My Favorite Vacation Companions

While traveling I do carry all the conventional devices like phones, tablets, USB keys, card readers and universal adapters. I use apps for navigation, as travel guides, reminders and tickets. But what I'm writing about, in this article, are a few devices and apps which I'm really excited to carry and use while traveling.

Subsonic Music App

I use Subsonic mobile app for music. Typically, you would already be carrying the music that you listen to on your phone or iPod. But while traveling with family, you can't simply carry only your own music. This is where Subsonic comes to the rescue. The Subsonic mobile app works with a Subsonic server which can be installed on Windows, Mac or Linux. It can be installed on a laptop or on a home desktop (as in my case). At home, all our music is organized under the Subsonic server. Subsonic allows multiple users to upload and create their own music playlists. So we have my playlist, my wife's playlist and even playlists of friends. The songs and playlist on Subsonic can be be played using mobile apps for Android and iOS. Subsonic Music Streamer is a free app for Android and iSub Music Streamer is an app for iOS devices for about Rs. 250. What's more, the mobile apps cache or store the songs on the mobile device. Hence you do not need to be connected to the server (as will be the case when you are traveling). Subsonic is about organizing all your music in one place and once it is done, it is easy to carry different playlist on different devices while traveling. I go a step further. In case a song, I wish to listen to, is not stored on the phone, I VPN into my home and stream the song off my Subsonic server to my phone. Works well on a 3G connection.

Eye-Fi Photos

A Eye-Fi card is a SD card which can be used to wirelessly transfer photos from a camera to a phone, tablet or laptop. After a day of site seeing and capturing the moments, while driving back to the hotel one can watch the photos on a 10" tablet screen without the need of any cable. Thanks to the Eye-Fi card and its companion mobile apps. The Eye-Fi mobile app (called Eye-Fi) is available for Android and iOS for free. The Eye-Fi card acts like an access point. So the mobile devices can connect directly to it, while you are on the move. Once connected, the Eye-Fi app shows the photos which were clicked. From there on, you can save the photos on the mobile device, edit it and share it on Email, Facebook, Twitter etc. At home, I also have a setup such that when I'm back from the vacation and switch on the camera, the EyeFi card automatically connects to my home WiFi and transfers all the photos to my photo gallery. The Eye-Fi card I have is about two years old. It is a Pro X2 class 6 (8GB). I ordered it from the U.S. for about $90. You can check out the faster (class 10) and latest products at www.eye.fi. A search at Ebay India (www.ebay.in) also throws up a few Eye-Fi cards, ready to ship in the country.

A Tablet with HDMI out

This was the time, about three years back, when Android tablets just started making their debut. I bought a tablet called Adam from Notion Ink. This tablet showcased one killer feature: a standard HDMI out. Today, there are so many tablets with HDMI out, but back then this was something unique. So I still continue to carry it around with me. If I wish to watch something on a bigger screen, I simply connect this tablet to the TV via a HDMI cable. On the tablet, I use an Android app like DicePlayer to play the movie or the TV show. The tablet (unlike many others) has a MicroSD slot which allows me to carry more movies for those vacations which are planned to just relax in the hotel room. This tablet also has a USB port. I use it to connect a USB keyboard to it. Further, I mount this tablet on a stand which I made out of Lego bricks. And voila, I get a portable desktop. This helps with writing emails and troubleshooting clients' issues over remote desktop or secure shell. After all, vacations do not completely cut me off from work, not yet.

Vacation.Next

On my next vacation, this summer, I plan to carry two of my recent purchases: Chromecast and Parrot AR Drone. I plan to use Chromecast HDMI Dongle to stream movies from my laptop or tablet to the TV in the hotel room. AR Drone is a quadcopter drone equipped with a camera and can be controlled using a tablet or a phone. Ever since I bought it, this Drone is waiting for a full outdoor field testing. For connectivity on the move, I rely on my mobile network and WiFi tether my phone for browsing on other devices. At hotels which charge per device for WiFi access, I tether the connection via Bluetooth. I also carry a Anker Astro3 12000mAh power bank which I ordered from Snapdeal.com for Rs. 4,700/- The power bank has three USB slots which can be used to charge three devices simultaneously. It conveniently charges my iPad, too.