Fun and Useful Spring Break
Gadgets and Apps
With no more holidays, or sun, in sight until April, planning your upcoming spring break is the best way to get through the barren end of winter. Whether you’re going to the snow, to the beach, or just chilling out at home, we’ve got plenty of tech that will make your vacation even more fun and enjoyable.
Gadgets Waterproof Camera for Snow or Water Smartphones are fine for capturing spring break memories but water or snow and smartphones don’t mix and taking along a serious camera that is going to survive all the insanity that will occur might not be a bad idea. The FinePix XP100 is waterproof to 10m, shock proof, sealed against dust and sand, and even works in temperatures down to -10°C. The FinePix XP150 adds a GPS so you can tag your photos. Shop for Waterproof Digital Cameras | You Won’t Be Left Out in the Cold With Conductive Gloves Now you no longer have to decide if replying to a text is worth risking frostbite. Unlike most touchscreen compatible winter gloves these provide touch response along your entire gloved hand, no matter how you use them and on any touchscreen device. Glider Gloves are thermally insulated and made from a blend of synthetic thermal micro-fibers, and conductive yarns. Shop for Touchscreen Gloves |
Speaker Docks Are the New Boom Boxes If you have an iPhone or iPad with a new Lightning connector, you should consider the new JBL OnBeat Venue LT that offers great sounds at an affordable price. The only hitch is it has to be plugged in. If you don’t have a Lightning connector, as long as your device has a later version of Bluetooth with A2DP it will work fine with this JBL speaker dock, it just won’t charge it. If you want more portability and a battery powered speaker, check out the JBL Micro Wireless speaker. Shop For Speaker Docks | |
GoPro is One of the Most Popular Outdoor Camera/Camcorder If you have the $300+ it takes to buy the latest camera from GoPro, the Hero 3, you will be getting a high definition go-anywhere camera that takes 12 MP stills or 1080p video. This version even has built-in Wi-Fi so you can control it with the included remote. You can buy other model GoPro cameras that cost less but the new Hero3 is the top-of-the-line. Shop for GoPro Cameras and Accessories | Protect and Amplify Your MP3 Player The great thing about this iMainGo X stereo system is that it is both portable and it will protect your device. It custom fits iPods, iPhone, iPod Touch, and most MP3 players. You can also use it as an external system for any device with a 3.5mm connection and it has a cool daisy-chain feature, where you can connect multiple iMainGo X’s to each other for bigger sound. Shop for MP3 Player Cases |
Sports Goggles With Built-In Video Recorder YouTube doesn’t have enough videos of sporty people doing silly things, so get on it. Liquid Image All-Sport Goggles ($199.99) has an integrated 720p HD Video camera and contains a 135 degree (FOV) wide angle lens to capture all the action for off-road, snow, and even some water sports. A 4GB card records approximately 2 hours of video, or you can buy a separate card with more memory. Shop for Sports Goggles With Built-In Cameras | Weigh Your Luggage Before You Get To The Airport With airlines cracking down on the amount of luggage we can bring, bringing home souvenirs and gifts for everyone can get expensive. With a compact digital luggage scale like the Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale you can weigh your bag before you leave for the airport and, if need be, drink that bottle of tequila so you don’t have to pay to carry it home. Shop for Digital Luggage Scales |
Apps Get the Most Out of Your Trip to Disneyland or Disney World Disneyland MouseWait Social Wait Times is a free iPhone app that shows you what’s happening, in real-time at the park. It offers pictures, live video and other info to help you maximize your time at Disneyland. Disneyland Inside Out is an Android app that provides wait times along with lots of other useful info for your trip to Disnelyland. If you’re on the other coast there are corresponding apps for Disney World as well, including Disney World Wait Times for iPhone and Disney World Lines for Android. | Surf and Ski Reports Surfline Surf Report for Android and iOS claims to offer webcam video from over 100 locations in the U.S. including Hawaii. Word is the reports are always available but the webcam videos less so. Despite some critical reviews from users, this might be a handy app to keep on your phone for that surfing vacation. Meanwhile, Ski & Snow Report for Android and iOS gets high marks for reporting on ski and snow conditions for more than 2,000 ski areas around the world. |
Find Things You Need on the Road Want gas prices in your area? Done. Need to find a coffee shop nearby? Easy. Need to find a movie theater and see what’s playing? Check. Basically, “Where” is an all-encompassing local-area search engine, perfect for travelers just getting acclimated to a new destination in the form of a free app for iOS or Android devices. Another free iPhone app named RoadAhead knows the direction you’re heading and anticipates places you might want to stop to get things like gas, food, etc. AroundMe is another handy app to help you locate places and services in your vicinity. It’s a free iPhone or Android app. | |
Know Where Your Friends and Family Are Keep track of the friends and family with the Find my Friends app for Android or iOS. It updates on demand and uses the latest GPS tracking technology to see someone’s location on a map. Permissions can be turned on and off in case someone wants a little privacy. Glympse is another app that helps you keep track of friends and family and requires less “commitment” from them to participate. You can invite people to join a session and when a timer expires your location will no longer be visible. | Manage Your Trip Better With These Apps TripSplitter is an affordable iPhone ($1.99) or Android (free) app to manage expenses among friends by keeping up with who has paid, and who still owes. If you’re splitting the cost of a hotel, gas etc. this is a great way to keep up with it all. Every time you split a bill you enter each participants costs, and the app will keep a running total of who owes what. And at any point, just turn the device sideways to see the simplest number of payments for everyone to get even, or send a quick email to participants with the breakdown of costs. Tripit is one of the most popular travel apps out there. There are free versions and premium version for Android and iOS. You forward all your travel reservations to Tripit and they take it from there; organizing everything for you while providing lots of other services related to your trip like weather reports, maps, and more. |