Gearing Up for SXSW

Posted by admin on Feb 24, 2011 in SXSW | 0 comments

I’ve only got a week to go before I leave for Austin.  As I mentioned, I’ve got the iMedia Brand Summit for a few days prior to the SXSW activities starting up.  That means I’ll be spending this weekend tracking down last minute items for my trip.  I’ve already purchased a few things, but here’s my list of gear and gadgets I’m prepping for my marathon of technology and social media:

Extended laptop battery – I recently replaced the battery on my laptop, and surprisingly, the cost wasn’t too bad. However, the 6-cell battery would only get me about 2.5 hours of power before I had to plug in.  So, I managed to find a 12-cell battery that would fit my laptop that can get me through a couple SXSW sessions before I need to plug in.

Griffin TuneJuice 2 Battery Backup for iPod – Even though I’ll use my laptop quite a bit, my iPhone will get a ton of use as well.  Especially since it’ll probably spend 1/3 of its time searching for a signal with the 15,000 other iPhones within a half mile radius.  It takes 4 AAA batteries, which should be easy to find should I run out of juice.

Dual Power Strip – I actually brought this with me last year, and I can’t tell you the number of friends I would make in each session when I pulled it out.  In every ballroom people were gathered around the outlets.  Most people didn’t mind letting me plug in so we could all share the power.  The only bad thing is when I would get set up and realize about 5 minutes into the session that it sucked and I wanted to bail.  Unfortunately, I’d have to literally pull the plug on 6-7 people. However, most seemed to understand and were just happy to get 5 minutes worth of recharging time.

Verizon Air Card – While the wifi wasn’t bad last year, it would go in and out on me sporatically, so I learned not to count on it.  At least with the air card, I pretty much knew I could get a signal, even if it was a little slower than the wifi.  I’m just hoping that all those new Verizon iPhones won’t bog down the network too bad.

Joby Gorillamobile for iPhone 4 – I’m planning to shoot a whole lot more photos and video this year, now that I’ve got the iPhone 4.  However, when I have shot video, I’ve noticed how shakey the video has been.  I just got this little device which can sit and grip while holding my phone will help me produce some decent video from SXSW.

Not necessarily gear, but necessary in your gear – Here’s a list of a few things I’d recommend having on hand in your backpack or slingbag: asprin, bottle for water, snacks (granola bars), 5 Hour Energy, business cards, power cords, pen & paper, a mouse, sunglasses, and memory cards.

Let me know in the comments what other gear you are bringing or recommend for SXSW.