The other day, when I wrote about the Samsung power trees in Newark Airport, my friend Kevin sent me a link to a Wiki page created by Jeff Sanquist that is devoted to sharing things like power outlets, wifi availability and other travel amenities at various airports.
This looks like a great resource for planning ahead or finding the resources when you need them (you can even look this up on your phone or PDA if you aren’t connected).
If you have any other resources to share, let me know or leave a comment. And, if you’re so inclined – add your own discoveries to the wiki.
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In the Newark airport a few days ago, I found a place where power grows on trees. It seems Samsung is beginning to install free charging stations in various places, including the Newark airport (this one is near gates 132 & 133 in Terminal C).
I like this idea because it seems it is often hard to find the power oasis in the midst of the airport power desert. I often see travellers wandering the concourses, looking for a place to plug in - frustrated that they are all taken. This approach provides a number of convenient outlets to help travelers (and keep people from unplugging ATM's and other councourse appliances - yes, I have seen that).
Hopefully, this kind of power tree will become more popular - there is an advertisement and a sample of a cool new Samsung phone in the "trunk" of the tree, so they are getting some good branding from this effort.
Oh - and another thing - if you find this (or any outlet) in an airport, it's highly likely there won't be any available sockets. My solution? I travel with a handy travel powerstrip (click here to see my review). This approach makes it easy - I just ask someone if they are willing to share using my powerstrip. I generally find someone who's willing to do that.
Read MoreAn increasing number of locales are beginning to require drivers to use hands-free devices while driving, which prompted me to look for a good in-car Bluetooth solution. I tried a few that didn't work very well, and have settled on the BlueAnt Supertooth 3.
This is a compact, Bluetooth-based handsfree device that attaches to your visor. It comes with two visor clips (to which it attaches magnetically) making it easy to move it between a couple of cars. It is also small enough that you can tuck it in your bag and take it along when you travel. I've even taken it out of the car and used it as a speakerphone for a conference call, and it worked great.
Here are some highlights:
- The sound quality of this device is very good (you can hear a sample of the BlueAnt's voice quality here), and I've been happy with how well it deals with background noise.
- The pairing process is very simple and, once you've paired it, you simply get in the car and hear the confirming "Connected to phone" statement from the phone so you know you're good to go.
- You can upload your phone book into the device and it will announce callers in your address book by name when they call (if the caller isn't in the address book, it recites their phone number to you.). If you want to take the call, you can either press the green button to answer or say "Answer" and it will connect the call.
- The Supertooth 3 has great battery life -- I've had it for a bit over a month and have had to recharge it once after quite a bit of use.
- There is a nice power-saving feature built into the unit. When it isn't connected to a phone for a while it will go to sleep and save power; it contains some vibration sensors to wake it up when you get into your car, slam a door, etc. I think this contributes to the battery longevity.
- It integrates with phone voice dialing on many phones. For example, on my phone (Blackberry Curve), there is a convenience key on the side that I have programmed to initiate voice dialing. When I press this, the voice dial prompts are redirected to the BlueAnt and I can conduct voice dialing from there.
- In addition to the two visor clips, it comes with a car charger.
If you're looking for a good handsfree device for using your Bluetooth phone in your car, I recommend the BlueAnt Supertooth 3.
Del.icio.us tags: blueant supertooth 3, Dwayne Melancon, gadgets, bluetooth
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When I boarded my plane this morning, I sat in my emergency exit row seat (next best thing to a First Class upgrade) I was pleasantly surprised to see that this plane, a Continental Boeing 737-800, has power outlets throughout the plane!
Of course, the plane *didn't* have video or audio on board, but I'll take a "bring your own" model with power any day. Now, if only they'd add these to every plane...
By the way, this also gave me an excuse to try out Typepad's mobile client for the iPhone to snap the phot and write this post. Pretty cool little app.
Read MoreYesterday I wrote about how I extend my iPhone 3G's battery life (using Kensington's Mini Battery Extender and Charger for iPod and iPhone).
Well, I've got another day under my belt with both the phone and this device, and have some additional thoughts:
- The battery on my iPhone 3G seems to last a bit longer each day, and was noticeably better today. Maybe it needs some "breaking in" through a few days of use, or something like that. I am assuming it will level out soon since it can't continue to get better forever, can it?
- I decided to try recharging my phone with the Kensington battery extender today, and I find that it will charge the phone very quickly - much quicker than I'd expected. In less than an hour, it brought my phone from approximately 25% charged to fully charged.
I still haven't fully tested its effect on talk time (i.e. live use of the Kensington battery as a power source while talking vs. just as a charger when I'm not using the phone) but I'm still quite pleased with this device as a way to keep the juice flowing in my iPhone 3G.
Technorati tags: iphone 3g, battery, gadgets, productivity Del.icio.us tags: iphone 3g, battery, gadgets, productivity
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