If you travel a lot, then you need to make sure you have products that make your life easier and better. Every corporate exec should be rolling with these goods, or ones like them. Next time you’re running out the door, make sure you have the necessities.

1. The bag: I own the Tumi Alpha Travel & Business large screen leather computer brief. There are a few great features that really make this a great traveling bag. For starters you can quickly take your laptop out at the security check point (I still can’t believe we have to do this, dumb). You can purchase an umbrella that fits nicely in the front pocket and there is a little drain even so you can stick the umbrella back into the case and not worry about mildew. This really comes in handy when I go to my San Francisco office as it’s always raining up there. Another nice feature is there is a toll free number on the bag that someone can call if they find your bag and Tumi will get it back to you. Course the right type of person has to find the bag, or you won’t see it again. I l also recommended purchasing their USB cell phone/PDA charger kit. It has adapters for every type of device and works great when traveling internationally.

2. The sounds: I don’t remember what life was like before the Bose noise cancelling headset. You have to have these. There is something about that white noise on an airplane that just wears you down. I kid you not, as long as I get some sleep on the plane, drink lots of water and wear these things, and I do not get jet lagged anymore, no matter how far I travel. Might I suggest the Quiet Comfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling head phones model. I had the 2’s before I left them on the damn plane, and you get hot with the 2’s because they cover your whole ear. The 3’s are more comfortable. Also always bring with you a back up headset that doesn’t require battery power, I recommend the Bose In-Ear headphones.

3. The Tunes: Not much needs to be said about the iPod, life is always better with music in the background. One thing to mention though, I spent the extra money and bought the iPod video. I swear I haven’t used the video feature once! Save the money and get yourself an 8 gig ipod nano. When traveling somewhere for longer than 5 days I bring my iPod speakers so I can have some tunes in my hotel room. Check out these by Logitech.

4. The Connectivity: Novatel Wireless’ Merlin EX720 Broadband Express Card running on Sprint’s Mobile network is truly amazing. Imagine having broadband speeds on your laptop anywhere you go. Some technologies like Speech-to-text come out too early. Consumers will try them out, it won’t work (“Call Mary” ends up calling your ex Margie at 3am), and they never again give the technology another chance. Not sure if you tried out a new voice recognition software these days but it is becoming really, really good. The same goes for wireless broadband. I had one of the first wireless cards back in the day, and it was so slow I gave up. I had no idea how far the technology had come, and I couldn’t believe how fast the speeds were on this card. So fast so that you can watch your TV on your laptop with the Sling Box, (see #7 below for more on the Sling Box). Get the unlimited data plan (because you will use it, trust me) for $60.00 per month. The card retails for about $129.99, however if you are thinking of getting a few at once, go into the Sprint store, they will give you all kinds of rebates and discounts.

5. The Charge and Recharge: Don’t forget your chargers! You will need one for your phone, camera, iPod, iPod speakers, Bose head set, cell phone and anything else I didn’t think of. There are devices out there that have a bunch of different types of connections so don’t have to bring a charger for each device. The name of the model that I have used however escapes me. Chargers are important to juice your gear back up, but you need a wall socket, and that isn’t always easy to find on-the-go or in economy class on a plane. We all run out of battery power. The worst thing to lose first is your phone, followed by your laptop then iPod. I recently picked up Energizer’s Engeri To go (ER-FLY). It’s very reasonable, around $70 to $80 and gives your laptop an extra 2 hours or 25 hours of music from an iPod and 75 hours of standby for your phone. It has 2 USB ports and a regular power outlet so you can charge multiple things at once.

6. The headset: There are Bluetooth headsets, and then there the Ear Set 2 by Bang Olufsen. Everyone traveling needs a good Bluetooth headset so you can be hands free when trying to move about with bags and getting in taxis etc.. This baby might be expensive ($350) but it is worth the money. Not only is it incredibility comfortable, but the noise cancellation really works. I can walk around a loud tradeshow floor while conducting business with clients.

7. The Entertainment: Get in your car right now, drive to Best Buy and pick up the SlingBox Pro by Sling Media. If you have a HD TV, make sure to spend an extra $49.99 on the HD Connect Cable. Here is the deal on this bad ass device if you haven’t already heard. You simply connect this to your Tivo or HD DVR, and then hook it into your Internet router. This will broadcast your TV to any computer in the world, even to some cell phones! Why is this so great you ask? Imagine being in your hotel room and not only watch all of your favorite shows back home, but if you forgot to record Lost, no worries as you can control your TV from your laptop to record the show. Only thing is, if your wife is back home watching the same TV, she will think a ghost is changing the channels so make sure you hook this up to a TV that won’t always be used like in the living room as opposed to the bedroom. I will go to my parent’s house and they don’t have a TV in the room I stay in so if I want to watch TV before I go to bed, I simply pull my laptop out and instantly you I have TV no matter where I am, and in high def!

8. The Kicks: 911 dramatically changed the way we get in and out of airport security. It sucks having to take out your laptop, and take off your belt and shoes. The shoes part to me is always the biggest struggle. People are pissed you aren’t moving forward as you are trying to get your shoes back on. Never travel with laces! I think Nike’s acquisition of Cole Haan, was a smart move on Philips part. I have been really into the Nike Air Cole Haan Casual Collection. They are not only easy to get on and off at the airport, but they are so much more comfortable than your run of the mill dress shoe. It basically combines a dress shoe with a tennis shoe so you get the best of both words. My favorite style is the “Air Granada Slip On (in black though)”. You might be able to find them cheaper on ebay but they retail for $165, and I haven’t found them cheaper.

9. The Mobile Phone: iPhone schmyphone. Sure it’s the best consumer device ever developed, but when it comes to business it doesn’t do it for me. Bug free syncing to Exchange, the ability to get to things quickly and respond at lightning speeds are the most important features. And for this I haven’t used a better device than Blackberry’s Curve. The brilliant thing about a Blackberry is that if you can pretty much do everything with one hand if you needed to as the user experience is very well thought out. This device comes with a pretty decent camera and the ability to add more memory. The only drawback is the Internet isn’t 3G and it doesn’t come with WiFi, but don’t worry, the BlackBerry Bold is on its way! The Bold will have WiFi, GPS, 3g speeds and a slick interface. Set to debut next month, the Bold has it all. But wait there’s more! Blackberry is going head to head with the iPhone this September as they roll out a touch screen device called the Blackberry Thunder on Verizon.

10. The Landline Phone: When traveling overseas I never leave the home without my trusty Ipevo Portable VoIP Conference Phone. Over Christmas I was in a hotel in Jerusalem Israel, where the Internet speeds were decent but not great. Using this phone in conjunction with Skype I was able to make crystal clear phone calls to family back in California. The best part is you can flip a switch and hold it like a regular phone up to your ear for privacy, or make it a conference phone that can sit upright on a desk. The speaker phone in it is really good, and my fiancé and I were able to both talk without having to hand the phone back and forth. This device works particularly well in the U.S. if you are using Sprint’s Mobile Broadband Card (See #4 above). The speeds are fast enough to get crystal clear calls; my hotel room becomes a command center. Another great feature is that you can record all of your calls and play them back, excellent for making sure you have the evidence you need in court room when getting that restraining order. Skype is great because at $.02 per minute you might as well try to call Madonna’s house. You can at least afford it.