I took my first trip with a mobile internet device (MID) and I'm surprised to say that it's not only my new favorite gadget but it also was fun to have on a trip. I bought an iPod Touch which is basically the iPhone without the phone. I went to fairly large tourist areas in New England so it wasn't too hard to find free wireless access.
This warm fuzzy feeling may wear off after I'm used to it but I found it really cool to be able to check the weather, read up on news, sports, and email, and look for local activities in the area. The coolest feature to me was the Google maps program where you can type in the name of a place, find it on the map, bookmark it, and add it as a contact complete with URL, address, and phone number (which is all done for you). To be honest we already knew our way around but this still seemed cool to me.
I was able to get some practical use of the device by checking for places to stay in one town we were considering stopping at on our way back. I could search for places, find their location on the map, browse their web sites, and bookmark them for later in case we wanted to call to book a room.
The main drawback of my device is that it's not always on. So while I can map directions to a location, I cannot keep that feature active all the time when going to the location. If I had an iPhone I assume I could use it like a GPS since I'd always have the phone to do my internet connection. Then again that would cost me $30 a month (but it is tempting).
Anyway, I just thought I'd share this info. I think a mini laptop would be nice on trips too, and would be way more useful for typing stuff like emails, blogs, diary, or trip report type stuff. But it was nice to have my music player and internet device all in one small package.
This warm fuzzy feeling may wear off after I'm used to it but I found it really cool to be able to check the weather, read up on news, sports, and email, and look for local activities in the area. The coolest feature to me was the Google maps program where you can type in the name of a place, find it on the map, bookmark it, and add it as a contact complete with URL, address, and phone number (which is all done for you). To be honest we already knew our way around but this still seemed cool to me.
I was able to get some practical use of the device by checking for places to stay in one town we were considering stopping at on our way back. I could search for places, find their location on the map, browse their web sites, and bookmark them for later in case we wanted to call to book a room.
The main drawback of my device is that it's not always on. So while I can map directions to a location, I cannot keep that feature active all the time when going to the location. If I had an iPhone I assume I could use it like a GPS since I'd always have the phone to do my internet connection. Then again that would cost me $30 a month (but it is tempting).
Anyway, I just thought I'd share this info. I think a mini laptop would be nice on trips too, and would be way more useful for typing stuff like emails, blogs, diary, or trip report type stuff. But it was nice to have my music player and internet device all in one small package.
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