Tourists take mobile technology on the road

Resellers and distributors could service the market really well if they put together packages for four-wheel drivers.

Wellington’s ideal package would include a laptop or Tablet PC that is locked down, secure and out of sight with maybe a little 10-inch screen somewhere near the front of the car; a touch screen to hook to your GPS all the time.

Of course there are GPS, digital cameras and a host of mapping software alternatives to choose from, depending on whether you were off-road, up creek beds or in the big smoke.

"We’ve got new phones now with a modem in it and we’re just trying that out in the bush at the moment. It’s one of the new Nokias with Bluetooth and camera built in," Wellington says.

Sommerville says what is still to come in terms of mapping advances is "really off the beaten track-type fire trails and 4WD tracks and it won’t be long. In the next year we’ll see some very exciting things in terms of topographical mapping for the real off-roaders".

Expect to see more extensive map coverage from people like Hema and Sensis. "Hema are specialist map providers and they’re very good at doing popular destination-type maps for places like Kakadu and the Kimberleys."

He says there will soon be tourist-type GPSs so that as you approach a particular town, you can book yourself into the local 4WD campground or make dinner reservations by pressing a button.

"They will also be linked to traffic information, so if there’s an accident on the road ahead, it will direct you around it on an alternative route," Sommerville says. New technology like that could be just what another kind of travelling techadopter needs.

The tens of thousands of retirees blatting about Australia in their motorhomes -- affectionately called the Grey Nomads -- are fast adopting new technology as they take to the roads for one or many months of the year.

Tech-savvy motorhomers hit Alice Springs

A 2004 survey showed there were 350,000 motorhomes and caravans in Australia, with another 18,700 expected to be added that year.

The Campervan & Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) is the largest of its kind in Australia and grows by 700 new members each month. As of June, the CMCA had almost 43,000 members.

That is a lot of people hitting the road each year, and with each member spending up to $600 per week while travelling, they may as well be spending it on tech gear.

"Six years ago only 14 percent of CMCA members had laptops," says Don Eldred, one sun-seeker who is currently working his way up north via the Great Inland Way.

"Now it’s 60 percent, and they typically have a laptop, digital camera and mobile phone. Beyond that amount of tech gear they start to run into space and power problems," he says.

What started out as some basic safety and communications equipment in Eldred’s own motorhome has now grown to include a notebook computer, mobile phone, connection to the mobile to download email and surf the internet, digital camera, photo editing software, printer, and in the past satellite comms equipment.

It is not all just for fun, or for communicating with family while on the road. Eldred is surveying the Great Inland Way on behalf of the CMCA, looking at it from a mobile tourist’s point of view.

"I’ve got masses of notes and I’m uploading all my reports to head office all the time.

‘There’s a massive amount of Excel, and my lifeblood, Microsoft Word. My notebook doesn’t get time to cool down,’ Eldred says.

In his spare time, he edits fi lms and photos, and runs a variety of editing software.

GPO's Sommerville: More interest from Grey Nomads

"I’ve got the usual range of scanners, printers, SCSI scanner and a USB2 photoquality printer. I’ve got external DVD burners so I can copy and do primary editing of photographs. I use the latest Kyocera mobile and a digital cable straight into the notebook, appropriate software and away I go. It’s not rocket science," he says.

Maybe not for a tech-savvy gentleman like Don, but for most Grey Nomads, that would be a little daunting. Most just want to email family from the comfort of their own motorhomes, without having to fight for space at the local internet cafe. Those establishments are certainly not the first choice.

"Good Lord yes. Internet cafes are a last resort," Eldred says. "They’re not terribly popular with us."

Apart from email and net access, Grey Nomads are also starting to adopt GPS and moving-map technology as well. GPS OZ’s Sommerville says there is more and more interest from Grey Nomads in this kind of gear.

"They typically want a unit that gives them voice navigation as they’re concerned about the difficulty of turning their motorhome around if they get stuck in cul de sacs or one way streets."

Using voice navigation also helps take the stress out of finding their way through big cities.