GoRoundTheWorld.com - RTW Travel - Packing - Technology - Mobile Phones, Cameras, Music Players, and Video Players

Technology

While it may be tempting to take along some of the “five items you would take if you were stranded on a desert island for the rest of your life”, such temptation should be avoided to the extent possible for RTW travel. Every technology item you pack will add a significant amount of weight to your bag, and each one will make you more of a target for criminals. As far as peace of mind goes, how comfortable will you be when out for a day of swimming, knowing your trusty laptop is left behind in your room? It is better not to have a worry about such things.

Fortunately, modern technology combined with the resources available at ubiquitous internet cafes will allow you to leave many of your valuable items at home while you travel.

Leave Those Laptops Home

My advice is to leave the laptops at home. It’s very convenient to be able to compose emails, correspondence, travel diaries and the like on a computer you are familiar with; but, you will very likely be on the go, and on many days you may not even dig those items out of your pack, let alone compose an email or journal entry. I found that I was so busy it would often be a few days to a week between my journal entries. On many days I was visiting sites or having tea and dinner with locals and would get back to my lodging quarters late and ready for bed. On those occasions, which were many, I put off my journal writing for later.

The good news is that with few exceptions internet cafes are plentiful, inexpensive, and connected via broadband throughout the world. For example, many internet cafes in Thailand or Viet Nam have connections which are just as fast as those in Europe or North America and cost about $0.50USD (fifty cents) per hour. Connections in Asia and South America are generally very inexpensive. Connections in Africa, Europe and North America are somewhat more expensive, say $2.00 to $5.00 per hour, but in all likelihood one or two hours every couple of days will be enough to check email, update correspondence, and transmit photos. If needed, most internet cafes offer an office suite for spreadsheets and word processing. Some even offer image and video processing programs like Photoshop.

Some exceptions to this advice are as follows:

- In China it can be difficult to find internet cafes, even in the major cities. But if you look with some tenacity, or go to an upscale hotel, you will find them.

- If you are a Mac aficionado, you will not find many internet cafes with computer equipment you are used to. The vast majority of internet cafes are PC-based.

There may be other exceptions, and, if so, please let me know of them so I may include them in future editions of this website. You may contact me by clicking HERE.

Still Cameras and Video Cameras

Cameras are a must for any traveler, but there are ways to consolidate your needs into one or a few devices:

Many newer cell phones have very decent cameras. Sony Ericsson and Nokia make fantastic camera phones with VGA or better video functions. I swear by Sony Ericsson - you can even title your videos, trim them, add background music and transition effects, and then email the related video to someone all from your cell phone. I have never had a Nokia phone but I do know that Nokia and Sony Ericsson make the best phones. iPhones, I am afraid to say, do not make the grade when compared with those brands.

If you are not traveling with a cell phone or if you prefer separate equipment for your audio and video needs, consider a small video camera which fits in the palm of your hand and also takes still images. Such cameras now offer high resolution imaging and HD video at an affordable price. Examples of cameras in this category include the Flip and the RCA Small Wonder.

If you are a professional photographer, or if you prefer film, then by all means pack those trusty cameras into your bags.

Mobile Phones

To be able to make affordable, local mobile phone calls while traveling, I highly recommend buying a local SIM card in each country for which you think you will need to make calls. Your mobile operator at home will offer plans which allow you to call anywhere in the world from almost any location, but the rates can be exorbitant - some are over $3.00US per minute when you are overseas. Compare those rates with the cost of SIM cards in many countries, often less than $10.00US, and those local SIM cards pay for themselves after just a few minutes of talking. What’s more, with local SIM cards, you will pay competitive per-minute local rates not much unlike the ones you pay at home. And, unlike in the United States, Canada, and China, incoming calls to a mobile phone in many countries are free. No matter what carrier you have, if you travel overseas using your home plan, you will pay for both incoming and outgoing calls at your home carrier’s international roaming rate.

If you have a GSM phone, it will work in almost every country and should accept local SIM cards, the notable exception perhaps being Japan. To use a local SIM card, you simply (a) make sure your phone is unlocked before your initial departure and (b) replace your normal SIM card with the local one once you arrive at a particular destination. As far as the menus on your phone are concerned, I have never come across a local SIM card which did not offer set-up options in both the local language and English. These cards are available widely throughout the world, usually at convenience stores or even supermarkets.

Some mobile phone operators would like to make you think that you are likely to have problems if you try to use SIM cards of other carriers in your phone. This is a common ploy in the U.S. phone market and, if your phone is unlocked, it is simply not true. So long as you can replace the SIM card in an unlocked GSM phone, you should have no problems. If your phone is currently “locked”, ask your operator for an unlock code. If they give you a hassle about it, then check into your local laws and regulations. Many localities now require mobile phone operators to give you an unlock code after a period of time from commencement of service, such as 60 or 90 days.

To find out the technology your phone uses, go to the manufacturer’s website and look up the details for your particular phone model. Links to some of the major manufacturers are below:

To find out what technology your mobile phone provider uses, click on one of the following links (all of the links will take you to Wikipedia):

List of mobile network operators in Europe

List of mobile network operators in the Americas

List of mobile network operators in Asia Pacific

List of mobile network operators in the Middle East and Africa

Portable Music and Video Players

My advice for these sorts of devices is the same as cameras - if practical, use your cell phone as a music and video player if you can. Be sure to get a memory chip with plenty of gigabytes to keep you humming along with enough room to add some of the interesting media you are sure to come across during your travels. If you prefer separate devices or do not plan to take a mobile phone, try to take one device that offers all the features you need.