26th September 2018 Essential travel tech
As summer makes its welcome reappearance, thoughts turn to getting away on holiday, or even heading to the park for several hours of sun worship. Invariably, any trip these days involves a fair number of accessories that allow travellers to enjoy their media, all while ensuring the devices stay powered up.To meet these needs, and guarantee customers have a few less things to worry about, we’ve put together this guide to essential travel tech.

Power for the people

It’s easy to fill a suitcase with the respective chargers, cables, and adapters that accompany devices these days. That’s why high-capacity portable power banks are a godsend. Having only one unit to carry makes for more space in bags and less weight on shoulders.

An excellent example is the Cygnett ChargeUp Pro 20K, which includes a 20,000 mAh lithium polymer power bank that intelligently charges up to three devices at once. The Power Delivery chip in the unit detects exactly what device it is connected to, meaning it always delivers the safest and quickest charge. The ChargeUp Pro 20K can handle smartphones, tablets, and even the latest-generation USB-C powered laptops, such as the Microsoft Surface Book 2.

Should more flexibility be required, then Omnicharge offers a range of high-capacity power banks; including a bestselling model that features an AC/DC outlet. For those about to charge, we salute you.

Marshalling the music

Bluetooth headphones are becoming extremely popular thanks, mainly, to the freedom they bring from annoying, tangling cables. The extended battery life many now boast is also a blessing, as users can enjoy their favourite albums or podcasts without the need of a power point nearby.

The Marshall Major III headphones are a firm favourite with mobile music lovers, as not only do they feature a charge that can last all week, but the classic name and livery makes them the coolest pair money can buy.

Streaming across the borders

The new EU digital single market rules for portable streaming, which came into effect in April, are good news for those travelling throughout the continent. It means there’s no need for bandwidth-sapping VPNs on computers, phones or tablets, as they are free to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime Video within Europe.

Popping a streaming stick into any bag makes it easy to catch up on all those movies and shows that are hard to make time for at home. Roku’s Express Streaming Player is a steal at £30, and only requires plugging into the HDMI socket of the hotel/holiday-home TV, then logging it onto Wi-Fi to instantly open up a world of content.

Should travelers be heading where Wi-Fi connections are scarce, they can always download the content beforehand instead. To avoid filling up the often-limited storage on phones or tablets, a memory stick is the best route. Leef’s Bridge or Sandisk’s iXpand are both great solutions that can boost any Lightning-connected Apple device by up to 256GB. These are also very useful for those who plan to shoot a lot pictures and video on their devices.

Home is where the Smart is

Finally, there’s another type of tech that can remove one of the classic stresses of travelling – concerns that houses and possessions are safe – with Smart Home devices allowing holidaymakers to monitor and even control things while lying on the beach.

The D-Link Smart Home Security Suite can tell users when doors are opened, if movement is detected, or any changes in temperature that might signify a fire or that the heating has been left on.

Potential burglars can also be put off by using Smart Lighting products, like Lightwave range, which can automate lamps turning on and off, or be controlled manually control via an app on a smartphone. Now, all that’s left to do is soak up the sun and enjoy the rest.

For more information on these products and more, please contact your Exertis representative.