Travel Gear

As frequent travellers many of us will always have one eye open for products that offer the latest in technology that can help us in our lives and on our travels.

After all, we spend what seems to be half of our lives in airports of different qualities all attempting to lure us into spending our hard earned cash, and more often than not, new technology can help us to save on the amount of things that we need to carry.

With this new section of the website we will be reviewing some of the latest products to hit the streets and some that are still to come. We will be looking at some of the best travel gear for you, some fashion ideas, the latest in hardware such as mobile phones, cameras etc., the latest in Duty Free sales and many other cool gear for the leisure and business traveller.

Cycling Tech: Everysight's Raptor AR smartglasses have entered final development, and the company has opened registration for its exclusive Test Pilot Program. Read more.

Assa Abloy has launched VingCard Essence, an invisible lock designed for hotel rooms. Read more.

Huawei has launched a new flagship smartphone, the Mate 9. Key features of the Huawei Mate 9 include: - Kirin 960 chipset, Huawei’s newest and highest performing smartphone processor; - EMUI 5.0, an upgraded user interface; and - SuperCharge technology that Huawei says can deliver a full day’s charge in 20 minutes. Read more.

Kindle: Amazon Launches Prime Reading in U.S. Read more.

LG has started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat OS for the LG G5 in South Korea. Read more.

LG’s forthcoming flagship smartphone, the LG V20, will be the first smartphone in the industry to feature 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC (digital to analog converter) capabilities. Read more.

The LG V20, LG's next flagship smartphone, will be the first device to feature Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. The LG V20 is expected to begin shipping in September 2016. The LG V20 will take advantage of many of the best features of Nougat, including Vulkan-supported graphics for more immersive gaming while also delivering better battery performance with Doze. Read more.

LG has launched its latest G5 smartphone companion device, the LG Action CAMLTE. The built-in LTE connectivity allowing users to stream directly to sites such as YouTube Live via wireless 3G or 4G networks. Read more.

Bose has launched two new wireless noise cancelling headphones, the QuietComfort 35 around-ear headphones and the QuietControl 30 in-ear headphones. While the QC35 works in a similar way to Bose’s wired QuietComfort headphones, the QC30 adds something new - a feature that puts noise control in your hands, letting you adjust how much surrounding sound you block out or let in. Read more.

LG is preparing to launch an action camera with LTE connectivity built-in, allowing users to stream directly to sites such as YouTube Live without a smartphone. The device, LG Action CAMLTE, will launch in South Korea next month followed by key markets worldwide including North America and Europe. Read more.

Canon has launched a new flagship DSLR, the Canon 1D X Mark II. Read more.

Samsung unveiled details of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday, 21 February 2016. Both the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 edge are constructed with 3D glass and metal, and are IP68 water and dust resistance. Read more.

Xiaomi used the MWC in Barcelona to launch its new flagship, the Mi5 smartphone. The Mi5 is available in three varieties, all of which feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The processor in the 32GB model is 1.8GHz, while the 64GB and the Pro version, which has a whopping 128GB of internal memory, is 2.15GHz. Read more.

The LG G5 will ship in March 2016 with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 32GB of internal memory plus a microSD card slot which can take up to 2TB, USB Type-C and a 2,800mAh slide-out battery. It weighs 159g and will be available in silver, titan, gold and pink. Read more.

Samsung is to launch a 360-degree camera that lets consumers create, view and share their favorite experiences through video and still image content. Samsung Gear 360 is equipped with dual fisheye lenses, both of which have 15 megapixel image sensors, giving users the ability to capture high-resolution (3840x1920) 360-degree video that also supports 30 megapixel still images. Read more.

Sony used the MWC 2016 in Barcelona to launch three new phones, all part of a new line within the Xperia brand. Read more.

The world's best professional camera for shooting sport is about to get even better. Building on the success of the Canon EOS-1D X professional digital camera, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II can shoot stills at up to 14 frames per second, features a 20.2 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 6+ Image Processors, a 61-point High-Density Reticular AF II system with all AF points selectable by the user (and up to 41 cross-type points depending on the lens in use) and can even record 4K video up to 60p featuring Canon’s proprietary Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus (DPAF) technology. Read more.

Travel Tripod/Monopod Combination

Whether you are a professional photographer, or just enjoy taking pictures while on your travels, the Sirui N-2004 tripod/monopod combination is a perfect choice.

The Sirui N-2004 tripod weighs 1.6 kg and folds up into a neat little package that measures just 46 cm in length. It comes complete with a well made case with shoulder strap and passed handle.

When fully extended the tripod has a maximum height of 1.65 m (excluding the ball head), and one of the legs detaches completely to give you a strong monopod when you need one.

As you can see from this HD video, the Sirui N-2004 is well made, sturdy and comes with all the accessories you need. A great way to lighten your load when travelling! Read more about the: Sirui N-2004 Travel Tripod/Monopod Combination.

The Kindle

Our favourite travel tech gadget of them all is the Kindle.

The Kindle has replaced the need to carry heavy books when travelling, and it can house over 1,400 e-books so you never have to worry about running out of things to read while you are on the road. Gone are those days when you only have a few pages of a book to read so decide to take two with you on a trip!

Depending on where you live, the Kindle is often connected to your Amazon account, which means buying new books has never been easier, and despite a few authors charging too much for their e-creations, many books are cheaper than in the shops and often free!

Since we filmed the below video, the Kindle has evolved, and Amazon now offers a choice of Kindles to suit every need and taste. Personally, I have yet to upgrade from the original and love it as much today (2016) as I did at its launch, although I must admit the Kindle Voyage does look nice....

More to come.