Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

30
CHAPTER 2 . PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO LAS VEGAS
If you need to access files on your
office computer, look into a service
called GoToMyPC (www.gotomypc.
com). The service provides a Web-based
interface for you to access and manipulate
a distant PC from anywhere—even
a cybercafe—provided your “target” PC
is on and has an always-on connection
to the Internet (such as with Road Runner
cable). The service offers top-quality
security, but if you’re worried about
hackers, use your own laptop rather
than a cybercafe to access the GoTo-
MyPC system.
USING A CELLPHONE
ACROSS THE U.S.
Just because your cellphone works at
home doesn’t mean it’ll work elsewhere
in the country (thanks to our
nation’s fragmented cellphone system).
It’s a good bet that your phone
will work in major cities. But take a
look at your wireless company’s coverage
map on its website before heading
out—T-Mobile, Sprint, and Nextel
are particularly weak in rural areas. If
you need to stay in touch at a destination
where you know your phone won’t
work, rent a phone that does from
InTouch USA (& 800/872-7626;
www.intouchglobal.com) or a rentalcar
location, but beware that you’ll
pay $1 a minute or more for airtime.
If you’re venturing deep into national
parks, you may want to consider renting
a satellite phone (“satphones”),
which are different from cellphones
in that they connect to satellites rather
than ground-based towers. A satphone
9 Getting There
BY PLANE
Given the shambles the airline industry
is in, writing this section makes us
wince. Just be aware that the future of
many of the following airlines was in
varying degrees of doubt as we went to
press.
The following airlines have regularly
scheduled flights into Las Vegas
is more costly than a cellphone but
works where there’s no cellular signal
and no towers. Unfortunately, you’ll
pay at least $2 per minute to use the
phone, and it only works where you can
see the horizon (that is, usually not
indoors). In North America, you can
rent Iridium satellite phones from
RoadPost (& 888/290-1606 or
905/272-5665; www.roadpost.com).
InTouch USA (see above) offers a wider
range of satphones but at higher rates.
As of this writing, satphones were amazingly
expensive to buy, so don’t even
think about it.
If you’re not from the U.S., you’ll
be appalled at the poor reach of our
GSM (Global System for Mobiles)
wireless network, which is used by
much of the rest of the world (see
below). Your phone will probably
work in most major U.S. cities; it
definitely won’t work in many rural
areas. (To see where GSM phones
work in the U.S., check out www.
t-mobile.com/coverage/national_
popup.asp.) And you may or may not
be able to send SMS (text messaging)
home—something Americans tend
not to do anyway, for various cultural
and technological reasons. (International
budget travelers like to send text
messages home because it’s much
cheaper than making international
calls.) Assume nothing—call your
wireless provider and get the full
scoop. In a worst-case scenario, you
can always rent a phone; InTouch
USA delivers to hotels.
(some of these are regional carriers, so
they may not all fly from your point of
origin): AeroMexico (& 800/237-
6639; www.aeromexico.com); Air
Canada (& 800/776-3000; www.air
canada.ca) does not offer direct service
but will book on partner airlines, usually
with a change in San Francisco;
Alaska Airlines (& 800/426-0333;