Basic gadgets and technology for travelers
 |
Can your phone instantly translate Spanish into English? Or English into Spanish? If your vacation includes shopping at a beachfront stall in the Dominican Republic, understanding Spanish can be helpful. See item 4 below. |
Technology and electronic gadgets can make your vacation more enjoyable. Here are some basics that will take some of the lumps, bumps and surprises out of visiting new places in the and abroad.
1. Online Banking. Before you go anywhere establish an online account at your bank to allow you to have access to your money anywhere there is an internet connection—and that means virtually everywhere on the planet. Set up internet access to your credit cards too, to help monitor your expenditures. Caution: Avoid using internet cafes or public hot spots to access your accounts. Your ID could easily be stolen in these type of locations.
|
2. Smartphone or electronic tablet. Smartphones, such as the IPhone, Blackberry or one of the newest Android operating system phones, have terrific applications, called apps, you can add to help you as you travel. Tablets are in some ways better for senior retirees because the screens are bigger. Those tiny smartphone displays are for young eyes. There are now a gazillion new electronic tablets, similar to the IPad for you to choose from. |
3. Google Maps for Mobile. This very useful app is preloaded on most smartphones and if it isn’t you can get it for free from Google. It will show you maps, street views, terrain views, and many more versions of how to go from here to there as you walk along the streets of New Orleans or les rues de Paris. It will even show you the nearest coffee house and where you can get new walking shoes, if you need them. One nice feature about Google Maps for Mobile is that you can download maps before you depart and use them without going back online. And you can add maps as you travel to new locations.
4. Translation apps. Word Lens is an app that gives you automatic translation of several mostly European languages (Spanish, German, Italian, etc.) into English simply by turning on the smartphone and pointing its camera at the words to be translated. There, on the smartphone screen, is the sign, the menu, the printed instructions, whatever—in English. Another app, Transzilla, allows you to type in words and it will translate into any one of 50 languages. And there are many other other translation apps including some that use spoken language.
5. Lightspecs. This is one of those “Why Didn’t They Invent This Sooner” items. Foster Grant now sells $25 reading glasses with tiny built-in lights that focus on the page—or smartphone--you are reading. It can be a great help looking at your Google Maps in a poorly lighted hotel room or on a dark street in a strange city.
6. The Flip. Of course, you already have a digital camera with mountains of memory. But why not take movies of that gondola cruise along the Venetian canal or capture the fluid images of leaping dolphins on that whale-watching trip? The Flip is an amazingly cheap ($100 to $250) and amazingly simple digital camcorder that will fit in your pocket. Basically, it is point-and-shoot. Alas, the fabulous Flip is going away! The company that produces it decided to close it down. The reason: most people take point-and-shoot photos with their smart phone these days. So if you want to own one, buy it now.
7. Free phone calls in the U.S. and around the globe? You bet. The Skype app is free and you can call using Wi-Fi to any landline or cell phone on the planet. Skype to Skype phone calls are free and to non-Skype landline phones the cost is low. To cell phones--well, Skype is not so cheap. Another choice is FreePhone2Phone. You have to listen to a 10-15 second ad, then a 10 minute call is free. More details at FreePhone2Phone.com. And, of course, Google Phone is in the mix. Some are definitely better than others.
8. Solar Recharger. With all these gadgets needing recharging, check out a solar charger, just in case you run low on power in a remote place.
9. Luggage scale. An $8 luggage scale will let you weigh your suitcases before you get to the airport and avoid paying extra fees. Make sure your suitcases are a couple of pounds less than the airlines limit because those airport scales are very often inaccurate.
Bon Voyage!
NOTE: All names
on this site have been changed to protect individual privacy.
The stories are real, the names are not.
| Which Medigap plans cover foreign travel? |
| Interesting travel jobs for retirees. |
| How to find nice but inexpensive vacation rooms worldwide. |
