I have just returned home after a couple of weeks in New York. Whilst it is always hard to leave family and friends, it really makes you appreciate what we take for granted here in Australia.

Being a bit of a technophile, I tend to rely on some basics when travelling:

Mobile phones with both international roaming and a local prepaid SIM, my laptop with wireless access and a160GB portable drive, digital camera, PDA, and my iPod (can’t live without music!).

This of course, presents a basic weight problem when flying. You can only take 7kg on the plane, so you end up wearing or carrying your technology until you get past the dreaded scales located inside the immigration control point at the airport. (I also realised years ago that a four outlet power board and a single Australia to US converter plug is a good idea to put into your case).

So far so good.

As soon as we landed, the airline staff announced we could turn on our mobile phones (note I was flying Qantas, or they would have called them “cell phones”). 14 hours from Melbourne to LA, prior to almost 6 hours to NY – 19 hours without our phones………the look of relief when the network search ended and the familiar three, four of five bars of coverage appeared on the screen. By far the most popular phones around me were Blackberrys.

There were some people, who did not have their phones set up for automatic network selection, or international roaming was not available – something you should check before you leave home. Also, you should note that not all prepaid handsets can be used internationally (either because they are network locked or the SIM card does not permit roaming).

The joy of phone access was short lived – once off the plane there is no coverage inside the terminals – as the authorities regularly advise over the PA system that no photography or phones may be used until you clear customs. This was actually a good thing – as it prepared me for very patchy coverage in many parts of New York City.

My “local” US prepaid service worked most of the way from JFK to Manhattan – only dropping out on three occasions. I have had a Cingular (now AT&T) SIM for a couple of years – and it gets topped up every few months whenever friends of family travel to the US. One really great feature of their prepaid service is that at the end of each call or SMS, the system sends you a message to your screen stating the cost of the past call (AT&T to AT&T is free for calls) and the closing balance of your account.

Venturing into the subway was my first reminder that I was not at home. There is virtually no coverage when travelling on the subway. Our Next G network (as with the CDMA and GSM networks before it) has great coverage. Getting on a train or driving through a tunnel in Australia usually has no impact on your call. In New York it automatically equates to “got to go….will call you back when I get coverage”.

I mentioned earlier the Blackberry phenomenon. It is really quite amazing to see how the Americans have adopted the Blackberry. In restaurants, cafés, toy and clothing shops, every other person is checking their email on their Blackberry. And those who spend hours on end at a Starbucks, the Blackberry is often accessorised with the mandatory wireless enabled laptop. I am not sure what these folk spend their days typing – but in some outlets it seemed coffee came a very distant third to the technology!

Wireless seems to be easily accessible in NYC. If you are planning to take your laptop or wireless PDA with you, check where the hotspots are located. This can save you time and money. Also, if you use a SIM card based wireless modem to access the internet, you will also need to ensure you have international roaming available. Again – check what it will cost you before you leave home.