4 must-bring electronic gadgets to take on holiday

When I was a small child, with no money, no computer, and no technological knowledge, every trip abroad seemed to have one pattern: the initial excitement and then shortly the wearing off of it when faced with boredom and frustration of long queues where you can’t sit down comfortably and there’s nothing to do.

And as a kid, electronics were more expensive. I was too young to listen to music in any portable format, and hated music anyway. Nintendo’s Gameboy was of course, to anyone whose age and attention span lies in the single digits, an extremely desirably product. But back then these were things that I would struggle to afford today. In the ‘90s, about six kids out of a total of one hundred in my primary school had them. Having one was almost a prestige for you and your family. It showed that your indulgent mother was both rich, kind, and deemed you worthy of it. Unfortunately, I can still remember that being entrusted to hold someone’s Gameboy (which, incidentally, was out of batteries- the good old days) while they scampered off to play a quick game of playground footie was one of the greatest honors of my childhood.

I’ve grown up since then, thankfully. Attention spans are longer, time-saving gadgets are cheaper, money is in greater supply, and the bowels of a miserable childhood have been partially emptied.

So here, completely spontaneously, are the top four gadgets you’ll need more than a hot water bottle in Antarctica:

1. iPod

Ok, you’ll probably stop reading now. I’ve said it. Even if when you buy one it’ll get overtaken by a much better, updated version in two months time, an iPod is going to an essential part of your trip. Even if the in-flight entertainment is duller than rye bread and low-fat margarine, you’ll always have it on you, lovingly nestled away in your left pocket, chock full of embarrassing Boney M singles of yore and just begging to get scratched. If you don’t have one already, simply buy one right now. And don’t forget the travel adapter when you can’t get access to a computer when on holiday.

2. Maglite

You’re most likely not going to need it on the plane, but for some reason a small, tough torch always comes in handy when on holiday. It’ll most likely come in handy for groping around in a dark hotel room, wondering why the new-fangled swipe key card to access your room disables the electricity and longing for the days when all the process involved was a large key and the flick of a light switch. Useful tip: don’t buy the really huge, 18 inch model, because its slight resemblance to a weapon might cause some concern at the X-Ray scanner.

3. Multi-Region Portable DVD Player

It could be argued that now is a bad time to get one, what with the new “High Definition” Blu-Ray format slowly taking over.

But rest assured, because DVD will still be here for quite a while. Because everyone (with the exception of my grandparents) already has one, and DVDs and DVD players can be found for less than $20 USD anywhere you go, in comparison to Blu-Ray, which is as expensive as, well, when DVDs and DVD players first came out.

4. Sony Cybershot DSC T2

I honestly don’t work for Sony, but the truth is that despite fairly unremarkable specs, I can’t think of a more decent mid-range camera for holiday snaps. It’s extremely distinctive (you’ll always know which one’s yours), there’s a whole range of colors to choose from, 8.1 mega pixels of pixilated goodness, and best of all, a large 4 Gigabyte internal memory, which is more than enough and means you don’t have to fuss about with easy-to-lose and expensive memory sticks. It may seem slightly expensive, at around $400 USD, but considering you won’t need to buy extra memory, unlike most other cameras out there it seems like a reasonable deal. Additionally, it also comes with a cool, (although slightly pointless) touch screen so you can blatantly show off to all the other tourists.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your travels!

Photo originally posted by Patty Mitchell

Topic:  General | 2 Comments
Tags:  packing

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About the author

Paul Crompton is an avid reader and has a passion for cars and technology, primarily. He loves traveling to whichever exotic travel location which is cheap. His dream is to become an advertising executive.