Gadgets: making travel easier

Jambox goes Mini, Garmin goes filming and Kindle goes faster

Jawbone Mini Jambox
Jawbone Mini Jambox

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

Garmin VIRB camera
Garmin VIRB camera
Kindle Paperwhite
Kindle Paperwhite