Following up my earlier post on clothes I recommend for travelers, here is some tech I think is worth packing on vacation (as opposed to a business trip). (FYI, I don't receive freebies, payments, or commissions by mentioning any of these products.)
* Magellan's Dual-Voltage Power Strip ($30) supports North American and international electrical currencies and includes three AC outlets and one USB charging port. Buy the power adapter you need for the country you're visiting (about $7 each), and combined with this strip, you should have everything you need to recharge your laptop, tablet, e-reader, smartphone, digital camera, and other gadgets.
* BookGem stand ($15). This compact, collapsible stand props up your iPad, Kindle, Nook, and other tablets and e-readers for comfortable, hands-off viewing. Rather than pack my iPad 2 in a heavy case/stand, I protect it with Apple's Smart Cover, which is very lightweight, and I use the BookGem stand to prop the tablet for reading or watching video.
* Boostaroo ($25). All too often, an airplane's loud hum makes music and video harder to hear on my iPad or iPhone, sometimes even when I'm wearing noise cancelling headphones. So I always travel with this 'portable amplifier,' which boosts audio to a comfortable level and also allows you to plug in a total of three headsets.
You are on vacation, on a remote beach, and take a photo of yourself. A minute later, on the other side of the world, your mother is walking around her house and sees that same photo of you smiling back at her from the digital picture frame in her living room.
Posted by: netbooks | September 17, 2011 at 06:33 AM