Since I first hit the road with my Airstream Safari a lot has changed in the digital world. Things have been super simplified if you ask me.
Every RV’er I’ve met in the past few years has a computer with them. Normally they carry a laptop for their travels. Also, almost every RV’er I’ve met has a smart phone too. No surprise, you can do so much with them.
At this point, outfitting your mobile home to stay in touch with family and friends couldn’t be easier. WiFi / Cellular devices are available everywhere. Walk into a Best Buy or carrier store and you’ll have a host of options at your disposal. Additionally, setting up an entertainment system that takes a lot less space than the conventional TV and DVD setup is a cake walk. My recommendation?
Go Apple all the way.
IPhones, IPads, IPod Touches, Apple TV…..they’re all about ease of use and convenience. With Apple’s “Airplay” you can stream entertainment from your IPhone or Ipad to other devices through an Apple TV device. The Apple TV costs a little over $100 with tax so it’s not a bank breaker. As a matter of fact, I recently got one to hook up to a TV that my friend Don was kind enough to loan me for the new house.
Through a WiFi / Cellular hotspot (sometimes called MiFi) you can stream entertainment from YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, Hulu, and more. The library of music and video on your computer or IPhone can be streamed too. We’re talking devices that take no space here folks. Heck, you can use your IPhone as a portable WiFi hotspot if you like!
Worried about bandwidth usage? I’ve been using my IPhone for a year now. And I really use it! I’ve run Netflix and Hulu on it over the past year and I’ve never exceeded the 10GB limit. While I haven’t watched real network TV in a long time I do like the show, “Kitchen Nightmares” and watched several seasons of it while living in the Airstream. Guess I don’t mind small screens, they get the job done for me!
Bottom line? Being connected while on the road couldn’t be easier.
Comments 3
And, then there are the apps!!! There are some especially designed for RVers. AllStays, for example, has a suite of apps that identify locations of parks, shopping centers, gas stations, etc. Rosemary especially likes the Whole Trader Foods app. Pilot just released a very useful app.
We just got a verizon wi fi card and are finding out there are problems in paradise (arizona snowbird country). All around the perimeter of Phoenix, even tho we have good strong signals and 3g to 4g… there is so many people streaming and on line that some times of the day we can’t even get Safari to open a page and must wait till people go to bed so we can do our business. I think the new phones that do it all… movies, TV, internet… are taxing the general bandwidth capabilities and slowing things down. And I fear that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
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Box Canyon,
You’ve got a point. In densely populated areas the system will be taxed. There are only so many data cards that can be deployed per cell site. And in an area like Phoenix? Yeah, gonna be congested.
Fortunately if you’re traveling with your RV you will hopefully be going to places that aren’t so populated.
I’ve run my Verizon wireless card in Prescott for years with no congestion. And when I traveled the country I didn’t have problems, but I stayed away from major population centers.