Compiled by
TOM KELLY
Horn BikeLooking much more like a gadget that Robert Downer Jr's Sherlock Holmes might produce than an accessory for the iPhone 4/4S, Horn Bike is as defiantly analogue as it seems. With its ear-trumpet styling, it works on the same principle, channelling the sound from the phone's built-in speakers and "amplifying" them by 13dB, according to the manufacturer. Not exactly a PA stack to blow your head off, but it's something.
The design has a Heath Robinson charm, encasing your iPhone in a silicone-like material that’s rugged and washable. It attaches to your bike by means of a Velcro strap on the back that allows it clip on and off in a blink. The mount also lets you use the phone’s GPS apps while you’re on the move.
Cost£14 (€16.25) from amazon.co.uk
TrippyNot a gizmo to deliver some class of an illicit pharmacological journey, Trippy is a new travel planning app that taps into your social media to help the process. The Trippy angle is that your friends and digital diaspora should know you better than a passive online resource so, if you're thinking of going somewhere, they'll be better placed to advise. Moreover, we're more likely to trust the endorsement of someone we know than an anonymous post on TripAdvisor.
Trippy facilitates easy interaction and sharing, with a mobile app for example, to feed back photos from your trip – and building up a shared archive of info and recommendations that others can use.
- trippy.com
Nike+ SportWatch GPSSatnav guru TomTom is Nike's partner in this latest addition to the GPS watch toy box. The SportWatch combines the accurate GPS location data that TomTom know-how delivers with the personal data from their own Nike+ shoe-based sensors to allow runners map, plan and train like never before.
Go out for a run and you’ll be able to check virtually every metric about your session from heart beat and calories burned to precise distance and route stats. Upload it all to the Nike+ website and you become part of a worldwide community of runners, and you can even get personalised individual training programmes based on your running patterns and performance.
The watch has a sporty aesthetic you’ll either love or hate, with a wide strap and black face.
Cost€199 from Lifestyle Sports and tomtom.com
DeLorme InReachIt's claimed that only about 10 per cent of the planet has mobile coverage so, if your travelling is going to be off the beaten track, this might be just for you. The DeLorme InReach allows satellite-based communications and tracking anywhere around the world, with the option to lock it up with an Android-based smartphone for two-way communication by text.
You can preload the InReach with messages to send without a companion smartphone, and let the folks back home follow your meandering from afar. Bluetooth links the phone and you can message back and forth from the back of beyonds.
Cost$250 (€181) from delorme.com but you need to subscribe to the message service as well as buying the hardware