Travel is more and more a part of many Americans lives, whether it’s checking out a new city for job opportunities, heading off to college, or deciding to relocate long-term. With more and more people deciding to take freelance jobs where they act as their own bosses, it definitely allows for more travel based on leisure, though just as many people find themselves on the road for work-related reasons, too.
Whether you’re making your way through the midwest for business meetings or enjoying the west coast for a two-week long trip, at some point in time, you’re likely going to want to check your email. And while bigger cities and even some smaller towns usually have a cafe or even an internet cafe where computers and wireless internet are available, it can get tough on longer stretches of highway. Even some hotels can’t always promise that their advertised Wi-Fi is going to work.
And while travelers who are just checking their email for leisure purposes might be able to let these sort of things slide, those who are in the middle of any sort of business that is conducted through the internet need a connection with a higher level of reliability. After all, if you’re going to be your own boss, it’s important that you are always reachable. So in these cases, something besides a somewhat reliable wireless internet connection at a mid-range hotel needs to be accessible.
Some people have taken to using their portable devices for getting online, and while this might be great for an occasional check-in email or quick Facebook status update, it doesn’t quite work out for more involved endeavors. Others are looking into WiMax, which provides a connection method that travels wherever you’re going. This means that, unless you are in a particularly barren stretch of land where there isn’t much in the way of cell phone coverage either, the internet will be there when you need it to be. Whether from a hotel room after a long stretch of driving or the living room of your new apartment in your new hometown, getting online is based more on pressing the power button for your laptop than anything else.
This is also a huge blessing for travelers who are on the road with younger members of the family, especially for that time in transit. After all, you might start out on a road trip with the best of intentions, a lot of juice boxes, and everyone’s favorite television shows and movies on DVD. But after a few hours of driving, sometimes children start to get impatient and want to watch something else or play a favorite video game. If there is a WiMax-enabled laptop in the car, it’s possible for real-time activities, including streaming video and even chatting, for teenagers who want to keep in touch with their friends back home. Both parents and children will find the trip considerably more enjoyable with this option in place.
So no matter your reasons for being on the road, consider the benefits of looking into better ways to get online ahead of time. You and your whole family will find it a considerably more enjoyable way to explore.
Recently announced is the first mainstream touchscreen device from Finnish manufacturer Nokia. They’ve made touchscreen mobile phones before, but… nothing like the awesomeness of the new Nokia 5800!
Nokia and touchscreens – lessons from history
Believe it or not, the Nokia 5800 isn’t the first of their mobile phones to feature a touchscreen. That accolade goes all the way back to the Nokia 7700, a mobile phone that, well, never actually got released. But it was still the first, nevertheless. It’s just a shame, really, that Nokia’s first attempt at a touchscreen mobile phone was, frankly, rubbish, since it had a bit of a dodgy interface, the looks… well, the looks were described as anything from ‘a bit misjudged’, to ‘looks like a taco’, all the way up to ‘bad prop from Star Trek’. The follow-up, the Nokia 7710 wasn’t much better, being a bit buggy, still huge, and it lacked the features that other mobile phones were rapidly starting to have (cameras, 3G and so on). After that, the only Nokia devices to have touchscreens were not actually mobile phones, as the concept was shifted over to their range of internet tablets.
But now, touchscreen mobile phones are all set to make a triumphant return to the Nokia range, with their newest and bestest touchscreen mobile phone ever: the Nokia 5800.
Nokia 5800 – touchscreen mobile phones for the masses
Soon to be released, the Nokia 5800 is sure to have a very big effect on their portfolio of mobile phones. And the inspiration of it can be traced back to the release of the iPhone, so you can be absolutely sure they’ve made the Nokia 5800 as slick and as user-friendly as possible. The new S60 Touch interface in the Nokia 5800 is tremendously elegant, as well as being really rather powerful. Put simply, it’s a joy to navigate round, and so much nicer than many other mobile phones on the market. Combine with a list of top-notch features, like 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA and so on, and you get a really cool smartphone. But it’s with music that the Nokia 5800 really shines, as it’s music that this beautiful mobile phone lives for, with a music player that really is second to none. In conclusion, I can sincerely say that the Nokia 5800 is one of the most impressive mobile phones I’ve seen in a long time.
But the surprising thing is… the Nokia 5800 is a mid-range mobile phone, not a top-ender. So what will happen, when the Nokia 5800 magically morphs into the first touchscreen Nseries mobile phone.
Captain N – the future is Nseries
There’s no doubt that the Nokia 5800 is a really cool mobile phone. It’s slick, pretty and clever. but what will the new S60 Touch interface be like when it gets put into Nseries mobile phones? Are we going to see something akin to the Nokia N96 that you control by prodding the screen? Well, the answer, unsurprisingly, is yes, as confirmed by Nokia themselves. The Nokia 5800 is merely the first toe in the water, as it were, and there WILL be Nseries mobile phones released with the new touch interface. That’s when we’re going to see the big, uber-top-end, ultra-powerful mobile phones, with cameras probably in the tens of megapixels, massive amounts of storage, and frighteningly fast internet access. They won’t be the Nokia N96 with a touchscreen, though, for the simple reason that they’ll blow everything away, the Nokia N96 included!
Expert on mobile phones, having worked in the industry for over 7 years.