Now if you are a traveller who lives in the airport or in your car, you got to have these four gadgets!
Headphones – A good pair of earphones and an excellent choice are the Ultimate Ears 700 from Logitech. The 700’s deliver solid separation of instruments and voices without coming across as too crisp. On the other hand, these earphones aren’t slouches, yielding tight bass notes and a warm midrange. Even audiophiles should be happy with these $150 earbuds.
A Smart Phone – Remaining connected is a big deal today, I mean you can’t stand still without looking at your phone for 30 seconds, go ahead try it, we will wait…… am I right?! A few phones that have a reliable global testing plan is the HTC HD7S on AT&T. It uses Windows Phone 7 software (not the most popular choice these days), but it proved perfectly adequate, with all the free apps I needed. I even watched streaming movies on Netfix while in Europe.
AT&T says it will work — voice calls, text messaging, e-mail, and Internet — in over 200 countries around the world. Just make sure you get the right plan with roaming built-in. Voice roaming for discounted rates in foreign countries is an additional $5.99 a month and then $49.99 a month for 125 MB of Web traffic covering about 100 countries.
The GO 2535 M Live GPS – Tom Tom’s GO 2535 M Live is an awesome real-time traffic reporter. Other such services gather data from a variety of sources, such as local DMVs and emergency first responders, but the information usually arrives too late to do you any good. Tom Tom’s $300 GO 2535 offers something new: live traffic information from other Tom Tom users on the road. The nav device has built-in two way communications, so that you can relay your progress and receive information about others on the road ahead of you.
Stay powered up – A good, and inexpensive solution is Belkin’s Dual Auto Charger for iPhone and iPod. Despite it’s name, the $30 gadget works with any device that charges using a USB cable. So you can charge a Bluetooth headset or Android phone. It plugs into a 12-volt outlet and then gives you two USB outlets: a “quick charge” and a slower trickle charge plug. All you have to do is remember to plug in.