A few weeks ago, we were traveling on a road trip for our annual vacation, far from home and computers. We didn’t take laptops, but we had our iPhones. Perfect, I thought. My little computer-in-a-pocket. I’d be able to access the Internet and email and everything else with that handy device. Which was true. However, we ran into some glitches and learned a few things. Not only did they help during the trip, but I’ll definitely be applying some of these lessons learned in my day-to-day cell phone usage.
Cell Coverage and Internet Access
Our coverage was spotty, as we traveled in some remote areas. We definitely had to adapt our access strategies.
Making Time for the Internet
When we were in a town, we always ended up staying put a bit longer so we could check email, look up items we needed for the trip, and other related tasks. Plan on extra time for that. Work it into your schedule. Each of us had tasks to complete, so it usually took a while. I also learned to write up notes and other items while offline. Then I could copy and paste what I needed when online again. It reminded me of the early days of the Internet, when you had to do that with email.
Make Bookmarks for Pages Frequently Accessed
I learned quickly to make a bookmark to my email login pages and use the “Add to Home Screen” option to make them easily accessible. That saved quite a bit of time and hence, battery life. So before you go anywhere, or even now, bookmark your frequently-accessed sites and pages.
Battery life
We were zipping through our charges very quickly. I don’t know if it’s because we were in small towns way out yonder, but we cycled through our battery charge much more quickly than when at home. Keeping the phones charged became an ongoing job. We learned a few things about that, which follow.
Car Chargers
We have a charger in each of two vehicles. One is a single charger. The other enables one to charge two phones at once. Guess which one we left at home? Right – the double charger. So if you’re considering purchasing a car charger, why not get a double charger? Then just remember to take it with you!
Charging at Restaurants and Businesses
The phones definitely charged more quickly when connected directly with an outlet. To have access to an outlet turned out to be important.
As it happened, we visited two restaurants that had outlets adjacent to certain tables in their establishment. We checked to see if we could charge the phones while sitting at said tables. In both instances, they said we could use the outlet. So, if you’re on the road (or anytime, I suppose), look for tables close to outlets so you can charge while you eat. Multi-tasking. Love it! Of course, you have to carry a charger that you can plug into a wall. Now I know to check out all restaurants to see if outlets are available near tables. We probably should purchase an extra cord to use for charging in outlets when we’re out and about.
The other business we charged phones at was a laundromat. We were camping for a week, so had the obligatory stop-at-a-laundromat. Sure enough, an outlet was available to use for charging.
This aspect also ties in to the scheduling access item noted above. You could access the Internet more quickly while charging the phones, so that also became a factor in planning what to access at what time of day.
Given this experience, I’m now scanning businesses and locations I frequent to see what sort of outlet access and charging options may be available. You look at the world differently when you need a phone charge!
Use a Portable Charger
Of course, after we returned home, I discovered that there are handy devices that enable you to charge or use a phone. My sister has one that she plugs into her Blackberry. You put two AA batteries in it, and off you go. Then, on a recent plane trip, I found a solar charger for iPhones. So I guess there are options out there. I haven’t checked into them yet, but definitely would if I knew I was going to be out of range and away from charging outlets for a while.
Keep One Phone Charged at All Times
Car charging took a very long time. We finally determined that it was best to keep charging the phone that had the most battery life at a particular moment, then charge the other one. This worked well. It was better than charging one for a bit, then the other – neither then ended up with much charge for long.
………….
We had a wonderful trip, and it was definitely nice to have time away from the plugged-in, online world for most of the time. Still, it’s now good to know that when we need to have access, we can – with a bit of planning and work. If you have any tips of your own, please leave a comment.
Happy trails!
