Guide to work and play
Mehra gets into his Reebok Exercise gear, unpacks his Travel Gym, thanks Technogym for this wonderful portable equipment and does a few stretches. Next, he sports his Nike SportBand and goes jogging in the park next door, checking up on his laptop later to see if he has cracked the six-minute mile yet. The SportBand, of course, stores all data about his heart beat and the speed at which he has covered the twomile distance, in its mini chip. After a quick dinner, it’s time to chill with a glass of wine and the MP3 player for company. Life in the fast lane is a breeze for Mehra, with tech toys making everything, from his fitness regime to number crunching and business meetings, a joy.
He is a “road warrior”—a guy who literally carries a virtual office with him wherever he goes while at the same time ensures that fun toys like his portable gym, iPod and handheld games are always just a few metres away. He eats, sleeps and breathes technology and cannot do without the latest gadgets even when on the move. Not surprisingly, Mehra keeps meeting fellow warriors every time he travels—people who also swear that they cannot live without the latest gizmos. This is the story of men like Mehra, a new breed of tech-savvy executives who love life on the move. This is the story of the “road warriors”
The seasoned jet-setter needs the best—at work or at play. When you’re on the move, you cannot afford to live and work without the latest technology. Here’s our quick guide to life on the move for the gadget freak—some of the best objects of desire that keep you going through the day and the night.
Work
During marathon meetings, lugging around a heavy laptop is a pain. This is why the sturdy HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, which weighs 1.2 kg is the antidote for an aching back. The 9-inch Mini-Note is great for times when you need to make presentations. While it’s definitely not known for blistering speed, its features like the 1280x768 screen resolution, four-hour battery life (with a 6-cell battery), 92 per cent full-size keyboard, WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity make it an ideal lightweight travel companion.
Price: Rs 21,000 onwards
Look up: www.hp.com 
The upcoming BlackBerry Bold incorporates the best features of the existing BlackBerry 8000 series and adds value as well. It boasts 3G connectivity, a better camera and in-built GPS, while maintaining the same BlackBerry reliability. And you get your mail, no matter where you are. With some very good applications such as QuikOffice, which allows you to view and edit office documents on the move, PowerPoint presentations really won’t have to wait.
Launch date: September 2008
Price: Rs 30,000
Look up: www.blackberry.com/blackberrybold
Available on most Nokia Series 60 handsets—all E-series and N-series devices—the latest version of Nokia Maps not only stores several thousand Points of Interest (PoI) across eight major Indian cities, but you can easily download maps and PoIs for every major country across the world. So you won’t get lost in London, Paris, Tokyo, New York or Sydney, or, for that matter, in Mumbai. Nokia Maps also allows you to navigate your way while walking if you have a handset with a GPS receiver. Unlike the navigator set-ups on cars, these maps are on your mobile, so you can always find a charging lead, and listen to music while on the move. Nokia 6110, E71, E90, N78, N82, N95, N95 8GB, N96 have a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers and turn-by-turn live navigation capability.
Price: Starts at Rs 15,000
Look up: www.nokia.com
Is this the best ultra-portable notebook? Some say it is, because unlike the competition it is not only light but comes with a built-in DVD-writer and several USB ports for you to plug in your favourite toys and charge all other gadgets that you might be carrying. Equipped with a 64-GB solid-state drive, it also adjusts to the rough and tumble of the road-warrior’s life. At 1.3 kg, it means you won’t end up with the dreaded “laptop shoulder”.
Price: Rs 1,20,000
Look up: www.lenovo.com
When it comes to an urgent business presentation, the ubiquitous Google Docs is the right collaborative tool. It offers you secure options to create and collaboratively use documents and spreadsheets with the rest of your team. It lets you assign access controls to your files to determine who can see and modify your files. Its templates make light work of complex documents or presentations.
Price: Free
Look up: www.docs.google.com
No matter what you achieve while on the road, it’s of no consequence if things go kaput and your data vanishes. The Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini (available in capacities from 160 GB to 320 GB) is just what you need for such eventualities. It weighs 160 gm and lets you take fast back-ups at the touch of a button. It also allows automatic back-ups and has a file sync option. The drive comes with Maxtor DrivePass and Encryption software to password-protect the contents of your drive.
Price: $99 (Rs 4,257) onwards
Look up: www.maxtor.com{mospagebreak}
Play 
What do you get when you throw in Swarovski and Philips together? Crystal jewellery with a Bluetooth 2.0 headset at its heart. Part of Swarovski and Philips’ Active Crystals range, the Breeze Black Bluetooth headset is a Bluetooth 2.0 headset, which looks like anything but. This amalgamation of jewellery and technology has a high-gloss black body set with crystals in the Pointiage technique. Compatible with all Bluetooth handsets, it offers up to five hours of battery time and 100 hours of stand-by time.
Price: e200 (Rs 12,966)
Look up: www.swarovski.com 
Nothing beats unwinding after a hard day at the pool or on the beach. But then, haven’t you wished you could have brought your music along, instead of being stuck with the hotel’s pre-recorded songs that better suit the dentist’s chair? If so, the new Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player is answer to your prayers since it even works underwater. Aquabeat has a capacity of 1GB, weighs 35 gm, and can play on a single charge for about nine hours. The USB 2.0 MP3 player manufactured by iRiver has waterproof earplugs, and can survive underwater up to a depth of 3 metres. To top it all, it's available in three colours to suit your swimwear.
Price: $145 (Rs 6,235)
Look up: www.speedo.com
Why have the iPod Touch when you have the iPhone? Well, while the iPod remains the best music player in the market, the iPod Touch adds gesturebased multi-touch capabilities, which allow you to surf through your music collection easily. It also has Wi-Fi capability.
Price: Starts from Rs 20,000
Look up: www.apple.com 
In Car CD Tuner Sony's new CD tuner has it all— USB and Bluetooth and front aux-in interfaces and a quick-search interface that lets you browse MP3 media and supports hands-free through the car stereo. Plug in the USB pen drives in the front panel USB port and enjoy wireless highquality stereo audio via a Bluetoothcompatible mobile phone.
Price: Rs 9,990
Look up: www.sony.co
Sometimes, when touring, you can get bored waiting. Waiting in airport lounges, hotel lobbies and office receptions with nothing to do. Well, with the super-light and cool Nintendo DS, you can play Super Mario, Donkey Kong and several other games while waiting. Who says an idle mind is the devil’s workshop? You don’t have to be idle at all, give your thumbs a workout.
Price: Rs 7,000
Look up: www.nintendo.com/ds
When you run, it’s best if you do it in the most scientific way possible. The Nike SportBand will allow you to monitor and keep track of your personal running records while training by showing you the distance, pace, time and calories burned. If you want to keep a detailed record over time, www.nikeplus.com will help you out on that front. Just download your running stats from the rechargeable SportBand via USB to your PC, and from there to nikeplus.com.
Price: $59 (Rs 2,537)
Look up: www.nike.com
When you cannot afford to lose track of your fitness goals, Technogym’s Travel Gym just might be the right option. This compact workout kit is easy to carry as its modular components are simple to assemble for a vast range of exercises. The Wellness Bag fits easily into a suitcase and weighs 1.8 kg. It can also be carried with the Wellness Pad. The main components of Travel Gym include two 45.5 cm elastics, two 35 cm elastics, two handles, two ankle straps and two foot straps. The Travel Gym can be used for a range of activities to build strength.
Price: On Request
Look up: www.geospafitness.com
