Vodafone Rental Blog recently published a great post about how travelers can benefit from the BlackBerry Storm smartphone:

When you’re traveling this year, leave your laptop, digital camera, camcorder, alarm clock, satnav and phone at home. Take a touch-screen BlackBerry^® Storm^TM smartphone with you instead – You’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone is packed with so many time saving features from its built-in GPS, helping you navigate around and find local tourist attractions, to its 3G / HSDPA (High Speed Download Packet Access – super fast data downloading to you and me) meaning you’ll be downloading emails and attachments as well as browsing the internet at lightening speeds!

Continue reading at 49 reasons why the Blackberry Storm smartphone is the ideal gadget for international travelers.

Prague Castle Cityscape

A view of the Prague Castle from the Old Town Bridge Tower in the early evening.

Hold the front page! .tel domains are now available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis.

.tel is perhaps the biggest innovation since the launch of .com. Those who understand the potential early will see a great return on investment. The simple reason is that, as .com was innovative in pioneering the ease of access to new web content globally, .tel is a unique top level domain which drives communications and contact information right across the internet.

Or put less technically, it may just be the new, simple way to keep in touch with friends, business associates, customers or that potential “special person” sitting opposite you on that otherwise dull and monotonous journey, who knows?

This is what has already been said about the .tel revolution;

• Is “The Google of Online Phone Books” – CNN/Fortune
• “Think of .tel as a ‘live’ global white/yellow pages directory or communications hub that crucially leaves control of the contact and other information in the hands of the domain owner who can set different levels of access for different visitors.” – The Financial Times
• “The new domain, which stores and encrypts contact information directly into the Domain Name System, has the potential to become a phone book for the Internet.” – New York Times
• “Owners of .tel domains will be able to manage their contact details via a simple dashboard and surrender as much or as little information as they desire.” – BBC News

More information about the .tel is available at www.telnic.org.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

Who doesn’t enjoy beautiful views? The first thing I do in a new hotel room is checking out the view. The ocean view from Aparthotel Green Beach in Arguineguin on Gran Canaria is my favorite so far.

When it comes to city views, nothing has beaten Milford Plaza in New York City’s theater district. The room we had booked from Expedia was somewhere around the tenth floor, but thanks to my friend the male receptionist agreed to give us a room on a higher floor. We ended up on the second highest floor and had an amazing view over Manhattan.

Each hotel view is special in its own way, but the ultimate hotel view for me would be of the ocean, a snow-covered Mountain massif, or a city at night.

What are your favorite hotel views?

This post was modified from a post from 2008.

A few years ago, the Australian magazine The Age ranked the world’s cities in WiFi-friendliness.

Top 10 cities:

1. Seoul
2. Singapore
3. Tokyo
4. Hongkong
5. Stockholm
6. San Francisco & Silicon Valley
7. Tallinn
8. New York City
9. Beijing
10. New Songdo

Would today’s list look the same? What do you think is the most WiFi-friendly city in the world?

This post was modified from a post from 2007.

NYC & Company, the City’s official marketing and tourism organization, has launched NYC: The Real Deal — a new marketing campaign to boost tourism to New York City this year.

The first phase of NYC: The Real Deal, available through June 30, offers “buy one, get the second one 50% off” at more than 100 NYC & Company member businesses and organizations, including museums, tours and attractions, arts and entertainment venues, nightlife spots, spa and beauty venues and transportation. Through the Travelocity widget on nycgo.com, you can also book hotel stays at “buy one, get the second night 50% off,” or better if available, at 26 participating hotels (book through May 30, travel by June 30). If you book a hotel stay through nycgo.com‘s Travelocity widget, you can also purchase tickets at “buy one, get the second 50% off” at 16 participating attractions or Broadway shows.

“The NYC: The Real Deal program is designed to entice visitors and locals to experience the vibrancy, energy and excitement of New York City while taking advantage of unprecedented savings this year,” said Jane Reiss, CMO of NYC & Company.

The new consumer micro site nycgo.com/realdeal, part of the Real Deal promotion, details all special offers throughout the five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. Choose between enjoying the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, seeing Chicago, the Musical, attending the Tribeca Film Festival, and other deals catering to every age group and interest.

“We are pleased to create the NYC: The Real Deal program that brings so much value to consumers while at the same time offering excellent visibility to NYC & Company’s members — this is a worthwhile effort to boost tourism to New York City in 2009,” said Kelly Ann Curtin, senior vice president of Membership and Convention Services.

The second phase of NYC: The Real Deal will start in May with retail and dining offers, followed by other great reasons to plan a trip to New York City this year.

Marina Beach Chennai © Asif Akbar

Situated along a 12 km shoreline in the city of Chennai, the Marina Beach is the second largest beach in a city after the Ocean Beach in San Francisco.