Planning any fun trips this summer? Are you taking any gadgets with you? Whether you're taking a road trip, cross-country plane ride or headed overseas, we've got some tips to keep your tech happy, healthy and safe.
Road Trip
- Be careful with tech in the car, of course. But if you want to stay connected on the road, do it in style. A cup-holder-mounted laptop tray makes those rest-stop-Facebook-checks easy and convenient. Oh, and don'f for get to update Foursquare.
- After 3 days and 2,000 miles, it would stink to pull into a hotel and realize you've forgotten your phone charger. Good thing you read Unplggd and know about our tip to head down to the front desk. They've likely got a box full of chargers for every phone—it's the number one item left behind in hotel rooms.
Plane Trip
- Be prepared to whiz through security with cases and sleeves that are TSA-approved. We love Tom Bihn's Checkpoint Flyer and Case Logic's colorful laptop sleeves.
- Stuff gets stolen in airports. Make sure you keep one eye on your table when you get up to grab another sugar packet. As an added safety measure, camouflage your gadgets. Make your digital camera look old and ratty and hide your laptop with a newspaper-covered sleeve.
- If you're getting ready to snooze, stow away all your tech. But to keep your plane-nap playlist going, use this blanket with a built-in iPod pocket.
Traveling Abroad
- Make sure you've got all the accessories you need—with all the right ports and settings. This laptop essentials kit should keep you covered.
- Make sure you're up to speed on all of the plugs and sockets where you're going with this guide.
- Remove any files from your computer that might look fishy to custom's agents—they're allowed to reasonably search anything that crosses their borders, including your hard drive. And don't forget to bring some proof of ownership: If you've got a new-ish laptop, you might have to prove you didn't buy it overseas if you want to avoid a duty tax.
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for gadgets and the security line i have a tip. you don't always have everything stored away in your bag, so if i am traveling and have a jacket with me, i start filling up all the pockets with all the stuff. Cell phone, ipod, wallet, change, belt, anything metal goes in the coat. that way you can just toss the coat in the tray and walk on through.
it saves a ton of time then you don't have one of the trays going through with loose gadgets, change, clothing, etc. Since when you get to the other side you gotta grab it all in a hurry.
For a road trip, purchase a power inverter. You can use it to charge a laptop, iPad, etc. in your car. Think Geek has a neat one that is shaped like a coffee cup and sits nicely in the cup holder. It supports both regular power and USB. I use my iPhone as a navigation device and usually listen to my own tunes in the car, so I have a cup holder mounted iPhone cradle as well.