This is what we'll be carrying to bring you all of the news from Google I/O.
Whenever we get our gear together to head out to an event, trade show or conference, we like to pull back the curtain and show everyone what we bring along with us. This time around it's the big show, , that has us all making the trek out to Mountain View, CA for a few days of fun in the sun and learning all about Google's latest innovations.
That means we're all bringing as many Google devices as we can carry, naturally, plus a base line of our computers, cameras, accessories and everything else we could possibly need. We pack an exorbitant amount of gadgetry with us for these sorts of conferences, but we (not so) secretly love it, despite how heavy it makes our bags.
Read on to take a peek inside our gear bags that will be accompanying us to Google I/O 2016.
Phil Nickinson
Very little has changed in my gear bag — Mobile World Congress. Same MacBook Pro. Same . The phones have been swapped out, with the now my everyday carry, with the , and serving as backup. I also brought along the , which mysteriously grew a crack in the same place as my last Pixel C. (The Nexus 9 went around the world a time or two without ever getting a crack in the glass. Go figure.)
New phones are kind of obvious changes. The big deal this time around is the inclusion of a couple 360-degree cameras. The shot above was taken with the . It's proving to be the best one we've used so far, with easy (but full-featured) controls and good image quality. It shares easily to Twitter and Facebook, and provides embeddable pictures through its own service, which is the one area Facebook and Google and others are lacking.
I figured since 360 is going to be BIG this year, might as well use it for this gear bag pic, right? And the bag itself remains my trusty .
Jerry Hildenbrand
Google I/O is my favorite week of the year. I get to nerd out and learn things as well as hang out and talk about baseball or 1980's pop music with the folks I know from the Bay area. In my book, that's a win. I also want to be sure I am prepared for anything.
I have the large (the older model that's shaped like a trapezoid) and the to drop inside it. This combo holds everything I'll need, and a bunch of things I won't need but brought along anyway. I put my (I can't give up the viewfinder) and a in the cmaera insert, along with all the cables and chargers and batteries and SD cards needed to use it. I also drop my and a pair of in there, just in case.
On the computer side, I carry a running OS X and Goobuntu Linux along with the charger and a handful of USB thumb drives.
The good stuff, of course, are the Androids. I'll be taking my Pixel C, along with a handful of phones — the Nexus 6P, the Nexus 5X, the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, the HTC 10 (along with my trusty ) and the Nextbit Robin. If there's room I'll pack my BlackBerry Priv because I still love that keyboard. Of course, there will be several to try and keep them all running.
One other cool thing I'm taking this year is a and a handful of mounting options. Even a . If I can talk Andrew into helping, expect a video of Jerry rolling down the biggest hill in Mountain View with an action cam mounted to my wheelchair and something cold and frosty in my hands. Maybe with Dan Bader in my lap. All work and no play something something.
I'll probably wish I had packed something I didn't, but I think this should get me through Google I/O 2016.
Andrew Martonik
Not much has changed in my gear bag , but there are a few considerations for Google I/O that change things up.
Starting with the bag, I'm carrying my , large size, which still works great for me. I keep cables and random things organized in some , and generally have room for everything I need. I'll be working entirely from my for the show, and I fear this may be the last big show for this 2012 model before I move on to something new.
I carry the , size medium, inside the bag, which keeps my camera gear safe and separate from the rest of the gear and makes it easy to manage. I've upgrade the camera inside to , but I'm still using my , with for longer shots. During the show, my camera sits on my messenger bag strap — seriously, one of the best camera gear investments I've made.
Onto the phones — and yes, Google I/O warrants bringing lots of phones. I'll be carrying my primarily (with ), but my bag will also have , a Nexus 6 (running Android N), (with ). I'm bringing both my and a to keep 'em juiced up, plus my 6000 mAh dual-USB power bank for a backup (and some extra Google cred). As for cables, I like my Ventev tangle-free ones — a , and .
Odds and ends time! For any sort of voiceover or podcasting work, I have . For the plane rides, I'm still using , but those stay in the hotel in favor of when I'm out. I bring a to carry around, plus for the hotel.
Alex Dobie
For this year's Google I/O I'm packing my , with a Googley twist. I'm still carrying my trusty , into which I'll be bundling a reasonably hefty loadout of camera, laptop and phone-related goodies.
First up, my daily driver will be the , which I've found has by far the best battery life of any mainstream, high-end Android phone — important for getting me through long days in Mountain View. But just in case, I'll also be carrying a ... and just to be sure, an additional 10,000mAh courtesy of . My backup phone will be the — fitting for a Google event, and I'd expect to have a new preview build ready for it during I/O week.
My main laptop is still an ancient (2012 model), and yes, I'm still holding out for a refreshed MacBook Pro later this year. For now, the Air does the job, even if it's surely seen better days by this point. And when it's time to take pictures of cool stuff, I'll be relying on my , paired with a 25mm f/1.8 pancake lens for shooting small things close up, and a 14-150mm f/4-5.6 superzoom lens for liveblog duty. As I've said before, this camera is capable enough for most of the photographic duties of the job, while not completely dominating my carry-on luggage.
Finally, I've been reacquainting myself with iOS lately, so I'll be packing an alongside an aging Nexus 7 2013. And for music on the flight over to I/O, it's gotta be , bundled with the HTC 10 in some countries.
Daniel Bader
Gear! Google I/O! It's my favorite time of the year.
In years past, at my previous job, I was a one-man reporting machine, and always brought way more than I needed. But with this illustrious team alongside me, I plan to be a bit more selective with my gear choices this year.
It all starts with my trusty -- I try to minimize back strain, so a messenger just isn't in the cards for shows like this -- which features a super tough nylon exterior, plush pockets and, for the size, an enormous amount of storage.
Inside, my will surprise you with its beautiful photos and smooth 4K video -- one of the best travel investments I've made in recent memory -- and will be paired with a , which attaches to the Timbuk2 through handy loops. Elsewhere, my will capture interviews with Googlers, developers, and maybe even our own team.
My mid-2015 will be the workhorse of the trip, capturing my written thoughts on its keyboard while rendering my mediocre video. Seriously, I need to work on that. I'll also have a bunch of phones, including the beautiful platinum , which I find has some of the most consistent performance and battery life in the Android space. I'll also be bringing a to soak up all the inevitable goodness, and a to do the same on the tablet side.
I'm also playing with Samsung's new , a Windows 2-in-1 that has so far impressed me a lot.
And for the planes, trains and automobiles, I'll be bringing my favorite in-ear headphones, the Sony XBAH1's, which despite lacking a microphone, sound so good I want to cry.
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