I travel a lot. On an average day I, travel about 3 to 4 hours. For me, like many travelers, the weight of my luggage is of vital importance. Every kilo extra is a kilo extra i have to toss around for several hours a day. I like to travel light.

One of the things I use to reduce the weight is a Windows Mobile PocketPC. I have been using them for a long time and it helped me a lot in my fight against heavy luggage. An average PocketPC weighs about the same as a filofax, but it offers much more flexibility and integration with computer systems like a central groupware servers. Besides the normal calendering functions it offers street-level maps of the Netherlands and major roads of Europe, it contains all my excercise schedules and train schedules. So on a daily basis a PocketPC reduces some of the weight i carry with me, but not all of it.

Although a PocketPC is great for taking small notes, it doesn't give you the experience a normal writing block would give you. For bigger notes, you just need more space. So what happened to me was that I still took a bunch of papers with me, a writing block, paper dossiers of customers etc. All weighing about 4 to 5 kilos in total. Kilos I have to take with me on my daily trips.

A colleague of mine had the same problem. He was sick and tired of dragging along a noteblock, having to copy most things he has written down on flip-overs and copying them to readable text again. So he bought a very small TabletPC.

As the picture clearly shows, my I-Mate JasJar and a Futjitsu Siemens Lifebook look remarkably similar in design.  Both have a touch screen and a keyboard, providing a great tool for use during meeting. Off course, the Lifebook runs on Windows XP for TabletPC, offering more applications and heavier hardware. But in terms of functionality for use during meetings, the lifebook offers about the same functionality (handwriting recognition, taking notes, etc.), but on a much bigger screen, which is ideal for notetaking.

My colleague is  now conducting experiments, trying to find out if the Lifebook will allow him to leave his papers and writing block at home. I hope it succeeds, an early estimate shows me that it would reduce the weight of my bag with 3 to 4 kilos, which is more than half, making my life a lot easier...

Jaap van Ekris
in Life on the road
Posted at 22:24:47 UTC