Monday, January 03, 2005

Often, the weight [that business travelers are] most worried about carrying around is inside their computer bags, where even an ultralight laptop, with all the accessories that pack on the pounds, can tip the scales.

Electronics manufacturers, it seems, are simultaneously correcting and compounding the problem, designing products that are smaller and lighter, yet offering more and more gadgets that travelers feel compelled to take with them.

"I feel like a third or more of what I have to carry on a typical trip is electronics hardware," said Katie Hall, a civil engineering consultant who keeps a box ready to pack with just travel hardware, including power cords, a phone cable, a portable scanner and a mouse.

But one product that cuts down on some of the weight in her computer bag is a $60 DC-to-AC power converter made by the American Power Conversion Corporation .... Another computer accessory he said he could not live without is a thumb drive - a portable hard drive also known as a flash drive that plugs into a computer's USB port, making it possible to swap large files between computers without the need to communicate over a network. (The devices are available from many manufacturers for $40 to $70.) ... another item he makes a point of bringing along is a gadget that indicates whether there is a Wi-Fi signal nearby. Available from multiple manufacturers, including Kensington and PCTEL, for about $30, these Wi-Fi locators fit onto a keychain and, at the push of a button, light up to indicate whether there is a hotspot nearby and how strong the signal is - saving harried travelers the frustration of powering up a laptop in a hotel or airport, only to find out there is no wireless network around.

For travelers addicted to the wireless lifestyle, another gadget that does not exactly slim down a computer bag - but may be worth its weight in freedom from cords - is a travel router. Like the wireless routers computer users have come to rely on at home, these smaller, lightweight counterparts can be plugged in to a hotel's broadband outlet, making it possible to download e-mail anywhere in the room ... NetGear, DLink, 3Com and SMC all sell travel routers for $100 or less that are about the size of a deck of cards, and are also useful when two people share a hotel room and both want to log on.