I talk about packing light all the time—it’s one of my favorite topics. One of the ways to lighten your personal item is by swapping 
out your laptop for a tablet. But what if you took it a step further? What if you went on a trip where your only communication device is your phone? Whoaaaa. Mind. Blown.
Seriously though. Have you ever thought about it? I know I have. In fact, on a recent trip I barely opened my computer at all, using my iPhone for basically everything from checking emails to writing blog posts. Of course, if you need specialized software the issue is complicated. Probably the best trip to go laptop-free is one where you will be primarily doing things like email and word processing, both of which can be easily done from a phone. Presentations and spreadsheets would probably be difficult though!
There are tools that can help your phone be as productive as possible. The TextExpander app (free for iPhones) will allow you to create customized shortcuts for your most used phrases. If you hate typing on your phone you can get a folding keyboard that will connect to by Bluetooth (pictured). There is a Microsoft app that will allow you to access and edit your MS docs from your phone, but you have to have an account to use for business.
A few points of interest: The CEO of SalesForce says he can run his company from his phone. A study shows that half of Americans can’t make it one day without their phones. And if you are worried you may be addicted to your phone, there’s an app for that.
Readers, what do you think? Is going laptop free crazy or does it sound doable?
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Great idea. I too travel for work and although I am required to carry a laptop for work (darn!), I open and use it as little as possible instead using my iphone & iPad mini (iPad with attached keyboard by Zagg) for 98% of all work related communication. My travel purse has a large enough pocket which I specifically designate for the iPad mini. Although I’ve thought about using my iphone solely on the road, the iPad/Zagg keyboard combo is small and portable enough to meet my needs.
I can go laptop free up to a week. I love it when that happens. Longer than that gets touchy because of the size of the phone screen.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a screen at hotels or business centers in hotels where I can plug in my phone so that I could easily read, do spreadsheets, or even write long blog posts with ease?
There’s an idea! Like a kiosk of iPhones. Hmmm:-)
I’ve been doing this for years for personal travel. I like to use GoodReader for document storage. The blogs have their own apps for posting. An external keyboard makes a huge difference for typing.
I travel light too. Was just thinking it would be fun to have a column about – what ‘luxury’ item would you take if you weren’t traveling light?