5 Essential Travel Gadgets for a Comfortable Business Trip

Before, business trips only involved a smartphone and laptop or tablet. Today, travel gadgets have raised the standard for business trips to include gadgets that can streamline your work or solve some travel problems that have plagued phones and laptops in the past. Here are 5 essential travel gadgets that will make your next business trip more comfortable.

Smart Luggage

Haven’t we all experienced sitting at the airport, waiting for our flight, and wishing there was an available plug to charge our gadgets. Airport charging stations usually require either sitting on the floor or standing up for a couple of hours. There are now luggage brands that solve this problem with luggage that has built-in USB charging ports for charging a few times over. What’s more, the luggage also comes equipped with a built-in scale, lock, and tracking device in case you need to track after the airline leaves your luggage behind.

Noise-canceling Earbuds

While noise-canceling headphones have long been invented and have become a favorite piece of tech gear, the large around-ear headphones are not actually practical for business trips. However, noise-canceling earbuds are becoming more common, with Bose being the brand that leads the charge. Today, some brands are available as wireless Bluetooth earbud phones.

Hootoo Wireless Router

Wireless routers today seem to be rare for business travelers, something that business travelers need to discover soon. This type of underrated gadget actually has two important features for business trips: the wireless hotspot and the 10,000mAh portable battery. So this means if your smartphone or other USB-powered device is running out of juice, you can charge up again (aside from using your luggage-charger). The wireless hotspot is obviously useful if the hotels in your area are more old-school networks, or worse, the Wi-Fi signal is terrible. The Hootoo simply amplifies the signal to make it usable. It even allows you to connect two or more devices at the same time. Though a bit hefty at 8 or 9 ounces, it doesn’t cost a lot and is worth more than it costs on any business trip. Perhaps instead of just buying a portable battery charger, spend for a Hootoo that has two features in one.

Mini-Portable Drive

Portable drives are useful on business trips but they tend to lean on the bulky side. However, major brands like Samsung have brought out solid state portable mini-drives like its T3 that weighs less than two ounces. SSD mini-drives also measure around 2 to 3 inches x 2 inches x less than 1 inch, so it fits even in a small carry-on. They also come in two terabyte capacity, making it an invaluable carrier for lots and lots of business or company files.

Power Converter

This is especially useful if your business trips take you overseas and you don’t want to fry your gadgets. It may look a little bulky, but it’s worth taking along if your business trips abroad is for a significant amount of time. One such example is from BESTEK. Aside from its 3 outlet converters, it has 4 USB ports if you need to charge your smartphone or tablet.

4 Android Apps That Could Save Your Life

If in case you happen to be someone who needs to travel alone or who usually comes home late at night, you would often feel quite uncomfortable, especially when you feel like someone is stalking you. When that happens, all you can probably think about is getting out of that place or call your friends. At times where anything can happen in just a split second, wouldn't it be great to have something that can help you get in touch with your family and/or friends in just a few taps.

Luckily, if you're an Android user, below are some great apps that you can use whenever you feel like you are in danger. These apps help you connect to your friends so you can let them know about your predicament and find a way out of it.

1. SOS - Stay Safe!

SOS - Stay Safe! is an app that can help you if you feel like you're being stalked. It allows you to connect to your loved ones quickly and easily just by shaking your device. By calibrating the shakes and your device, you can send an emergency message to your chosen contacts without the stalker knowing anything. It does not only send a plain message, it also sends out a recorded clip of the audio, the battery level of your device, as well as your location. This way, they will easily find out where you currently are.

You can get the app for free from the Google Play store.

2. One Touch SOS

One Touch SOS lets you send out your location information to your chosen contacts with just one touch. This means you don't need to rush around just to find your friend's or family member's number in your phonebook, type your message, and then send it out. You cannot possibly do those things if you're in danger at that minute.

You can download One Touch SOS from the Google Play store without any cost.

3. SOS Emergency Rescue

The SOS Emergency Rescue app rescues you from any unwanted situation and makes sure you are in a safe condition. The app places images of your chosen contacts on the screen, and then you can tap on any of those contacts that you want to call. The app is specially designed for elder people who may have poor eyesight and cannot browse through the menus to find their family members. The user just needs to tap on the contact, and you will be connected to that person in just a few seconds.

You can get the app for free from the Google Play store.

4. VithU: V Gumrah Initiative

The VithU: V Gumrah Initiative app sends out your location information to your chosen contacts simply by pressing the Power button twice. It sends out your updated location info every two minutes so that your friends will know which way you are heading so that they can easily find you. It will send your contact a predefined message saying "I am in danger. I need help. Please follow my location."

If you think this app will be a great help to you, get it for free from the Google Play store.