Travel Tech: What’s the best device for travel?

man wearing gray blazer

It’s now August, and the month that most people travel. Travel today means a number of things, but we will always take some form of tech with us. This feels like the perfect time to talk about it, so what is the best device for travel?

The first thing to consider is whether you are travelling for business or leisure.

Are yourself that question now, as you need to consider what you’re actually going to be doing.

Let’s talk about business first.

Business Travel

When you are travelling, what is it exactly that you need to do?

Write a list out of what you need to be able to achieve. This can be anything from creation of documents, spreadsheets or presentations. Maybe you create and edit videos but write a list out of exactly what you will need to do.

This also needs to include what software you need. Do you need anything special, like a digital pen to draw etc?

Now you can think about what device is going to be best to actually use.

Think about the facilities that you need. Think about the technology and what you have to have with you.

Note: I am not suggesting that you immediately go out and buy a new device (you’d need to plan in the time to set it up), but this is more to check that that you are taking the best device for your needs.

Desktop

Now I immediately ruled out taking a desktop because seriously, they’ve normally been big heavy things. But then I thought a bit more and I thought wow wait a minute, actually that’s not necessarily a bad idea.

Because we’ve got an awful lot of hardware or computers which are actually small, also known as, small form factor,

what's the best device for travel? perhaps it's a mini desktop.

These small machines are your complete computer, but in a much smaller and therefore more portable facility. You do need to think about what you need to use to make them functional. Here I’m talking about a mouse, a keyboard and of course, the screen.

Okay, let’s get the easy ones out the way:

Travel Mice

You can get small and light ones which can connect either through a cable or more often Bluetooth so that’s pretty straightforward.

Keyboard

Today travel keyboards are easy to purchase. Where you can get full-size, foldable keyboards or small portable keyboard so again that’s fine.

Screen/Monitor

They haven’t quite got the travel foldable/roll-able screens available to all of us yet, so this could be a bit of a blocker for us until I thought what about the TV? Where you are travelling, in a hotel or you are travelling to friends and family, you’re most likely to have access to a TV screen.

Most TVs actually have the connections on the back which will let you connect to. For example using an HDMI port to your computer. That means it actually isn’t as big a blocker as you might have thought. It does mean you will need to carry with you the relevant cable. You’ll also need to cross your fingers and hope that you can access the back of the screen and these connections – you could, if it’s a hotel you ask if you can access them. It is an option maybe not the best one for you but it is an option.

Laptop 

laptop for travelling, macbook pro on brown wooden table
Photo by Eli Sommer on Pexels.com

So laptops are in terms of a computer the one that we think about as standard if we are travelling. There are various different sizes and weights. The question becomes do you have a laptop that suits you?

Does the job?

Now if you are running your own business, the answer is going to be yes because you can’t run your business without it. If on the other hand you are an employee for a business, have they or can they provide a laptop that will suit your purposes?

By this, I mean a does it actually run the software and the programs that you need and is that software already installed?

Screen Size?

Next up what size is it? (And that normally refers to the screen size, rather than the physical size of the whole laptop) If you are working on videos, you might prefer a larger screen to help you easily work with the videos. Or what is the smallest screen size that you are comfortable working with?

What about the weight?

And then, not the last question and a really important question what’s the weight of the device? If you are going to be travelling is it something that you can actually carry.?

Learning the lesson about features vs weight

I remember way back when and this was the early 2000s I decided to treat myself to a new laptop. I, being an IT person, felt that I needed what they called a desktop replacement laptop. This was a laptop that would do everything that your desktop could do just in a laptop format.

Thinking back, I remember choosing, a 15 inch screen and it was a huge, heavy thing!

Looking back it was probably not the best idea because it was so big and heavy that I didn’t wanna carry it with me.

You’ll never guess that my next machine was an awful lot smaller. 😂

Of course technology has really changed in the last 20 odd years and that’s not really such an issue but you do need to consider the weight and is that a trade-off for what you can do. While a heavier machine can have additional features or connections or power is it too much to carry with you.

Note: Even it you have it in a rolling bag, so you’re not actually carrying it, there will be times that you have to pick it up – as you walk up or down stairs. Put it in an overhead compartment (train or plane). Take it in or out of a car or coach.

Versus a lighter machine that you can carry with you which maybe isn’t as powerful or doesn’t have as many connections.

This is something you need to consider and is the trade-off worth it for you as well as asking the other question: will that trade-off actually work for you?

Reminder: If you need to get some work done on the flight, remember to switch on airplane mode: Windows 10: How to turn on flight mode

Tablet

Okay, let’s look at the other alternative because the technology has changed and improved so much.

tablet computer for travel, white ipad on table
Photo by Coffee Bean on Pexels.com

It doesn’t have to be a laptop, it can be a tablet now.

These are generally smaller devices set up to around a max of 10 inch screen size. They can be as fully featured as a laptop, but generally don’t have as many connections or may need adapters to connect various things to.

These are most often touchscreen so you’re probably thinking an iPad from Apple. In fact there are various companies who offer tablets, from Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon and Lenovo, there are a number of other manufacturers who create tablets, and depending on what you need to do, this could be a better fit for your needs

Tablets, as a general rule are great for consuming information, while they also offer facilities for creating information you might need additional/specific accessories for you work. This can include a pen to help with drawing, or an external keyboard if you prefer typing. However you’ve also got the option of audio dictation so maybe you don’t need all that much.

When it comes to the external keyboard, some of the tablets are designed to work/connect with a keyboard (looking at you Windows Surface) or using Bluetooth to connect other portable keyboards, from full size ones, to foldable options or compact versions.

It could be that the weight of a tablet even with an external keyboard, actually suits your requirements better than a laptop – something to consider?

Smartphone

Of course in terms of business, what about the device we will carry in our pockets everyday our smartphone?

Now again, depending on what you need to do your phone might be all you need.

Do you need to keep in contact? Are you going to be visiting clients, but not actually creating things? Are you taking notes?

We’ve got so many things available as apps on our various phones from taking notes to communications to accessing files. It could be that your phone will do everything and of course is a much smaller and still a very powerful tool.

Action Task

Time to take a few moments, write that list of what do you actually need to do and then take some time to consider your alternatives and work out what is best device for travel, for your specific business needs.

This is going to potentially be different for everybody because we all do different roles and have specific requirements when it comes to your device for travel.

Note: These questions are relevant for everyday use, even if you aren’t “travelling”, even going to a different location (than your home) you should be asking yourself the same questions.

Leisure

When we’re talking about travelling for leisure, it’s a completely different topic from business. We don’t need to worry about taking everything to get ‘work done’.

In fact, the more that you can leave, safely at home, the better.

So what do you need/want to take with you?

Right, so we are talking about not necessarily creating anything but more likely to be consuming things so what is it that you enjoy doing?

  • Reading 
  • Watching films/TV
  • Drawing/painting
  • Playing games
  • Photography
  • Something that I haven’t thought about

Again, write a list, what is it that you want to do?

And consider, will you actually have time to do it?

Now consider what device will work for you:

Laptop

We can on a laptop, do most things, from watching, reading to drawing, pretty much most things that you want to do,

But is the weight and the size of that laptop worth carrying with you?

The answer might be no!

Note: Depending on how long you’re going away, and how much you might be using the laptop, remember that the ‘weight’ will include the plug as well.

Tablet

This might be very much what you want.

We can read books, watch films/TV, play games. As well as a lot of the creation things, from drawing to writing, so a lot of the stuff that you might want to do, you can use a smaller/lighter tablet for this.

E-reader

kobo e reader
Photo by Perfecto Capucine on Pexels.com

It might seem counterintuitive to think about taking a eReader potentially with a tablet.

After all as a general rule, an e-reader is a single use device – you only read on it. 

However, if you’re planning to do a lot of reading then on a reader can be worth it. The batteries will last longer compared to your tablet or laptop,meaning that you may not need to take a cable with for it.

In addition because the screens are a different type of technology, it’s actually better for your eyesight, not necessarily as bright but a lot easier on your eyesight where your reading in bright daylight or in a darker location (at night).

You can also hold a lot of books, not only so that you don’t get bored, but it means you the digital space saved on your other devices can be used for something else.

Smartphone

Is there anything that a smart phone can’t do?

Yes it can’t make a cup of coffee, but when we’re talking about your technology, gosh it does so much!

We can:

  • read books
  • play games
  • watch TV or films
  • keep in contact with friends and family
  • social media

All on the device in your pocket.

With all of the positives, there’s a few ‘negatives’ as well.

Like a laptop or tablet, it may not be the best thing for your eyesight, staring at it for long periods of time.

It’s also, more often than not, a small screen, compared to laptops and tablets, and it can be harder on your eyes to see things as you need to focus a bit more.

Being on your circumstances, you might prefer it to be a backup, but it can be your primary device.

Note: It can be useful to make it a backup option, as it’s our communication device. I know that I’d rather my phone is working above anything other device, so I can find out information or help if needed.

Next Steps

So there are a few things to think about.

Whether you are travelling for business or leisure, you need to think about what computer device for travel will suit your needs.

Your first task is to make a list containing what do you need to do (business), or what do you want to do (leisure)?

Now you’ll notice is that I haven’t been using the word ‘pleasure’, but leisure instead. Let’s be honest on a business trip you will hopefully have some ‘down time’ where you can mix business and pleasure together.

So if you are going to have some time, not be just working on all day long, then consider what you might want to do and the tech that you’ll need.

Quick tip: Most hotel TVs have a spare USB port, if you have maybe an Amazon Fire Stick (or equivalent) or even just a standard USB, consider taking that with you as something to do. Plan ahead, and set yourself up you can always just carry a USB stick and connected to the TV to be able to watch your favourite things.

Quick additional note: if you’re plugging a USB device in, remember to take it out of the back of the TV either at the end of the day and definitely at the end of your trip so you get to bring it home.

Let me know in the comments what you are thinking and if you’ve got any questions that maybe I can help answer.

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