There are numerous benefits to this surge in public WiFi: you can book tickets while on the go, keep in contact with loved ones back home or document your adventures on a blog, to name a few. However, there is also a risk factor that many fail to consider.
This wedding season, technology gifts are in style when it comes to gift-giving Did you know? More couples consider technology items appropriate for gift registries, according to a survey of brides and grooms commissioned by retailer Best Buy.
Destination Wedding Stats:
24 % of marriages are destination weddings.
Average budget for a destination wedding is $28,000.
60% of destination couples pay for the wedding themselves.
Average number of guests at a destination wedding: 48.
9 out of 10 couples say weather is a key factor in selecting a destination.
Top 5 destinations for out-of-town weddings are (# of weddings):
- Las Vegas (125,000)
- Hawaii (20,000)
- U.S. Virgin Islands (5,100)
- Jamaica (5,000)
- Bahamas (4,000)
Why register for china when you can register for a trip to China?
Bride and groom can have their guests and benevolent friends and family make a “trip contribution,” which are funds that are transferred to the recipients by check or bank transfer. Or can register for a gift via a “resort credit,” which would be applied to the couple’s hotel account and can be used for anything that can be billed to a room while at the resort. Couples can request gifts toward a honeymoon stay or spa services and do so in small, separate increments, kind of like crowd-sourcing your getaway.
Amazon Wedding Registry Sweepstakes now through May 31st, 2016. Customers who create a wedding registry and add at least one item from the Lenox product line to the registry during the sweepstakes period (April 1, 2016 - May 31, 2016) are entered for a chance to win a Honeymoon Getaway Package. Visit the sweepstakes page for more information and official rules.
Per a Bridal Guide survey, below are honeymoon travel items wedding couples are mostly likely to purchase:
Wardrobe = 70.1%
Swimsuit = 69.9%
Sunglasses = 69.9%
Sunscreen = 57.8%
Luggage = 49.7%
Video Camera = 36.6%
Camera = 31.0% Sports
Equipment = 7.3%
Travel Gear
Wedding couples can register for many things, it does not have to be household items. The young newlyweds hopefully are planning to travel beyond just their honeymoon. Putting off traveling like the generations before have done, is not a great idea. As my grandpa stated a long time ago, go travel now while you can move around since if you wait until you are retired and have any health issues, there go your traveling plans. So get some travel gadgets for your wedding and go travel.
Noise-canceling headphones
You want to hear your new significant other, but tune out all the other noise around you when you are traveling. A great pair of noise-canceling headphones can do just that by filtering out the sound of engines and such, but keeping the music coming through clear. Top noise-cancelling headphones
Ipod/Mp3 Player
While your phone can serve as a music player, not all have enough storage to keep a full list for the trip and all the other stuff on it. So a dedicated MP3 player would be a great way to keep on jamming. Apple iPod Touch MP3 Player
Chargers
All the gadgets that are coming along for the honeymoon or destination wedding need to be ready and fully charged to not miss a bit. Anker PowerCore Portable Charger
Streaming TV devices
Using the streaming devices you can not only watch Netflix and Amazon Prime while traveling, but you can also share pictures to the group and stream music. Roku 3 Streaming Media Player
Wireless speakers
To share your tunes with the wedding party on the go, wireless speakers easily sync up with Bluetooth on your phone or MP3 player to transmit the sound out loud. DKnight MagicBox Bluetooth Portable Wireless Speaker
USB Sticks
If you want to share your wedding day with friends and family after the big day is done and you are back in town, adding photos and videos to a USB stick along with a thank you note is a great way to share and preserve memories. SanDisk Cruzer 32GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
For Bride & Groom Honeymoon Keep a journal. This way you will remember all of the activities, romance, and funny moments during your trip. The main event and the trip after is going to be a whirlwind. This will also help you replay your honeymoon stories when you return.
Take photos. This is a likely a given that you will be taking a lot of shots on your travels. Photosof the two of you enjoying the activities your guests purchased from your honeymoon registry can be included in your thank you note or message that you going to put on a USB.
If you are traveling internationally and plan to call home, set-up a Skype account so your calls are inexpensive or free if you are calling another Skype account. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection.
Slip an easily compressed duffle bag into your suitcase. If you learn your luggage is too heavy when you are are the airport, or have too many gifts and souvenirs from the trip, you can quickly repack and avoid extra fees.
Luggage Scale - wedding is pricey enough, no need to pay overweight fees Digital Luggage Scale
Want to make your significant other not forget your wedding anniversary? Ever! There is a ring for that. The Remember Ring™ utilizes patent pending Hot Spot™ technology to deliver a reminder. 24 hours before your special day, the thermal spot on the interior surface of your Remember Ring™ will warm to 120º F for approximately 10 seconds, and continue to warm up every hour, on the hour, all day long. It would be hard to ignore.
For a Destination Wedding, all of guests are from out-of-town. Make them feel welcome by preparing a welcome bag that is filled with goodies, wedding favors, and gadgets:
Sunglasses
It is very likely that the destination for the wedding is warm and sunny one. A pair of nice sunglasses would be a great gift as it is functional and can be used during and after the trip.
Sunscreen
Another essential in a sunny destination is the sunscreen. The guests, and the couple, need to be in good condition, with no sunburned skin, and ready for the wedding. Travel sized containers filled with SPF 30 sunscreen are compact inexpensive and will protect your guests from the harmful rays of the sun. Luggage Tags
This is also a very functional gift for the wedding guests. They can place them on their luggage either on the way back or to if they are distributed ahead of the trip. The wedding couple can customize the luggage tags with their wedding location, date, and names so that they are unique and easily recognizable
Water Bottles
Water bottles are great option as they can be customized for the wedding couple and be useful during and after to keep guests hydrated. It would especially be a great idea if the destination wedding includes some local activities for the wedding party.
Bottle opener
These are also easily customizable and useful for the duration of the trip as well as after the wedding.
Offbeat Wedding Favor
What do most wedding guests like the most? Eating, dancing, and drinking. Not necessarily in this order. Someone came up with a hands-free option for keeping your wine or champagne glass on you at all times. With Wine Glass Holder Necklace you have hands free to keep eating, or talking with loud gestures, or if adventurous enough, dancing.
Image: Vimeo: Celebrations of Tampa Bay
The Event
One way to create an unforgettable and unique event is to add a few tech upgrades:
Drones
To get a different view of your destination wedding, beyond just ladders, hire a drone videographer. Aerial wedding videography would make for some great scenes of the surroundings, the full view of the ceremony, and layout of the party. Fotio
Fotio is a photo booth without the photo booth. If a clunky box and curtain at your wedding isn't your thing, Fotio provides a vintage alternative to a traditional photo booth, and it can be easily moved throughout the wedding. Chicago-based Fotio takes stunning photos and sends all the images to to an online gallery so you don't have to worry about carrying around printed pictures.
I Do Stream
Got out-of-town friends and family that can't make the wedding? You can broadcast the ceremony and reception with I Do Stream, a live-streaming wedding service that will capture your big day in real-time. A videographer can come onsite and perform the broadcast for you, the company can send you the equipment to do the live-stream on your own.
Wedding Wall www.socialweddingwall.com Want to see your guests' photos and messages as the wedding is taking place? Wedding Wall is a real-time, visible social media feed that runs throughout your reception. All you need is a TV or projector, and Wedding Wall grabs all the images posted to social media websites with your specific hashtag and displays them during the reception.
GoPro
A GoPro is a must-have for when the dinner ends and the party begins. You can put it virtually anywhere. These easy to use, lightweight cameras can be worn by the best man, carried on a selfie stick, taken onto the wedding dance floor, secured onto a liquor bottle and much more. GoPro HERO4 Silver
Travel makes a more rounded person, it opens you up to new experiences, people, and cultures. Seeing pictures of a place is not the same as being there. At least that has been the thinking previously. And it is true since you cannot experience the smells, sounds, and views unless you are there.
Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and other Virtual Reality devices are looking to, at least partially, change that. Using these gadgets you can "experience" being there without leaving the comfort of your home. The videos immerse you into different locals where you can see and hear the surroundings as though you are there.
A photo posted by Lindsey Kerns (@malibumamaloves) on
This is great technology that has come a long way, but it is a preview. It does not replace the real thing. At least currently. It only satisfies two out of 5 senses. Sight and hearing. You still have smell, taste, touch that you can only get from being there. So go preview and then go travel.
YouVisit - With this app, you can experience virtual reality tours. They have a collection of different experiences such Alaska, helicopter ride, view on the cruise ship
Discovery VR - Virtual Reality can take you to new worlds like never before, such as shark-infested shipwrecks and freeboarding the windiest street in the world
Jaunt VR - has a selection of incredibly high-quality travel VR videos including Nepal, Machu Picchu, Syria and Jerusalem
Sound-off: What do you think of virtual reality travel? Would you do that or actually go to a place or both? Let us know below
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Multiple uses for feature of your device, camera, that is already part of your travel arsenal:
Use it as a mirror
The camera works great to do a quick hair, make-up and teeth check. It’s much more convenient and space saving than carrying an actual mirror. You can also use it look in tight spaces.
Record your parking spot
If you tend to forget where you parked your car in a large parking lot, then take a photo of your pot, specifically the actual spot number or wall or pole next to it. Remember, a photo of the car you’re parked next to is useless if the driver happens to leave before you return.
Save an e-ticket for flights, movies or events
These days I almost always get an e-ticket when I travel. They are easier to carry with you and don't require wasting paper and, therefore, trees. But there have been a couple of times when I’ve had slow cellular service or no WiFi, which makes it hard to access on the spot. Once you get the e-ticket, grab a screenshot so you can pull it up right from your photo library without worrying about log-ins or wireless service.
Save directions
Google Maps app is a great service to use while traveling to find directions and to find places of interest. Though it would not work well if you hit a bad reception area. I have previously put together a guide on how to use the app in such cases: How To: Use Google Maps Offline When Traveling
This way you load your directions before you leave. As an alternative or in addition, you can take a screenshot of the map and the directions in list view so you have it all easily accessible. This is especially great for rural areas with terrible reception, and urban dwellers who don’t get service underground in the subway. Speaking of which, a screenshot of the local subway map when you travel is a good idea also.
Translate foreign language text
Have you ever been in a foreign country and needed to translate some printed text? These days, that probably involves typing the foreign-language text into your smartphone or laptop and using something like Google Translate to translate it for you. However, there’s a better way — if you’re using Google Translate, you can use the camera function to snap a picture of the text. Google Translate can use optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically interpret the text and translate it for you. It’s does not translate everything it sees 100%, but it can work surprisingly well and is faster than typing in words you don’t recognize. What's also great is that the app will work with no service or in airplane mode for most basic phrases.
Create digital copies of important documents
Snap photos of your driver’s license, passport, and other important documents, especially when you’re about to travel. If your phone settings require a password to get in (which it should), you won’t have to worry about someone else gaining access. Plus, if you use an auto cloud-syncing service you’ll have it backed up somewhere besides your phone.
Scan and OCR documents
Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is a technology that enables you to convert different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDF files or images captured by a digital camera into editable and searchable data. You can use your smartphone’s camera as a scanner for receipts and other documents you come across. There are apps that are able to convert those photos by performing OCR to analyze the text and convert it into a searchable document. You won’t get the same image quality you would with a flatbed scanner, but this is a much faster, on-the-go way to scan documents.
Memo(ries) for save keeping
Using the phone's camera you can take mementos during your trip to remember later. You can take a picture of labels from wine or beer bottles that you’ve tried and loved at a restaurant or winery/brewery. Also grab a snapshot of your meal, restaurant name, and hotel room number.
Car rental and rental insurance
When renting a car, take a picture of the car and its license plate. This helps when checking in at a hotel and registering the car, not to mention finding it when you have forgotten what the car looks like. In case of a minor fender bender, pull out your phone, document the damage, snap pictures of insurance cards and drivers license info and get back to your vacation.
Currency converter “cheat sheet”
When traveling out of the country, take a screenshot of the sheet with conversion rates for easy access to the info on the go to do some quick calculations. OANDA Customizable Currency Cheatsheet - this handy tool puts together a wallet-sized 'cheat sheet' for on-the-fly converting. You input your local currency and that of your destination and you get a currency converting sheet that you can easily take a picture of since it is so compact.
Example (US to Brazilian Real):
Scope out nearby places with augmented reality
Augmented reality overlays relevant information over what your smartphone camera sees.
Just point your camera in a given direction and allow an app, such as Yelp for instance, to show you what's nearby. Once you select something you will also be able to get specific directions.
And Oh Yeah, you can also use it to take pictures and video :)
In recent months there is something missing when you board the plane, take your seat, and meet your flight crew. There is no more announcements to turn off all your electronic devices. That's right. Now you are able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on your devices during most phases of flight. Larger electronic devices such as laptops and tablets, books, and other loose items do need to be put in the seat back pocket during the actual takeoff and landing. Phones can stay in your hands. FAA found, after a review, that personal electronic devices, such as your smartphone or tablet, will not interfere with a plane's functionality.
In- flight Travel Gadgets
All phones should be in airplane mode or with cellular services disabled. FCC regulations prohibit any airborne calls using cell phones. You can use Wi-Fi if your airline provides the service during flight. You can also continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories, like wireless keyboards. For more info regarding airplane mode and your phone click here 7 Cool & Useful Things You Can Do With Airplane Mode
Otherwise, you can do just about anything that doesn't require data transfer on your smartphones and tablets. You can keep playing video games, watching movies, listening to music, and reading e-books as your plane takes off and lands.
WiFi
That is of course if you have pre-download all these onto your gadget prior to take off. And also charged your device (Charge Your Gadget Before You Travel, Or Else). Airlines typically turn on access to onboard Wi-Fi once a flight reaches the cruising altitude of 10,000 feet. But using that Wi-Fi can be expensive and painfully slow. If airlines were to offer expanded Wi-Fi service, even during takeoff and landing, you likely still wouldn't be able to do things like stream videos from Netflix or download iPad games as that would be very expensive. Though if you don't mind spending some cash for access, you're free to post to Facebook or Twitter while in the air.
Exceptions
In rare instances of severe weather with low-visibility, as per FAA, the crew will instruct passengers to turn off their devices during landing.
Passenger reaction:
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. I'm excited to be able to read books on my iPad the entire flight
Sound-off: What do you think? Let us know below
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Apple just held its annual Spring event to unveil new versions of iPhone and iPad. Both of them have improved technology on the inside, but most importantly, they are both smaller than the versions before them.
The new iPhone SE has a 4 inch retina display. Going back to the iPhone 5 versions' size. However, it has the the same advanced chip used in iPhone 6s. Giving you more and faster processing power. Graphics performance is also the same as on 6S, with capability to capture 4K video.
iPhone SE is light and compact phone designed to fit comfortably in your hand, pocket, and bag. For travel, I think it makes for a good change since you get the power and camera of a larger device within a smaller unit. www.apple.com/iphone-se
New iPad Pro will have a 9.7 inch screen, which is the same size as the original iPad. And will have the power, camera, and display resolution of the larger brethren. This more powerful iPad is more suited for travel with its smaller frame. www.apple.com/ipad-pro
It does not look like much of a change or innovation in the announcement. Quite the opposite, as the devices are shrinking rather than increasing in size as they have in previous years. The size and the power of both of these gadgets, however, is what makes them a better travel companions.
Sound-off: Would you upgrade and downsize your current device to get these for travel? Let us know below
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What makes these jeans great for travel and stand apart from others are the extra features. The jeans include hidden secure pockets, utility loop, and a smarter 5th pocket. The Best Travel Jeans in the World
GOQI wireless charging travel wallets
"Travel without worrying. The GOQI Continental keeps you charged and organized wherever you go. No cables, no adapters, no worries." This wallet keeps all of your documents, credit cards and so on in one place, plus can store and charge your phone GOQI wireless charging travel wallets
JmGO View Projector: A Smart TV In Your Backpack
While traveling or at home you can view movies, shows, photos, and presentations on a large screen anywhere where there is large, preferably white color, flat surface. Unlike other small projectors, JmGo also has built-in Dolby Digital speakers. While you can use those to create great theater experience, you can also use them without display as a regular Bluetooth speaker JmGO View Projector
VoltTorch: Rechargeable Battery Bank + Waterproof Flashlight
This device has 10,000 mAh Lithium Battery, which means it can recharge most phones 4-6 times or power the flashlight for 15-20 hours straight. The flashlight portion has LED light that can last up to 50,000 hours. No replacement necessary. VoltTorch is waterproof to at least 20 feet. VoltTorch: Rechargeable Battery Bank + Waterproof Flashlight
Sound-off: What do you think? Let us know below
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Winner of the 2016 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Lászlo Nemes, traveling home with his prize found out just how strict and non-discriminating TSA can be when screening travelers. He had to place his Oscar statue in a bin to be checked by TSA agents at the security gate. The Hungarian director received the award for the movie "Son of Saul."
BMW reveals autonomous car on their 100th anniversary
ReFlex – The world’s first bendable smartphone interestingengineering.com/reflex-the-worlds-first-bendable-smartphone/
No more bendgate, if this phone makes it to mass production. The screen will not crack or bend if you sit on it while it is in your pocket. ReFlex is designed to give. It makes it possible to "flip" through pages and also play games with more interaction by pulling on the screen.
Need to Renew Your Passport? Now There's an App for That travelwithkids.about.com/Need-to-Renew-Your-Passport-Theres-an-App-for-That.htm Renewing passport could be quite a process. It usually requires filling out forms, submitting certificates, taking and submitting photos, fees, and mailing all this in. This app is looking to simplify the process a bit so travelers can get their passport ready the digital way.
Goodyear Concept Tires Targets Autonomous Cars ubergizmo.com/2016/03/goodyear-concept-tires-targets-autonomous-cars
Charged up and self-driving vehicles still need to have tires that do the heavy lifting. Goodyear is getting ready for next generation of cars by working on tires that would accommodate new type of driving and drivers.
Every year best of the best in college basketball go mad with traveling around the country in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. That is actually part of the reason it is called March Madness, since it portrays the frenetic nature of the NCAA tournament.
This year the Championship Game will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Average temperature in April in Houston is 79° high and 60° low. So pack accordingly for the big game.
Sunglasses
Bring shades along since it is hot and sunny most of the time
Travel Umbrella
While it is hot in Houston, it also rains quite a bit. The conditions are those of a rainforest without the designation but with lots of humidity
Travel Bluetooth Speaker
for better quality tunes in your room while pregaming. Trust me, your iPhone volume maxed out ain’t that great.
Camera
To catch action shots, the best camera for the traveling sports fan is the one that has a great optical zoom, image stabilization, fast shutter speed and relatively small body. Below are some of the best cameras with these features:
Phone and other chargers
All the gadgets that you will be bringing along to enjoy pre-game and the games need to be charged. This power bank has enough juice to charge your phone and tablet
Duffel Bag
A nice carry-on spinner bag is a great option since it is easy to move around the airport. Though a duffel bag is a sportier option when you don't have too many things or want to look like a baller.
Luggage Spoter
To make your bag standout from the rest and show your team pride, Luggage Spotter is a great travel accessory for your duffel or any other travel bag.
Hydrate! A Lot! Water is essential to replenish after salty snacks, screaming and/or alcohol.
Hit the nearest CVS, Walgreens or such to purchase water for less, plus pick up some energy drinks, snacks, and a few beers
Sunscreen
As the sun is almost always shining this will be an essential travel item. While you don't spend a lot of time outdoors, it still important to have protection from the sun when you are outside.
Traveling in March, you also should pack an umbrella,see above
Pack a swimsuit. Even if you're not planning to visit the ocean, many Texas hotels have swimming pools.
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