Gadgets: making travel easier

Jawbone Mini
Jambox
Since the launch of its original Jambox bluetooth speaker a couple of years ago, Jawbone has introduced a number of incremental changes to its line-up; more colours, the bigger, em, Big. From the front, The Mini looks the same as its first version; but it's much thinner at just 25mm and 25 per cent lighter, too. It sounds great despite the shrinkage and looks fab with a cool range of colours/ patterns; plus it now comes with an app (of course) to give more control over playlists on streaming services like Spotify. $180, jawbone.com

Garmin Virb Camera
A new entrant in the booming adventure sports, all-action camera arena, this is a step up for Garmin, better known for sat navs. So it makes sense this is what it brings to the table with the Virb, drawing on a wide scope of geodata with full GPS info, an accelerometer and an altimeter. Lots of smart extras, like a ski mode that stops recording at the bottom of a run and restarts when you're at the top again. A wide angle lens is standard, with a bagful of mounts to attach it to just about any part of you or your kit. Full HD and 120fps slo-mo will makespect- acular fails even grander. It's tough and waterproof, so at least the footage will survive. Around €300, garmin.com

New Kindle
Paperwhite eReader
This is the second iteration of Amazon's edge-lit Kindle – it's the same size, still touchscreen, with edge lighting for low-light usage. But it's much faster, with better responsiveness and better contrast. So the all-round experience is better. Wifi/3G connectivity options are as before and a full charge lasts about 8 weeks. From $139, amazon.com

Tom Kelly
betweenideas.blogspot.com