Gadgets

There’s a certain type of person for whom airports and aeroplanes cease to be novel, and start to feel like home. This is depressing on many levels! Which is why these people need gifts. Lots and lots of gifts.

A good pair of in-ear phones: It’s impossible to overstate how valuable these are. Not only do they sound better than your stock earbuds, they dull the chorus of engine sounds, snores, baby cries and not-as-subtle-as-your-seatmate-thinks bean farts nearly as well as those Bose noise-cancelling phones some airlines hand out in first class. Look for the sound-isolating ones.

An iPod Touch: Yeah, I know, another iPod recommendation. Seriously though, perfect travel gadget: Video and music (and podcasts, sweet podcasts!) are travel must-haves, and games are a massive bonus. But what about apps to keep you busy or productive? White noise machines to put you to sleep? Internet access on the off chance your plane has free Wi-Fi? They’re From $268 at the Apple Store.

Timbuk2 Commute 2.0: It’s a solid gear bag, with more than enough space for a laptop, DSLR, various accessories and a phone or two, and it’s TSA compliant, meaning you can leave your laptop halfway inside your bag through airport security for a slightly less terrible experience. A medium-sized one retails for about $US100.

Some juice: Almost every gadget charges by USB nowadays, a habit that the Duracell Instant Charger will happily oblige. It’s most useful as an emergency phone charger, though it’ll work for almost anything. Officeworks sells them for $35.98.

If your travelling giftee is a Man of the World, consider the Kensington International USB Adaptor ($59.95). Here’s the theory: said traveller can plug almost whatever he wants into almost any wall socket, and charge his Duracell portable battery at the same time. MAXIMUM ELECTRICITY!

A stupid neck doughnut pillow: Because they’re awesome and anybody who says they
aren’t hasn’t slept on an airline cushion for eight hours. Plus, they’re cheap and easily found in any shopping centre.

Tethering: It’s a bit nerdy, and you might have some reservations about fiddling with someone else’s phone so much, especially given how sensitive carriers can be to this kind of thing, but if your traveller is aware of the risks, tethering is a wonderful gift. And not just wired or Bluetooth tethering – I’m talking Wi-Fi tethering, MiFi style (and without the extra contract, which would be a terrible gift). For the iPhone, this means a jailbreak. For Android, rooting. For Palm, enabling homebrew. For Windows Mobile, well, it may just be an app download. It can save money and headaches in hotels or airports with paid Wi-Fi, and it’ll be endearingly nerdy. Free!

Those laptop privacy shields: People will think you’re looking at porn if you’re using one of these, no matter how nice your suit is. Avoid, unless your traveller actually wants to look at porn.

Methanol cell chargers: They’re too expensive to recommend now, and it’s difficult to explain to customs how exactly they aren’t a dangerous explosive device. Why don’t you carry a normal battery like a non-scary human? Hmm?

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favourite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We’ll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.