Tech and Travel: How Has It Made Things Easier?
Tech has changed our lives dramatically in the past decade or so. There have been incredible scientific and medical advances not to mention leaps in communication, however there have been other less obvious ways that it’s helped or bettered our lives that we might not instantly think about when we consider technology. One of these is travel, here are some examples of how tech has made travel that big more pleasant.
Smartphone
In the not so distant past, people would turn their mobile phone off when they went on holiday and leave it at home. However with networks offering cheap roaming charges and our phones now easily working abroad it makes it easy for us to bring them with us. We now live in an age where we’re glued to our phones and feel uneasy when we’re not connected and so it makes sense that you’d bring your smartphone with you! As well as being able to contact people in an emergency there are tons of apps which are useful for while you’re away. From games like PayPal casinos to keep you occupied when you’re on long journeys to movies and tv shows which you can download to your device and watch offline while you’re on the plane. Lots of planes now have power outlets so you don’t even need to rely on power banks- but check ahead and see if your flight offers this. Maps are always useful when you’re navigating a new place, plus you have things like translation apps which can be really useful.
Camera
It goes without saying that when you’re travelling to new places that you’ll want to take plenty of pictures. When you’re seeing, doing and experiencing new things, photos and videos give you something to look back on as well as share with loved ones. While smartphones all have reasonable cameras on them these days, your phone will be used for all kinds of other things and so you don’t want to be running the battery down. With a ‘proper’ camera you can also usually get clearer snaps especially in low light, and it’s something you have solely for taking pictures on. Whether you go with a small point and shoot camera or a big DSLR is up to you, but it’s well worth bringing one along rather than just relying on your phone. If you want to take videos and will be doing lots of action packed things, a GoPro could be a good option.
Luggage Tracker
Lost luggage is always a nightmare, when you’ve spent months buying new things to go away with and have meticulously planned and packed your case it can be stressful when it goes missing. Thankfully these days there are lots of luggage trackers on the market which can help you to pinpoint exactly where it is. This can help you contact the relevant people and get it back to you more quickly. It prevents you hanging around at baggage claim for hours wondering if your case is going to come out, as you can logon to the app and see exactly where it is. It’s still going to be inconvenient if your case goes missing, but it puts you in control when you know where it is and it can help you reunite with it far more quickly.