Technology Tips
European tourism now comes with a digital divide: those with high tech gadgets and those without. Which fancy new tools are worth the trouble and actually enhance your travels?
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Telestial Cell phones
@Linda did you get the entire phone from Telestial OR JUST a sim card for your unlocked phone?
Wanted to use them on my next trip.
Hope you get this question.
Thanks!
Pat Murray
NYC, NY USA 01/16/2012
iPad in Europe - a good choice
A friend asked about an iPad in Europe, and yes, we took ours to Scandanavia this summer. I pre-loaded family pics and pics of home to show new acquaintances. Could have loaded images of our travel docs too but didn't. I copied off photos from my Canon DSLR each night, which allowed us to have a good look at the day's pictures and delete poor images, saving FlashCard space. And instead of paper and pencil, I wrote my journal on the iPad, which was easy to offload when we got home. And when we had waiting time, or at night, Angry Birds had some significant playtime. Worth the extra bit of weight
Keith
Lawrence, KS USA 01/04/2012
Communication & Navigation
For calls back to the USA and for local calls when at a WIFI hotspot, try using the Vonage or Skype app on your iPhone. I've had Vonage for the last couple of years and it costs 2cents per minute to call local numbers in most western European countries. Calls to the USA are free.
Navigon makes a great GPS map app for the iPhone (I don't know if it's available for others). Full European coverage is about 2GB and is loaded onto your phone, eliminating roaming charges. It has POIs, speed limit info, speed camera warnings and great intersection/lane guidance.
For all your WIFI needs, don't forget that nearly all McDonald's locations have free "weefee". Some are faster than others and most locations don't turn it off when they close. Just stand outside and surf/talk away. Before this, I never visited a McD's in Europe but now I'm buying drinks and snacks to thank them for the WIFI.
Rex
Houston, TX USA 11/29/2011
Print without a printer
This is kind of a no-brainer, but if you need to print something like directions on Google Maps and you don't have a printer you can just take a picture of each "page" on the screen with your camera.
We did this several times when we needed detailed directions between between different locations. Most cameras now allow zooming and panning when previewing photos. A very handy trick!
Brandon Granger
Mount Pleasant, SC USA 11/20/2011
Cell phones in France
I just returned from Paris and Lourmarin, France. My friend and I had both bought Telestial Passport Lite kits with added minutes because it sounded like such a Great Deal.
These phones only worked about half the time: sure,I was able to call Pennsylvania quickly and could hear clearly -but not so in France, where I would place one call, then the phone lost the signal. And not just in tiny Lourmarin, this happened in Paris as well. And yes, I did contact their customer service, which advised me how to search for other signals. It didn't help, the phones kept cutting out after 5 seconds no matter what we did.
This annoyance and waste of money became crucial when I needed to call a French doctor, whom one cannot visit without calling for an appointment. (Their public phones are as crummy as ours, so that wasn't an option.)
Since neither of our phones worked properly and were a constant source of frustration, I would advise others to either take their cell phones with them, having worked out a deal with their carrier, or wait to buy a French cell in a larger city.
Just don't bother with Telestial.
Linda Leffler
Johnstown, PA USA 11/11/2011
Put Travel Documents on Thumb Drive
In addition to taking a folder of all of our flight and hotel reservations (in chronological order), I put all our travel confirmations and documents on a thumb drive as well as on our small notebook computer. If we lose the PC, we still have the thumb drive backup in my money belt.
In Tonga, the airline counter agent would not accept the printout I presented, as it did not contain our e-ticket numbers. I popped open our PC and brought up the document she required. It took a little extra time, but we got our boarding passes with no further problem.
Cheryl
Indianola, wa USA 11/04/2011
bag
Find a suitable bag first where you can place everything - securely. :)
Hannah Hamilton
USA 10/19/2011
Cell Phone SIM Cards
Avoid LeFrench Mobile Sim cards. While in France, my LeFrench Mobile phone was unable to call emergency numbers (0800) - they're blocked for LFM. While in France and Spain, I was unable to call two of the main Barcelona area codes because they were blocked in the LFM system.
Roger Ingenthron
Earlysvillve, VA USA 10/12/2011
Need an extra SD card in Europe?
Last year we traveled the Baltics. Although I packed 16 gigs of SD cards, I ran out of space. We had walked the Stroget in Copenhagen and I didn't notice a camera shop. There is a game store, however, that sells SD cards. The price was at least as fair as a camera store would have been.
Next time you need extra memory, remember a game store also has what you need.
Brad
Gainesville, VA USA 09/20/2011
camera tips
Be sure to take extra camera battery & memory cards (we traded off the cards every day & started each day with a photo of a scrap of paper saying "start of [date]" and we ended each day with "end of [day]") BRING MEMORY CARDS HOME IN PURSE OR BACKPACK, not a suitcase that might get lost. Although we hand carried our suitcases to Europe, they insisted on checking them on the way home. My suitcase was mis-labeled, which we discovered when we returned home & it was no where to be seen. Fortunately, the memory cards were in our backpacks.
Shellie
Minneapolis, MN USA 09/13/2011
Cell phones / skype / Wifi
Communication worked out well for us. I brought my smartphone (an HTC Legend) after I made sure it would work on the European frequencies. I called my carrier (Bell) and bought 50 minutes of European roaming minutes in case of emergency and then in addition, bought a Skype package (it was cheap).
Once in Europe I used the hotel Wifi and Skype and only once needed my phone features to make a call when Wifi wasn't available. For some reason Skype was a lot clearer with my headset or on speaker than when I held the phone to my head. In any case we talked to Grandparents and girlfriends etc using Skype. NO PROBLEM!
John
Kingston, On Can 09/04/2011
Tech Gadget Experience
GPS. We used a Garmin nuvi 1370T and it worked satisfactorily. It came pre-loaded with European maps.
I saved our driving destinations as Favorites before we traveled to Europe. I strongly recommend this. Some places were found under their English name and others under the name in the local language. Hotels and attractions not in the Garmin database need to be entered manually. It is easier to solve these issues at home instead of while sitting in a car.
The Garmin navigated us through a multitude of roundabouts, giving advance warnings and telling us which exit to take. It worked on rural and urban environments. It saved our marriage.
There are two 'errors' in the Points of Interest data base.
Zugspitze. Garmin routes to the parking lot of the German cable lift. No choice is given for the Austrian lift. The latitude and longitude for the parking lot at the base of the Austrian lift is N47.42741 E010.94170
Pont du Gard. Garmin routed us to the wrong side – the one labeled "don't park here" in the Rick Steves' France book. The latitude and longitude of the preferred parking lot is N43.95224 E004.53621
A GPS is great for determining a driving route and providing turn-by-turn directions. However, paper maps are needed for planning and double checking the GPS device's routes. For example, you may need to add a via or stop point to force the GPS device to take a less-than-fastest route. Paper maps help determine the via or stop points.
I downloaded the Paris City cityXplorerTM map from Garmin, but hardly used it. A pocket paper map was more convenient. Importantly, though, the Garmin could not acquire satellites on the Paris neighborhood streets with five story buildings on each side. It even had problems under the trees along the Champs-Élysées. Lesson learned: bring along paper maps as backups.
One time we used the Paris pedestrian routing when the GPS acquired satellites. It worked as advertised. It gave us choices of walking/metro routes back to our hotel, providing the walking distance to each Metro station.
The 'T' in the model number refers to traffic. The automotive power cord picks up local traffic data over the FM band. In Salzburg, it routed us around a street closed for repairs using this system.
The Garmin really earned its keep when it came time to find a gas station to fill up a rental car before turning it in.
Kindle. Like others on this thread, we took the ETBD books along in a Kindle. It saved weight and space over the paperback versions. The ability to enlarge the font meant we could read it together when it was guiding us on a walk or through a museum. It fit easily in my front pants pocket. I carried it in my Civita pack and used it often. A Belkin Grip Kindle Sleeve provided good protection.
For planning our trip, we used the ETBD paperback books. The Kindle is a reader, and for planning you cannot beat a real book. For example, when choosing hotels, you flip back and forth between the hotel description and the city map showing hotel locations. Our books were full of yellow highlights and sticky notes by the time we departed for Europe.
Some maps are hard to read on the six inch Kindle owing to the screen size. Resolution is excellent, but could not overcome the shrunken size.
Internet tablet. We brought along a 7 inch Archos Internet tablet using Android 2.2 software. It works on Wi-Fi only. It provided access to email and Internet surfing. We used it to check weather forecasts a few days ahead so we could fine tune the timing of indoor and outdoor activities. Weak Wi-Fi signals in some hotels made it impossible to read/send emails.
Backing up photos. I brought along a 16GB memory stick and backed up the photos from our cameras whenever I got access to a hotel PC with two USB ports. An SD-USB adaptor is required. I kept the memory stick in my ankle wallet along with the passports. The cameras could be lost or stolen, but the photos would come home.
Hotel computers. Here are some things to be aware of regarding hotel PCs available for guests:
- Operating systems in local language. The Windows and Mac operating systems are in French, Italian, German, etc. It would be helpful if ETBD would add common operating system words to the dictionaries.
- Local keyboards. The locations of some letters are changed on European keyboards. It varies by country. Ten finger typing degenerates to hunt and peck.
- PC vs. Mac. PC and Mac devotees may find themselves having to use a 'foreign' operating system.
- Web site redirects. When you enter a URL in the browser, be prepared to be redirected to the local country site. For example, in Austria, I typed Avis.com and was redirected to the German language Austria site for Avis. That site had no option for English. I was forced to contact Avis by phone. The redirects happen for Google and Yahoo, too.
- Computer hidden. Some hotels place their computer inside a cabinet or behind a wall. Only the keyboard and screen are accessible. You cannot depend on backing up SD cards at every hotel.
- The only application on the computer is a browser, and maybe Acrobat Reader. Do not count on opening MS Office documents.
Beware of off-brand AA batteries. Chinese AA batteries we purchased at a souvenir stand lasted only 30 photos before the camera died. Stick with name brands.
In conclusion, tech toys can enhance your holiday experience significantly. However, they are not 100% reliable. You still need to bring paper maps, telephone numbers and hard copies of important documents.
Steve Hill
Cupertino, CA USA 08/09/2011
In praise of the Kindle 3G
I brought my Kindle 3G with me for 11 days in the UK - no computer. As other users have described, I was able to load my itinerary and booking/reservation information onto the Kindle (in PDF form) before I left, which was terrifically convenient while traveling. I also had a couple of guidebooks on the Kindle-- more than I would have been willing to carry.
Probably the best thing about bringing the Kindle, though, was that I had internet access throughout my trip. Sometimes it had difficulty connecting to the 3G network while on a (moving) train, but other than that I was able to use the experimental browser to look up travel information-- including rudimentary Google maps-- whenever I needed. And with the 3G access, I didn't need to worry about wireless passwords at hotels or waiting to use the computer in the lobby. As a solo female traveler, I was glad to be able to use the Kindle discreetly in public.
Emily
Cleveland, Ohio USA 08/01/2011
Travel light
Travel light. Every gadget and gizmo you bring will be one more thing to worry about. Every hotel in Europe has internet access - do you REALLY need that laptop you are carrying round and have in a bag at your feet at the busy bar??
Buy memory cards, cameras etc before coming to Europe; they are cheaper in the US.
Amy Pierce
Orono, Maine USA 07/20/2011
Do iPhones work in Europe?
Do iPhones work in Europe? I'll be in Britain, Belgium, Germany, Czech. Thanks.
Editor's Note: Please post questions on the Traveler's Helpline at http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm.
G
Sacramento, Ca USA 06/03/2011
pdf documents on Kindle
We are getting ready for a Europe trip. I am creating itinerary documents and downloading manuals for the GPS and my smartphone as PDFs. Then, I just plug my Kindle into the computer and drag the documents on to it.
Kathy
Issaquah, WA USA 05/06/2011
GPS
Just wanted to say my Garmin Nuvi was indispensable in France. I rarely looked at a paper map.
Only hiccups where it directed me to gas stations which seemed to have been demolished a couple weeks before.
I still like my guidebooks to be paper though.
My rented global phone from Verizon was very handy, too.
Jeff
anywhere, ID USA 05/06/2011
Cell Phone in Italy
Just got a cell phone from Telestial.com with a Passport US Lite SIM Card for $29. Comes with a US and global phone number.
Perfect for if you need to make calls while in country to hotels, etc... while still giving you the peace of mind of a US phone # for emergencies.
lyla
San Diego, CA USA 04/26/2011
Download your photos on your iPad
Buy the camera memory card reader from the Apple store and you can download all your photos on to your iPad.
Ambrosia
Los Angeles, CA USA 04/07/2011
What if your camera won't connect to your computer?
I had been storing my digital photos on my laptop, but on one trip to England, the connector pins were damaged, and the computer would not recognize my camera. I went to a photo/print shop, and the people there were able to create a CD off the SD card. As a result, I spent several hours on the flight home rearranging and editing my photos.
Karen
Minneapolis, MN USA 03/24/2011
Charging multiple devices
Most US devices allow charging with either 110v. (US) or 240v. (EU). Connect your converter plug to an ordinary extension cord to plug into the wall socket, and you can power multiple devices. But don't use computer power strip because the higher voltage will fry the built-in circuit breaker!
J Scott Miller
Spokane, WA USA 01/29/2011
Photography storage
For those who are photographers traveling, storage of said photographs becomes an issue. Sure burnable CDs and DVDs are handy, but, if you are shooting for more than just memories, you are shooting at the highest quality settings or in RAW. And that takes space.
There are some solutions that most professional photographers use, that can be adapted to traveling. The iPad with a right attachment is one solution. But that can be bulky and if you want to pack light, that might not work out that well.
Smaller and portable devices like the Colorspace HDD drives take all sorts of physical media, e.g., compact flash, SD cards. Basically the mainstream memory cards, just stick it in and download it.
That is what I bring along with me when I travel. That way I can leave the laptop home, not have to purchase CD/DVDs [unless I have to] and have a fast and large storage space for my photographs.
Ted Nghiem
Cherry Hill, NJ USA 01/23/2011
Kindle + Netbook = Minimal Paper
I found a combination of technology that really worked for us. I used my Kindle for travel books, as well as the novels I read on my trip. My husband and I each have a Kindle and big reading habits, so I figure it saved about 12 pounds of books on a 3 week trip to Italy! The shortcoming is maps. For example, Rick Steves' has little stylized maps in his books. They get cut up on the Kindle into 4 parts. Hopeless! So I recommend photocopying those from a hardcopy of the book if they are important to you. You can always buy the last years' hardcopy at a big discount (Amazon, Powells.com, your local bookstore) and use that for your maps. In most cases, I paid for books twice: once hard copy and once for my Kindle, but given the thousands of dollars I was spending on the trip, a couple hundred for reference and ease of use was worth it. I really liked being able to highlight items of interest for reference using Kindle's highlighting feature.
The non-tech part: I used a folder for each city and put in my B&B confirmation, other necessary receipts such as museum tickets or prepaid tour reservations, the photocopied maps, pages from specialized books (hikes for example). I also bought a really good map for each city/area and drew my planned walks on it. This amounted to only a few ounces of paper.
I also brought a Netbook because there were frequent times I needed to consult online material: train and bus schedules, Trip Advisor reviews, RS Helpline, etc. I uploaded my photos to the Netbook and to the Web every day or two to preserve them should I lose camera or media card. Plus we stored copies of all reservations and receipts scanned to the Netbook as a back up to the paper mentioned above.
Also had our Ipods for Rick's audio tours, which are great!
Laurel
Portland, OR USA 01/16/2011
Ultralingua German-English Dictionary on iPhone
This software might be useful for anyone looking for a dictionary to carry on an iPhone or iTouch.
There is a learning curve, poor directions and little help. Still, I was using it after 30 minutes of trial and error.
It was quicker to look-up words on Ultralingua than my Langenscheidt Compact Dictionary.
Words not found in the Ultralingua data-base were likewise not in the dictionary.
All conjugated forms of German verbs not in either. ("Ihr wiest" - You have to guess that this may be a form of weisen.)
The cell phone weighs only 40% as much as the dictionary and I carry it anyway.
The downside of using iPhone is that it stresses my eyes more than print.
The Ultralingua Dictionary on the iPhone would be a handy tool on a trip to Germany.
Gary Mc
Salt Lake City, UT USA 12/30/2010
Skype for phone calls
Skype works great, and is very cheap. I bought $10 of Skype credit so I could call any landline and over 3 weeks using it for B&B, info, reservations, didn't use it up.
Mary
Seattle, WA USA 10/23/2010
Electronic itineraries
Tripit.com is a great way to store all your travel info and itineraries, and make them available to yourself and any family/frineds you want. Email confirmations from most vendors can be loaded automatically, no need to manually enter the info.
Mary
Seattle, WA USA 10/23/2010
Safeguard Documents
You can also make PDFs of your docs and send them to Google Docs - it's really simple and you can retrieve them anywhere.
Jean
Naperville, IL USA 10/11/2010
Phone use, + and -
Thanks to this website/page we arranged for a Verizon wireless phone for European travel. (See elsewhere in this tab.) Great: my cell number continued unchanged, and calls & texts from the US were cost-free (on the US end). And the basic cost, which was about $11 for the 22 days. Not great: I have been billed $66+ for "roaming" Phone on my end (sending/receiving) cost $1.25+ When stuck on Hold at my bank for 10 minutes (not Verizon's fault, I'll agree), it adds up.
Nate Castens
Chanhassen, MN USA 09/21/2010
Use of credit/debit cards sometimes iffy
Not all credit or debit cards work in all point-of-sale machines in Europe. I believe they're ahead of us with a chip (or SIM card) for their electronic transactions. I had to use cash at a couple of campgrounds and also at gas stations when neither our bank's debit/Visa card worked nor did my Bank of America/AAA credit card. The gizmo could not read the magnetic strip. ALSO, notify your bank and your credit card company that you will be using your cards out of country. AND VERIFY that they have logged this information into their system. I got a nasty surprise when I was notified that the debit/Visa card account had been locked. This required several phone calls to my banks' service center, which wasn't easy with a seven-hour time difference! They admitted that my "personal banker" had failed to pass along my pre-trip notification. Some personal service, eh?!?
Nate Castens
Chanhassen, MN USA 09/21/2010
GPS love/hate
We bought a Garmin and downloaded the UK/European maps onto a microchip to be inserted. Caution: Do this days ahead of your departure. Procedure requires savvy and time: at least on our wireless DSL, the download required 2+ hours. GPS use was 80-90% positive. I recommend a navigator following along with a hardcopy map at hand (including, if possible, city maps) because (a) GPS was sometimes wrong: left, not right; occasionally missed identifying the correct road number on major routes (e.g. it was not A23, it was A25); usually but not always correct in IDing which round-about exit to take and (b) Garmin, at least, identifies turns by (sometimes audibly unintelligible and visually unposted) street names, not by route number or points of the compass (and neither do many road signs mention N, S, E, W [INVALID] but they do list cities/towns and your navigator possibly could verify your direction). Overall, I agree with others: Boy, a GPS is sure a useful and cost-worthy gadget!
Nate Castens
Chanhassen, MN USA 09/21/2010
V-Tuner Internet Radio
I enjoy listening to Internet Radio on my laptop and at home. I use VTuner which has internet radio from around the world. I like NRJ,Cherie FM from Paris to my favorite local radio stations from home. If your teens or you are homesick they can listen to their favorite radio stations and share them with their new European Friends. Before you go to a country you can listen to their music and enjoy the culture before you take off. Its worth paying the cost to use WIFI on the plane because I can hookup some headphones and listen for hours to my favorite radio stations online. Best of all VTuner is free and there is no software other than having Windows Media Player,Itunes or WinAmp that can play the files. The sound quality is better than your plain old radio tuner.
Daniel
Bay Area, CA USA 09/17/2010
Inexpensive Navi for W. Europe
I bought a refurbished TomTom navigation on eBay for $59 plus shipping with US and W. Europe maps. It was wonderful for a 2 week driving tour of Great Britain. We never got lost and we saved lots of time by taking the best routes. It even chimed when you went 10% over the speed limit (often not posted) and warned to stay to the left. Better yet, we can use it in the car now that we are back home.
Charles Mitchell
Austin, TX USA 09/16/2010
H2O / Big lots
We returned from Europe and I wanted to [INVALID] my post. The H2O phone from Big Lots worked. As for the Sim card from National Geographic / Cellular Abroad it worked, but with some difficulties. We traveled across 9 countries. Sometime the network the phone found would not allow an outward call. But If I would search for a new network from the set up menu, preferably T-mobile, then I could make calls.
Dirk F
Munster, IN USA 08/23/2010
H2O / Big lots
I bought the H2O Motorola Razr at Big Lots on sale for $20.00 Then I ordered the Cellular Abroad / National Geographic sim card on Ebay. Saves you $20 over their website. They shipped it Fedex. After installing the sim card, I successfully made a test call to the Razr phone from my home land line. We leave Friday, so I will update when we return. The main reason I went with Cellular Abroad over a cheaper European sim card is that I wanted a US phone number my employees and parents could call without extra expense to them; while we will use the UK phone number while visiting several different countries.
Dirk F
Munster, IN USA 08/01/2010
Cell Phone Purchase in Europe
When in Italy this summer I paid less for a new Vodafone cell phone than I would have paid for a new SIM card for my Virgin phone.
Andy Perry
Louisville, KY USA 07/31/2010
Big Lots Phone
Most phones sold in the US are locked, unlocked phones usually come with a price much higher than you'll see in any retail outlet. Make sure that it is a quad-band phone as he US and European frequency(s) are different. If going to Spain, don't bother with a sim, the security is a hassle.
Keith Jones
Lewisville, TX USA 07/26/2010
H2O cell phones at BigLots
Has anyone actually used this phone with a 3rd party sim? The packaging at my local Big lot states that the cashier must activate the phone. H2)'s website implies it is a locked pay as you go phone.
Before I buy one for France, I'd like to know that it actually wis unlocked!
Thanks
Jeff
Placerville, USA 07/21/2010
Backing up Documents
If you have a cell phone with a decent camera you can take a picture of important documents and just keep them in the phones memory for emergencies.
Liam J
Ottawa, ON Canada 07/18/2010
Charging Your Gizmos and Gadgets
I always bring a power strip on group trips. This way I can charge my cell, cameras and iPod with one outlet while everyone else fights over the few remaining outlets!
Betty
East Meadow, NY USA 07/12/2010
H20 Phones
I had seen the phones at Big Lots but was afraid they would only work on the prepaid network. Thank you for posting the information.
MP
Shelby, Ala USA 07/11/2010
Cheap quad-band phone
For those looking for a good-quality basic phone with quad-band capability, the discount chain Big Lots is selling Motorola Razr V3 GSM phones for $25. Just picked one up for our trip next year. These are UNLOCKED phones, ready for the sim chip of your choice. They're packaged as refurbished, (but mine looks brand new) and are sold by a prepaid company called H2O Wireless.
Lee
Arvada, CO USA 07/06/2010
Technology Tips
My friend and I downloaded the Deutsche Bahn Railnavigator for our Blackberries. Kept us up to the minute on each train for every city. The hardest thing about it was figuring out how to get it from German to English. Highly Recommended.
Jared H
Mooresville, IN USA 07/02/2010
USB chargers instead of wall-socket
For any rechargeable electronics, dump the normal wall-socket charger and use the USB cables along with one of the travel-converters that has two USB ports. Lets you use one outlet to charge two devices, and saves some space in your bag. This worked well for me in India & China since I had to take three cell phones (work, personal for wifi tethering, and local SIM-card phone). Works great on planes with sockets under the seats too.
Andrew
Phoenix, AZ USA 06/20/2010
Connecting to WiFi
I downloaded WeFi www,wefi.com which helps you to search for and connect to free open WiFi Hotspots around the world. If the Hotspot is password protected it will let you know and help you to enter the correct password. This software is good for those with laptops and mobile phones with WiFi.
Daniel
CA USA 06/18/2010
Best way to carry copies of documents
learned this trick from a friend.
Scan your passport, credit cards and ANY OTHER document or list that you would be lost without or may need to replace while traveling.
Attach it to an email and email it to yourself and leave it in the inbox. Web based mail is best.
That way if all goes to pieces and you lose one or more documents or important info you can always get on the internet somewhere and print out the info etc.
BONUS TRICK.
Store the scans on your PHONE or on a camera flash SD disk and tuck it away inside your shoes etc.
Joseph P
San Francisco, CA USA 06/18/2010
Telestial SIM card
I bought the Telestial V520 international cell phone for Europe and their Passport SIM card. It works ok but with a big problem: the phone does not always hang up when you press the red hang-up key; you have to press an additional "end" key. I was charged an extra $20 for call time until I discovered the problem. A co-traveller with the same phone had the same problem. Telestial denies the problem.
Bruce H
Palo Alto, CA USA 06/02/2010
travel program for BlackBerry
I have been using WorldMateLive.com on my Blackberry for two years now. It is a great program. I am sure there are others out there, but this one works well for me. Keeps you informed of plane delays, and keeps all hotels, cars etc in one place.
D Tetrault
Calgary, AB Canada 05/10/2010
Wifi with T-Mobile
I used my Blackberry Curve 8900 and 9700 with T-Mobile overseas since they have UMA access. This means you can use your phone over wi-fi and your normal plan minutes get deducted. It's just like using your phone in the USA and you don't get charged roaming fees.
Just make sure your Mobile network is turned off and just wi-fi is enabled in case you accidentally start roaming.
I used it extensively in India wherever I could find wi-fi and the call quality is great. I found this to be better than skype since I can use my cell phone number.
Srini A
Sacramento, CA USA 05/05/2010
pocket computer/skype to-go
A local CEO was one of those stranded in Ireland about a week longer from the volcano ash; his computer [with skype] was also on the fritz. This is how he could have gone computerless.
Gain access to a computer on the internet. Take [1] a thumbdrive with the suite from portableapps.com installed on it; also add the program 'portable skype' from the same place. Then port all your documents onto the thumbdrive. And also take [2] a GE voice over internet In-ear Stereo Earset [available at Staples, $19.99]. This earset also works flawlessly with the iphone, other cell phones, and portable audio players and will also work with the audio system on planes! Using these two 'accessories' makes it now possible to take 'your computer needs' in a pocket.
Rick
Cincinnati, OH USA 04/30/2010
Key travel info on Kindle
I use my Amazon Kindle e-reader a lot, at home and away. Shortly before leaving on a trip, I prepare a Word document with my travel information, including airline e-ticket itineraries, hotel reservation information, and any other transportation, sightseeing or other information I want to have handy. Then I email that Word file to my Kindle account, and for a minimal charge, it's automatically formatted for my Kindle and delivered wirelessly to the device. It's a snap to open the document on the Kindle for reference while moving around, instead of rummaging for pieces of paper in my bag.
Suz
Denver, CO USA 03/28/2010
Important Documents
Scan all your important documents and attach them to an email - send the email to yourself. Your important stuff will always be available from any computer.
Joanne Jackson
Point Richmond, CA USA 03/19/2010