It was a pleasure to travel to the City by the Bay for this fall's CTIA wireless show. San Francisco offers unique architecture, fine food, and many historic sites, including Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz Island. And CTIA offers the latest and greatest in wireless technology. I attend many shows each year for the magazine and have learned that a few well-chosen accessories make my travels a lot easier. Before reviewing some of the things I saw at CTIA, I thought I'd give you a few tips about some of the products I use when I'm on the road.
San Francisco viewed from Alcatraz Island.
Tip 1: Carry one power source for all your devices
Whenever I travel, I carry at least one Pocket PC, a Smartphone, a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, and a Portable Media Center. Instead of bringing an AC adapter for each device, I bring along some accessories from JavoEdge (http://www.javoedge.com). The first is JAVOSync, a sync-n-charge cable that retracts into a small disk for convenient storage. When fully extended, you have a cable up to 35 inches long that allows you to connect your Pocket PC to the USB port on a laptop PC, for syncing data or to charge the Pocket PC's battery. (Note: Buy the JAVOSync model designed for your specific Pocket PC model.)
The JAVOSync sync-n-charge cable.
JavoEdge also sells universal wall charger and cigarette lighter power adapters that connect to the USB end of the JAVOSync cable to power your Pocket PC. Finally, JavoEdge offers a kit that includes a generic retractable USB power cable and an adapter with small, medium, and large "cannon" power plugs. Combine this with the wall charger or cigarette lighter adapter and you can power a wide variety of portable devices.
Tip 2: Stay connected to the Web with Sprint PCS
Dependable Internet service is vital to me when I travel. Unfortunately, past experience has taught me not to depend on Wi-Fi connections at shows and hotels. Most of the time they are overloaded with traffic, such that the connection is slow or it's difficult to stay connected for any length of time. Because of this, I always bring the Bluetooth-enabled cell phone I got with my Sprint PCS (http://www.sprintpcs.com) high-speed data service. This service is available almost everywhere I travel. I connect my Bluetooth-enabled Tablet PC or Pocket PC through the cell phone to the Sprint PCS network, and answer e-mail or browse the Web. The service provides connection speeds from about 80 to 120 bps—not blazingly fast, but better than a dial-up connection any day.
Tip 3: Don't get lost—bring digital maps
Finding my way around in a strange city can be difficult, so before I leave on a trip, I download a map of the city to my Pocket PC using Pocket Streets 2005 (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/downloads/pocketstreets/default.mspx). Pocket Streets lets me pull maps up quickly and create push-pins on the map to mark places that I need to go, such as my hotel, convention center, local restaurants, etc. Pocket Streets 2005 supports GPS functionality. Combined with a GPS receiver, it shows me where I am all the time and helps to make my travel quick and hassle-free!
Pocket Streets helps you find your way around unfamiliar cities.
Tip 4: Protect your Pocket PC, but pull it out fast!
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