Laptop Thoughts: News & Reviews on Laptops, Netbooks, Slates, and More.

My friend Rafe Blanford pointed out this service, which I hadn't heard of until now. It looks interesting - at current rates, it's about 86 cents USD/CAD per MB, and they support SIMs, microSIMs, and USB sticks. That's not "I'm going to order a TV season on iTunes and download it all" cheap, but if you were careful about not downloading email attachments and were sparing with your Internet access, you could make a $40 investment last a week or two. While you can check your online balance easily, it seems this isn't a true pre-pay solution...the metre keeps running without stopping, so be careful what you decide to download.

Note that this is for data only: this is for your laptop, tablet, or I-only-want-Internet-phone. If you want to use your phone abroad and do voice calls, text, etc. you'll need to get a SIM from a wireless carrier. Anyone know of a service similar to this but for full phone service?

"In what's become an annual tradition for six years now, here's a quick look at the gear I'm taking to cover the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Last year, I did a video walkthough of the gear, but I'm already at Philadelphia International Airport, so a short post will have to do. This time around, my gear is more minimal than ever - even less than in 2008 when I worked the show with an ASUS Eee PC 701 netbook! Several of the gadgets with me are among my favorites from the last year; here's the list of what I'm carrying and why."

Travelling light for CES is indeed a core part of how to not kill yourself when covering the show; Kevin Tofel has a list of what he's carrying with him, and it's indeed a light-weight gear bag: 13" Macbook Air, Canon S95, Google Nexus One, and a Joby Gorillapod. I'm trying to travel light myself, but I'll be carrying a bit more gear: my Dell Vostro V13, my Panasonic GF-1, a Joby Gorillapod, my Canon HF-100 with a shotgun microphone, my LG Quantum phone, and a monopod that can transform into a tripod. Shooting high-quality video with decent audio is extremely important to me, so that's why I'm bringing a dedicated video camera. I'll be packing it in a Skooba Design bag of course - and I'll be carrying other odds and ends. I try to put some of the heavier stuff in my suitcase and only walk the show floor with what I need, no more.

When you travel, what does your gear bag look like?