Stuff summer essentials: The best travel tech for entertaining
Upgrade your getaway with these on-the-go gadgets
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
Remember the good old days, when in-flight entertainment was limited to an airline magazine and the closest you got to noise-cancelling was two pieces of cotton wool? No? Probably because those days were rubbish. Travel might be a tonic for the soul, but without the right tech it’s just a whole lot of moving around with bags. Thankfully, we’ve trawled the tech aisles for those travel essentials that will give your summer getaway the upgrade it deserves. Here are a few tasty gadgets that should keep the fun flowing (or at least keep the kids quiet for a little bit) when you jet away this summer.
DISC JOCK-E
Sharing is caring, as the old adage goes, and there’s no better way to share your ‘Lit Maga Beach Tunes 2K18′ playlist than by flinging this frisbee around with your crew. Besides offering all the fun of your average piece of circular plastic, it doubles up as a Bluetooth speaker – meaning beachgoers can enjoy the not-at-all disturbing experience of a bright orange disc flying over their heads while producing the sounds of Shaggy. Oh, and it’s waterproof, too – so it’ll survive even if someone slings it into the nearest sea.
DENON ENVAYA POCKET DSB-50BT
The tech in most hotel rooms begins with a travel kettle and ends with a tiny TV – and neither is likely to start the party. For a reliable vibe you could do worse than Denon’s diminutive Envaya Pocket: available in two shades of subtle understatement, this Bluetooth bar can handle aptX for high quality audio, will talk to Siri on an iOS device and is waterproof for good measure. Sound quality is solid and it goes just loud enough that the only people banging on the walls will be those wanting to join the fun.
KITSOUND DIGGIT
Like all of the best camping kit, this 360-degree Bluetooth speaker ships with a stake. Why? So you can stick it in the ground and share your sounds outside. It’s weatherproof, naturally, so British showers won’t cause it any bother, while an 8-hour battery life means your tented neighbours won’t sleep a wink. Not since the vuvuzela has there been such an effective tool for keeping the entire campsite awake.
URBANISTA SEATTLE
If you’re flying long-haul on the regular then a reliable pair of noise-cancelling cans is far more important than one of those silly neck pillows. After all, even a business class bed can’t block out the 3am bawling of a disgruntled sprog. Bose’s QC35 II headphones have long been the benchmark for long-lasting silence, but you don’t need to spend big bucks for good quality: Urbanista’s Seattle ‘phones are subtle, solid and sound great – at a third of the price. Battery is good for 12 hours and you can go corded when the cell runs flat, too.
CHROMECAST ULTRA 4K
Deep into the seventh episode of ‘Mega Trains’ on the Italian Discovery Network, you’ll doubtless be cursing the regional restrictions of Netflix. If only you’d packed your Chromecast. Stick this pocketable puck into the HDMI slot of a hotel room TV and you’ll be able to sling 4K content from your smartphone or tablet straight to it. Which, if you don’t have a data connection, might mean re-watching those shonky videos of the New Year’s Eve fireworks from 2014.
