March 27, 2024   12:42am
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As if finding enough space for our clothes isn’t difficult enough, now we have to worry about all our digital doodads. In her third packing post, our travel adviser Susan tells us what we need to be electronically-ready …
PACKING: ON THE ELECTRONIC SIDE

Guidebooks/Books:
Packing books are always a weight and space challenge. Luckily electronic books solve this. One choice is Amazon’s Kindle with a wide range of books available (Snoety has already given a big thumbs-up on this product!)

Another option is Apple’s iTouch or iPhone – apple.com – the iTouch being the non-phone version with books available via ereader.com and/or fictionwise.com. Although the screen size on Apple’s products is smaller than the Kindle, the plus is that you can also load music, audio books (also on the new Kindle), video and a range of other applications and games onto the device – including Scrabble, Sudoko, etc. via Apple’s iTunes Store. The Apple devices also have a calendar and address book – handy while traveling – which you can sync to your MAC. If you’re not carrying a laptop, the Apple products provide wifi access to Internet and e-mail. For Palm users – palm.com – some devices also support electronic books and games – as well as providing wifi access to the Internet.

TIP: for guidebooks, photocopy pages before you leave home and toss as you go along. Although not ecological, this does save on weight. Also, more and more guidebooks are coming out as electronic versions for your iTouch, iPhone and Kindle.

Adaptor Plugs & Chargers:
If traveling abroad, make sure to carry the correct adaptor plugs for your electronic items (mainly chargers these days). At magellans.com you’ll find a useful list of what you’ll need. Although cameras usually require a product specific charger, you can reduce the number of other chargers you carry by using Callpod’s device – callpod.com – a charger hub that connects to one outlet, but allows you to charge multiple devices at once – iPods, phones, Palm devices, etc. – from its hub (you buy product specific connectors that attach into the hub and your devices. No more searching the hotel room for multiple outlets and you carry less as well! Buy it here on Amazon to get a discount from the price listed on their site. TIP: If using your laptop on the plane, make sure to buy the adaptor plug needed for the airline’s seat outlet in advance. On American Airlines recently, to charge our laptop we needed the same charger we use in our car.

No doubt many of you have your own packing strategies — share them with us at snoety and as, always, happy travels.

Susan
Susan@snoety.com

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