January 13, 2006
Best Travel Gadgets of 2006

If Santa didn't bring you the gadget you wanted for Christmas, sell off some of those unwanted presents on eBay and start saving for something desirable

If you’re a gadget-toting business traveller your other half bought you a iPod mini for Christmas because the spotty bloke behind the counter in Dixons told them it was the latest thing, then fear not. You can always stick the thing on eBay to raise a few quid towards something you really want and hope that your partner never finds out. But which sleek, shiny boxes are going to be the ones to put that money towards? Mark Frary peeks into his crystal ball and picks his top gadgets for the year ahead

Sony Vaio laptops are the weapon of choice for many road warriors because of their sophisticated good looks, ruggedness on the road and their box-bursting specifications. Whether you’re in the Lufthansa lounge at Frankfurt or on the Eurostar down to Brussels, the new Sony Vaio VGN-TX2 series will be sure to be highly coveted by fellow travellers. The TX2 continues where the already desirable TX1 series left off. The new baby weighs in at just 1.24 kilos in part thanks to new LED screen technology which means it is slimmer than its predecessors. Sony’s bods have also managed to cram in a superslim DVD±RW drive and a battery that lasts all the way from London to Dubai. No price fixed as yet but you’re probably looking at £1,700. Look for the limited edition slate blue version at Sony Style (www.sony-style.co.uk).



Skype names are appearing on business cards with increasing frequency showing that internet telephony has finally arrived. What will help it into the big league is the VoSKY Call Center from Actiontec, recently shown at the CES exhibition in Las Vegas, the world’s biggest gadget-fest. It’s a one-trick pony but it’s a good one. You plug the little black box into your broadband connection and a telephone line at home or the office and you can then use it to make Skype calls to and from any Skype, mobile or fixed phone anywhere either free or at low SkypeIn and SkypeOut rates (a few pence per minute to most countries). To make a call you simply phone the number to which your box is connected and follow the simple instructions. £48 from http://accessories.skype.com/

Palm really came up with the goods when it launched the Treo, the most successful attempt yet to meld a personal digital assistant and a smartphone. Yet some have been reluctant to buy one because of their enslavement to the will of Bill i.e. they use Windows everywhere else in their lives and can’t see any reason not to do so with their mobile device. Palm has cottoned on and has launched an updated version of the Treo that runs Windows Mobile 5.0 rather than the Palm operating system. The Palm Treo 700w is already out in the States but it won’t be long before it reaches our shores. It has 128MB of Ram, 312MHz processor (fast for a smartphone) and a 65,000-colour 240x240 touchscreen. Oh and not forgetting the best mini-keyboard on the market. Around US$400 under contract in the States and likely to be the same in pounds when it appears later this year. More information www.palm.com

Celebs across the Pond wouldn’t be seen dead without their Sidekicks and I’m not talking about fawning members of their entourage, oh no. Justin, Jennifer and Paris all have them and there’s even a pimped up version on sale Stateside. T-Mobile’s Sidekick has started to make ripples over here following the launch of the Sidekick II in November. Its 13x6.5cm size makes it perfectly pocketable and it offers instant messaging, email and web on the go, accessible by a mini qwerty keyboard that works well for even the fattest of fingers. Already everyone is waiting with baited breath for the Sidekick III. The rumours of what it might hide inside its box are but you can expect to see it some time this year. From free to £49.99 at T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.co.uk), price dependent on contract.

Handsfree car kits are now everywhere but one of the slickest looking models is Parrot’s 3200 LS-COLOR. As you might guess, it has a lovely pin-sharp colour screen but it is the slick design, voice dialling and excellent echo cancellation technology that will appeal to anyone who can’t resist making a call while on the motorway. At £130 (www.expansys.com), it’s pricier than its rivals but worth the extra. For £150 more, however, you can get both handsfree and satnav in one unit. TomTom has launched a budget unit called the TomTom One which is considerably cheaper than its Go stablemates but has many similar features. More information www.tomtom.com

The iPod might finally have met its match. Voted best gadget in the MP3 and video category and the best gadget overall at CES, Creative’s Zen Vision:M knocks the Apple’s iPod Video into a cocked hat. While the iPod still edges ahead of the Vision:M for its classic design, the latter will play pretty much any type of video content you throw at it and resizes it for its 2.5 inch screen on the fly. Running video is power-hungry though and you’ll only manage four hours before a mains-assisted boost is required. £250 from DABS (www.dabs.com). More information at www.uk.europe.creative.com