What must I have to do true mobile computing? - Part 1
Posted by Daryl Rinaldi on Wed, Mar 24, 2010 @ 07:43 PM
Consultants and salespeople have been road warriors for a long time. Now more and more white collar professionals such as accountants, finance professionals, and other knowledge workers are finding themselves working at least some of the time out of the office.
So maybe some of you could benefit from some mobile computing advice too. You have to start with the right equipment. I will address each part of your travel toolkit in its own blog post. Part 1 will discuss your PDA. Part 2 will discuss your laptop. Part 3 will discuss the important accessories. And Part 4 will discuss security and email considerations in.
The main fact that affects all the mobile computing advice I will give you is as follows: The more you carry the more efficiently you can work and the less at risk you are of not being able to accomplish something. BUT (you knew there was a "but" coming) the more you carry the less mobile you actually become. Every additional tool takes up space and weight. So this is the fundamental tradeoff you have to make when deciding what to carry with you.
Your PDA:
I will assume if you are a busy professional and work out of the office with any regularity you will have some kind of PDA rather than just a regular phone. Whether you have Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Google Android, Palm, or iPhone doesn't really matter. What matters is:
- You are already setup to send and receive email and synch your contacts and calendar from your PDA. Don't wait until you are in your hotel to call the IT guy for help setting up your PDA so you can check email.
- Your phone plan is appropriate. If you travel will you get high roaming charges? If you go overseas does your phone support the right networks (GSM for Europe for example)? Do you have a plan that has good international calling rates?
- Does your phone provider have good coverage in the areas you need to go?
Stay tuned for more Mobile Computing advice...