Gift Ideas: Everything Your Favorite Business Traveler Needs
(Thinkstock)
Business travelers are a hard-working bunch. They put up with everything from traffic to flight delays to crammed train cars in the name of getting their jobs done.
So this holiday season, why not get your favorite traveler something that will help make her life a bit easier?
Anker Astro E3
$26.00
Seeing your phone or tablet battery dwindle to nothing while away from a power outlet is the bane of many business travelers’ lives. Because once your gadget bites the dust on a plane, or a long train ride, you can either listen to the people behind you complain about how poor the service was at their hotel or smother yourself with your seat cushion.
Anker’s 2nd Generation Astro ER 10,000-mAh battery provides enough juice to fully recharge a phone like Samsung’s Galaxy S4 twice, and a tablet once. So if you want to keep your loved one sane while on the road, you’ll want to get him this.
Buy it for: The business traveler who can’t live without his smartphone or tablet for fear of losing his mind.
Hitting the road frequently will inevitably lead to bumped and bruised gadgets. So what can you do for the globetrotter who doesn’t want her expensive laptop to take a beating? Simple: Get her Toshiba’s Chromebook 2.
Chromebooks run on Google’s Chrome operating system and are primarily meant as secondary laptops. They’re perfect for getting online and browsing the Web, streaming Netflix, or working in Google Drive, but won’t help much when it comes to heavy photo editing or other intense programs.
But if you’re traveling for business and just want to be able to get online, Toshiba’s Chromebook 2, with its wonderful 13-inch, 1080p display and Skullcandy audio, is a solid pick.
Buy it for: The traveler who doesn’t want to worry about her expensive laptop being damaged or stolen, but still needs to get online.
iPad mini 2
$299 with 16 GB of memory, $359 with 32 GB of memory
If a Chromebook is a bit too big for your favorite traveler’s liking, you may want to get him a tablet. And the best tablet deal going is Apple’s iPad mini 2. For $299, the mini 2 packs all the same features as Apple’s $399 iPad mini 3, with the exception of the mini 3’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
And while Apple’s Touch ID is convenient, as it lets users unlock their tablets and pay for items online with a tap, it’s definitely not worth the $100 premium. And thanks to its diminutive size, the iPad mini 2 slips easily into almost any bag. If you’re looking to get your business traveler a tablet this holiday season, get him the mini 2.
Buy it for: The traveler who wants to watch movies, play games, and stream music from the road, but doesn’t want to lug around a laptop.
TV streaming sticks can be a godsend for someone who spends a lot of time in hotels. With one, not only can a traveler stream things like HBO GO, WatchESPN, Netflix, and Hulu, but she can do so using her hotel’s TV rather than her laptop or tablet.
The best stick around? That would be the Roku Streaming Stick. For $49, the Stick, which is only a bit larger than your average USB thumb drive, can stream the most content of any streaming stick. So while Google’s Chromecast gets access to the Google Play store, and Amazon’s Fire Stick gets access to Amazon’s Instant Video, the Roku can access them both.
Buy it for: The person who’s always on the road, but can’t do without watching her favorite shows on a big screen.
Bose QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones
$299
Boy, does being stuck in coach on a plane that’s bursting with people stink. You know what’s worse, though? Having to listen to the guy in front of you snore for three and a half hours straight. Want to save your favorite traveler from a fate worse than death? Then get him a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
And if you want to get him one of the best pairs, you’ll want to check out Bose’s QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones. They cost a pretty penny at $299, but they are among the most highly touted headphones around. Not only do they offer exceptional sound quality, but they’re also impressively lightweight and can fold up and be packed away with ease.
Buy it for: The person between the crying baby and the mouth-breather in Row 23, Seat B.
Victorinox Swiss Army Big Ben 17 Laptop Backpack
$239
OK, so your special traveler has everything she needs to keep her sane and productive while on the road, but does she have something to stuff all her gadgets into? If not, you’ll want to check out Victorinox’s Swiss Army Big Ben 17 Laptop Backpack.
This plus-sized backpack is roomy enough for a 17-inch laptop and anything else your excursionist could possibly need for her next business trip. And if she doesn’t have a 17-inch notebook, she can use that extra space to stuff her plush neck pillow. Oh, and it’s pretty chic for a backpack.
Buy it for: The world traveler with everything she needs, but nowhere to put it all.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+ here.
