Checking your e-mail involves two basic steps and they are connecting to the internet and actually checking your e-mail. Connecting to the internet actually depends on where you are and what computer you are using. Almost all laptops have a modem built-in and you may also have an Ethernet card. Connecting via Ethernet card is preferred as this gives a faster connection. If you have all the necessary cables and jacks, all you need is to configure your network settings. You can obtain these by consulting with the customer service of your hotel. If you don’t have Ethernet and will be connecting via a modem, you will need to obtain a telephone number that can be dialled and the appropriate software to go with it. I highly suggest testing this before leaving home since there are many possibilities for error.

Apart from using the Ethernet card and the modem in your laptop, most laptops are also equipped with WiFi capability. This makes it easier to connect to the internet even in public areas that offer the service. But be wary of these public connections especially if you are checking e-mails that contain personal information.

If you don’t have your own laptop, you are sadly constrained to using what computer is locally available. In some cases you may be able to use a public computer in your hotel lobby, a computer at an internet café or at a public library. Remember to clear the history and cache of the web browser before leaving so no one can get access to any information you may have entered.

Once you’re connected to the internet, you can now proceed to checking your e-mail. Famous e-mail hosts like Yahoo are fairly easy to have to check. Once you’re connected to the internet, just type in the web address of your e-mail host, log in with your information and check your e-mails.

If you have a POP e-mail client like Eudora, Thunderbird or Outlook Express, checking your e-mail is a simple matter of re-configuring the settings. Do note that the “allow authentication” box must be checked in the mail client settings in order to be able to send mail even when you’re not on your own computer. After the settings are changed, you can both read and send e-mail as you normally would.

It’s fairly easy to do this. You really just have to know the processes it takes on how to check your e-mail when you travel.

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Everyone seems to think that the best mobile phone to have when you travel is the iPhone. Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. I think that the best mobile phone when you travel is the Blackberry Curve.

The Blackberry Curve, as well as other Blackberry smart phones, comes equipped with Wi-Fi. You may think that the features not that special but the Wi-Fi in this particular mobile phone supports a mobile system called UMA. UMA is technically a method of connecting to the mobile network using Wi-Fi and the internet instead of cellular towers. That means, that as long as you can get the phone connected to the internet over Wi-Fi, you’ll be able to use it just like you do when you are back home. And yes, that means you won’t get insane roaming charges that would cost you an arm and a leg to pay.

If you don’t get it, here’s a quick example. Let’s say you’re in Denmark. The cost of a call from back home to your mobile phone in Denmark is $1 per minute. But if you have free Wi-Fi at your hotel, you simply let your Blackberry Curve connect to that and you can make calls as long as you want, using the minutes in your plan. You can also send and receive text messages, and go online without those high roaming charges.

If you are a US traveller, I say you are a lucky guy. Another reason why I think that the Blackberry Curve is the best mobile phone when you travel because of a feature that is unique to US mobile service T-Mobile that they offer along with the phone and that is the T-Mobile Blackberry international plan. For just $19.95 per month, you can send and receive as many emails as you want on any mobile network in the world. Other mobile services would charge $16 for just 1 megabyte of data sent.

The only tip I have when using the Blackberry Curve is to disable the mobile network option before making a call. The phone can switch between Wi-Fi and cellular seamlessly so you might find yourself in a world of trouble if the Wi-Fi connection drops and you wouldn’t even know it until you get your phone bill.

Of course, there are other alternatives to making internet calls back home but with the Blackberry Curve it’s a no-brainer, so why look for something else? This is why I believe that the Blackberry Curve is the best mobile phone to have and use when you travel.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30691679@N07/3252506530/

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