What gadgets should you bring on vacation?
— -- It's always a lovely idea to think that your next vacation will be away from technology. You plan on leaving the laptop home, not checking your e-mail for a few days, and taking advantage of being effectively off grid for a little while. But when you start packing, you inevitably start second-guessing yourself. Maybe you should slip the iPad into that bag there. It won't take up much room, and you won't really use it much anyway, right?
Things can only escalate from there.
Let's look at those things you'll be tempted to take and ways to make them travel-friendly. The answer isn't always to leave it at home!
What about your laptop?
Once you've worked out that your iPad will fit, your laptop is probably next on the list — but should it really be there? If you have a netbook or an ultra-portable model, then perhaps the answer is still yes. It will take up just a fraction of your suitcase, won't add much weight, and will still be able to do everything you need — checking those urgent emails, updating your Facebook status to tell everyone what a good time you're having, or gloating about your holiday on Twitter.
If you'd prefer to buy a portable machine with a little more oomph and a smaller case, an excellent option for work with occasional or frequent travel is the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro is small and lightweight enough that it comes along with this writer on most vacations. An unexpected travel-friendly benefit of its 13-inch size is that it fits quite nicely on the fold-down tables on airplanes, so I can write or play games even when I'm in the air. Anything larger won't open fully on the tray table and bears the risk of causing you to elbow your neighbor as you type.
If your laptop is much bigger than 13", you may have to prioritize. How much e-mailing do you really want to do? How many status updates are necessary? Shouldn't you be off working on your tan? If you'll only want to log on once or twice, it might be worth hunting down a local internet cafe or using the business center in your hotel to write and send your e-mails.
Thanks for the memories
Whichever sort of digital camera you choose to take, something to snap photos with is fairly necessary these days. Going digital means you can check out your photos and videos as soon as you take them, saving all that wasted time spent back in the day waiting for film to be developed.
But you still have other matters to consider. Think about what you want to capture. For some events, still images may not be enough; you may need to venture into video. Will your standard camera be good enough, or do you need to pack a dedicated video camera?
Even simple camera needs may vary depending on the type of vacation you're taking. A trip to the snow might require a waterproof, shockproof camera, while a road trip through the desert calls for a no-glare screen.
Unless you're going somewhere specifically to take photos, chances are you won't need your hardcore digital SLR camera, collection of lenses, assortment of filters, and variety of tripods. Most of your bases will be covered by a decent point-and-shoot. If you realize later that you'd like a little stability, cheap tripods are available at most camera stores (even at your destination).
A music player
Whether it's one of the many flavors of iPod, a Walkman, a Zune, or even a digital radio, all good trips require a good soundtrack. This might be a small player you can slip into your pocket or a portable speaker set to leave in your hotel room.
Whatever your choice, make sure you've got all of your music ready to go as well as the player. That might mean loading everything onto a hard drive, burning a CD or two, or even finding out what the local radio stations are.
Leave dedicated music players at home and simply station surf on your hotel room radio. You may discover unsigned local gold, late-night political talkback — or you might hit the motherlode: the only radio station in the country that plays all reggae, all the time.
A game to pass the time
If you're going to actually be in transit for lengthy periods — a long road trip, plane flight, or bus journey — a handheld gaming device can be a worthy investment. Something like a Nintendo DS (or 3DS) or a PlayStation Portable (save your pennies for the even-shinier PlayStation Vita in 2012!) would be ideal, but other, cheaper (and more retro) options are also available. Then it's just a matter of grabbing your handheld and a bunch of game cartridges to slip into your carry-on!
Be careful about bringing games. The longer you spend with your head down focusing on your video game, the less time you'll spend enjoying your vacation. On a long-haul flight, that's not so important, but if you're traveling somewhere by car, the journey is half the destination!
Games? Leave 'em all at home. Play Eye-Spy on long train journeys, hold a road trip sing-along, or just spend your transit hours getting to know your traveling companions better. You'll be stuck together for a while — what better time to find out their favorite ice cream flavor?
Reading material
Gone are the days of lugging countless paperbacks with you to every destination. By all means, if you're a fan of the airport novel, don't change your style, but if you'd prefer to take many more books at a fraction of the weight, there are plenty of gadgets on the market to help you out. There's something to suit every variety of reader (and every budget), so don't feel pressured into getting the same one as everyone else just because.
When it comes to books, there are literally millions at your fingertips online. You can buy the latest new release or best seller, pick up an old favorite, or peruse a site like Project Gutenberg to find classic stories that are now in the public domain. If you're in the mood for something a little different, there's a huge array of ebooks released each year under Creative Commons licensing, meaning they're totally free! (Try ManyBooks for a starter selection.)
Again, make sure that all of your reading material is preloaded onto your reader and that you have all of the appropriate chargers. Nothing's quite as frustrating as going to turn on your device for a good read and finding the battery is flat or the file didn't download or transfer correctly.
If you're a holiday bookworm, an ebook reader is a must-have, as long as you can find the one that's right for you. Taking one gadget in your bag is infinitely preferable to lugging a bunch of hardbacks — and with an entire library at your fingertips, you're never without something to read. That said, less bookish travelers will probably still be satisfied with the airline magazine.
Most likely to snarl your plans
Don't forget all of the chargers, connectors, and memory cards for each device! Have them clearly labeled in your case if you've got too many to keep track of, and remember where you've packed each one. Before you leave, remember that even though some plugs and cables might look the same, they can still be very different in a subtle, important way — so you really will have to pack two nearly identical chargers.
There is an easier way!
After all of this, you could just take your smartphone. These days, most good smartphones combine a still camera, video recorder, music player, email reader, web browser, library of ebooks, game collection, set of maps, GPS tracker, decently powered computer and cell phone — all in a convenient package that will fit right in your pocket. Grab that and your single, simple charger, and you're all set. Bon voyage!
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