Ten Tech Toys for Travellers

It may be hard to believe what the Met Office tells us, that we’re about to get an entire month’s rainfall in a single day, but the summer holidays are well and truly upon us. So it’s time to start packing the bags and stocking up on the latest tech toys that you can take on holiday with you. If you stay here in the soggy old …

[Nic]

okay I am going to say it...

Where is the iphone in that list?

/ducks

But seriously. At least half of those gadgets are only really doing something that one phone (dare I say the iphone with a few extra apps installed) can do in one?

Listen to radio, watch tv (well vids at least at the moment), GPS, take video (again with extra App).

That way you don't need the great big rucksack

// disclaimer. I KNOW the iphone is far from perfect. I am just illustrating a point about taking one nicely built smart phone out with you rather than a tonne of gadgets.

[blackworx]

Headphones

"We don’t find in-ear ‘phones ideal for traveling with – it’s too easy for them to fall out or get snagged as you move around"

...try buying decent in-ear 'phones then. They'll knock ten shades of shit out of those Sennheisers sonically, take up a fraction of the space and not get smashed to smithereens by baggage handlers.

[Greg]

Nice list

I wonder if someone makes a turbine you can attach to your car. I do a lot of motorway driving... The backpack is great for nerds with bad backs (like me), and I *must* have one of those hands-free cameras for when I go snowblading this year.

[Anonymous Coward]

Travelers.

What use do thieving gypsies have with all this stuff?

[TeeCee]

@Greg

".......hands-free cameras for when I go snowblading......."

Did you mention that one specifically to piss off the iCandybar fans, or was it just pure serendipity at work?

Oh, and plug whatever-it-is into the car socket provided with a 12V adaptor. The drag from the turbine'll burn more fuel than the current draw on the alternator will.

[Tim Elphick]

What's snowblading?

Can I play?

[Nick]

Re: Nice List

Greg wrote:

"I wonder if someone makes a turbine you can attach to your car"

It would have a big effect on aerodynamics which will lower fuel consumption and cost you a lot of money. Much better to use the cigarette lighter.

[A. Lewis]

Wot no powermonkey?

I can't believe it didn't make the list. Any travelling gadget fan surely would like to replace the bundle of different chargers and international adapters with a pocket-sized power module that fits pretty much everything and can solar-charge itself.

www.powermonkey.co.uk

[Anonymous Coward]

@Nic

Only all of those gadgets perform their respective roles better. I personally would rather have my satnav run on a separate battery to my only means of communication. Ditto with listening to music, or using it as a torch.

[Zack Mollusc]

@Greg

Unless you have a Flintstones type car, or you need some bizarre voltage/frequency/number of phases, it is likely to have a more efficient source of electricity.

[Rolf Harris]

@ blackworx

Actually those Sennheisers are a really nice set of headphones for day to day use, if you're not judging them by the standards of a studio set. The problem with any set of headphones, in my experience, that actually hold themselves in my ears (I'm thinking Etymotic Research, Shure et al) is that they get dirty over time and ongoing maintenance costs aren't what most people want from their headphones. The main gripe I have with the PXC300s is the battery compartment. It's possibly the least ergonomic design that they could have come up with...!

[Andrew Orlowski]

Well here's mine

http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Cooking-Systems/Personal-(PCS)

Boiling water in a few seconds. And also very useful for warding off killer badgers.

[Chris G]

The last boy scout

Where in your list is the Swiss Army knife with wind up satnav, self sharpening blade, corkscrew, bottle opener,DVD player and solar/wind up microwave cooker. Without one of these I am NOT going out into the wilderness.

[Dave Gomm]

Headphones

I can't stand in-ear headphones and I bought the predecessor to this Sennheiser set, they are brilliant !