1. Traveling With Technology
By Neil Schmidt
July 20, 2017

2. Traveling in the "Old Days"
Booked reservations over the phone from home
Packed:
Several travel books
Multiple country & city maps
Foreign language phase & dictionary book(s)
35MM camera & several rolls of film
Couple novels/magazines to read
Used pay-phones to make phone calls
Mailed postcards home

3. Things have sure changed...
Internet to research plans & make reservations
With smartphone: No need to carry paperbacks, travel books, maps, magazines, separate camera (?), etc.
Trip photos easily shared via , photo cloud or social media
Greatly enhanced capabilities with fewer “accessories” needed

4. Your Smartphone Is Now Your...
Camera (90% of photos are taken with a smartphone)
Planner
Maps & navigation
Language book & translator
Entertainer
Diary
Connection with family & friends back home

5. Being “Connected” when Travelling (via Wi-Fi or Cellular)

6. Four Tech Connectivity Options
Don’t connect (Maybe use public computers at Internet cafés)
Connect via public Wi-Fi only
Get International/Global plan with your cellular provider
Use a local cellular provider, i.e., buy local SIM card

7. With Public Wi-Fi You Can...
Phone, text,
Social networking
Retrieve maps & driving directions
Etc., etc...
Store language dictionary
Search for local info
Airline check-in
Make or change reservations
Share photos back home

8. With Cellular You Can...
All items from “Wi-Fi” list anywhere (not just at your hotel)
Connect when Wi-Fi is not available or too slow
Receive/send phone calls on the go
Contact travelling companion(s) if both have cellular
Enhanced mapping & walking directions
Enhanced translation capability
Cellular is more secure than public Wi-Fi

9. If Using Public Wi-Fi Only
Turn off “Cellular Data” on smartphone (Also consider putting phone in “airplane” mode)
Many accommodations offer free Wi-Fi (Check before making reservations)
Some Wi-Fi’s work great, others less reliable, don’t work, or may only work in lobby
Get free Wi-Fi at cafés (McDonalds & Starbucks)
Tourist offices, city squares, major museums, public transit hubs and some trains may have free Wi-Fi

10. Cellular International/Global Plans
Obtain from your cell phone carrier and you retain your regular phone number. The following is a comparative example:
AT&T:
$1.00/min talk, unlimited text, 200 MB data ($40/mo.)
Data overage: +$25/100MB
Verizon:
$1.79/min talk, $0.50/$0.05 text, 100 MB data ($25/mo.)
T-Mobile:
$0.20/min talk, unlimited text & data (T-Mobile ONE Plan +$25/mo.)
$425
$450
$25
Note: My typical monthly data usage at home is 1.8 GB/mo.

11. Use a Local Cellular (Buying a Local SIM Card)
May be a good option if you anticipate heavy phone or data use
Your phone must be “unlocked” and have a SIM card (GSM)
You get a local phone number
SIM cards are sold in mobile-phone shops, department-store electronics counters, some newsstands, airports, etc.
Cost: $15-$40/mo. depending on phone/data limits
Compare phone/data limits, coverage, data speed (2G, 3G, etc.), free “hot-spots”
If possible, have SIM installed and setup for you (Bring paper clip with you to replace SIM card)
Most SIM cards are only good for one country

12. Making the Wi-Fi vs. Cellular Decision
Do your accommodations have free Wi-Fi?
Are you going to be in multiple countries?
How long are you staying?
Are there convenient local free Wi-Fi spots?
Do you want “on-the-go” access to:
Maps & walking directions
Translations
Finding things
Phone calls (incl. Uber)
It’s a Cost vs. Convenience decision

13. Controlling Your Data Usage
To minimize data usage, change your Smartphone settings:
Turn-off “Data Roaming” (iOS: Settings  Cellular  Cellular Data Options  Data Roaming button off)
Limit automatic updates:
Change setting to “manual” or “fetch” (iOS: Settings  Mail  Accounts  Fetch New Data  Push button off)
Turn off “Background App Refresh” (iOS: Settings  General  Background App Refresh  Uncheck all except perhaps TripCase and Google Maps)
Consider using “Airplane Mode” when not in use (Note: This will disable incoming phone calls)
With minimal effort, data usage less than 500 MB/mo. possible

14. Security is Important
Always use password lock on smartphone, tablet & laptops
Ranking security solutions:
Virtual Private Network (VPN, ~$10/mo.)
Cellular only
Public Wi-Fi only
Avoid accessing financial sites and shopping online when using public Wi-Fi
Setup “Find my iPhone” or “Android Device Manager” in case device is lost

15. My Top Travel Apps (What are yours?)

16. Trip-Planning & Management
Airfare, Hotel, Car (Orbitz)
Airline apps (...)
Find cheaper flights (Skyscanner)
Airline seat (SeatGuru)
Flight Trackers (TripCase)
Rental (AirBnB)
Itinerary Organizer (TripIt, Kayak)
Trip Guide (Google Trips)

17. Trip-Planning & Management
SeatGuru

18. Trip-Planning & Management
TripCase
TripIt
Kayak

19. Trip-Planning & Management
Google Trips
Cities
Reservations
Saved places
Day plans

20. Flight Entertainment Books ( iBooks) Magazines (Texture)
Stored articles (InstaPaper)
Games (...)
Music (Amazon Music)
Movies & TV Shows (Amazon Prime Video)
Silence (noise cancellation earphones/earbuds)

21. Flight Entertainment- Magazines
Texture – 200+ Digital Magazines ($7/mo.)

22. Flight Entertainment- Saved Articles
InstaPaper
Web Page View
Saved InstaPaper View

23. Transit, Restaurants, Money, & More
Travel guides (Rick Steves, Lonely Planet)
Currency & Conversions (Units)
Public Transit (Paris Métro, London Transit, Japan Transit Planner, etc.)
Weather (Weather Channel)
Journaling (Microsoft OneNote)
Taxi service (Uber)
Museum Guides (Musée du Louvre, Tate, Tohaku Navi, etc.)
Translation (Google Translate)
Restaurants & Reviews (TripAdvisor, Yelp)

24. Planning- Guide
Rick Steves

25. Planning- Journaling
Microsoft OneNote

26. Planning- Journaling
Google Translate

27. Maps and Navigation
Note: Accessing GPS satellite signal does not require cellular connection.
Online/Offline Maps (Google Maps)
If using not using cellular, you need to save a map of the area in advance
Offline Maps (OffMaps 2)

28. Saving Google Maps for Offline
300 MB download
maximum
Tap name or address in box

29. Uploading Saved Offline Google Maps

30. Google Maps “Area of Interest”
Seville
Walnut Creek

31. Keeping in Touch Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Line)
Internet Calls & Texting (Skype, WhatsApp, Viber)
News (AP Mobile, ESPN)
File Sharing (Dropbox)
Postcards (Photocard, PhotoGrid)

32. Keeping in Touch- Postcards
Photocard
free
$1.50: Printed 8.25”x 5.5” card

33. Keeping in Touch- Postcards
PhotoGrid

34. Handling Your Photos
Uploading photos (iCloud, Photo Sync, SD Card reader)
Backing up (Google Photos, flash drive or portable HD)
Editing (iOS Photos, Affinity Photo)
Sharing (iOS AirDrop, Messages/Mail, Google Photos)
GPS Location mapping (iOS Photos, Google Photos)
Note: Avoid transferring or sending photos via cellular because of high cellular data usage (Use Wi-Fi)

35. Photos- Uploading
PhotoSync

36. Photos- Editing
iOS Photos

37. Photos- Editing
iPad Affinity Photo

38. Photos- GPS Location
iOS Photos
Google Photos

39. Mobile Technology Checklist
Smartphone, tablet and/or laptop
Digital camera
Extra camera battery
Chargers & cables (consider multi-plug charger)
Extra camera SD Card
Power plug adapter(s)
SD Card to phone/tablet cable
Headphones/ear-buds (consider noise-cancelling)
Portable memory storage (flash-drive, wireless hard- drive)
Airplane 2-prong audio adapter
Paperclip (for changing SIM card)
USB battery pack

40. The End