February 28, 2009 
If you’re toying with the idea of a toy-sized netbook, price is no longer a barrier. Amazon’s HP Mini Note 8.9 stripper model won’t break even a recession/depression-era bank account at $279. At 2.25 pounds it won’t break you back either. I looked at these before buyng my Samsung and was impressed with the display and keyboard, if not the battery life.
February 17, 2009 Thanks to Kit for reminding me of some interesting pools on Flickr: Lightweight travel, Do you pack light?, What’s in your bag?, and - last but not least - the Hey, what’s in your bag? pool. Here’s Kit’s photo (click on it to find a link to her packing list with weights):
http://www.flickr.com/people/compactmanifold/
February 10, 2009 I love a well-printed, well-bound book but let’s face it - books are heavy. The new Kindle 2 reading device from Amazon might be a way of shedding several pounds from your typical load. At $359 it costs about the same as a netbook and it weighs only 10.2 ounces. It uses 3G networks to download content. Battery life is said to be about 4 days (probably not continuous). Release date is Feb. 24.
Frank@OBOW
Re: non-Amazon content:
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
February 9, 2009 For all the annoyance of being crammed into an aluminum tube at 35,000 feet with a bunch of strangers, air travel has offered one benefit: the ability to tell bosses and colleagues, “I’ll be on a flight, so you won’t be able to reach me.”
So much for that excuse.
Wireless Internet service is starting to spread among airlines in the United States — Delta and American have installed it on more than a dozen planes each, and several other carriers are planning to test it. - read on at iht.com
Oh, and it won’t be free Fi either:
On Delta, service is $9.95 for a flight of three hours or less, $12.95 for a longer flight. American-based carriers do not yet offer the service on their international flights, although Delta is exploring it.
February 5, 2009 
Yesterday’s post about leaving tech gear at home got me thinking about alternatives to the Luddite approach. The many-pocketed SCOTTEVEST products offer an innovative solution for keeping your stuff out of a bag (that’s lodged in an overhead compartment or stuffed under airline seat) and on your person - a great choice of one-bag travelers who suffer unexpected gate checks. SeV has coats, vests, and an interesting travel shirt. Air travelers can beat those pesky and increasingly-popular carry-on weight limits by stashing several pounds of stuff in a jacket or vest that can be slipped off at the checkpoint for scanning but won’t count against the bag weight.
Frank@OBOW
The SeV Explorer jacket has a host of cool features and is on sale. From the description: “20 hidden pockets and compartments…special secure pockets for your travel documents, cell phone, iPod®/Nano®/iPhone®, water bottle… patented Personal Area Network (PAN) to manage and hide your wires, together with our unique Weight Management System to balance your gear load… With Teflon® treatment, the Explorer Jacket will repel water, spills and stains.”
February 3, 2009 The Times of London says gadgets are travel experience killers:
I might add that leaving the electronics home saves weight too, though the fact of modern air travel certainly necessitates - in my opinion - a good MP3/iPod-type device. My new Samsung netbook weighs under three pounds, but I’m going to try to resist the temptation to take it along when it is unnecessary.
Frank@OBOW
The weight-saving multicharger recommended by Buzz:
January 20, 2009 After weeks of research I finally pulled the trigger on a lightweight, full-featured netbook - a white Samsung NC10. A weekend trip with my heavy dud of a Dell convinced me it was time.I’ll have it by the end of the week and there wil be pictures and comments soon.
October 13, 2008 Wired says the little Lenovo S10 is the best netbook (sub-3 pound notebook) they’ve yet seen. It weighs a half pound more than the wispiest in its class.
Frank@OBOW
They’re cheaper than reported above and apparently in stock!
October 9, 2008 
The Notebook Buddy is a ridiculously simple alternative to heavy USB-powered notebook computer cooling pads. Check out the Gadling review or see the company page.
September 23, 2008 Will it be the light traveler’s best weight-saving multi-purpose tool?
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
But here’s the thing: Android, and the G1, are open. Open, open, open, in ways that would make Steve Jobs cringe. You can unlock this phone after 90 days—that is, use any SIM card from any carrier in it. The operating system is free and open-source, meaning that any company can make changes without consulting or paying Google. The App store is completely open, too; T-Mobile and Google say they won’t censor programs that they don’t approve of, as Apple does with the iPhone store. Yes, even if someone writes a Skype-like program that lets people avoid using up T-Mobile cellular voice minutes.
Android is not as beautiful or engaging as the iPhone’s software, but it’s infinitely superior to Windows Mobile—and it’s open. The G1 is only the first phone to use it, the first of many; it’s going to be an exciting ride.
September 22, 2008 It has a 13.3” screen and it’s lighter than the Macbook Air. And since it’s a PC no cool haircut or perpetual smirk is required. No word yet on pricing.
The Samsung X380 features a 13.3 inch WXGA LED screen with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 800, and is powered by and Intel Centrino 2 ULV processor.
Memory comes in the form of DDR3, from 1GB to 4GB, and for storage there is a choice of either a 64GB/128GB SSD or a 120GB 5400rpm S-ATA…also 3 USB ports, 1 HMDI port, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFI a/b/g/n, a 1.3 megapixel web camera and a 7-in1- card reader - GeekyGadgets
September 17, 2008 When Google gets in the mobile game, expect the bar to be raised. You’ll be hearing a lot about their new Android OS and the hardware that will run it. The Telegraph of London has this about an HTC phone set to run the ‘Droid:
It is thought the phone will go on sale in the UK early next month, and HTC has said that it expects to ship around 600,000 to 700,000 units of the Dream by the end of this year.
Android, the Google-backed operating system that will run on the device, is designed to bring the desktop computing experience to mobile devices, by allowing people to surf the internet and carry out everyday tasks on the go.
It will provide easy access to Google’s web-based email service, Gmail, as well as a host of other Google products, including Docs, its productivity suite, and Google Maps.
The Dream is expected to contain a GPS chip, allowing it to double as a mobile sat-nav, and Google may also provide additional tools for the device to help push location-specific information to the phone’s owner, such as weather forecasts, travel updates and restaurant recommendations. - telegraph.co.uk
Frank@OBOW
Cllick on the photo for news about the US release on September 23…
And more about the Google phone from Engadget.
September 9, 2008 
Vodafone in Europe will offer a version nof the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 two-poundish netbook with 3G capability, which means internet pretty much anywhere with or without WiFi. No such luck in the States - Engadget says the US model of the 9-inch featherweight will lack the antenna system for 3G.
Frank@OBOW
And more on the mini front from Engadget:
“Think $500 is a good deal for the 8.9-inch Eee PC 901? Good, then you’ll love $449 for the 10-inch Eee PC 1000H. That’s already $200 below the original $650 launch price. That sum takes home 1GB RAM, a 6-cell battery, and XP loaded onto an 80GB hard disk.”
(It’s worth noting that the bigger screen and bigger battery makes the 1000H weight 3.2 pounds instead of the 2.2-pound mark that most of the netbooks are hittting - review of the Linux version here)
And the HP 2133 Mini-Note (similar size & weight) reviewed here.
September 4, 2008 
Dell has joined the just-over-two-pounds-with-a-9-inch-screen laptop fray. The Mini is about $350 with Linux, $450 with XP. Check it out here. Engadget has lots of info here.
Frank@OBOW
More on the Mini…they’re calling this class of computer netbooks. And PC mag is not completely impressed, preferring the MSI Wind and HP Mini-Note. I think the Acer Aspire One (with optional 6-cell battery) may be the best of the bunch.
August 18, 2008 Here’s a re-post on a product that has stood the test of time (and travel):
I understand; you don’t want to spend a $100 (or more) for fancy noise-canceling headphones to make that next flight more serene. You’ll lose them in two months anyway, and serenity is important — but not $100 worth of important. JVC’s Marshmallow earphones are an appealing low-cost alternative for the traveler who just wants to block out a little noise and pipe in a little music which sounds pretty good. These earphones — which will work with any airplane jack, iPod, CD or MP3 player — block the noise with their soft, conformable earpieces (hence - Marshmallow) and deliver pretty good sound and bass response — if you shove them in far enough. They are comfortable, too. Mine were very pleasant on a couple of recent trans-Atlantic flights. Here’s a positive review of these ‘phones (which are available in stores and online from $10-$20) by someone who knows a lot more about audio than I do.
Note: these earphones do not eliminate all the outside noise like muffs or noise-canceling varieties, but their ear-filling qualities do reduce outside noise considerably (you may be able to hear the stewardess and your music - I actually wear them while driving a tractor and operating a brushcutter). The linked review notes that the foam tips fall off easily. I haven’t noticed this. They do work out of your ears a bit if you’re sweaty, but how often are you sweaty in a cold, over-dry airplane cabin?
Frank@OBOW
Here are the similar Sennheiser buds (only $26.99) that Michael recommended in a comment below:
July 22, 2008 Tom Bihn iw working on new bags and packs designed to meet the TSA’s “checkpoint friendly” standards. The end result will be that with one of these bags you won’t have to remove them from the bag for screening which minimizes hassle and damage risk. Last week Tom flew to a west coast airport for a run-through with the TSA. This post from the Tom Bihn blog explains a few things about the checkpoint friendly program that I was unaware of:
The results? The prototype briefcase is a success: in multiple configurations, it provided x-ray images that met the TSA screening standards. Tom continues to refine the design of the as-yet unnamed prototype checkpoint-friendly briefcase. We expect the briefcase to be available for pre-order within weeks. Tom also has designs in process for a “checkpoint friendly” backpack and messenger bag. These bags aren’t and won’t be just checkpoint friendly: they will offer the same tough materials and handsome, cleverly engineered design that you’ve come to expect from a TOM BIHN bag. We think that you will also appreciate that your TOM BIHN checkpoint friendly bag, specifically designed to go through U.S. airport security, was also designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. under the watchful eyes of our Seattle factory crew. Two current TOM BIHN laptop cases — the Archetype molded laptop case and the Soft Cell laptop sleeve — are already “checkpoint friendly.” That means that sometime in August/September — when the TSA officially initiates the “checkpoint friendly” program — you can leave your laptop in your Archetype or Soft Cell while it goes through the x-ray machine, protecting your laptop from scratches and bumps. (Note: these bags will meet the new TSA requirement as long as you put *only* your laptop in the case, no accessories.) Our experiences testing Tom’s prototype “checkpoint friendly” briefcase revealed the potential this program offers that will save you, the traveler, both time and hassle as well as protect your laptop.
July 17, 2008 July 9, 2008 The rush is on to develop laptop cases that allows the traveler to breeze through security without removing the darned computer from the bag. The TSA wants “checkpoint-friendly” bags. Travelers would appreciate “traveler-friendly” procedures and agents, but I digress…
“Two problems with the existing laptop cases are that security officers have difficulty seeing inside them with X-ray equipment, and many of the cases are so crammed with extra gear — power cords, a mouse and the like — that the computer is obscured.
The new cases include either a fold-down section in a bigger briefcase or a stand-alone protective sleeve that contains no extra clutter and can be readily viewed through the scanner.
More than a half-dozen luggage manufacturers, among about 60 that initially responded to a T.S.A. request for proposals about three months ago, have submitted prototypes for testing at checkpoints at three airports: Dulles, outside Washington; Austin-Bergstrom in Texas; and Ontario, near Los Angeles.” - New York Times
Here’s hoping the small bag manufacturers can keep up with the behemoths mentioned in the linked story (Pathfinder, Targus). This is not a great economy for small companies to have to spend $$ for R&D and retooling. Here’s an example of what the new bags may look like.
July 8, 2008 
We posted several weeks ago that improving camera phones mean you may be able to leave one more thing out of your travel kit: the camera that’s just a camera. Kodak and Motorola have collaborated on what may be the best one yet - the Motozine ZNS. It’s worth a look.
It’s promised by the end of the year and is said to offer one-touch upload to a Kodak online account. I like the idea of uploading trip pictures daily (or hourly) so those back home can see them almost live.
