Eat your heart out Starbucks. Catch ya later KFC. Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Bisuits restaurants are now offering free Wi-Fi internet access with any purchase. For mobile professionals looking for a place to plug in and pig out, the restaurant chain’s new location at 29 West DeRenne Avenue fits the bill. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried their fried chicken, and their Dirty Rice is to die for. Just don’t get grease on your laptop. For more information, visit their web site at www.bojangles.com or call 912.353.7787.
While Savannah might not yet have earned the nickname Silicon Valley of the South, don’t tell the folks at The Creative Coast Initiative (TCCi) that. According to their web site, TCCi is “a County/City/ SEDA not-for-profit, private/public partnership that leverages Savannah’s unique blend of bright talent, leading-edge technologies and exceptionally high-quality of life to assist the growth and success of creative and technical businesses in the Savannah Coastal Region. Savannah is a beautiful, yet brainy coastal region that combines the most desirable features of small towns and large cities. It boasts the nation’s largest historic district, a large creative and techno-savvy workforce, a multi-cultural population, a sub-tropical climate, as well as enchanting art, history and cultural venues.” Check them out online at www.creativecoast.org.
Google “savannah web sites” and you’ll be confronted with a plethora of local web developers. Cut through the clutter, however, and you’ll find Casa Design Group, one of Savannah’s biggest web upstarts. Their no-nonsense approach to web design appeals to those looking for site aesthetic as well as a great deal on hosting and administration. “It’s simple,” says Casa co-founder and president Nick Lucey. “Many companies charge way too much for their services and often don’t offer a level of customer service to match. We just want to provide local businesses with a viable option.” If you agree with this philosophy, then check them out at www.casadesigngroup.com.
Just follow any white-earbud-clad SCAD student around town and you’ll quickly realize that Apple iPods are hotter than a Savannah noon in August. And for good reason. With its mammoth hard drive, the 60-gigabyte Apple iPod can hold up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos or 2,000 music videos. Log on to iTunes, Apple’s online “record store” and you have millions of songs and thousands of videos at your fingertips. View videos on the iPod’s 2.5-inch color screen. Synched into your computer, it’s possible to archive every CD in your personal inventory. Download audiobooks and podcasts to make those Delta hops to Atlanta feel even shorter than 36 minutes. It’s not a matter of if you’ll get one, but when and which kind. Buck tradition and buy the black 60-gigabyte iPod at BestBuy.com now. Too bad they don’t make a time machine so you can travel back in time to buy a few thousand shares of Apple Computer.
It used to be — and not long ago — that once the aircraft cabin door of your departing international flight was closed, you were, literally and metaphorically, sealed off from the rest of the world. Today, globetrotting Savannahians who need to keep in touch with home or — gasp — the office, staying connected while on vacation is easier than losing your sunglasses.
Cell Phone
Just three or four years ago, I would turn off my cell phone upon departure, and not turn it back until my arrival in the U.S. Today, I turn it off only for the duration of the flight. But before you go, you’ll want to find out if your cell phone plan allows international roaming, and typical rates for the country you’ll be traveling to. There is no pain greater than being caught off guard by a cell phone bill greater than the price of your hotel stay.
After you check your carrier’s plan, you’ll want to check your equipment. GSM — short for Global System for Mobile communications — is a cellular network that’s used by more than 1.7 billion subscribers in 210 countries. Most cell phones in the U.S. use networks such as CDMA, TDMA, and iDEN. T-Mobile and Cingular operate GSM networks in the U.S., and are as such more jet set-friendly. I’m always connected when I’m on the road for my sales job with my BlackBerry 7100t from T-Mobile. It’s a quad-band device — meaning it works on four frequencies, from 850 through 1900 megahertz — which allows me to hop on GSM and GPRS networks wherever I may roam. I’ve had no problem sending and receiving calls (though my caller ID doesn’t seem to work overseas) as well as sharing SMS text messages and emails.
I’ve found T-Mobile, owned by German-based Deutsche Telekom, to be very international roaming-friendly. T-Mobile.com offers coverage maps of most countries in the world. Cingular is replacing its CDMA network with the GSM global standard, meaning it’ll work abroad.
If your phone doesn’t work overseas, or you don’t want to pay to play, you have other options. You can purchase a SIM (subscriber information module) for the country you’re traveling to before you go or once there. The benefit of having a local SIM card is that your phone will work as if it is “local,” meaning you won’t be essentially calling from, say, Mexico back to the U.S. and back to Mexico again. You may need to “unlock” your cell phone prior to doing this, however, which allows you to use a SIM card not issued by your company. A quick Google search produces more than 1.5 million links about cell phone unlocking.
If you vacation in one particular destination frequently, you might want to consider purchasing a cheap cell phone there and getting pre-paid minutes for it. Telcel, Mexico’s largest cell phone provider, for example, sells scratch-off cards which contain codes that give your phone minutes. Keep in mind that these cards expire, so don’t stockpile them, but remember that your call will cut off mid-blabber when it runs out. Surprisingly, this may be your cheapest option for using a cell phone overseas, depending on where you are.
You’ll want to check your current plan and make sure you’re allowed to roam internationally. Some carriers require you to apply for international roaming, and may require an additional credit check. You may also be able to acquire a prepaid SIM card in the country where you’re traveling and insert it into your phone. Keep in mind that cellular phone technology is changing at a blistering pace, so stay abreast of changes and consult your carrier.
Internet/Email
Remember dial-up modems? After much therapy, neither do we. For travelers, it was the double-whammy of frustration with getting your computer to work and the proper dialing sequence figured out while paying exorbitant long-distance charges to access your ISP back home. Today, wireless-enabled laptop computers allow us to jump on broadband connections sans-cords while sipping a margarita. It goes without saying that if you do any traveling with your laptop, you’ll want a wireless notebook adapter or, if you own an Apple product, a built-in AirPort connection. Savvy travelers also roll with a Wi-Fi locator or detector — available at most tech retailers for around $30 — which will discreetly alert you to Wi-Fi transmissions and save you the humiliation of trudging around the resort searching for a signal with your laptop like a zombie.
Wi-Fi is not only available in most airports (often for a small fee, unless you’re willing to camp out on the floor outside airline courtesy lounges) but in many hotels and resorts as well. How cool is it, for example, to email photos of the morning’s horseback ride on the beach to your freezing friends back home, all while eating lunch poolside?
Fortunately for travelers, Wi-Fi hotspots are not only becoming more numerous, their signal strengths are increasing as well. In fact, the world record non-amplified Wi-Fi signal is nearly 125 miles, using a 12-foot dish!
