Can mobile 4G broadband work for a travel writer? Mostly.

by Grant Martin on

One of the difficulties that I have in living a travel lifestyle is paying for utilities when I’m only home half of the time. Water, gas and heat I can deal with, since those are mostly used upon consumption, but what about internet? Paying $50 a month for service on top of the mobile Boingo/Hotel/Airport wireless is an irritating and costly measure, especially when I’m hit with egregious hotel wireless fees.

My solution came in the form of wireless broadband internet, in my case, 4G+ mobile hotspot provided by Clear (full disclosure: I pay for my own service). Basically, a small device the size of a deck of cards streams 4G service and then converts it to a wireless signal picked up by my computer or mobile phone. Statically, I can leave it in my apartment turned on 24/7 and pretend it’s my home wireless internet.

But if I ever leave home, I can unplug the widget, take it with me and stream the signal on the road. A three hour battery life keeps the data pumping while away from a power source and I can connect up to five devices to the unit at a time. As far as speed, I’m currently downloading at 7Mb/sec, which is plenty of bandwidth for a few Youtube videos and this travel editor’s needs.

The critical point in the whole operation though is reliability. After I first got the 4G+ mobile hotspot in June my service was rife with faults and disconnects. I was only able to connect to the internet some 70% of the time, which is far too seldom to stay in tune to a travel blog. But ever since late August (plus a new modem plus a firmware update), service has stabilized and I’d rank my service at about 97% connectable. That I can deal with.

As for taking the service on the road, Clear doesn’t provide service countrywide but will operate well in larger metropolitan areas. My recent trips to New York, Los Angeles and Dallas have provided 100% coverage, and I’ve even loaned my service out to distraught, roaming wireless users.

To that end, Clear’s 4G+ has provided a great deal of use over the past few months and I have high hopes for continuing the service. Next month my defunct, home internet goes into the dumpster.

Wiki catalogues pay-as-you-go SIM cards by country

by Grant Martin on

Our good friend and technomad Paul Oppenheim stopped by this week with a dispatch from Germany and some more info on his current holy quest: to find an international phone plan that supports data and that doesn’t cost more than the mortgage on his condo in San Francisco.

Those familiar with data plans and roaming charges outside of the US might be familiar with the sad details: taking one’s smartphone outside of one’s home country can be an expensive endeavor. Sure, there’s international infrastructure and partnerships to forge, but is that all worth a twelve thousand dollar phone bill? Probably not.

As a result, many opt to use a different Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card while abroad — something, perhaps, with less aggressive data charges. The problems with that notion though are that you need to have a different (local) phone number and that until recently there wasn’t a great place to research carriers internationally. Spanish providers, for example, tend to provide all of their subscriber info and instructions on local, Spanish sites.

Part of that has changed with the paygsimwithdata repository over at wikia. There, travelers can leaf through a wide spectrum of providers sorted by country and service, with many vendors broken down by availability, pricing and value. And yes, it’s all in English.

Bear in mind that while traveling you’ll still have to suffer with a different, local phone number, but having connectivity for a reasonable cost is a small price to pay.

[Flickr image via mroach]

Wanderfly.com beta invites for Gadling readers

by Meg Nesterov on


We hate to break it to you, but there’s only a week left in summer. Why not get a jump on planning your fall and winter travel? Wanderfly, the new travel-planning and booking site we reviewed earlier this month has just unveiled a spiffy new beta site and is offering free invites to check it out to the first 500 Gadling readers to sign up.

What’s new and improved on the beta site?

– The search functions have improved: you can search by airport, and within specific countries. You can also modify your preferences as you browse results should you decide you want to add the great outdoors to your beach and culture vacation or want to move your trip forward a month.
-Results are better too, with more accurate recommendations and enhanced destination info, including new photos and Google Maps integration.
– Better communication and sharing with Facebook Connect to see where your friends are and ability to save and email itineraries to friends or to yourself.

Want to start searching for your next trip destination? Sign up for access here with code gadling and let us know what you find in the comments!

Review: Kensington Pocket Battery for Smartphones – leave your cords at home!

by Scott Carmichael on

In their Fall 2010 product lineup, Kensington released several new innovative products. One of the new products that got my attention is the Pocket Battery for Smartphones. Now, regular readers will no doubt know that a pocket battery pack is by no means new, but the Kensington is the first one I’ve come across that does not require any cords or adapters to use.

On the sides of the charger, you’ll find MiniUSB and MicroUSB cords, and a regular USB charge cord is on the rear.

Inside the charger is a 1200mAh battery pack, which is enough to give most smartphones one full charge when you are on the road. The battery pack itself is very compact, and weighs just 1.76 ounces.

The new Kensington Pocket Battery for Smartphones is available directly from Kensington for $39.99, but is already on sale at Amazon for just $29.99. If you have a smartphone that uses Micro or Mini USB, and regularly need a bit of a battery boost, this product could be your new best friend.

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Contour introduces hands free video to watersports with new Surf-Wake Mount

by Scott Carmichael on

Contour just announced the newest accessory for their wearable HD camcorder lineup. The new Surf-Wake mount attaches to a surfboard or wakeboard, and provides a sturdy yet flexible mount for recording activities in HD. Once inside the new mount, the ContourHD camera is fully waterproof, and buoyant, just in case the camera takes a tumble.

The new mount is also surprisingly affordable – at just $39.99, it is quite a bit cheaper than most other waterproof camera mounts. Thanks to a rubber ball assembly, the camera can be rotated 360 degrees, so you’ll always be able to find the best angle for your shot. In the video clip above, you’ll get an idea just how impressive this new mount is.

The new Surf-Wake mount is one of almost 20 different mounting solutions for the ContourHD camera – other products allow for helmet, bike, goggle and windshield attachment. A full overview of the various solutions can be found on the accessories page. To learn more about Contour, check out their site, which is chock full of stunning video clips made with their cameras.