It has happened; I’ve joined the ranks of smartphone owners with a new Android mobile device.
Now what do I do that is different while I travel?
I pop a lot more photos up on Twitter and Facebook, I scan World Cup and College World Series scores whenever I want to, and I….
Look for power outlets.
While visiting SeaWorld San Antonio this past weekend as a participant in their Texas Blogger day, I had a conversation with one of their public relations folks after I found myself plugging my phone into the wall behind a restaurant trash can.
He said that they’re noticing a lot more visitors bringing smartphones and even netbooks into the park, so they’re thinking about setting up power charging stations to accommodate those blinking battery crises.
Yes, I know how to travel without digital devices. Yes, I can put my SIM card back into my old flip feature phone if I am roughing it somewhere without steady power sources but still want a connection to my family.
The fact is, I’m a pretty wired (actually, wireless) gal and I’ve entered a new phase of learning how to set my phone to Battery Saver and eyeball random walls for power outlets. When I want to cut myself off from all that, I will, but right now I do not.
What are some of your travel tips for these smartphone power hogs?
Had to chuckle over this one. We’ve all seen those laptop toters scrambling for power outlets in the airport, resorting to sitting on the floor next to the trash cans.
We’ve got many hoteliers who have added significant outlet access in our rooms, but when out and about, what are we to do?
Perhaps theme parks and attractions should post signs to electrical outlets and localized wifi access just like we currently do for restrooms.
Why in the world would you run out of juice in a Sea World park anyway? Just upload and post when you get home or back to the hotel room. Nobody cares what show you just saw or what flavor of snow cone your kid just ate. Why pay all that money just to be tethered to your little blue screen the same way you are every other day? That’s just pitiful.
Hi Todd,
I became adept at finding power outlets hidden in light poles at SeaWorld.
Hi Randy,
Thanks for your input. I was posting from the park because I was there on a hosted press trip, and that is what I do as a blogger. Those who are not interested in my impressions from the park are welcome to unfriend me on Facebook and unfollow me on Twitter.
Your snotty tone is rather rude; “pitiful” is not usually a word that is associated with me. Have a nice day.
No way I’d ever give up my iPhone and return to the Treo, but one of the things I *LOVED* about it was the removable battery. I had two spares that were always charged and went with me when I thought I’d be away from outlets for a while.
As you can see Randy, there’s no hope in trying to reform an addict. Those who want to post every detail of their day will keep finding a way to get their regular fix.
Sheila, maybe not for Sea World, but this wind-powered HYmini device would work really well in an amusement park—you could get quite a charge going on a roller coaster:
http://practicaltravelgear.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-of-hymini-wind-powered-charger.html
As a longtime blogger myself though, I’ve always wondered, why does anyone post in real time anyway? If you look at the stats each week, a very small percentage of readers even looks at a post the day it goes up, much less within an hour or two. Maybe with Twitter, because that’s like watching a crawl under the news on TV, but blogs have more staying power so blog posts have a much longer shelf life. Nobody looks at the TIME a post went up unless it’s a breaking news political blog with a scoop. From what I see anyway.
Hi Tim,
Right, live-blogging only works for certain events where there is a reasonably large, interested audience offline that couldn’t make it there in person.
I wasn’t liveblogging from the park, just sending up occasional quick photos with a note from my phone to my Twitter stream and Facebook page. For example, I ended up with my son’s plastic Shamu bowl stuck in my purse with the tail sticking out, which made me laugh, so I put it up a photo of the purse on Facebook with the caption, “How you know you’re a Mom at SeaWorld.” Readers seem to like it, too.
But couldn’t that photo wait? Last week four different people ran into me while walking in a public place texting on their phone. Does anyone really care that much, right now? If you’ve run out of juice on your smart phone while traveling or on a day off, you’re not really living in the moment.
I was stuck in Newark on the way home from TBEX. And I got to playing a funny, unofficial game of scavenger hunt on Twitter with two other TBEX Newark refugees — we were all in different terminals, all stuck. And at one point, one of my New(ark) Twitter Best Friends posted a photo captioned “most sought after item in EWR.” I burst out laughing and turned my laptop to show the photo to the guy sitting next to me on the floor — we were sharing an outlet. The photo was of a four plug outlet.