With close to half of business travelers now from Generation X and Generation Y, gadgets geared toward the tech-savvy business traveler now cater to nearly every tech niche. Whether your travel-tech packing list includes an entire mobile office or just a mobile phone, here are five tech gadgets every business traveler needs.
Book Stand
A decidedly low-tech gadget, a basic foldable book stand is the MacGyver of tech tools. For air travelers, a book stand can prevent neck strain and discomfort by holding an iPad or other tablet (as well as any business documents). More versatile than combination case/stands made for tablets, a book stand can support a tablet, any book or brochure, and most documents.
By positioning the reading material closer to eye level, you'll prevent the strain to your neck and back that results from bending your chin down toward your chest to read.
A book stand is useful even for laptop users. Use the stand to hold documents you need to refer to while typing or while contacting clients.
Many bookstores carry book stands (sometimes in the cookbook section).
Mobile Phone Battery Extender
Nothing kills productivity on the road like running out of power. For many travelers, the problem isn't forgetting about a depleted battery. Rather, many travelers know that, without some type of power source, their phone's power will run out before the traveler reaches his or her destination. For that reason, a handful of companies have begun marketing battery extender cases. Some models for smartphones claim to double battery life. For many travelers this would mean the difference between a productive journey and wasted time.
Noise-Canceling Headphones
One of the biggest productivity killers on the road is the distraction of ambient noise, such as the conversations of other passengers, engine noise, street noise, and so on. A good pair of noise-canceling headphones can help you stay focused on the business of your business travel (and prevent nighttime distractions, too).
Worried that you'll miss something or hate the hassle of pulling out your ear buds whenever you need to communicate? Technological advances now amplify ambient noise at the push of a button so you can hear the outside world. New models that use the "push-to-hear" technology have retail prices starting around $149.
Tech-friendly Carry-on Luggage
For the business person who travels with cell phone, laptop, tablet and digital camera in tow, a common problem is fitting all that technology into a carry-on bag. To keep yourself organized (and perhaps even extend battery life), check out the slate of new high-tech backpacks and briefcases. With plenty of options to organize and protect your technology tools, you shouldn't have much trouble finding a piece with the ideal mixture of storage space and features. There are backpacks available with power sources so you can charge on the go.
Slingbox
Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have convinced some users to cancel their cable television service and move entirely to on-demand viewing. But for many business travelers, the worst part of leaving home is leaving behind access to cable service and the ability to watch favorite shows or sporting events live. Gadgets such as the Slingbox bridge this gap, letting users stream a feed from their home cable service to their mobile device.
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