More tips for TechEd Europe 2012 and Amsterdam

Reading Time: 2 minutes

So, now we have less than a month until TechEd Europe 2012 kicks off! In April I wrote about some tips for TechEd and Amsterdam. In the meantime some people wrote me with additional request or other helpful tips. I will list them here:

Internet

One option is Droam, which delivers a Mifi device on which 5 Wi-Fi devices can connect. You’ll have to pay €150 in advance, you get a refund on what you don’t use. As far as I can tell, usage during TechEd would cost €50 and you’ll have a 1 GB limit.

I haven’t used this service myself but a coworker has good experience with them. They are based in the Netherlands, so it is probably more cost efficient to let it be delivered to your hotel. Check with them first though.

You could also try the KPN (van Baerlestraat is closest to RAI), T-Mobile (T-shop map) or Vodafone (Here, here or here) shops for on the shelf pre-paid internet solutions.

As I am resident of the Netherlands, I don’t have experience with aforementioned mobile internet solutions as I have mobile internet within my mobile phone subscription. So, if anyone has some better solutions, let me know!

Do check whether your device will work in Europe/Netherlands (if you choose a SIM only solution, without a MiFi device). We have GSM900/1800 and UMTS/HSDPA, but no CDMA and no LTE!

Computer stores

In the event you need a spare part, USB hard disk etc. etc. it’s nice to know that there are still some shops left (although practically all of them also have a web shop). Mycom (shops on the Ceintuurbaan which is closest to RAI, and Kinkerstraat), Paradigit, Dynabyte and Computerland.

Most of the computer stores have one on the Ceintuurbaan, which is 20 minutes walking distance and 15 minutes via Tram from the RAI (where TechEd is held).

TechEd Mobile Apps

Since my last post the OData for TechEd Europe 2012 has become available and thus mobile apps!

I already pointed to this WP7 app by wp7agile, but it is a paid one. For a free app check Eventboard. You can pin the TechEd 2012 conference directly to start. I did not have time to do an extensive review, but from what I can see both are able to store your own schedule, browse to sessions via several ways (speaker, track, date etc.) and see specific session information. There are no apparent crucial differences, so IMHO the Eventboard version is the way to go because it is free.

For Android Frank Burmo pointed me to his TechEd Europe 2012 app, which can be downloaded for free via this link. It’s more basic than the WP7 apps (you can’t make your own schedule and there is no session information available for instance), but I already made some suggestions. And as far as I can tell, still no iOS app.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.