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If you try walking around any major city in the world, you’ll notice that at least one person is tinkering with an electronic device. Most likely, you’ll see a person jogging around the park while listening to an mp3 player, or someone in a coffee house setting up a task list on a Personal Digital Assistant. However, these gadgets don’t have eternal batteries. Most likely, they would even die out during the most inconvenient times. Cell phones are notorious when it comes to this – the batteries usually die out when you’re making or expecting a very important phone call. You’d either have to go home or use a car charger to bring your hand-held device back to life. While there’s currently no such thing as an everlasting battery to save you from all this trouble, MarcoGizmo.com has found the next best thing.

The Soldius 1 Solar Charger can save your dead batteries during emergencies. It’s a foldable and lightweight solar panel that you can take with you wherever you go. It has adapters for 7 different kinds of devices such as phones, mp3 players, and PDAs. It’s even compatible with over 250 types of mobile phones. Here’s a chart that let’s you check if the Soldius 1 is compatible with your gadgets.

The best thing about the Soldius 1 is that it is very simple to use. Just plug in the adapter on the solar charger, connect your device, and wait for it to be fully charged. This usually takes a few hours, just like any regular charger. Keep in mind that you’ll get better results if you place the Soldius 1 in direct sunlight.

The charger will also save you a lot of electricity and money since you’re practically powering up your gadgets for free. The initial price you have to pay for the charger may be a bit expensive, but it’ll pay for itself in the long run. Also, it’s worth every penny to have a convenient, portable charger that doesn’t need an electrical socket.

Cutting down on weight and bulk are two of the most important things for travelers. When you love technology the temptation is to go with small, multifunctional devices to overcome these hurdles. Here are a few ways to let your love of technology marry with your love of travel.

MP3 Player - Do you really need it when you’re travelling? Putting aside the fact that putting on the headphones in a foreign country is incredibly anti-social and almost guarantees that you won’t actually meet any of the locals, is it possible that you can use another device for your music listening needs? An MP3 player is just basically a glorified hard-drive - the same thing that’s in your laptop or on any decent PDA or even mobile phone these days. If you can get one of these other devices, then you do away with your need for an MP3 player altogether. Just make sure the other device has a decent battery life.

Laptop - How much computing power do you really need? If you are only going to be composing emails, writing some blogs and getting online to check out the latest travel conditions, then you probably don’t need a full size laptop. Any decent PDA with wireless and bluetooth is more than capable of doing these functions. If you don’t like the small keyboard then buy the foldable keyboard that is compatible with your device (most have them). Even if you need a laptop, then consider going with an ultra small device like the Sony Vaio UX series which will eliminate the weight problem.

Phone / PDA - If you are thinking of getting either of these devices, then you might want to consider combining them into a smart phone. Something that you can use to email, browse the web and make calls is probably enough functionality for most travelers. Carrying one device is always better than carrying two. Something like the Sidekick 3 will suit many travel scenrios.

The trick here is to combine functionality. If you take a phone with a built in MP3 player, then there’s no need for a seperate MP3 Player. If you take a smart phone, then you get PDA and phone functionality in one. Fewer and smaller are the catch cries for traveling with technology.

Whether you’re planning to go on a vacation with the family or a business trip for your company, Scottevest has the most gadget-friendly apparel for the technophile in you. They have a wide variety of styles ranging from casual to formal, allowing you to wear these stealthy clothes for any occasion. But Scottevest doesn’t offer regular clothing – they sell “technology enabled clothing”. The purpose of their product line is to keep all of your electronics tucked away while you’re on the go. James Bond himself would be jealous of the style and the functionality that comes with Scottevest products.

There’s almost no limit to what you can store in your Scottevest clothes. You can stash cameras, cellular phones, mp3 players, and other hand-held devices through the hidden compartments. Even snacks, magazines, and books are easy to carry around in the compartments. The jackets are also equipped with PAN (Personal Area Network), which enables the user to go online through their Personal Digital Assistants, or to receive a phone call just by pressing a button from the outside the jacket. They also have special wiring passages to avoid tangling up the earphones of your mp3 player with other wires. In case your devices run out of battery, there are specially made solar-powered jackets that have attached phone chargers, so you’re always good to go.

Most products also have hidden pockets for credit cards, cup holders, and your car keys. This means that you don’t have to scurry through your stuff just to find whatever it is that you’re looking for. Even when you’re in the airport’s security check, all you need to do is take off your jacket and you’re ready to walk through the scanner. You can basically carry around all your gadgets without the bulkiness of a bag. The only downside to owning a Scottevest is that their products are more expensive than their “regular” counterparts. Then again, your regular jacket isn’t capable of getting you online at the touch of a button.

Just like the old explorers, even the tech-loving travelers of today hear a lot of rumors about their favorite tools. But how many of these rumors are true? Here at MarcoGizmo.com, we’re taking a closer look at the facts…

Myth: Your cellular phone emits radiation that can cause tumors.

Fact: It’s true that cell phones emit radiation when operating between frequencies of 850MHz - 1900MHz. While this radiation is harmful at high doses, the amount emitted by your cellular phone isn’t very significant - even if you had a hundred cell phones pointed at your brain.

Myth: You need to fully discharge your cell phone or laptop batteries before you can recharge them - or else your battery’s capacity will be affected.

Fact: The first thing you should do is to refer to your user’s manual and find out what type of rechargeable batteries you have. Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries are notorious for having “memory effect”. This means that if you use 50% of your battery’s capacity and recharge it immediately, the battery will think that its full capacity is only the amount that you used up. This is why NiCd batteries should be fully discharged at least once every three months. This shouldn’t worry you if you’re using a Lithium-ion battery, since they are not subject to “memory effect”.

Myth: You shouldn’t use electronic devices in airplanes - you might cause a plane crash.

Fact: While not all electronic gadgets interfere with the plane’s navigational system, it’s still a good idea to keep the use of electrical devices to a minimum. Although most gadgets don’t affect the plane’s instruments, several small gadgets or one particular gadget can have a small effect. Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study and found that a portable DVD player caused a plane’s navigational system to be off by 30 degrees. While this is a small mistake than can easily be corrected, several of these low-probability mistakes multiplied over hundreds of daily flights can lead to accidents. Click here for a more comprehensive discussion on the subject.

When we think about portable computing, we usually think of laptops. However, this has changed recently. You no longer need to spend hundreds of dollars to enjoy the benefits of mobile computing. You can now carry around essential files and software via USB thumb drives. Here’s how you can make the most of your USB thumb drive while you’re on the road:

Use portable applications. Several small open source programs are especially made to fit your USB thumb drive. From a thumb drive version of Microsoft Office, to portable versions of Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird, there are almost no limits to what you can accomplish from a few programs running on your thumb drive. You can find more portable applications at the following websites: Snapfiles and PortableApps.

Save all your work-related files. If you’re using two different computers at work and at home, you can back up all your necessary work-related files on your thumb drive. This is especially helpful if you want to get some work done during your days off. Also, carrying around project proposals and presentations can be convenient during any unexpected opportunities you may have when it comes to presenting them. Once, at a party, I coincidentally met someone whose business I was interested in invested in. It was a good thing that he carried around his business plan on his thumb drive, and he was able to show me his plans on the spot. This can really give you an edge during office parties or casual meetings with supervisors.

Carry around all your personal information. With all the passwords and PIN numbers that people have to remember nowadays, it’s quite a surprise that no one has suffered a brain aneurysm just from ‘password overload’. While it’s not safe to just have one password for all your accounts, it’s equally dangerous to write down all your passwords on a piece of paper. This is where your USB thumb drive comes in. You can use encrypted software such as Pass2Go and KeePass to save all your sensitive information.

Use it as a media player. Some thumb drives also function as a media player. This is a good thing if you’re going to need a little entertainment during long hours of travel. If you really want to maximize productivity during these hours, you can listen to podcasts that are relevant to your business or financial life.