Traveler 2.0

Best Laptop Backpacks: Mobile Edge ScanFast

As part of my never-ending quest for the best laptop backpack, I traveled last week with Mobile Edge's new ScanFast (list price $100).

The backpack is part of Mobile Edge's new line of checkpoint-friendly laptop bags, designed so you don't have to remove your laptop as you pass through an airport security checkpoint.

I prefer to use a backpack for my carry-on bag. I'd rather carry the weight of a laptop and other stuff on my back than on my shoulders or in my hands. The Mobile Edge backpack appears to be one of the few of its kind on the market. 

It's not a thing of beauty, however, lacking the class of a Tumi or Briggs & Riley bag. But it's also less expensive than typical bags from those companies. I wish Mobile Edge had found a way to add an exterior water bottle pocket. A strap for securing the backpack over the telescoping handle of a wheeled bag would be nice, too. But the designers of checkpoint-friendly bags face more constraints than those of traditional laptop bags, so these omissions are understandable.

In its favor, the ScanFast backpack has plenty of pockets. It's affordable. And it eliminated one step--having to remove my laptop--during the security screening process, which I appreciate. Overall, I recommend the backpack for frequent flyers who'd like a new laptop backpack.

Air Travel for Techies: American's Wi-Fi, Virgin America's Power Ports

Just returned from a business/pleasure trip to New York.

From San Francisco to JFK, I flew American Airlines in coach, specifically to try its new wireless network service (available on 767-200 aircraft flying between JFK and SF, LA, and Miami). The service, Aircell's Gogo, cost $13 for the entire flight. Aircell employees were stationed at the departure gate, handing out coupons for 25% off the service. (See picture below.)

The connection speed was not quite as fast as my DSL-based wireless network at home. But it was speedy enough to watch YouTube videos with only occasional lags and skips. A bonus: I had a DC power port at my seat, so with an adapter, I kept my MacBook Air powered throughout the flight.

For my return flight, I traveled on Virgin America. I was a Virgin virgin and was curious what the buzz was all about.

The A319 aircraft I was on didn't have wireless or wired networking (Virgin's working on adding that). The entertainment system was fun and easy to use, however. And my coach cabin seat had an AC power outlet.

But here's the curious thing. When my MacBook Air was plugged into the outlet, its cursor/pointer became virtually unusable. I would drag my finger across the trackpad to move the cursor to select, say, an icon in the Mac OS dock. But the cursor wouldn't respond at all. Or it would have a delayed response of as much as half a minute.

I thought my MacBook Air was having a meltdown. Then, out of curiosity, I unplugged the laptop from the power port at my seat. The cursor movement immediately returned to normal. When I plugged the computer back in to the power port, the cursor went back into lag mode. 

I was watching Mad Men episodes on my MacBook Air, so the cursor lag wasn't a significant problem. When I needed to use the cursor, I'd just unplug the computer, move the pointer, then plug the computer back in. If I had needed to work, however, the cursor delay would have been intolerable.

High tech amenities in flight are finally arriving, after years of stops and starts. The ability to surf the Web in the sky is a big step forward. But my experience using Virgin America's power port is a reminder that quirky, mysterious technical glitches still follow us, no matter where we go. 

Flip Mino: New Personalization Options are Spot On

Pure Digital, the folks behind the hot-selling Flip Mino pocket camcorder, are now giving consumers countless options for personalizing the camcorder's look.

You can choose from dozens of patterns and styles. Really jonesin' for a leopard-print Flip Mino? No worries; they'll sell you one. 

Want to create your own pattern to put on your Flip Mino? Or add your own photo? Not a problem. A few clicks, and you're done.

Customizing the look of an electronic device isn't something new. For example, HP and Sony have offered consumers options for personalizing the look of laptops, portable media players, and such. But Pure Digital seems to be giving consumers way more personalization options. Despite the tough economy, I'll bet Pure Digital will sell a ton of customized Flip Minos for $180 a pop this holiday season. 

Best Laptop Bags: Watertight Roll-Aboard for Laptop, Other Gear

The Pelican 1510 LOC is one of the more unusual wheeled carry-on bags I've seen. It's fairly rugged, with a hard-shell exterior that claims to be watertight and crush proof.

The interior features two removable pouches. One is clearly designed for accessories--power cords, cables, and such. The other is for a small-medium-sized laptop. Both pouches affix to the bag's inside lid with Velcro.

Because of its hard shell, those who tend to overpack (meaning: me) would probably feel constrained by this bag. At $232, it's a bit pricey, too. However, I could see using the Pelican 1510 LOC to safely transport a variety of gear, such as laptop, projector, portable printer, camera equipment, and accessories.

IPhone E-Mail Solution: Switch to Gmail

In previous posts, I explained the problems I've had sending/receiving e-mail on my iPhone 3G via my AT&T Yahoo e-mail account.

I've finally found a permanent solution. I switched to Gmail.

I'd been considering transitioning to Gmail anyway. The reason: I like the idea of having all my messages available from any computer, rather than locked up in an Outlook file on one computer. You can have your e-mail from AT&T Yahoo or whomever automatically forwarded to Gmail. Or you can have Gmail go and fetch the e-mail from your other accounts. Another benefit: You can tell Gmail to leave copies of any e-mail it fetches on the original server. This means you're automatically creating a backup of every message received. One remains on your ISP's server; another is in your Gmail.

Also, you can send e-mail from Gmail using any of your other e-mail addresses. For example, in Gmail I can send someone an e-mail and the message will appear to have come from my AT&T Yahoo e-mail address. In other words: You can switch to Gmail and the move will be completely transparent to everyone with whom you exchange e-mail. They don't have to update your contact information in their address books.

Anyhow, I've had zero problems sending and receiving Gmail on my iPhone 3G. So if you're still having problems, consider routing your e-mail through Gmail.