After skipping the “International CES”* last year, both Dave and I are headed back to Vegas for the consumer electronics show in 2013. And that means it’s time once again to look into the gadget go bag. For next week’s trip I’m packing up the laptop and smartphone, but also a few accessories that should hopefully make my rounds at the show a little easier. First, despite Dave’s insistence that I use my phone to take all photos, I’ve acquired another point-and-shoot camera. The quality of my smartphone photos is seriously lacking, and while I have no aspirations to be an award-winning photographer, it would be nice if a few of my gadget pics were recognizable as such, even in low light and among jostling conference-goers.
Second, I’ve added a critical new piece of hardware to boost my phone’s naturally crappy battery life. The Anker Astro 3 external charger may be overkill given that I only need one of the one thousand enclosed adapter tips, but it promises to power my phone at least six times on a single charge. And that is invaluable while traipsing around Vegas roughly 20 out of every 24 hours each day.
Finally, I’ve included a small Skooba case for organizing my various gadget cables, and a set of cheap but worthwhile Panasonic earphones so I can safely ignore my fellows anytime and anywhere. Remember, just because we bloggers want to learn more about this year’s gadgets doesn’t mean we actually want to talk to other people while doing it.
Interestingly, while pulling this post together, I happened across a photo of my gadget bag from CES 2010. There have been a few changes since then.
Aside from the color scheme shift, I’ve ditched the separate video camera, upgraded from netbook to full-powered laptop, and given up on my WiMAX 4g USB stick. Regarding the 4G access, I’d love to set up my phone as a hotspot at CES to spread the LTE love to my laptop. But unfortunately, I’m not willing to pay $30/month for the feature, nor am I willing to knock out my unlimited data plan from Verizon, which I’m still clinging to as long as Big Red lets me keep it. Wi-Fi access is supremely limited at CES, but I’ll just have to make do. Maybe I can beg/borrow/steal access to somebody else’s hotspot.