Some apps are great for travelers so when I discovered Presence, I just had to try it out. It is a free app for all Apple mobile devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod) that creates a remote camera with many potential uses. It requires two Apple products, one to act as the remote monitor and the other to be the receiver. Ah, finally a reason to dust off my old original iPhone and see if this app works as it says. Or so I thought.

The home camera works as a remote wireless monitor, making it ideal to use for home security or just checking in with the family. After initial setup, simply plug in the device, turn it on, and get the monitor positioned. The other iOS device, used for travel, can access the older one any time. An alternative – most likely only for local travel – might be to leave an iPad for home security while traveling around only with the iPhone. Their website offers a 2-minute video to help with setup. I would recommend watching this first because it is important to set up the remote device before using the app on anything else.

I wanted to try it out, setting up my older phone as a monitor for the front door of my house but the app would not download into my old phone. The website product page suggests that Read More…

I travel internationally a lot and having the tools to communicate back home, without having an enormous bill at the end of the trip, is important. With FaceTime and Skype, the phone conversations are easy and no-cost, but the text messaging has been getting out of hand.

With my Verizon iPhone, there is a cost to both send and receive each text message – $.25 to send; $.20 to receive (Verizon rates are here. AT&T’s international text messaging rates are listed here.)

How many times is a text message a simple one-way note? More often than not, the text messages are conversations that go back and forth for awhile. Say ka-ching, ka-ching to a simple grand finale text that just says “Thanks” or “Bye.”

So when my daughter told me about WhatsApp, I downloaded it, tested it when out of the U.S., and now consider it my favorite text messaging app for talking with family, friends and colleagues – all at no cost!

Beyond sending text messages, WhatsApp offers these features:

• Ability to see when the recipient’s phone has received the message (and hopefully it is read soon thereafter!)
• Group chats (great when trying to coordinate dinner plans with multiple people)
• Show your current status (user defined or select from a list of choices such as “In a meeting” or “Sleeping”)
• Record an audio note (great for when you have too much to type or want to say ‘Goodnight’ in voice vs. text)
• Share location so your recipient knows where you are
• Ability to send and receive photos

It may have other features as well, though these are the features I’ve been using. I especially like the ability to send and receive photos. While my iPhone’s Messages app does successfully transmit photos when I’m in the U.S., it will not send any photos when I’m out of the country, even though I have the international phone feature turned on.

Now I can send all the photos I like using WhatsApp, communicate to anyone else on WhatsApp, and all at no cost.

WhatsApp is supported on most Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Nokia, and Windows smartphones and can be downloaded from the WhatsApp site. There are also some rumors that Google is looking to acquire WhatsApp in the near future.

I travel very frequently but it is a rare destination that would be called exotic. Some are pretty exciting, but at least by my definition, calling a location ‘exotic’ is saved for things like a landing on Antarctica, trekking across the Serengeti, or climbing the world’s highest mountains. Perhaps all of them will be removed from my Bucket List one day but I found one more that I need to squeeze in.

Dutch-based Space Expedition Corporation (SEC) may be offering the very ultimate in bucket list travel. As I read about this, I kept hearing “Space: The Final Frontier” ringing in my ears. The journey begins at a Spaceport in either Curacao or Mojave, California.  It is the next part where this package soars, so to speak.

Buckle up as you head into outer space. The actual flight is relatively brief but nevertheless amazing. The approximate one-hour flight at an astonishing 2,000+ miles per hour will take you more than 60 miles above our Mother Earth, high enough to see the curvature of the earth. Weightlessness will last approximately 6-8 minutes. Gliding back into the earth’s atmosphere, you need to be prepared for a big jolt as the aircraft (excuse me, spacecraft) hits around 4 G’s for maybe 25 seconds. Definitely a flight like no other, and definitely a photo op like no other.

If you plan to go, leave the spouse and children home. Well, you can bring them along for a vacation but there is no room in the spacecraft for them. This is a two-seater only, meaning you will be flying in the right seat just like an airline First Officer. SEC is accepting bookings now with plans to begin flights this year with up to four flights a day. Not feeling like you are quite up for this yet? Not to worry, SEC offers additional training in their Netherlands simulator. Canadian-based tour operator Adventure Travel Company (ATC) is also offering this as a package which includes airfare and three days at one of the two Spaceports.

What are the catches? Well, there are a couple things. Obviously you need to be in good shape and there is that cost -$100,000. For those who are physically and financially fit, you are as good as on your way. The ATC three-day package includes pre-flight training and of course, everything is documented for posterity. Oh, and don’t forget those not-so-small bragging rights.

Of course, this is not for everyone. After all, there are no flight attendants, first class seating, or wine pairings with meals. Most adventurers, though, would not hesitate to forego those luxuries for one day to sneak a peek at this beautiful planet from well above.

Order now! Business Travel Success: How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

This post was uploaded to Pearls of Travel Wisdom with the use of the NetZero 4G Mobile hotspot.

Three flights await me today as I head back home to Florida from Norway. On my similar trip home last month, I was upgraded to United First. Enjoying turn-down service for the first time was exciting so I wanted to capture the memories of this on camera. I took photos of the seat after the cushion and blanket were in place and I asked the flight attendant to take photos of me on I was all tucked in. She had as much fun doing this as I did. So knowing I have three flights today, I want to be sure my camera battery is all charged and ready to go for when something interesting shows up.

Until I read this, that is. Then I had it reiterated by Angelina, BoardingArea’s Just Another Points Traveler.

Read More…

It was with some pain and agony when I finally switched from paper books to a digital e-Reader. Maybe old habits die hard but dinosaur-ish as it sounds, I still have an old-fashioned paper magazine or two (or three or ten, depending on the length of my flights) with me in my travels. Yes, I have added to my digital newsstand with iPad mags but for those times when all electronic devices need to be off, paper magazines are what keep me occupied.

When the Alliance for Audited Media recently released its magazines report for the second half of 2012, I was interested to see where someone like me fall into their stats.

Total circulation for magazines dropped Read More…

Every January, hundreds of thousands flock to Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show to see the newest gadgets and future technologies (hopefully) coming to a store near you. We paid a visit this year to try and catch a sneak peek at the newest tech for the road.

Two years ago, 3D tv’s were the talk of the show. Last year it was tablets and ultrabooks. This year, no one particular product stuck out. There were 4K televisions, transparent 3D sets, iPad cases (so many iPad cases), but we were there for the on-the-road gadgets. It turns out the neatest, coolest travel tech at CES this year were cameras.

Pocket Camera

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Two things I do a lot of when traveling are 1) calculating tips at restaurants and in taxis, and 2) calculating currency conversions. There are apps to do each of these, though I have found that WorldMate is my go-to app for both of these tasks.

While WorldMate’s primary features are for organizing your trips (I use TripIt for this task), it does have really handy tools that I use even though I do not use them for organizing my trips.

For calculating tips, select the country you are in and the customary tip is displayed. Not all countries are included, as I did not find my current location of Norway, but common business travel countries are included.

Enter the tip rate Read More…

We have a winner! Congratulations to Kay Dougherty for being the winner of the Pearls of Travel Wisdom LoJack giveaway!

Kay was randomly selected from all the great comments, Facebook likes and sign-ups at Pearls of Travel Wisdom. Her comments, along with other contestants, offer great advice to travelers on ways to keep safe. LoJack for Laptops is all about safety for our computers and a copy is on its way to Kay.

Check out all the great travel safety advice in the original article.

Thanks everyone for your great travel safety tips!

For additional travel safety tips and a whole lot more, order Business Travel Success: How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

Notification on my phone that my flight is boarding? Sign me up! I am often sitting in the lounge trying to get a few last emails sent and time gets away. By the time I get to the gate, boarding of my flight is well underway, if not almost done!

This is just one of the alerts that business travelers are looking for in push notifications to their smartphones, according to a poll of 600 business travelers by FlightView. Automatic day-of-travel notifications are the most in-demand kind of services, which includes flight status, seat upgrade availability and the notice of flight boarding. Notice about 5 minutes prior to the start of boarding would be nicest for those with upgrades and status to board early!

The majority of poll takers said that when they are on the first leg of a connecting itinerary, they would like to see the departure status and gate location of their next segment. With in-flight wi-fi, this would be good to know during your first flight. Then you can either relax and enjoy the rest of the flight or start rebooking in the events of delays or missed connections.

A few years ago we didn’t even know what a ‘push notification’ was and now it’s just routine to expect them.

Read the full article at Executive Travel Magazine.

Have you entered the LoJack for Laptop contest? If not, there are only hours left to do so! Enter here:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/pearlsoftravelwisdom/2012/07/pearls-of-travel-wisdom-giveaway-lojack-for-laptops.

And while you’re there, readers have posted really great travel safety tips so give these a read …. and add your best tip to the list!

The winner will be announced soon!

More travel safety tips are in my new book, Business Travel Success…How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel With Confidence!

Last year, I brought you a rundown of the Global Business Travel Associations‘ Business Travel Innovation Award nominees, including the overall winner Hipmunk. It’s that time of year again, and I’m bringing you all of the information of this year’s Business Travel Innovators.

Some of my favorite nominees included: Read More…