Must Have Travel Accessories For The Nokia E61
I am about to take off on a journey that quite literary will take me around the globe. Some parts of this trip I am doing for business and some other parts for pleasure. Planning for this trip got me thinking about what the must have travel accessories are for the Nokia E61 user.
I'm a belt AND suspenders kind of guy who likes to have back-ups on back-ups, triple check, bring redundant equipment AND have a contingency plan. I know, call me paranoid.
I will be relying on my Nokia E61 to handle all my personal as well as business email. I will also do some every-day blog chores (approving comments and cleaning out spam) using the device. Needless to say, I also have all the necessary information for my trip on the device and need to use it for the telephony functions as well. In other words - I will be using it a lot during this trip!
The problem is that during this trip I will have infrequent access to AC outlets and when I do have time to charge my device I will encounter different outlets than the North American ones.
So the first item on my must have list is a sturdy world travel AC adaptor. I found one adaptor which also has a USB jack! Something I have never seen before. The design is very clever. The European plug is inside the adaptor itself. Very geeky and very cool. I can use this one adaptor and charge two devices at the same time - thanks to the USB functionality.
Next on my list are two brand new batteries! This is somewhat of a luxury item since batteries are quite expensive. Also, the battery included with the device has a large capacity but as I mentioned - I cannot possibly run out of juice so it is better to be safe than sorry! With two charged batteries to spare I should be able to keep going for a long time.
Next up is a retractable USB cable. Included in this kit was a "tip" that works with standard Nokia devices. Since the Nokia E61 uses a smaller than usual "tip" I had to buy a "tip" for the "tip". The retractable USB charger can be used to charge the Nokia E61 through the USB plug with the above AC adaptor, a computer or charged with the included car cigarette lighter charger.
One last crucial piece of advice. On my vacation to Europe I left all the chargers and cables in my suitcase. I figured that since they were heavy and I didn't need them on the plane I might as well pack them…
The only problem was that British Airways "lost" my suitcase and didn't find it until 9 days later…
I learnt my lesson. This time my must have travel accessories for the Nokia E61 travels with my hand luggage…
What's on your "must-have" list of travel accessories? Did I forget something?
October 8th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Hello there,
I suggest you backup your data before going on a long trip.
You never know…
Have a pleasant trip.
October 8th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
How about your must-have travel software?
1) on my list would be “truphone” mobile VOIP so that you have free calls home wherever you can find a WIFI hotspot. (looking forward to this on my upcoming Australia vacation)
2) Mobiweather
3) …? Love to find something that would easily track flight status.
-J
October 8th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Have a safe trip~~~
October 8th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
Don’t forget the tin-foil cover… you’ll need it!
I took a plane on friday, so I put my E60 on ‘Offline’ mode, later I switched off… We landed so I powered on my phone, switched to General and wow! the phone restarted… and it keept doing so every time I asked it to leave the Offline mode!
It kept that way until I found a place without network coverage where I could put the phone in General mode and go to find coverage again, and I succeeded, but have you tried to find a place in EuroDisney without network?? You’ll really miss the tin-foil cover then… while you think really bad things about nokia…
Just to say I’m starting to really hate the ‘bussiness’ series from nokia… I want my 8310 back!! it never failed!!
Cheers,
Marc.
October 8th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Hi Ed,
How abt a spare Nokia E61 in case the original one gets damaged. LOL!
Where will you be off to?
Have a safe trip Ed.
Bon Voyage.
October 8th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
Hi Ed,
How about a screen protector for your valuable piece?
And don’t forget AutoLock, to save battery life.
Set your power save options realy tight.
Buy a phone cover/bag
And last but not least:
Take an extra memory card with you, with all applications pre-installed and an extra backup of your data. If you need to reset your phone, you will have everything available.
And why not take some PC software with you? F.E. on a USB stick. You might be able to do some maintenance to connect to a PC. You might need the Nokia USB cable for that as well.
October 8th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
I like the travel charger from Nokia, much smaller than the supplied items and it folds in. Also suggest to use WolrdMate by MobiMate to track your fights and weather, you are going to change clocks frequently also. I take also with me a back-up version up to date, in case I need to replace unit.
October 9th, 2006 at 12:33 am
I would not leave home without the AD-41 headphone adaptor and a pair of quality headphones. Great for watching divx movies or listening to MP3’s when your flight gets delayed.
Thanks for a great website!
October 9th, 2006 at 6:28 am
hello,
Just a thought with regard to your infrequent access to power, you might want to try Charge2Go?! I import and distribute them in the UK. Essentially you get about 2-3hrs talk time from a single AA battery…
I have tested it on my E61 and it work fine - keep one in my car for emergencies
Sam
October 9th, 2006 at 10:38 am
So, what’s this about a tin-foil cover? What happens when you turn the phone on again after going into offline mode on a plane, and how does a piece of tin foil help?
October 9th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
You’ll also need a spell checker. What are “asseccories”, anyways? *LOL*
October 9th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
neatokino: the problem was that the phone didn’t want to leave offline mode after landing, it had trouble registering with Orange FR therefore it restarted everytime it tried to leave offline mode and I had to find a place without network coverage to leave offline and then go to find a network AFTER having left offline mode.
The tin foil helps bringing a “no network” place in your pocket!!!
October 9th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Ooops, that’s one big typo… thanks for pointing it out.
Never drink and blog
October 9th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
And I thought…my friend was paranoid
good luck.
October 9th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
there’s a nokia original accessory that is both a sync cable and charger all in a USB connector. Its product type: CA-70. although this one isnt retractable you would still have the ability to sync or restore your e61 with this cable. It goes hand in hand with a universal USB-to-AC adapter.
also try to bring
October 10th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
October 12th, 2006 at 4:21 am
Hi
Has anyone been able to find a usb sync-charge cable (NOT cradle) for the e61 ?
It is pointless to carry the charger and the USB Sync cable while there are already cradlkes which provide power and sync from one connector.
Thanks
January 17th, 2007 at 6:46 am
[...] I tried assembling my own retractable sync charger and even wrote about it here. It worked as a USB charger but wasn’t very practical (or pretty). [...]