I'm on my way to the CIPD conference in Manchester and I have a very heavy bag. Why? Because it is full of the kit I need to be connected.
I think I am making the case for buying an iphone but I thought I would share what I have with me and why.
1 My work laptop
Reason for having it with me: Useful if I need to get on the network while I am out of the office. But, because of its wireless security settings I find it hard to get onto some networks. Not much good for conferences. I work from home so have to have it with me for that - it is fine for that.
2 My personal laptop
Reason for having it with me: No security issues so can connect to most networks, has a web cam and is generally more powerful than work PC. But, it is a monster so heavy. I am increasingly using web based comms such as Google for work so I can use this PC more and more although I wish I had bought a lighter one (Mac!).
3 Nokia N95 mobile phone
Reason for having it with me: This acts as my camera as well as phone. Has crap web interface and connectivitty is patchy (it's on 3). I use Dabr as twitter client but it is not great.
4 Blackberry
Reason for having it with me: Use this as my work phone and email device. I have to have special permission to get web access and have not yet got this enabled. Would be useful to have a phone and web access for work purposes.
I haven't weighed my bag yet but it is bloody heavy. I wish I had one mobile device and possibly a laptop if the mobile device didn't have a keyboard. I guess this will come but big corporates (like my employer) are tied into deals with providers and their kit so it takes time to change things.
I just wish I had bought an iphone and smaller laptop.