. It has the most compact lenses around.
If you want something smaller without compromising too on quality, do check the Ricoh GX100 and GR-II, the Leica D-Lux 3 and the forthcoming Sigma DP-1.
If you just want a few shots... Olympus SW cameras aren't too back, very compact, and water- and shockproof to boot.
In case your work really puts you in environmental danger, and you want something more substantial than the Olympus SWs, the choice is the Olympus E-3. The most featureful, light and compact weathersealed dSLR around, even if not as resistant as the SWs.
Leandro Guimarães Faria Corcete DUTRA
DA, DBA, SysAdmin, Data Modeller
GNU Project, Debian GNU/Lin
First approximation to what you need is one small device that does a lot of what you need -- a 4-band GSM (works anywhere, except Japan and Korea) cell phone with a camera and music capability. Moto RAZR v8 leaps to mind, 2 gigs memory and 2 Mpixel camera. That gives you communication, music capability, and a camera. It is small and light enough to always be with you. Of course Nokia and others have competing models.
Add a laptop with wireless, and a better camera if you are sometimes serious about photography, but you needn't carry them everywhere.
There is one hybrid DSLR with a retractable lens that easily fits in even a thin brief case -- Canon Powershot S5 IS. It also uses AA batteries. Make sure when you travel that your devices run on standard batteries like the AA. For computers, lighter is better but watch the battery life. Small computers have small batteries. A good compromise is a Dell Inspiron 1420 / 1420n which can be had with a 9 cell battery. Mine runs over 5 hours. Depending on the applications you need I'd consider replacing the laptop with a Nokia N810. For a phone you'll need multiband GSM. GSM in the US and overseas is on different frequencies. CDMA in the phone would be a plus. Depending where you travel, AMPS analog may also be an asset.
Thank a veteran -- George
My daughter saw her first ASUS EEE 701 laptop today. It runs linux, has wireless, a webcam, Open Office, mail, web browser, audio and video players.....a flash memory socket, but no CD drive. The screen is 7" and the size of the whole wee beast was VERY much to her liking. She's thinking if she can get Skype on it, in combination with the wireless, she'll have her "phone" neds catered for too. With no hard drive, I'm thinking the battery might last very well. She wants one.....and that wasn't just becasue it was the cheapest by far. For her - it was the BEST.
Only boring people are ever bored.
Great point on the VPN. The company we work at in the gulf has terrible IT support. Every single person here has a Nokia. After I got my wife to use the e61 (technophopbe) she convinced everyone in her office to get one. It looks like a company issue phone now. So here's the question, will IT go out and spend the money to get a VPN from Nokia so that the product everyone uses will just work? The answer, no. They only support iMate (read fat bribe form M$). What a waste of time. I guess you can also hook this phone into the PBX and make it your office phone when you are at work.
My biggest grip with the e-series is no tab key. I get into fields on web pages sometimes where I cannot get out and just want a god damn tab key. I tried to map it but it didn't work out.
I am also annoyed that e-bay/Skype won't make a Symbian Skype. The company line is that they are worried that the performance over carrier based wireless networks will suffer. Oh wait... this phone has WiFi so what the fuck??? I use Fring but it isn't perfect and it kind of freaks me out. I really have no assumption of privacy because I have no idea how the technology works. I had SIP working with PBXES and Gizmo Project but then the firmware update made it stop working. Now I have a Gizmo5 app running directly on the phone. Unfortunately it took a lot of effort to get the friends and family on the Skype bandwagon and telling them that an open source cheaper version isn't going to make them want to learn something new.
If you read Maddox's review linked above I think you might know why Nokia made an almost perfect phone. "...because Nokia's marketing team is busy finding every last dick in the universe to suck..."
I still don't agree.
The Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse have no noticeable lag. (I can attest to that from first-hand experience. I too thought that would be a problem before I tried it, but it isn't.) Most people don't need an optical drive and external hard drive at the same time. It can be convenient, but is seldom really necessary. And seldom would anyone need an ethernet and modem connection at the same time. MP3 players (like mine) are increasingly Bluetooth as well... or you can play music from iTunes on the laptop and use Bluetooth headphones. You can have as many as 7 Bluetooth devices connected at the same time, and I run keyboard, mouse, and stereo headphones simultaneously as a matter of course while I work. If my phone rings, my Motorola headset automatically pauses the MP3 and I can answer the phone via Bluetooth from the headset. That's pretty sweet. To be honest, what I use my USB port for most often is just charging other devices (phone, MP3 player, headset... all charge quickly via USB).
And as for your last point, the Air has a very nice "Plan B": It comes with a CD containing small, fast drivers for other computers and OSes so that it can read THEIR optical drives via bluetooth or wifi almost as though they were its own. Pretty cool, that. If you don't have your own external drive handy, just ask a friend to install the driver, use their drive for a few minutes, uninstall the driver if they want... no big deal!
(And by the way: the Superdrive is not a "lock-in"! Any USB external drive should work just fine, since it is still standard USB and standard OS X. The main difference is that the Superdrive was designed to be powered by the USB port rather than an external brick... so the power line on the Air USB port has been souped up to deliver more than the standard current. Which ALSO means that if you have to use an external hub, depending on the equipment you probably don't need a powered hub... you can use one of those that are about the size of a pack of gum.)
I understand the points you are trying to make. But the fact is, with the Air they have already thought about and addressed those issues, for most people under most circumstances. And I am not even a "Mac 'bot"... I have spent most of my computing life on Windows (which I still use), and I am well aware that Apple products have some deficiencies. But this guy asked for something specific, and with a Mac Air he pretty much gets it. For a price.
If you really want to travel light the nokia n95 offers a 5 Megapixel camera, and gps navigation, and it can play mp3's, also the Asus Eee is the best(and cheapest) compact notebook i have seen in ages, and if you are not planning on playing crysis, it should do everything you need.
I'd like to recommend the Olympus Stylus 1000, a 10.0 megapixel all-weather camera.
So far mine has lived up to its "all-weather" description. After an hour
at a temperature somewhat below -60 Fahrenheit, it still took great pictures.
(Sure as hell froze my hands when I touched it, though.) Several places
I've used it in light rain without any problems so far. It does use
a special battery, but it hasn't presented any problems so far.
I'm no expert in cameras, but several people have told me they were surprised
that my camera took certain pictures, because their cameras fail
in certain conditions, as in photographing sun dogs (parhelion),
which I got several good pictures of.
Altogether pleased with this camera, and it fits in a small pouch on my belt
which I carry just about everywhere - so I can whip it out any time I need it.
Also, it shoots decent video. Not HDTV, but decent.
Even in the developed world, less travelled regions don't have mobile phone service. At least, not the less-travelled parts of the world that I've been to - central Siberia (get more than about 10km out of town and that's service finished for the next 100km) ; offshore Tanzania (get outside a city and that's the mobile service gone) ; the Pennine hills of England (get more than 5 km from a town of 5000 people and that's it, not enough people making or receiving enough calls to justify a mobile service) ; most of the mountains of Scotland have at best very weak service, depending on where you've got line of sight to.
Mobile phone service isn't free : less travelled = less people = less people making or receiving calls = less potential revenue for the phone company = less base stations installed = no coverage. Try travelling around in your home country and get onto a back road where you're more than 5 miles from the nearest village. The signal strength is going to start dropping off. Get 10 miles away and you'll be struggling to maintain a signal. And if you're in hilly regions, you can reduce those distances considerably.
If you want a wireless phone that'll work in any location even remotely resembling "less travelled", you need an Iridium phone. http://store.satphone.co.uk/Catalog/Handsets That'll be £799 to £1500 for the phone, plus around £1/minute. Enjoy.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
I just bought an iPhone. It's a great combo phone-email-music-camera. Assuming you are happy with an average camera and a 16-gig music player, it's tiny and it will make you very happy. For International travel, you'll need to find WiFi in order for the iPhone to get email and web. If you're picky about headphones, you'll need an adaptor because it uses a non-standard headphone port.
For DVD-quality video, I use an MPEG-2 capable Sony digital camera. It fits in my pocket. Today's cameras can do even better.
No, I will not work for your startup
Ithinkyouknowwhereimgoingwiththis
I do not know about the Remote Disk. It might, though, considering the EFI "bios". You are right that it isn't new, but supplying the drivers for other OSes is.
As for charging, I do not notice it. Once in a great while I have to unplug something that is charging to do something else USB... not often.
And I know that not everybody's situation is the same as mine; I am only reporting my own experiences/impressions.
Dare I say condoms? I mean OK, you will travel around the world after all... It's not a crime to be on the safe side if you meet some very interesting people...