Test Lab: iPad as travel tool

Like many folks I know for whom schlepping around an extra bag (or two) of gym clothes, train-ride reading material, and brown-bag lunches is a given, I've really come to rely on my assortment of ripstop nylon Baggu totes—they're cheap, lightweight, and eminently wad-up-able. And up to this point, the Del Mar, Calif.-based company has done brisk business with a pretty narrow array of styles—the original Baggu, Baby Baggu, and Big Baggu—all iterations of the same basic shape. As these bags have no closures and no real structure, they've never been ideal for travel (although mine did come in very handy on my last beach trip, where a couple Baggus stood in as beach-towel and snorkel-gear totes that took up no room in my suitcase). But now, the company has introduced two new styles that have serious carry-on potential: a snap-top tote with adjustable shoulder strap in heavyweight cotton canvas ($20), and my favorite, a very simple, APC-esque recycled-cotton-canvas backpack ($28), a style that Verena von Pfetten of Styleite, who is currently leading the charge for a backpack resurgence, would likely go nuts for. Both of these new additions have interior pockets, come in nine rich, mostly gender-neutral colors (red, fuchsia, navy, blue, olive, teal, ivory, mustard, and black) and are available now at baggubag.com.

The attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet showed that airport security remains flawed. The TSA is trying to come up with new tactics to keep terrorists off of our planes. Is there anything smarter than can be done? We've blogged in the past about pre-screening passengers by filtering info from law enforcement databases, collecting "biometric data" with iris scans and other tests, and making passengers walk through whole-body scanners instead of mere metal detectors. Here are a few technologies that could help spot potential terrorists before it's too late, similar to the systems for detecting "pre-crimes" used in the Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report." ROBOTIC MIND READING Under this system being tested in Israel, passengers would be shown photographs of known terrorists and studied for how they react. Passengers with guilty consciences or a touch of paranoia may react to the stress physically. Infrared cameras would measure jumps in a traveler's heart rate and breathing rate. If the passenger's vital signs reveal hidden nervousness, the passenger may be questioned further by officers. POP QUIZ STRESS TEST Imagine you're approaching the airport security gate. You step up to a machine and put your passport on a scanner and rest the palm of your hand on a sensor. Then you answer a series of written questions that are flashed on a screen (or are spoken to you in audio mode, if you prefer). A machine measures your body's reactions during this question-and-answer session. Are you acting suspicious? You'll be pulled aside for further questioning. Such a scenario may not be a sci-fi fantasy anymore. New technology, memorably named SDS-VR-1000, is being tested to do precisely this. KEEPING TABS ON THE SECURITY WORKERS A tragedy might go unprevented if an officer is distracted and daydreaming while the image of a bomb comes across their X-ray screen. But new monitoring equipment—similar to cardiogram machines—would continuously study employees to spot check their competency and help managers know when their employees need to take breaks. The technology, being develped by Eltel, is similar to the camera-monitoring system used by casinos to catch any signs of suspicious behavior by their staff or customers. Do any of these programs work? The verdict is still out. Consider those infrared devices used to tell if a passenger's heart rate is speeding up. The machines sound awfully similar to those thermal imaging devices that are supposed to detect whether a passenger is running a fever—and which are not effective, according to a recent study. False alarms are another worry. Many innocent passengers are bound to be mistakenly fingered as possible bad guys. Even if the devices were 99.999 percent accurate—which would be surprisingly good—they would set off about 20 false alarms a day nationwide. Yet for many Americans, the inconvenience and added expense could be worth it. What do you think? How would you feel about being exposed to "incriminating stimuli" at the airport security gate to see how you react?

Unless you've been stuck under a rock for the past week, there's a new device on the market called the iPad. Some are calling it a "game-changer," some are calling it an unnecessary extra. What remains to be seen is whether it will become a useful tool for travelers — and one worth the $500 (starting) price tag. In the effort of sussing that out, I'll be bringing one along with me this weekend on a trip to New Orleans, for the French Quarter Festival. I'll be mapping, eating, and, you know, dancing in the streets. Since these tech toys are only as good as the apps you download onto them, I'd like to know what you think I should test. Are there apps you're interested in hearing about? Challenges you want me to overcome? Questions you'd like answered? Send 'em my way today and I'll report back next week.

As airlines continue to tack on charges for checking bags, it's never been more crucial to find a lightweight, functional option you can easily heave into the overhead compartment—no assist necessary. Samsonite's Bright Lite line of luggage (in glossy pink, blue, or black) infuses a jolt of style into an otherwise sensible suitcase. Case in point: The ding-resistant polycarbonate shell clocks in at 6.6 pounds, and all four wheels spin 360 degrees for easy maneuvering. Good thing there's no fee for efficiency. You can purchase the 20-inch upright luggage at samsonite.com for $189 (pink won't be available until early May) and at Macy's beginning in late April. From the April 2010 issue of Budget Travel.