Have a wireless holiday!

With the holiday season kicking in, I start dreaming about lonely beaches and deserted oceans shimmering under a lagoon-blue sky, listening to the happy chatter of a colourful Parrot. *deep sigh*. I found 11 Bluetooth tips on Mike’s blog for a wireless holiday, making life under the sun, at the beach or wherever you go a bit more comfortable 🙂

1. Prepare Carefully with TransSend
Many people enjoy the preparation of a trip just as much as the holiday itself. Once you have compiled the information you need for your vacation, upload all useful data phone numbers, addresses, points of interest to your mobile phone or pda directly from the internet using TransSend. This means no more lost print-outs and always the right data in any language or alphabet. Handy, and nature friendly!
2. Drive Safely
Driving to your holiday destination is not without risk: car trouble, traffic jams, roadworks and accidents make that you need to keep concentrated all the time. On top of that, most countries have enacted laws that forbid and penalize the use of a mobile phone while driving. Use a Bluetooth handsfree solution headset, carkit or aftermarket system to avoid accidents and fines.
3. Be a Clever Pedestrian
Paper maps in crowded places, remote areas and windy cities are not the best solution. Using a personal navigation device in combination with a Bluetooth enabled gps receiver, you will not only find your way hassle-free, but pick up interesting information at the same time.
4. Be Your Own DJ
A holiday needs a soundtrack. Make sure you have uploaded your favorite MP3s on your phone or MP3 player and don’t forget to pack your Bluetooth stereo headset or portable speaker. CDs and wired MP3 players are a thing of the past.
5. Be Streetwise
Nothing as annoying as losing stuff in strange places; or worse, your precious belongings getting stolen. So don’t flash that shiny mobile phone of yours in hotter areas. Better to make your calls with a discreet Bluetooth headset. That way you can stay in touch with friends and family at home in a smart and safe way.
6. ICE Your Phone
ICE stands for Information Contact Emergency: the numbers that you want to call if something has happened to you. Mark these contacts in your phone book by adding ICE to the names (ICE Doctor, ICE mom & dad, etc.) and voicetag these entries to easily activate calls with one push on your Bluetooth headset.
7. Do Something with All Those Pictures
Use your camera phone to capture the best memories of your holiday, but don’t leave them trapped on your phone. Instead, send them via Bluetooth technology instantly to friends, store them safely on your laptop and wireless photo frame, or print them immediately on that portable wireless photoprinter. Who needs cables to do all that? And impress your friends with a holiday slideshow on your tv, using a Bluetooth enabled multimedia viewer.
8. Keep in Touch
You will meet a bunch of interesting new people on holiday, but face it: all those names and numbers scribbled on napkins and coasters get lost all too easily. Put all your contact information in a .vcf card on your phone, beam it via Bluetooth technology to your holiday friends’ phones and ask them to do the same. Take a picture of your friend and add it to her or his .vcf card. If you synchronize your phone with your laptop, all your new contacts will be stored safely in your email contact database.
9. Keep the Kids Happy
Holiday is supposed to be fun but long drives and rain-soaked afternoons tend to be quite child-unfriendly. With their mobile phones connected through Bluetooth technology, they can have lots of fun playing games against each other. Or take along the Nintendo Wii, with its Bluetooth wireless controllers. Parents will be thankful for the distraction.
10. Be the Coolest
When you are on the beach, it is all about being the coolest. Sunglasses are indispensable, especially if they are equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology: play your music or stream your phone calls straight from your sleek shades. Besides, your Bluetooth watch will display text messages and tell you who’s calling.
11. Always Online
Anywhere you go, you’ll always find small internet cafés where you can send some quickly written web-based email. If you want to keep a real holiday diary or a travelblog, you really need to update regularly. Dial-up networking, with your phone as a portable modem transferring data to and from your laptop via Bluetooth technology, will get you online, where and whenever you want it.
Yep…. I know! Now give me a cocktail, not shaken, blue, and wireless…. 🙂