Can you be a tech geek on holiday?

When looking at holiday brochures, and trying to decide if I could squeeze in a September holiday (I can’t – I’m stony broke!) I pondered the question –  is there ever a place for modern technology on a beachside holiday?

I’m penning this post in advance, on my sleek and shiny iPad. I guess that’s a given right? It is a post about technical geekery after all. One of my three beloved Apple devices (iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro – and yes I recognise this makes me a very lucky girl indeed) is never far from my side. The iPhone is obvious, but I carry my iPad or MacBook Pro around with me constantly, choice of which depends on length of journey, how much I have to carry round and what I need to achieve that day.

I’m certainly not addicted to the technology I use, but I’m running a blog, a podcast, various networking relationships as well as a full time job and it really helps with my productivity. So can you successfully integrate technology in a useful way into a lazy beach holiday?

I say yes - and being a geek on holiday and packing the iPad can pay off big time. Here is why:

Reading material

I often cart at least seven books on holiday with me, as well as stuffing a handful of magazines into my hand luggage, hastily purchased last minute at the airport. The leads to heavy bags, worries about being over my baggage allowance, and very little flexibility. I have no idea what sort of reading mood I am going to be in when I touch down and hit the beach. I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been preferring to dip in and out of things, which isn’t helpful on paper based land where there is a limit on the amount of material you can bring.

However, my use of technology and my iPad will allow me to:

• Download a handful of books using the Kindle app of varying types without the luggage overload
• Make good use of the Zinio app and some specific publisher apps for editions of my favourite magazines
• In the preceding weeks before my holiday, I could download all those ebooks and PDF reports I never got round to reading into iBooks
• I can bookmark and save articles and posts I want to read into the Instapaper app, which gives me another huge source of reading material

All of these will allow me to dip in and out of things as and when I fancy. All in one, tiny tablet.

Playing games

I’m not a huge gamer, but I’ve recently been enjoying both Monkey Island 2 (favourite series of games of all time) and Lego Harry Potter. It’s fantastic to have them both with me on my iPad, and they could certainly keep me occupied on a long flight.

Productivity tools

I’m certainly not suggesting a working holiday. But sometimes a new place and a breath of fresh sea air can get you inspired with ideas. Who isn’t inspired lying on a tropical beach in 40 degree heat with the sea lapping at your feet? You can make use of:

• Wunderlist, a brilliant list making app to jot down all the things I’d thought of that I wanted to do when I got home. I have lists on there for every area of my life, so having this with me will pay dividends in the future.
• Blogpress, a newly found app that let’s me draft blog posts all correctly formatted so that I can sync with my wordpress account when I had wifi access.

You can also  make use of Safari when out and about near WiFi if you need directions for sightseeing, and of course to check out nes from back home if you are that way inclined.

Whatever your thoughts about tech on the beach, this blogger is a convert. The flexibility in what media I can consume and when is a winner for me. For a fast reader like me, the iPad has answered my literary prayers.

Have you ever taken technology on the beach?