The Mobile Office Gadget Bag
Posted by Ben Smith on Mon, Sep 15, 2008 @ 07:44 AM
For the past couple of years my mobile office has consisted the following components:
- Samsung Q1
- Sierra Wireless Stowaway BT Keyboard
- Sierra Wireless BT Mouse
- iGo power adapter with Samsung and LG tips
- AT&T LG CU500
- 180 GB of external 2.5" USB drives
- Pharos USB GPS Receiver for MS Streets and Trips
All of these gadgets have served me well and make a pretty powerful impression on everyone at the airport when I pull them out. I'll provide individual reviews of each component in the future, but here's why these made it into the gadget bag:
The Samsung Q1, while not the first slate UMPC on the market, came out early enough in the UMPC game to catch my eye. It's sleek looking, a good performer, and makes for a great mobile Windows XP machine. The upgrades really kick it into overdrive! With both a 3-cell and 6-cell battery in the bag, I've got around 6.5 hours of mobile office time without needing an outlet.
The Sierra Wireless BT Keyboard and Mouse followed the Q1 as I learned that you can't always do everything you need on a slate UMPC. Writing and revising larger documents is a tedious chore by hand (especially when you've been typing for years instead of handwriting.)
The LG CU500 was purchased to be my personal mobile phone and BT 3G connection. While it makes for a great bluetooth modem, it actually lacks in the call quality department.
The iGo power adapter became necessary when I needed to consolidate power bricks and also have a 12-volt option for charging. I couldn't find a Samsung Q1 car kit anywhere and the iGo has at least surpassed my expectations.
180 GB of external drives goes without saying. I actually put these together with some cheap IDE to USB enclosures and some used HDDs from eBay on the cheap. In all, 180 GB cost about $60, and since they're 2.5 inch drives, they fit nicely into small pockets in the gadget bag.
The Pharos USB GPS Receiver made it into the kit when MS Streets and Trips 2007 came out. I had tried an older version of the software and thought it was pretty cool and bought 2007 (for retail...ugh) as soon as it came out.