The Travel Tips and Videos contest is now over! Thanks to all who participated!

Can you believe it’s already time for summer travel? We certainly can, and that’s why we’re giving away five $25 gas or gift cards that would be perfect for the road!

All you have to do for a chance to win one is post a smartphone travel tip or tidbit in this thread – you could even tell us where you’ll be traveling, and what tech gear you’ll be taking with you!

Then, on June 30, 2009, we’ll randomly choose five winners from among all those who contributed. Easy, right? Just make sure you’re registered (click Sign In at the top of the page if not), and post away!

[UPDATE: June 19] And now, for your weekend viewing pleasure, we bring you a second video in our Smartphone Travel Tips and Videos series.

Presenting: Hot Off the Grill, a look at some great travel accessories for your Windows Mobile phone, hosted by Connection moderator Yrless.

Check out the video, and don't forget: We're still collecting your tips, tricks, and anecdotes. Just post in this thread, and you'll be entered to win a gas or gift card worth $25.

Format: wmv
Duration: 3:11

Looking for Laura Rooke's world travel video? Visit our video forum.

The best travel tip I can tell you is not to forget your chargers. If you have spare batteries for your phone take them too. Also if you are traveling to an amusement park be sure to bring along baggies or waterproof containers for your phones no matter how smart they are. LOL Happy traveling everyone.

Doug Heidebrink:

The best travel tip I can tell you is not to forget your chargers. If you have spare batteries for your phone take them too. Also if you are traveling to an amusement park be sure to bring along baggies or waterproof containers for your phones no matter how smart they are. LOL Happy traveling everyone.

I second the ziplock suggestion!  If you forget your fistful of zipper bags at home, you can usually score a few "TSA-approved" quart-sized bags at the airport.  Besides keeping your $500 phone dry at the beach, they're great for segregating your electronics in your carry-on travel bag- I keep the kids' Zunes and headphones in one, my phone's assorted accessories (BT headset, charge cable, spare batteries etc.) in another, etc.

And, while we're on the topic of phone's assorted accessories... (watch in amazement as Todd deftly segues into his comments...)

One of the challenges when traveling with our mobile devices, is that while the devices themselves get smaller and lighter, their accessories don't!  AC chargers, car DC chargers, sync/charge cables, batteries, headphones, BT earpieces, BT GPS "pucks" etc. take up more room in our luggage than the devices themselves.  One of my fellow Mobile Devices MVPs jokes that his friends rib him for traveling with 75-pounds of electronics all in one-ounce pieces!

There are a few fairly obvious, but still worth mentioning, tricks to lighten the load.  First, is to try and "standardize" your equipment as much as possible.  The ubiquity of mini-USB charge ports had made this easier than ever.  For example, while it's not my "usual" BT earpiece, I bought a cheap Motorola HS350 on sale for $10 just to take on vacation.  At $10, if I lose it I could care less, but more importantly, it charges via a mini-USB connector, so I can charge it with my WinMo phone charger, meaning one less charge "brick" to lug around.  When I used to use a BT GPS "puck" (before using my current phone which has built-in GPS) I made sure to buy one with a mini-USB charge port as well- that was three devices sharing a charger.  (well, two chargers- one AC, one 12V DC for the rental car.) 

Another trick is to stop bringing dedicated chargers at all!  Using generic AC and DC chargers with a USB socket for output instead of a device-specific cable, and then just bringing sync/charge cables for all of your devices that plug into the generic "bricks," rather than their dedicated chargers really reduces the amount of gear to lug around.  This is also helpful for the equipment with proprietary charge ports like iPods and Zunes that refuse to share your mini-USB charger.  A single AC and DC charger and a half-dozen sync/charge cables takes up a fraction of the space of a half-dozen dedicated charger bricks would!  If you also bring a notebook or netbook PC with you on your travels, even the charger brick becomes optional- you can charge your equipment off of the PC's USB ports, so the only charger you need is the laptop's, (which you have to bring anyway!)  (Of course, I rarely travel with a notebook or netbook- that's what my Windows Mobile device is for, so that option is out for me!)

My AC charger brick of choice is the very useful and affordable (~$20 US at Amazon.com) MusicPower Encore- it's an AC charger with two USB outputs to charge two devices at a time, plus an internal 2200mAH Li-Ion battery pack that charges whenever the Encore is plugged in and allows you to use the brick as a portable battery pack when not plugged in to AC to keep your devices charged on long flights or anywhere AC or DC power isn't readily available.

You might be surprised at how many portable devices have USB charge cables available, even if the device didn't include one; "dumbphones", BT headsets, even many digital cameras; almost any portable device that uses 5V or less for power often has an OEM or third-party USB charge cable available.

Happy traveling!

I would have to say: See the coming video!

My tips are more money related,

 Be sure to check the preferred network for your mobile operator in the country you are going to to get the best rates possible and find out how to manually roam your phone to these networks. Try to use WiFi where possible to access the web as data roaming rates are a massive rip off (for UK customers at least).

If you have a special package for international usage be sure to check the terms and conditions, certain networks may not support your calling plan. A good example is Vodafone UK's "Passport" scheme. This only works on preferred networks in selected countries and only covers voice calls.   

Finally it may be worth calling your service provider to check you have no roaming or international bars in place.

clickexchange:

Be sure to check the preferred network for your mobile operator in the country you are going to to get the best rates possible and find out how to manually roam your phone to these networks.

Excellent tips, clickexchange! I have T-Mobile in the US, and when I was in Canada recently, my phone happily roamed *automatically* on Rogers, T-Mo's "partner" in Canada. This is probably something else to look for, particularly when you're traveling to a neighboring country. 

I learned this one the hard way... Always pre-program your phone with the phone numbers that you will need and even some you hope you won't need.  Your hotel (this is important) and probably save the address and maybe even a map too.  Also save the 'cancellation phone numbers' for your credit cards in case your wallet goes missing unexpectedly.  Obviously any phone numbers for the airlines/trains you are using... friends and other people that are coming with you.  The travel agency that booked your trip.  Any local friends or family even if you're not planning on visiting them.  I also make sure to backup all of my information onto 2 flash cards (they're so dang cheap these days) before I go.  I take one with me and leave one at home.  Yes, I'm paranoid now, but like I said, I learned about these tricks the hard way.

skarydrunkguy:

Always pre-program your phone with the phone numbers that you will need and even some you hope you won't need.

More great tips! Thanks! I've even forgotten my hotel room number (it was late, and it was a long flight).

I just saw this article from jkOnTheRun :

Word is trickling out about a new USB modem coming from Verizon that offers 3G connectivity for international travelers. The Novatel USB1000 Global Modem is Verizon’s first USB modem solution that works abroad but not much else is known about the features yet.

The new USB modem will work on Verizon’s EVDO network here in the US in addition to HSPA networks prevalent abroad. The USB1000 is expected to cost $150 after rebates and contract signing and data plans will be relatively expensive. A $60 per month plan is required to use the modem abroad with a pay-per-KB rate for data consumption. A GlobalAccess plan is $130 which extends Verizon’s 5 GB data plan to Canada and adds 100 MB of data in 31 other countries abroad. That foreign data capacity can be doubled up to 200 MB of data for a staggering total fee of $220 per month, but the 5 GB cap likely remains in place for the U.S. and Canada. The new modem is expected to be available online tomorrow says electronista.

Hey,everyone! I've updated the original post in this thread with a new video!

Presenting: Hot Off the Grill, a look at some great travel accessories for your Windows Mobile phone, hosted by Connection moderator Yrless.

Check out the video, and don't forget: We're still collecting your tips, tricks, and anecdotes. Just post in this thread, and you'll be entered to win a gas or gift card worth $25.

My tip is ...If you are travelling with small kids, it is always handy to have few of their favourite music ,rhymes and videos on your phone, this would be very helpful sometime during the long, hot tiring day and sure will entertain them...This could save your day even if you dont have other gadgets for help.

deardad:

My tip is ...If you are travelling with small kids, it is always handy to have few of their favourite music ,rhymes and videos on your phone, this would be very helpful sometime during the long, hot tiring day and sure will entertain them...This could save your day even if you dont have other gadgets for help.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuure it does    :)

 p.s. Don't pir8 SpongeBob!

 My tip, which might seem a little contradictary.... is to leave your smartphone at home or the hotel when you travel. I was pretty much flabbergasted when I went on vacation by the amount of people who, rather then notice all the amazing sights and sounds around them, had their faces staring at their phones the entire time. Smartphones are incredibly useful tools, but its important to remember all the other amazing things surronding us on our vacations.

Trademarked:

its important to remember all the other amazing things surronding us on our vacations.

Good point !