So, I am finally recovering from attending the Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference in New Orleans in July.  The conference itself was well worth attending and as a Microsoft partner I am very excited to see the number of new versions of products shipping this year.

But, as attending this conference or any conference, I often struggle as if I should lug my laptop around all day in order to stay connected back to the office or access the latest conference information.  This year I opted to leave the laptop behind and just carry my Windows Mobile phone.

The results were pleasently suprising.  Naturally, I was able to keep up with voice, text, and emails like with most phones.  The benefit of the Windows Mobile device of course is the native integration with our Exchange server. 

But the really good stuff was the ability to use things such as the Partner connect website where I could find and schedule partner meetings while at the conference.  This was easy enough to do on my laptop, but the compatibility the developers of the tool included made it easy from both functionality and screen size. 

The other item was the conference schedule itself.  From the conference web site, I could keep up to date with room changes, search for additional sessions, and get general information on the conference.

The final item was I promised folks back home I would keep them posted on conference facts via Twitter.  While the ability to do this is nothing new or exciting, it is just one more method of communication available to us at our finger tips.

The only thing I found still to be a draw back is the ability to take notes.  I am not a fast thumb typer and there really isn’ t that killer note taking app f or my phone to get me over that hurdle.   I am also not a big voice note taker and it doesn’t work well anyway in a breakout session at a conference. 

What about you?  Still feel lost without the full features of a laptop or has the phone become your new traveling device?  I am curious to hear if others have made the leap and left the laptop at home.