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Resource Realness: Tech On The Go

In the modern world of travel, or, let’s be honest…really the modern world at all, the technology you have defines who you are and how you move throughout your life.

gadgets

As this technological realm continues to develop and permeate our culture, it has even transcended a simply physical advantage into an entire way of thinking and relating to the world.

What this means for humanity is one thing…and worthy of deep, complex discussions. But thats another blog….

What this means for the modern day traveler is the importance of developing a sense of technological prowess.

As a child of the 90’s, I fell right on the cusp of the technology boom. While I remember actually playing with sticks…outside, and not in VR, as well as things like dialing a rotary phone, rewinding tapes before returning them to Blockbuster, and logging onto the internet over the phone line, I also have had an easy time adjusting to the world of more advanced technology as it emerged throughout my adolescence.

One of the most important elements I have seen in mastering this realm is an open mind driven by a perspective of curiosity and the willingness to learn from failure. As my father has said to me throughout life,

“It’s not necessarily about what you know, it’s about knowing how to find out”

And technology is that access to knowing. Even use these devices themselves, one must have an approach of attentive exploration. From here, it is simply repeating this process in order to find what you need to (such as how to get the cheapest airfare) and then implementing it (such as reserving that airfare and storing that ticket information on your phone to be used at the airport).

There is a vast world of technology available for travelers today and, while this can be overwhelming, my approach has been to do ongoing research and then see what fits as I am actually on the go. From these experiences, I have compiled the following list of some of my favorite tech tools that have helped me significantly on my travels.

Enjoy

❤


anker-power-core-20100-02

This is the best backup battery that I have ever used. It lasts for an amazing amount of time, which is handy when you forget to charge it for days at a time and need to rely on it to have your phone working….which a *cough* friend of mine tends to do….

I have been able to charge my phone up 3-4 times, as well as my Beats headphones, without the battery needing to be recharged itself. This has literally been a life safer, especially when traveling and using my devices a lot. This can fit inside your pocket and is pretty portable for all the power it has. Definitely one of my favorite and most effective pieces of gear.

The company is also great, when I ran into trouble with mine where it stopped charging things consistently, they gave me a new one no problem. Gotta love when a company takes care of you 🙂

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The wireless on-ear Beats headphones, in Rose Gold of course, are one of my most essential pieces of travel gear because they provide a lot of comfort and significantly contribute to the rhythm (get it ;P haha) of my experience. The padding on the ears is so soft and, while I have run into discomfort for long time wear with other Beats (and this is like 9 or 10 hours), so far I have not had that issue with these.

They are noise canceling so they cut out the airplane noise and crying babies which makes it easier to sleep and have some piece.

They also come in handy when people are trying to sell you things on the street or talk to you when you don’t want them to, since the large “I’m obviously wearing headphones” look (should) basically show others that you are busy and not the one to choose to talk to..it has saved me many times haha

I also really prefer to wear these when I am taking any kind of phone call because it allows me to talk without holding onto anything and allows me to actually hear what the other person is saying. Especially helpful when on a noisy street or airport. This is great for business travel especially.

Plus, I wear them around when I am walking through town and it’s like I have a soundtrack playing to my life. Making me feel like I am in a wonderful dream. These are basically my travel companion when going it alone and always keep me company ;P

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While I have yet to use this device myself (first time is coming up this April) I do have to say I love the idea of it so much. The Sky Roam is set to be the solution for your international, country hoping, on the go adventure. It is a wireless hotspot that you can connect up to 5 devices on AND the device itself is a backup battery that you can use to charge your phone (or whatever) while out and about.

You can rent or buy this device. In April I will be renting it to try it out and I anticipate it will lead to a full purchase haha With the rental pack I was able to upgrade for about $1 a day and got the upgraded device (as shown above) as well as unlimited high speed data for my entire trip. When purchasing, you then purchase additional data packs to use and these can be as low as about $8 a day. Of course, no matter what you are going to have to be paying for data somehow, and out of all the cell phone companies and international SIM cards I have tried, this is by far the best deal.

*Future post will be coming to detail my experience of traveling with this device*

Just like Goldilocks and the 3 bears, a tablet does a great job hitting that “just right” feeling. Since the tablet is pretty much just like your phone, but a bit bigger, there is the same world of amazing ability on this device as the one you use everyday. This is even better if you have data on the go (which could be conveniently covered by your Sky Roam…). Some additional features include the enjoyment of having a larger screen to watch TV or movies on, read, and search for information. I also really like to use mine with a pen, it takes me back to the feeling of having a paper notebook but this way everything is stored online and on the device for easy access and organization anywhere. Definitely an upgrade.

The tablet I have is the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1″ 16GB (Wi-Fi), in White. I like this tablet a lot because I can still hold it in one hand, like I hold my Kindle and this makes it easy to use on the go. On one trip this tablet saved me when my phones charging port stopped working and my phone inevitably ran out of battery. I was able to switch over to this and use it to IM friends and access pretty much everything I would have on my phone. Minus of course the texting and calling features, pretty small concerns today with all the other options available to connect. There are plenty of other brands of course but this is my go to and has been a device I have really enjoyed using thus far.

Now this… is special.

When I heard there was a portable battery charger that I could plug my laptop into (because it literally has a two prong outlet included) I knew I had to own this device. Not only can this thing power your laptop, or whatever, on the go but it can also jumpstart your car if need be and has a super duty flashlight on the end. Basically, its the holy grail of backup batteries.

Now, with all this there definitely comes some additional weight and size that is important to account for. Despite how small it really is for all it can do, when filling up your backpack to go out for the day, you really don’t want to add an additional several pounds to the load. However, to use this device best I have brought it out with me only in specific situations such as camping or times when I knew I would need to charge something bigger like my laptop. For the rest of the time this lives in my car (despite having to take it inside every once and a while to recharge) so I can use it to jumpstart my engine if I need to and to power my devices if I get stranded!

Featured: Google Pixel 2

Of course the most basic and necessary piece of technology is the cell phone. As something most people already use everyday, it is pretty obvious why you would want a quality cell phone while you are on the go. A little bit ago, I made the change from an Iphone to Android which, hilariously, has been controversial to some of the people I have spoken with. While I do recognize Iphone has many great features, I do not understand the fervent commitment people have to the company. Really, there are a lot of things that you are restricted on when it comes to Iphone and, the rebel I am, I have really enjoyed the freedom I get with Android phones. While I currently do not have the phone featured above, it is the one I am after. Currently, I have a Galaxy S8 which is nice and even very similar to the Google Pixel 2, but I just cant help feel like this phone would be a better fit for me.

The abilities of this phone are amazing! One of the best features is the camera, it has one of the best available, even takes great pics in low light (very important for all those amazing night shots of the beautiful cities and things you will see while traveling) and comes with UNLIMITED photo storage… cant beat that, especially for traveling. I take at least 1,000 photos of everywhere I go haha so for me, this is one of the top features I could possibly ask for. In addition, you are first to get Android updates, there is a long 7+ hour battery life, and the display is gorgeous.

So much want!

Now these are magic little friends that will help you keep track of all of your most important items while on the go.

This is important because while in constant motion when traveling it can be pretty easy to misplace things….and then you have a mini heart attack when you cant find your wallet or passport or car keys. While this has never happened to me …. because of the *cough* responsible and organized woman I am…. I do know it is something that happens quite often.

This is the solution.

With these easy little squares, you simply activate them with your phone and attach them to whatever you don’t want to lose, then track and even call it from the app! What is even cooler is that they actually play a little song that you can activate from your phone, like playing Marco Polo with your lost keys hahah you can even see on a map where they are located, in case maybe you forgot them across town or your wallet was stolen.

Even cooler, you can use the Tile to call your phone, which it will make ring..even if you have your phone on silent!

Yes!

To make them even more stylish, you can order covers to go over the top of your Tile which you can even customize to have pictures of your family, your pets, or your favorite travel destinations to make it look nice while you are staying on top of your shit !

You can’t get better then that

😀

“Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination”

-Albert Einstein

 
 
 

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