What I will take to the CES next month

Now that you know that Kevin and I will be geeking out at the CES next month I figured I'd better mention what gear I will take with me to cover the big show.  I know that if I don't I will start getting a bunch of email asking me that very question so proactive guy that I am, here's what I'm going to take with me for the trip.

HP 2710p.  Last year I took the Fujitsu P1610 and it worked very well due to its small size and light weight.  The long battery life had many I ran into glaring in outright envy over my easy to carry load.  This year I'm upping the ante a little bit and taking the HP 2710p Tablet PC with me.  It is a little bigger than the Fuji but it's not that much heavier and it gets just as good battery life as the Fuji.  I will also carry the ultra-slim battery so I will be able to go for up to 10 hours without a plug.  Since the show involves a lot of walking around, and I do mean a LOT, you will likely find me walking around with the HP in slate mode.  I will also appreciate the full processing power should we do any video or audio recording at the show, something that was painful last year on the Fuji.  I will of course be using the Verizon EV-DO network with my Aircard which keeps me connected no matter what the WiFi connectivity is like.  This worked great last year.

HTC Advantage.  I will carry this super-PDA since it's light and takes up little room in my gear bag.  I can do a lot of different functions with the Advantage and it's well worth the effort of bringing it.  It also provides me some connectivity redundancy since I can use the Internet Sharing in Windows Mobile 6 to tether it to the HP via Bluetooth should something happen to the Verizon connection.  It's a great HSDPA modem in that regard.

BlackBerry 8830. this is my cell phone so it has to go with me.

Casio Exilim EX-P505 camera.  The Casio is a great small camera that will fit into my bag yet offers a 10x optical zoom for getting those distance shots of the booth babes mobile gear.  It records great video direct to MPEG-4 format which could come in very useful too.

That's it!  When you carefully choose the mobile gear that you use the main advantage is being able to do a full range of work functions with one little gear bag.  This will make my back thank me at the end of each very long day as this whole kit probably weighs just 7 pounds.

Comments

[GoodThings2Life]

Looks like a good selection of devices, James.

[Steve Paine]

Good selection. I'd personally leave out the 2nd smartphone but as you say, an HSDPA modem could be useful. I like the look of that cam. I've been looking for something with a long lens and MPEG-4 capability.

S

[The Wife]

But the real question - what do you want for Christmas? In fact, what would any of you Techno-Geeks (and I mean that in a nice way) want for Christmas that you haven't already bought?

[James Kendrick]

Steve, I guess I don't think of the Advantage as a smartphone even though it is one. It's not the way I use it, it is an advanced email machine, web surfing machine, PDA and ebook reader so that's why it earns a place in my small bag. As for the camera, I really like it. It is smaller than you might think and will fit in a shirt pocket although barely. Small is good. :)

[Sam]

I recently bought the Casio Exilim z75 for my sister and was so impressed with it, I got one for myself. Now, this camera does fit into a shirt pocket and the video is excellent even in dim or artificial light. Small is indeed good :)

[Kim Larsen]

Hi guys,

I'd love to send you an invite to the "It Won't Stay in Vegas" CES blogger bash.
http://www.cesbloggers.com/sponsor-our-2008-blogger-party-at-ces/

Let me know!

:) Kim

[Reggie]

I was in a recent I.T. show here in Singapore and I brought with me a Casio Exilim P505 digicam (similar to J.K.'s). I've owned the camera for almost 2 years and even if it's not being sold anymore, I still get inquiries about it. During the I.T. show, one exhibitor ran after me just to ask about the P505 'coz it looked great! :) I have to agree with James, the video-recording feature of the P505 is pretty good as I've used it for different video unboxings and previews of various mobile tech gear I come across, and they came out quite well.