Tag Archives: tech

View from Monte Generoso Ticino Switzerland

Every Tourism Board Should Be Doing This

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Figuring out how to stay connected while you’re traveling abroad is always kind of stressful. Will there be Wi-Fi? Will it be safe? If I have to rely on roaming data, how much will I use and what will it cost? Sure, you can arrange for some sort of international plan with your home carrier before you leave, but it’s never cheap and it’s never simple.

To alleviate that problem, Switzerland Tourism has partnered with Travelers Wifi to offer a very handy little solution, the Travelers Wifi hot spot, which provides 4G/LTE service for up to ten devices at a time with no data limits. The hot spot is small, thin and light; I’d compare it to a stack of ten credit cards and weighs 75g, which is less than a deck of cards.

travelers wifi portable wifi hot spot device for switzerland

The Travelers Wifi hot spot fits in your hand and weighs 2.6 ounces. Photo: Billie Cohen

For me, it was a no brainer to rent one and test it out. I work while I travel, so having uninterrupted Internet access for both my phone and my laptop was invaluable. Plus, with this, I never have to be on shared public Wi-Fi. I’m able to pull out my laptop on any train, at any coffee shop, in any hotel room or Airbnb, and work not only with a strong Wi-Fi connection, but on a private, secure one for which only I have the password.

You can rent the hot spot for however long you’re going to be in the country (it works only in Switzerland), and the cost is between $6 to $8 per day (the per diem cost gets cheaper as the rental period increases). If this sounds like a lot, consider two things:

First, you can connect up to ten devices on your network and it will not slow down the signal. If you’re a family or a couple traveling together, that alone makes it a good deal. For business travelers or remote workers, the value is even more obvious.

Second, you will be surprised how much you will use your devices, particularly a phone or tablet, once you don’t have to worry about racking up data charges. I found a million productive uses for my phone that both enhanced and eased my travel experience and that I know I wouldn’t have dared to use if data charges were an issue. I downloaded local train and bus apps to check schedules and buy tickets; I streamed audio guides for scenic drives and museums; I looked up unfamiliar foods on menus and in markets; I learned how to say “gluten-free” in three languages; I was able to use Google Maps discreetly instead of unfolding giant paper maps in the middle of the street; I was able to use Google Translate to hold quality conversations with my German-speaking Airbnb host (about her family, her camping vacation, and our mutual appreciation of Swiss architects); I was able to pull up videos of a Ticino-based artist as my B&B owner offered an impromptu local art lesson; I streamed Netflix shows in French and German to get a feel for the language (and, okay, I also watched reruns of Gilmore Girls); I edited stories, emailed with Wendy, and did other WendyPerrin.com work on my laptop a few hours every day; I used Wi-Fi calling to conduct interviews, hold meetings, and talk to my mom on Mother’s Day; and, of course, I posted a ton of photos on social media and a few stories on my blog.

I checked with the Travelers Wifi service, and I’ve been using about 1.4G per day, across my phone and my laptop. See how much you can eat up when you’re not careful? And I definitely wasn’t—which was incredibly freeing. So how much would I be paying for this without Travelers Wifi?

My regular phone service is Google Project Fi, which has a pretty good international coverage plan to begin with. It’s $10 per gigabyte no matter where in the world I am; there’s no additional fee (or throttling of speed) if I use that gig of data in Cambodia or at home in New York. I’m happy with the service, but even with that decent rate, if I’d been using all that data here in Switzerland, I would still be paying a little more than $10 per day. I’m here for 29 days, so that would’ve been $290. The Travelers Wifi for 29 days cost me $209. The savings are comparable for shorter trips, and the value goes up the more people you’re traveling with.

In efficient Swiss fashion, pick-up and drop-off of the Travelers Wifi is simple: You can book it ahead of time online and then pick it up at convenient spots including Zurich airport, your hotel, one of 1,500 post offices, or any Swiss address. Or you can rent one once you arrive, like I did, at Zurich airport, or at the tourism offices located in the Zurich, Bern, and Geneva main train stations. To return it, just drop it in any Swiss mailbox with the provided packaging, or bring it to a post office or one of the rental locations.

I don’t know why every tourism board isn’t partnering with a local provider to do something like this. But maybe some will be soon. In June, Travelers Wifi will launch a European product that will cover 40 countries and can be ordered and returned to anywhere in Europe. There’s no info available on the pricing or locations for that one yet, but I’m looking forward to taking a long European vacation to test it out.

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Signage about the electronics ban at the Air Maroc check-in desk

How You Can Prepare for the Laptop Travel Ban

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UPDATED 5/14/2017:

Very soon, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to expand the laptop ban to include flights coming into the U.S. from Europe. Less than two months after the first ban required that fliers arriving from several Middle East countries pack their laptops, tablets, game consoles, digital cameras, and other devices in their checked lugged, there’s now news that planes arriving from the European Union will be subject to similar rules. As Skift pointed out, this extension “would affect trans-Atlantic routes that carry as many as 65 million people a year on over 400 daily flights”—and we know that includes many of our own readers, who are planning trips to Europe right now.

Unfortunately, any ban on carrying laptops and tablets into the passenger cabin impacts not only business travelers like me, whose work productivity will be affected, but also professional photographers like my husband; families with children who use tablets, game devices, or laptops as part of their long-haul-flight toolkit; and countless other fliers who rely on their tech devices in various ways.

Apart from being inconvenient, the current ban—which affects flights from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey—is confusing, and a lot has been left undefined.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s wording is that nothing “larger than a smartphone” can be carried onboard, but the agency is vague about what that exact size is. A FAQ on its website says, “Smartphones are commonly available around the world and their size is well understood by most passengers who fly internationally. Please check with your airline if you are not sure whether your smartphone is impacted.”

So far, it seems that the ban is being implemented inconsistently in foreign airports. When my husband flew home from Morocco with our two boys, one son’s Nintendo DS game console was confiscate out of his backpack, while the other son got to keep his. As expected, though, in the weeks after the first ban was implemented, a few of the affected airlines started to test out solutions: Qatar is providing complimentary laptops to premium-class passengers, Emirates introduced a laptop-handling service, and Etihad is offering free Wi-Fi (which you can access with your phone).

So in the interest of helping all travelers prepare (not just those flying from airports or on airlines listed in the original ban, and not just those planning trips to Europe), we’ll keep updating this FAQ as we learn more about how airlines and airports will be handling the changes. In the meantime, here are some answers and solutions.

What devices have to be checked now?

While it’s safe to expect that laptops, tablets, game units, and digital cameras must be packed in checked luggage, it seems that you could easily be at the whim of an individual security officer or your airline’s interpretation of what devices are acceptable for carry-on. The DHS FAQ says only: “Generally, passengers will be instructed to place large electronic devices in their checked bags when traveling from one of the last point of departure airports. We provided guidance to the airlines who will determine how to implement and inform their passengers.” How the airlines are choosing to implement and inform is inconsistent. “The manner of a Security Directive/Emergency Amendment is to tell an airline the end result required (no electronic devices larger than a cell phone allowed in the cabin) and allow them the flexibility to implement within their business model.”

What airports does the ban affect?

If you are flying through or from any of the following airports, the current ban applies to you: Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), Cairo International Airport (CAI), Ataturk International Airport (IST), King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (JED), King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Kuwait International Airport (KWI), Mohammed V Airport (CMN), Hamad International Airport (DOH), Dubai International Airport (DXB), and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH). The specifics of a European-flight ban are still being worked out.

Am I exempt if I’m part of a trusted traveler program?

No. Membership in Global Entry, TSA Precheck, Clear, or any trusted traveler program does not exempt you from the ban. You still have to comply with the new luggage rules.

Related: The Real Things You Should Be Wary Of When Traveling Abroad (Hint: It’s Not Terrorism)

What can I do to prepare for the inconveniences of the ban?

•Turn your smartphone into a laptop.
Most of us think of portable keyboards as accessories for tablets, but they can be used with smartphones too. The screen may be smaller than you’d like, but at least it’ll let you get through some emails while you’re in the air. (If you’re accustomed to using more than one electronic device in-flight, you might consider getting a second phone. After all, airlines are not limiting the number of smartphones you can bring onboard. You could use one phone as a tablet or computer while you’re listening to music on the other. Get a cheap burner phone that you need not activate with a mobile carrier; you can just use it with Wi-Fi.)

•Read offline.
E-readers are part of the ban, so if that leaves you without something to peruse on the plane, you still have options. Add the Kindle app to your phone and do your reading there; the app will maintain your library, with bookmarks and notes, across all your devices. If you’re a periodicals reader, check out an app such as Instapaper, which lets you save any article or video from the web and read it later offline. And of course, you could always go back to old-school books. Now that there aren’t any tech devices in your carry-on, you may have room for the latest bestsellers.

•Travel with an inexpensive “travel laptop.”
If you’re like me, you cannot possibly travel without your laptop, and you’re loath to check it. After all, even with TSA locks, most checked luggage is easy to open and subject to sticky fingers. That’s why I plan to buy a cheap laptop for trips on which my flights will be affected. I’ll probably buy a ChromeBook, which costs as little as $165. I’ll copy the files I need from my “real laptop” onto USB drives and carry these in my carry-on, and I’ll relegate the ChromeBook to my checked bag when necessary, leaving my “real laptop” safely at home. Should the ChromeBook get lost or stolen, it won’t be a big deal.

Related: A Pro Photographer’s Solutions to the Airline Electronics Ban

•Insure your checked luggage.
If you’re willing to entrust your laptop to your checked luggage, know that airlines reimburse very little if your baggage is lost, stolen, or damaged; and they don’t cover valuables (such as laptops) in checked luggage. A few credit cards do provide loss and damage coverage for valuables in checked bags. The American Express Platinum Card provides up to $2,000 for checked-bag losses, although it caps electronics at $250. Travel insurance company TravelGuard reimburses up to $500 for electronic devices in lost luggage.

Related: How to Buy Travel Insurance: What It Covers, When You Need It

•Take the time to install anti-theft software and features on your devices.
In case you’re forced to check your laptop, install or activate theft-protection apps on it. Apps such as Prey or Find My Mac allow you not only to track where your laptop is, but also to lock it and erase it completely—and, depending on the software, even enable you to take a photo of the thief.

For an additional bit of tracking service, consider attaching a Tile to your various devices. These little squares use Bluetooth to keep tabs on keys, wallets, anything you can think of; use a Tile (or your phone) to set off a sounding beacon on your lost item. This isn’t so helpful if your laptop, camera, or game unit is thousands of miles away, but the app has a cool secondary feature: Activate the “Notify when found” option, and if anyone who has a Tile comes within range of your tiled item, you’ll get a notification of its location.

Stay tuned because we expect to see a burgeoning industry of travel-specific anti-theft gadgets to fill this heightened need. For example, the new PetaPixel is a remote shutter button for digital cameras that comes with the added bonus of geotagging for theft protection.

•Choose your airlines carefully.
Some of the impacted airlines are innovating to make life easier for premium-class passengers. Qatar Airways has begun offering first- and business-class passengers a complimentary laptop loan service; passengers can download their work onto a USB before stepping onboard and collecting their loaner laptop. Etihad Airways is lending premium-class passengers iPads and free Wi-Fi. Some airlines are offering a service at its gates where they say they will collect and securely pack passengers’ electronic items, for pick-up at the destination airport.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

 

This article was originally published April 3, 2017. It has been updated with new information.

northern lights photographed from airplane

A Pro Photographer’s Solutions to the Airline Electronics Ban

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Travel bans of any kind never come at a good time. But this latest one is coming at a particularly bad time for me. As a photojournalist, it’s my very job description to carry my cameras with me. Sure, iPhone cameras are fine for snapshots, but I make my living using professional-grade cameras that I am now forced to place in checked luggage if I’m flying to the U.S. or U.K. from certain airports. So this ban is going to hurt. I have an assignment in Morocco next week and another in Dubai this summer, and I’ll be flying through and from airports that are on the new watch list.

I always arrive at the security gate well before scheduled departure so that my gear can be scrutinized. In fact, I fly with so much gear, electronics, and cords that I get very suspicious if the security agency doesn’t check my bag with a fine-tooth comb. But this ban will seriously change how I work.

My biggest complaint with the ban is the vagaries of it. Okay, I understand laptops won’t be allowed, or iPads, or my kids’ DS. But what about battery chargers or the cell-phone-sized hard drives I use to back up all the photos I shoot on assignment? What are you supposed to do with a key piece of equipment you thought was okay to carry onboard when a security guard says you can’t take that onboard because…well…he says so. Your checked bags are already down the chute. Now what?

My other concern is theft. You might as well put a “Steal Me” sticker on the outside of a bag with your camera in it. Security staff and luggage handlers X-ray bags well out of sight from the public, so the theft rate could increase exponentially. I remember going through Heathrow years ago when a similar ban was in effect. I had placed my underwater video camera in a checked bag (because my carry-on was already maxed out with other— more important—equipment), and they brought it to the gate where I was waiting, and I had to show the security agents what it was and prove that it was operational. That was the last time I saw it. Those little TSA-approved travel locks? Sure. Why not? But they and your ballistic-material luggage can be breached in mere seconds. Or just stolen completely, little locks and all.

So what am I going to do about it?

I live in fear of a camera getting lost or stolen on a trip, but now I will be changing how I work.

•For starters, I will leave my top-of-the-line camera bodies (the part of the camera minus the lens) at home. Instead, I will use cameras that are a few years or models old. Though not the latest and greatest, they are still usable and more expendable than my best—which I will need back at home.

•I will never put more than one camera body into each piece of checked luggage. That will give me a better chance of arriving at my destination with at least one of them.

•I will carry more media cards on which to store the photos I shoot. Let me explain: Until now I’ve always carried my laptop on my trips, downloaded each day’s photos to it each night, and backed them up on a portable hard drive (if not two). This is so as not to lose the images I’ve shot during the trip. The system allowed me to reuse media cards once I’d transferred the images to my laptop. Since I’ll now be leaving the laptop at home (since I won’t entrust my laptop to checked baggage), I’ll buy more media cards on which to store my photos. I’ll simply save the photos on the cards and wait till I’m home to download them to my laptop. SD cards are actually cheap enough now to do this, but keep in mind that they are small, notoriously slippery, and easy to lose!

•On some trips I might bring an older laptop (from which I’ve erased my personal data) to use as storage and for transferring photos to a portable, cell-phone-size hard drive. Will I be allowed to carry the hard drive into airline cabins? I don’t know.

•I will probably invest in a product such as Western Digital’s My Passport Wireless Pro. You can plug your SD cards right into it (its USB slot handles other format card readers) and copy photos or data right to a 2 or 3 TB drive.

•If you place your cameras in checked baggage, make sure to remove the media cards from the cameras. My video camera was stolen at Heathrow, but at least I had the sense to take the tape out and hand-carry it.

You will also have to remove the batteries from your camera, as most cameras use lithium batteries. However, the FAA specifically says that lithium batteries can’t be in checked bags, so we’ll just have to wait and see how that catch-22 gets solved.

•So what about chargers? I’m going to have to carry extra spare batteries in addition to what I carry now, in case my battery chargers are banned from carry-on luggage and get stolen. I’ll get a second charger too—so I can put each into two separate checked bags, again hoping that both of my bags won’t be taken or violated.

•With the camera bodies in the belly of the plane, that will leave more room in my carry-on for lenses. But this worries me too. A security agent once probed his finger into my telephoto lens and not only made it unusable but did several hundred dollars’ worth of damage to it.

On a personal level, one of my favorite things to do is to take photos while I’m flying. That’s gone now. I will miss shooting sights from a 33,000+-foot vantage point.

I’ve lived with previous bans and increases in airport security since the days of D.B. Cooper and almost daily hijackings to Cuba. And I’ve dealt with higher-speed films being ruined by third-world x-ray machines. So this ban is nothing new. I just wish it weren’t so vague. I’m looking forward to hard-and-fast rules.

Stay tuned.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.