3 tips that help you make the most of your N95 when traveling
You might think the sophisticated features of a state-of-the-art smartphone like the N95 is mostly relevant to corporate road warriors roaming the planet in pursuit of important business deals.
Well, think again - even if you only go abroad once or twice a year (or less often for that matter), and basically just go lie on a beach somewhere warm - your smartphone can still be extremely helpful in making your trips both smooth and enjoyable.
In mid-October I took a vacation with my extended family and went to the Greek island of Crete. A bit of R'n'R before the cold, wet and gloomy winter of Scandinavia kicked in (it has!). Between the retsina, gyros and greek salads, I made sure to note the special ways in which I used my N95 while vacationing.
What follows is a brief collection of tips that help you put your smartphone to good use - while being away from home.
1. Navigation: If you have a smartphone with a built-in GPS receiver, this tip probably seems pretty obvious. I find that having a GPS-enabled device in my pocket changes the way I go about traveling quite significantly. However, even if you do not have a GPS-enabled smartphone, your mobile can still assist you in navigating unknown territory. You can install 3rd party map applications like Nokia Maps, Google Maps - to get just maps, but not positioning. In addition to these tools, there are even more ways your smartphone can help you keep track of location and position....read more.
2. Capturing those »Kodak Moments«: I have to admit that I have never been into photography, but the increasingly capable cameras used in smartphones has slowly changed that. For my purposes, the 5 megapixel camera in my N95 is more than sufficient for holiday snapshots, and it even doubles as a decent camcorder. Furthermore, I have be happy to notice how the quality of the images produced by the N95 has improved with every firmware update released by Nokia. If you do not like to lug around loads of equipment either, you might want to consider a model with a decent camera as you next phone. It can probably replace whatever digital camera you are using now - or get you started with digital photography....read more.
3. Entertainment: Again, fairly obvious, but what I am actually thinking of, is using your smartphone to make traveling with young children a little easier. If you travel with toddlers, you will probably agree that waiting in airports, long flights and all kind of hold-ups - expected or unexpected - can turn into stressful situations for your kids…and subsequently you. With a little preparation your smartphone can become a powerful aid in helping you ease the stress of long journeys. You can load up your smartphone with games, your children's favorite TV programs and film clips so you have these handy to entertain and preoccupy your children in those situations, that otherwise quickly become stressful. And that is really just for starters - if your smartphone has video-out, once you arrive at your holiday destination, you can hook up your smartphone with the TV in your hotel room. Again, use it to let your kids play games or watch children's programs - it is a great way to get a little privacy or breathing room....read more.
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