Tech takes a holiday

Whether you're headed to Bali or Belgium, a good holiday can become a great one with the addition of a few tech items to your suitcase. Here's how to tech yourself to paradise in five easy steps.

The countdown

So you've shelled out for the ticket, saved like mad, and are counting down the days until you can flee your grey-tinged existence to embark upon the adventure of a lifetime. Before bidding farewell to your nearest and dearest over several pints of ale, you'll need to get your packing list sorted.

Should it stay or should it go?
Being gadget enthusiasts, we salivate over the notion of carting a full-blown arsenal of tech toys on our travels. However, if you'll be trekking in the Himalayas accompanied by only a backpack and a desire for self-discovery, you won't want to be doing so with a hefty laptop in tow.

What to pack depends on a number of factors: where you're headed, how long you'll be away for, and how addicted you are to Facebook, MySpace, or obsessively checking email. Then there's the cost considerations — for example, communication with the folks back home can cost a pretty penny when you're roaming via your home mobile network.

Here's our breakdown of what is essential and what should be left behind. This list is geared more towards your intrepid traveller than a businessperson who'll be getting cushy in five-star hotels, but even those at the pointy end of the plane could benefit from a little simplification.

The essentials
Digital camera
A definite travel staple. How else will you bore people to death with slideshows upon your return? Just make sure you load up on memory cards or upload your pics frequently — you don't want to run out of room at a crucial moment, or, worse, lose the memories if your cam is lost or stolen.

To capture landscape snaps you'll want to frame, swot up on our travel photography tips before you depart.

Mobile phone
It doesn't matter whether you roam from home or buy a dirt-cheap prepaid handset at your destination — just make sure you have a phone. It's a communication device, it's a contact database for all the new and interesting people you'll meet, and its alarm function will ensure you don't miss your flight back home.

If you're going continent hopping, you'll want it to be quad-band. If you plan to stay put for a while, prepaid is the go.

For more on phone options, read on to the Phones: Should you roam? page.

MP3 player with video playback
These babies are indispensable for those times when you're stranded in transit and bored out of your skull. If you nab a model that supports MTP data transfer, you can backup your photos and store digital versions of important documents.

The iPod Touch is an excellent choice for travellers. It's very thin, has a luscious screen for video, and the inclusion of Google maps, a calendar, web browser and Wi-Fi make it an all-around winner.

Travel treats
Itty bitty speakers
Your MP3 player allows you to stay entertained, but what if you meet a bunch of raucous Swedish backpackers and need to have an instant party in room 304 of Backpacker Palace? A set of battery-powered speakers will allow you to pump up the jam and dance until dawn. Or at least until you are forcibly removed from the premises following noise complaints and told to never return.

The iPod Touch has a built-in speaker, but sound quality is pretty shonky. Owners of the touch and other iPod models will be well-served by JBL's On Stage Micro, a compact circular speaker powered by four AAA batteries. If you use a music-focused phone such as one from Sony Ericsson's W series or Nokia's XpressMusic line, turn it into a jukebox with an ultra-compact speaker.

A combo USB key/card reader
These nifty little USB devices have a slot on the side that accepts multiple memory card types. Pack one and you'll be able to drop into an internet cafe, plug it into a PC and upload a slew of photos to a site like Flickr. Perfect for keeping people updated on your wanderings in pictorial format. (If you're new to Flickr, have a gander at our newbie's guide.)

Think twice
Laptop
Before you add your laptop and bulky charger to the packing list, take a moment to assess whether you'll really need it. Granted, a notebook can be handy for storing holiday snaps, composing those poetic travel blog posts, and taking advantage of free hotel Wi-Fi in those early hours of jetlag-induced insomnia. But consider the practicalities.

If you pack your lappy in your carry-on bag, you'll need to remove it at every airport security checkpoint for x-ray scanning. It will add a few kilos to your luggage, which may be the difference between a full suitcase and a few hundred dollars in excess baggage weight fees when you finally head home. Then there's the security issue — holidays are for relaxing, which is hard to do when you're worrying whether your hardware will get nicked.

If you simply cannot live without a computer, consider investing in a netbook model for your travels. These are compact, feather-light and much cheaper than a full-sized notebook. If you get a solid-state version rather than a hard-drive one, you'll also reduce the risk of losing your data should any blunt trauma occur.

Camcorder
Some may see this as a controversial choice — in the age of YouTube, surely you'd want to shoot a bunch of footage and edit it into a scintillating visual diary upon your return? Well, maybe, but one downside of being a cam-toting traveller is that you tend to spend your holiday seeing the sights via an LCD screen, instead of with your own sparkling eyes.

If you feel you can resist the temptation to film everything — thereby missing out on a proper travel experience — then by all means pack the camcorder. If you're looking to save space, Sony's TG1 is a minuscule Memory Stick model that records in resolutions up to 1080i. The only downer is that you might need to gather a heap of Sticks — the bundled 4GB card only gives you about 43 minutes of high-def footage.

Of course, the vast majority of still cameras are capable of capturing video, so you can always record a short clip on your digicam if you suddenly find yourself in a scene that must be recorded to be believed. For more serious photographers who prefer dSLRs to point-and-shoots, the recently released Nikon D90 can capture footage in 720p.

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