For the past week I was tooling around Los Angeles and southern California for work, and although I got stuck in plenty of traffic jams (okay, many were just slowdowns), I didn't get stuck surfing the Web. That's because I was using Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go wireless internet access for my netbook. I didn't have to mess with hotel Internet charges or finding a wireless signal.
I've already done a full review of the service, but Virgin Mobile just keeps making it better. Virgin Mobile just increased the amount of MBs or GBs you receive when you sign up for Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go.
The $10 price plan stays the same (100 MB), but all the rest now come with more MBs or GBs. For $20 you now get 300 MB (instead of 250), for $40 you get 1 GB (instead of 600 MB), and the real steal is the $60 plan, which gives you 5 GB now, instead of just 1 GB!
I've been looking for good ad-hoc (read: not locked into a long-term/2 year data plan) mobile Internet access solutions for my laptop for years. Virgin Mobile not only leads the pack with pay-as-you-go wireless internet access, but with their new plans, they've just raised the bar a whole lot higher!
Ever search for that word that's on the tip of your tongue but you just can't seem to find it? Imagine what it's like when you're trying to communicate in foreign country or with someone speaks a different language and you can't locate the right word? It's certainly a lot harder to get "unstuck" in those situations. Maybe you're in Japan for a week and need help reading the signs, or perhaps you're just trying to communicate an important part of a potential deal to a business client. Either way, being at a loss for words can cause big problems.
But now, if you're an iPhone user, there's help on the line. Literally. Language Line Mobile is a new iPhone application that connects users with a live interpreter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world. The service costs $2.99 per minute, and allows business travelers to talk with professional interpreters in 10 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Russian. It's a small price to pay for having the confidence to know your communicating a business deal correctly, or even reading the departure signs in an international airport correctly.
Just what business travelers need. Another negative thing that might affect their travel plans. This week's bad business travel news is the 4 month closing of the main runway at New York City's JFK International Airport. Starting today, the longest runway at JFK will be closed for changes. They're converting it from asphalt to concrete. Unfortunately, that means that the planes that would typically use it are being diverted to the airport's other, smaller runways. It also means that carriers such as JetBlue and American are cutting their schedules slightly for a while until the project's done.
According to the New York Times, the runway's closure is expected to have a ripple effect in other other airports, such as Orlando, LA and San Francisco, when delays at JFK happen. And as any frequent JFK flier already knows, JFK already ranks up near the bottom for major airports for on-time performance.
Okay, okay, so traveling by bus for business isn't that cool, but if you're watching your bottom line it can be a lot cheaper than either the train or plane. I usually travel by air or car for business trips, but recently I tried an alternative--Bolt Bus. My review of Bolt Bus provides the details, but the overview is that Bolt Bus offers a viable option for business travelers who want to save money.
In the northeast corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, Bolt Bus is a great alternative for business travelers who need to move between Washington, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York or Boston. Bolt Bus generally has clean, new buses, free WiFi, good leg room, and reserved seating. And, oh, it's got amazing prices--like $15 for a one-way ticket between New York City and Boston.
One of the things about business trips is that I often find myself in a new city with a little bit of free time, but not much knowledge of what to do. I also find myself frequently during business trips looking for restaurants--either for myself or for a business meetings. What I need is a good guide to restaurants, activities, events and anything else that's happening nearby.
And that's exactly what Goby.com is. Goby.com a search engine that combs more than 300 categories to help business travelers (or anyone, actually) find everything from live music to restaurants to ghost towns. Have a few minutes? Goby can fill them.
You can search by category, by time (this weekend, today, etc.) and by location. It's a slick interface that makes it easy to browse and find something fun to do, or someplace fun to go. One of the problems I've had with other types of event and restaurant search sites or programs is that frequently they return too much information, or have that information poorly organized. From my experience, Goby seems to get it right. Give it try next time you have a little extra time or what a recommendation on where to go.
Another week, another New York City business hotel. This week, it's a review of the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel. The Fitzpatrick Grand Central (they have a second hotel in NYC as well) is a comfortable, boutique hotel for business travelers conveniently located on a quiet side street right across from Grand Central Station. It brings a unique Irish feel to a New York City visit, with a friendly and competent service staff and comfortable rooms.
Google recently updated its Nexus One phone (see About.com's review of the Google Nexus One phone), with some features that will definitely help business travelers. The firmware update was delivered automatically "over the air" to phones.
The last time we covered the Google Nexus One phone, was around the time of its introduction. As might be expected, it's been about a month and Google has some updates. Google tweaked the Google Maps feature to now provide suggestions as well as a night mode (which would be great, from my perspective--I use Google Maps extensively on my iPhone and would love a GPS-like night option for it).
But the big addition is one that was missing when the phone was announced, and one that many folks were looking for: multitouch. Multitouch gives the user the capability to pinch the screen to zoom it in or out, just like the iPhone. The browser, gallery and maps applications will support mutlitouch.
Google also threw in some 3G upgrades which may, or may not, have fixed a 3G connectivity problem that has generated a lot of messages in Google support forums.
When a city is as big as New York, and has as many hotels as New York does, it's often hard for business travelers to pick the right one. Of course, the right one for you depends on who you are--do you want an upscale hotel with great service? Are you looking to save money? How important is public transportation? Location? There are plenty of factors to consider.
The Affinia Shelburne Hotel in New York City is appropriate for business travelers who want to stay in the Murray Hill area and are looking for a larger boutique hotel that offers customized services, room service, and a location equally convenient to Grand Central or Penn Station.
Over the next week or so, I'll be profiling a number of New York City hotels suitable for business travelers. There's a lot to consider when coming to New York City for a business trip, and I can't cover it all here, but I will highlight some of the accommodation options and savings opportunities for business travelers.
For example, if you don't want to save money by staying outside of the city and commuting in, one good mid-town option is the Carlton Hotel on 88 Madison Avenue. The Carlton Hotel is a solid bet for business travelers looking for a large (317 rooms), mid-town hotel in New York City.
The modern, but classical-flavored furnishings are definitely upscale and service is strong. The hotel's Country restaurant (located in the lobby) gets good reviews and is stylish but comfortable. You can see pictures of the hotel here, or check prices for it on Kayak.com.
So, you need to make a trip to New York City, but don't want to spring for an expensive New York City hotel? Don't want the added expense of paying $30-$50 a day for parking? Then maybe it's time to consider an alternative.
