Mobile Computing Tips: Stay Connected Without PC Gear

Computing resources for travelers who don't want to lug their equipment.

James A. Martin

Feature: Tips for Traveling Without Your Gear

If you travel often enough, there may come a time when you think you can make do without your notebook or PDA. Or, heaven forbid, your portable is stolen while you're being frisked by security guards at the airport. Or you leave home without your mobile phone.

Fortunately, frazzled road warrior, you have options. Here are some ideas and resources for getting along on a business trip without your gear.

Locate a Copy Center

Copy and printing centers, such as the Kinko's chain and many local mom-and-pop stores, rent the use of computer terminals, printers, and scanners. Kinko's stores operate 24 hours, 7 days a week, and their computers are well equipped with applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Lotus 1-2-3, and Microsoft Office, as well as a variety of fonts. Computer rental rates vary by location but are generally about $10 to $12 an hour.

Hang at an Internet Cafe

At coffee houses around the globe you can get wired in every sense of the word. Internet cafes are practically everywhere these days, selling inexpensive online access for about $5 to $10 an hour, espresso, and sometimes food (tofu scramble, anyone?) often in quirky, interesting environments.

It's difficult to know what to expect--one cafe might offer tangerine-colored Apple IBooks hooked up to DSL lines while another has Dell desktops connected to T1 lines. Many Internet cafes have only a handful of computers, so there might be a wait. And don't assume you can edit your PowerPoint presentation--most of the cybercafe computers I've used have only the basic applications installed and are dedicated to e-mail and surfing.

The CyberCafe Search Engine, a no-frills, amateurish-looking Web site, is a useful, regularly updated tool for searching some 6500 cybercafes and other public Internet access points in 167 countries.

Stop in at an Airport Business Center

Increasingly, business centers are popping up in airports, some with high-speed Internet connections and desktop workstations for rent. Laptop Lane Business Centers, now owned by Texas-based Wayport, has 13 locations in U.S. airports, including Atlanta, Chicago, and New York's LaGuardia. Computer rentals aren't cheap, though--I was quoted a price of $40.75 an hour at a Laptop Lane in Atlanta's Hartsfield International.

Lounge in an Airport Club

Some airline membership clubs offer complimentary computer use, but you can't count on it. For instance, on a recent visit to the British Airways lounge in San Francisco, I discovered their half-dozen or more PCs for members' use were all out of commission. All the terminals at the airlines' lounge in London's Heathrow Airport, on the other hand, were up and running--and all were in use.

Get Room Service--If You Can

In the late 80s and early 90s, some hotels catering to business travelers went so far as to equip every guest room with a PC. But with the economic downturn and subsequent cost-cutting, and with more travelers carrying notebooks, that trend has subsided.

The hotel chains most often touting high-tech guest services include Hyatt, Hilton, Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels, Four Seasons, and Wyndham, but services vary widely. For the most accurate information, it's best to directly call the hotel where you'll be staying, rather than dial the chain's toll-free reservation number.

Ask specific questions, such as: "Do you offer computers in any of your guest rooms?" If not, ask, "Do you have a business center with PCs for guest use?" If not, ask the concierge, "Can you recommend a local computer rental service that can deliver a PC to my room?" If the answer to that is no, ask, "And you call yourself a concierge?"

Rent a Mobile Phone

If you forgot to bring that appendage to your ear canal commonly referred to as a cellular telephone, don't sweat. There are a number of services that can help. Most cater to international travelers, as many U.S. cell customers have phones and service plans that don't work abroad.

One option is Action Cellular Rent a Phone, which offers phone rental and service plans in more than 200 countries. A rental includes a Motorola, Nokia, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, or Ericsson phone, two fully charged batteries, a charger, and a carrying case. A domestic plan is $1.75 a minute, with a 5-minute daily minimum, but no equipment charge.

Other mobile phone rental agencies include: Cellular Express Phone Rentals, for domestic and international rentals; and InTouch USA, Planetfone, and WorldCell, all for international rentals.

Notebooks

Tip: Make Your Faxes Follow You Anywhere

A year ago, I disconnected my dedicated fax line, signed up for a free EFax account, and never looked back. After joining, you download a small EFax utility, which lets you fax documents directly from your notebook applications as well as open documents faxed to your EFax ten-digit phone number. Faxes show up within minutes in your in-box as e-mail attachments, so you can get faxes anywhere you can access the Internet.

With your faxes in digital form, they're easily archived or, even better, forwarded to colleagues. You can save a fax as a self-executing file, so others can open the document even if they don't have the EFax utility. The catch? You have to endure a small amount of spam and some minor ads, but they don't appear on your documents.

With the EFax Plus service ($9.95 a month) you can get a local or toll-free phone number-but keep in mind people overseas can't fax to a toll-free U.S. number.

Tip: Shop EBay for Dell, IBM Notebooks

In an earlier issue of this newsletter, I told you how to find deals on refurbished Dell and IBM notebooks (see "Mobile Computing Tips: Refurbished Notebooks, PDAs, Mobile Phones").

Here's another option: Buy a new laptop from either vendor on EBay. I'm not talking about bidding on a notebook being auctioned by someone's Uncle Lenny in Orange County, either; Dell and IBM each offer authorized EBay auction stores selling new and refurbished notebooks under warranty. You can place a bid, or in some cases, use the Buy It Now option. Keep in mind these machines have already been configured, however, so you have to take what's offered.

News: Sony Notebook Prices Set to Rise

Sony is planning to jack up prices worldwide for its Vaio notebooks and desktops, blaming higher component prices. The Japanese electronic giant's decision was announced not long after Apple Computer increased IMac prices by $100. No word yet on when Sony's price jump will happen, or exactly how much the increases will be, though an extra $185 to $225 per machine is likely, the company says.

Handhelds

Review: Love That Cloth Keyboard

Logitech's impossibly cool KeyCase keyboard ($99.95) for Palm M125 and M500 series devices is reason enough to buy one of those new PDAs. When folded out, the flexible fabric keyboard uses pressure-sensitive keys for inputting data into the Palm device, which rests in a special cradle that can be propped up for optimal viewing. When folded, the keyboard wraps around the PDA like a protective cocoon. It's a brilliant, eye-catching, practical design, one of the few truly exciting innovations I've seen in PDA accessories.

It takes a while to get used to typing on the KeyCase, and you can't hold down two keys simultaneously (such as the Shift key and a letter you want capitalized). Also, I've been unable to type as quickly or as accurately on the KeyCase as I can on other PDA keyboards. But no matter: For sheer convenience and ingenuity, the KeyCase is a keeper.

For more information, see the Handhelds section of "Mobile Computing Tips: Great Palm Utilities for Travelers." You can use our Product Finder to get the best price.

Review: Sony PDA With Keyboard Goes Up Against Sharp

Speaking of cool keyboards, we pitted the thumb keyboards sported by the Sony Clie PEG-NR70V ($599) against that on the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 ($499). Both are fairly good, but the Sony model is slightly larger and feels firmer, and with its high-resolution screen and innovative design, the Clie is decidedly cooler.

Check them both out at "Handhelds: PDAs for Typists." For the best prices on the Clie, check out our Product Finder.

Review: HandEra 330 Still Rocks

Though it's been on the market a while, the HandEra 330 is still getting rave reviews. The Palm OS device recently earned top honors among Basic PDAs in our Top 10 PDA roundup. The HandEra 330 earned kudos for its crisp, easy-to-read gray-scale screen. It comes with both CompactFlash and Secure Digital expansion card slots and a jog wheel for fast icon scrolling. Best of all is the HandEra's input area, which you can hide to get more screen real estate, and the ability to view Word and Excel documents in landscape mode (via the bundled QuickOffice software).

The HandEra could use some updating, though, as it's based on the clunky old Palm III design and uses a serial docking cradle (USB isn't an option).

Get the best price at our Product Finder.

Wireless

News: Tools for Jumping on the Wireless Net

Wireless networks are a boon to business travelers, making it possible to go online with a notebook or PDA in places where you might not otherwise be able to make a connection. A growing number of airports, cafes, and even private homes with WiFi wireless networks (based on the 802.11b protocol) are making high-speed Net access available to anybody with a properly equipped notebook or PDA within antenna range.

Some access points are free, set up by grass-roots organizations and civic-minded individuals, while others charge. Boingo, for instance, is a fee-based service. When used on a PC equipped with a Wi-Fi card and the free Boingo software, it detects Wi-Fi networks within range, including free access points.

For more details on a variety of free and fee wireless access services, see "Wireless Nets Go Public."

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