Close User Name Password
Login Register
Travel alerts straight to your inbox:
 

Tag: Travel Gadgets View All Tags

Tags: / / / / /

Is Verizon's Droid The Newest Cutting-Edge Travel Gear?

November 13, 2009 at 3:25 PM | by Omri | 2 Comments

Not since the iPhone launch has a phone generated as much across-the-board hype as Verizon's new Droid handset. The full-keyboard 6oz. handset has seen a flood of glowing reviews from the geek community. Gizmodo: "it’s this simple: if you don’t buy an iPhone, buy a Droid." LA Times: "best Google phone on the market....best phone on Verizon." Boy Genius Report: "perfect storm between awesome hardware, great software, and a great network." Fair enough. But how does the Droid rate as travel gear?

Turns out, pretty well. Very well actually. There are even arguments to be made that a couple of the Droid's most prominent features are both targeted at travelers, whether they're taking road trips or traveling internationally, and are better than what any competitor can offer. Even that phone with the little apple on it.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

The Five Best iPhone Apps For Travel Photography

November 3, 2009 at 1:28 PM | by cmb | 0 Comments

The iPhone is a life-saver for travelers with apps that do everything from help you find restaurants or hotel rooms to apps that keep you entertained while waiting for a flight. But even the new 3GS with video leaves much to be desired for those trying to capture post card worthy pictures with their iPhone. Luckily, there are apps for that too.

We present The Five Best Apps For Travel Photography:

more ›

Tags: / / / / / / /

This Fall's Five Best Totally Free iPhone Travel Apps

November 2, 2009 at 9:44 AM | by Omri | 2 Comments

Too many travel companies create iPhone apps just so they can say they have iPhone apps. In response we've been known to point out how stupid that is, though we've been nowhere near as brutal as our sister site HotelChattter. There's just something about travel companies wasting money on fads - and then passing those costs on to us - that makes us all very stabby.

But that's not to say we're against iPhone travel apps as a rule. And just to prove it, we've rounded up five of our favorite free travel-related iPhone apps from September and October. These apps will help you book hotels the way people actually book hotels, help you locate restaurants the way people actually locate restaurants, and help you maximize your time at Disneyland. Because it's the Happiest Place On Earth.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

What Type Of Traveler Packs A Hand-Held UV Germ Scanner?

October 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

If you love getting out of the house but hate the "other people exist" part of traveling, there are a number of things you can do. Our recommendation is an mp3 player and a really good set of noise-canceling headphones. Failing that, books and earplugs work pretty well on airplanes. But there are certain parts of the world where interacting with other people's germs is unavoidable. Getting rid of all of them is impossible, you know.

But that isn't stopping travel companies from marketing hand-held UV lights, like the $79 Nano-UV Scanner, to germphobic travelers. There's a well-defined and well-justified use for UV bulbs in disinfecting water when you're camping—though there are easier ways and you better know what you're doing—but campers aren't the ones being targeted here:

more ›

Tags: / / / /

Google's MyTouch Is Ready To Hit The Road, But Can It Keep Up?

September 3, 2009 at 9:24 AM | by JetSetCD | 1 Comment

By now, you've probably passed by a zillion of the posters hanging in T-Mobile shops advertising the arrival of the newest Google Android smartphone: the MyTouch. You might even occasionally see ads for it on this very website, but rest assured that they didn't us to write this; it's just what we do—review the travel benefits of new technology, just as we did with the release of the Palm Pre back in June.

So will the MyTouch be a great addition to your no doubt already hefty arsenal of travel gadgets? Yes and no, but to truly answer this question we've got to break out with the dreaded iPhone comparisons.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

TomTom Maps For iPhone Hits The US, Costs Whopping $99

August 17, 2009 at 12:11 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

As of this morning, the much-anticipated iPhone TomTom app is finally available in the US App Store. It was first rolled out in Australia and New Zealand late last night and appeared domestically a little while ago, priced at $99. That's right: $99 for an iPhone application.

Like any other TomTom product, the iPhone app includes points of interest, 2D and 3D maps, and night and day views. It's one of the first in a wave of new apps to take advantage of iPhone OS 3.0's true, turn-by-turn directions. It also relies on the newer iPhones' integrated GPS receiver, but users who have first-generation iPhones and iPod touches will still be able to use it with a separate soon-to-be-released combo hardware kit.

more ›

Tags: / / /

Wide Load: Briggs & Riley Baseline Holds A Lot But At a Hefty Price

July 9, 2009 at 4:31 PM | by egw | 0 Comments

We didn't head home alone this 4th of July weekend; Briggs & Riley Travelware sent us a sample of their new 20" Carry-On Expandable Wide-Body Upright from the Baseline collection "for serious travelers," which we promptly abused for 1,800 miles. How did it come out? Not bad!

First impression: Straight out of the box we recognized it was slightly larger than our usual carry-on (a Delsey roller with laptop pocket) but smaller than the Samsonite we use for weeklong trips. In the check-in line, it looked about average height compared to other rolling carry-ons, but as promised, slightly wider.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

Five Father's Day Gifts Dad Will Actually Use On His Next Trip

June 9, 2009 at 4:08 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

We were going to skip doing a Father's Day list this year, half because they're kind of tired and half because we already do regular travel tech posts. But then we saw some of the other lists floating around, and we began to get scared that people will consider inflatable pillows and foam shoes to be appropriate gifts. So, if only as a public service, here are some gadgets that a traveling Dad will be genuinely thrilled to use:

more ›

Tags: / / /

How Do You Back Up When You're On The Road?

May 26, 2009 at 12:27 PM | by Omri | 1 Comment

Iomega just announced their new generation of portable eGo external drives, streamlining the look and bumping up capacity to 500GB. The eGo line is targeted specifically at travelers: the form factors are slim and the drives are powered by a single Y-shape USB cable. Prices for the 250GB models start at around $85. Convenient, slick, and affordable.

Nonetheless, we're not sure how much longer external travel drives will be popular. Travelers are in a period of literally shameless baggage fees. Travel clutter aside, every little bit of luggage counts. Plus physical peripherals can be physically lost.

more ›

Tags: / / / / /

Know Your Global Plugs and Sockets

May 19, 2009 at 2:40 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

Carrying around a bevy of electronics internationally can be frustrating. Carrying around a bevy of electronics internationally, only to discover that you can't plug them into the local walls sockets, is liable to push a weary traveler over the edge. In an effort to avoid any international incidents, computer maker EUROCOM has put together this wonderfully clean map of worldwide plugs and sockets, which we're dutifully passing on to you.

Of course you could just buy a universal plug adapter - this one's currently selling for $2 - and never worry about plugs or sockets again. We prefer the all-in-one devices to alternative multi-piece plug sets, even if the all-in-ones are a little bigger. A bit more bulk just seems preferable to having lots of small parts floating around.

more ›

Tags: / / /

Live Long And Prosper With a Star Trek Communicator

May 7, 2009 at 8:56 AM | by kjb | 1 Comment

When you’re waiting in a movie theater line for the new Star Trek movie, you’re going to need to stay in touch with your Xindi and Vulcan buddies who maybe haven't yet finished their margaritas at TGI Fridays. Of course you can just send them a text message or a tweet; however, you should really only use the latest and most appropriate technology available in this case, and it just so happens to be the Star Trek USB Communicator.

Not only is it a pretty good replica of the original device from the show, but it’s also a VoIP telephone. The built-in microphone and speaker connect to your computer via USB—they apparently haven’t heard of WiFi—and you’ll be able access Skype, AIM, and iChat. Just plug in the retrodork dohicky, flip it open, and you are living your dream of mimicking Captain Kirk. Too bad you'll have to be tethered to your laptop to use it.

Best of all, the device features three buttons that release sound effects straight from the original television series, which are sure to make you most popular in that movie line. We’d also highly recommend whipping this sucker out on your next intergalactic mission from Des Moines to Milwaukee, if security screeners don't arrest you first. Face it: it’s got more sci-fi cred than the iPhone and you'll totally get some chicks with this thing; we just don’t know what type exactly.

Related Stories:
· Star Trek USB Communicator [Official Site]
· Hailing Frequencies Open: VoIP Star Trek Communicator Engages Nerd Cred [Crave, CNET]
· Good News For Geeks: Star Trek, The Experience Will Reopen in May [Jaunted]

[Photo: Star Trek USB Official Site]

Tags: / / / /

Will The Portable Laptop Desk Raise You Up?

May 4, 2009 at 4:26 PM | by egw | 0 Comments

We can tell we've spent too many nights bathed in the warm glow of our laptops not when we develop the trademark hominid slump, but when one of our wrists feels like it's being cinched by a bracelet 24/7. (Always the left hand, never the right... why?!) The SkyMall Portable Laptop Desk would solve both of those problems by adjusting our computers at a supposedly kinder angle, but would it mean computing freedom or just the danger of dropping our laptop on our faces?

The desk elevates your computer off your lap or a desk to a precarious angle where you can (theoretically) type without pain and (probably) not burn your legs. Portable DVD players or books would also fit in this stand, which we can only guess works through magic since it requires no assembly and we can see no visible stress.

At $119.95, we're afraid we wouldn't get enough use out of the Portable Laptop Desk to justify its purchase, but we do have a dream of being able to type comfortably from bed. What do you think?

Related Stories:
· Portable Laptop Desk [SkyMall]
· Adventures in TSA Logic: Explaining the New Laptop Bag Rules [Jaunted]
· Travel Gadgets coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: SkyMall]