Mobissimo

In this age of Twitter and Facebook and uploading photos, you need the gadgets to make your trip memorable and also shareable.  Check out this list of best new gadgets for 2009.

Not so long ago, the only equipment you needed for your big trip was a watch and a camera, and maybe a compass. Today’s equivalent would be a cell phone, a GPS, and a digital camera—only nowadays, all three of these devices can be found in a single, pocket-ready gizmo.

Sometimes that flight can be bone-jarringly boring.  Or you just need to escape, here's yet another marketing idea from 1time, a South African carrier, read more here via Gadling.

South Africa-based 1time Airlines is a low cost carrier. In order to keep their prices low, they decided against adding any built-in in-flight entertainment in their fleet. Not really a problem, because most of the flights are not lengthy. The bulk of their air time is between their hub in Johannesburg and other South African cities like Durban and Cape Town.

Hauling around a suitcase can be tiring, what if that suitcase took care of itself?  More here via Computerworld.

One of the challenges of traveling the world while continuing to work is that laptops, projectors, extra batteries and other gear can be heavy. And pulling a suitcase can be bad for your back. Finally, a well designed -- albeit expensive -- suitcase comes to the rescue.

On my recent two-month trip through Greece, one of the challenges I faced was getting all my stuff from one place to the next. After all, I was carrying all my clothes, all my gear, including two laptops, extra batteries and other heavy stuff and a whole bunch of things acquired along the way: Books, gifts for loved ones back home, you name it. My luggage had roughly doubled in weight from when I had left home.

The Michelin Guide is travel, plain and simply.  Long the standard for planning and guiding, the Michelin Guide is now available online.  All the 2.0 features you could ever desire, this via Businessweek.

Michelin, the oldest and most respected European hotel and restaurant guide, is the continent's classic arbiter of gastronomic greatness. Since 1926, when the guide first introduced a rating system, its anonymous reviewers have had the power to propel or destroy Europe's priciest restaurants and best chefs simply by adding or removing a star in the famous three-tiered rating system.

Don't know if it is really possible.  After all, sitting in a metal tube at 35k feet and eating food that's been cooked 2 weeks ago is not natural.  Sitting in a chair, any chair for over 2 hours is not natural either.  But alas, designers are looking out for your lumbar, more here via Wired.

Some refer to it as economy class syndrome. To others it's know as a coach class clot. But whatever you call it, sitting squeezed into an airplane seat until you develop deep vein thrombosis is no way to die. And that's why this strange new seat is worth checking out.

The Cozy Suite (sort of a cheesy name, we know) is a staggered seat configuration designed to give passengers a better shot at getting some shut-eye during their flight. Delta just put in a big order for the seats, and surprisingly, plans to install them in the often overlooked coach class cabin.

I don't really know anything about podcasting, but I guess you can do a monologue about something and put on the web and then other people can listen to you ramble.  Great*  You always see those tourists in the museums with them on, why not do it for the larger city in general.  Here's a guide on how to do it.

Let’s face it – when it comes to highlighting diverse and wonderful locations around the world, words sometimes don’t cut it. Travelers want images. They want sounds. They want local flavor. They want authenticity. They want the next-best-thing to actually being there.

Read this list, didn't think it was anything earth-shattering, but some decent information.  But c'mon, I mean, give trail mix to the flight attendants?  Anyway, if you're in need of 'perks'.  Here's something about smiling.  Yay*

Smiling is job one
Airlines put would-be flight attendants through four or five interviews before hiring them. The interviewers specifically look to hire people who are sweet and smile as much as possible--and what better testing ground for that than a few rounds of job interviews? After getting hired, I attended five weeks of flight training

Ja, we all know about Larry and Sergey of Google having a 737 for their personal geek fests, but a 737 is a mere tricycle compared to a 787. The latest greatest from Boeing, the 787 redefines the commercial airplane. Yet not just for the Uniteds and Continentals of the world, a posh Chinese businessman has put in an order for his.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news) said on Tuesday it received an order for a private 787 airplane from Hong Kong real estate tycoon Joseph Lau.

The order for Boeing's new carbon-composite 787-8 model, which would seat up to 250 people if configured as a normal airliner, is valued at $153 million at list prices, the planemaker said.

In all, Boeing said it now has seven orders for private 787s, or "787 VIPs" as it calls them. It is pitching this mega-business jet at wealthy entrepreneurs, especially in Asia, where business people tend to travel longer distances.

The commercial launch is set for 2008. Mobissimo all ready has ours on order, forget about water skiing, we fly.

Unless you're one of the monied or frequent flyered class, sleeping on an airplane is a bit like trying to get comfortable in a closet. No matter how many different positions you try, it always SUCKS. We've tried everything here at Mobissimo, neck pillows, face pillows, Vicodin, Percocet, and the numerous little bottles of alcohol made available to us during int'l flights. The best we've done is black out and wake up naked in toilet. The worst we won't share with you today. Regardless, we're always on the look out for something that might work and our good friend Will Volk over at Gadling pointed us in the direction of yet another tantalizing product promising sleep, the 1st Class Sleeper. From the picture though, we're thinking it's not going to be much use in today's cattle car space challenged airplanes. But we're willing to try one out. Anybody use one before? Let us know.

If you're a frequent traveler, you know while mobile phones have made communication much easier, calling to/from a foreign country is not that easy. Trust me, ever try to make a phone call from Brasil to Argentina with an American phone? A little more here:

Cingular Wireless is often cited by readers as the best domestic service for enabling your cellphone to work internationally, though not necessarily the best for domestic service. Verizon, often cited as the best cellphone service domestically, is also often cited as among the worst for enabling your cellphone to work abroad.

There you have it. I have two phones, one for the US and one for abroad so I can switch out the SIM card, read the rest of the article to find out what may be your best solution.

Travel gadgets are exactly that - gadgets.  In reality, all you need to travel these days is a mobile and an ATM card.  However, there are things out there that can make the pass the time, enhance your visit,  and keep you comfortable.  This comes from our friends over at TechEBlog.  What are the readers saying about some of the items?

12 listas de 10 gadgets sorpendentes por categorías

No sabiamos muy bien como poner el título de esta noticia porque el tema se las trae, se trata de 10 listas de 10 gadgets de distintos tipos y varían en función del tipo de gadget hacia extraño o mejor.
Las listas las public…

While you cannot bring your own gels and liquids onto the plane, you may now purchase such items once passing through security. Items bought in the airport stores will be allowed on planes.

WASHINGTON - The government is partially lifting its ban against carrying liquids and gels onto airliners, instituted after a plot to bomb jets flying into the United States was foiled, an administration official said Monday.

Homeland Security Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made, said that most liquids and gels that air travelers purchase in secure areas of airports will now be allowed on planes.

Nice. My personal, favourite toothpaste is not allowed but the sure to be $10 tube from the airport store is? While a concession, my conspiracy theory says that TSA and the airport stores union have colloborated on this with a 70/30 split for overcharging passengers. Mobissimo of course will sleuth this out.