Tech Toys For Summer Fun
From sterilizing your drinking water to entertaining the kids, these tech tools and apps can help make your summer adventures the best yet.
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In years past, summer has meant long, lazy days spent with family and friends, ideally away from work, school, and other routines. These days, summer still finds most of us relaxing with the family, but we travel more -- and when we do, we take along the latest great technology.
Summer technology might sound like an oxymoron, but tech can make your summer better. After all, tech is still out there doing its thing even when the sun is shining at 8:30 p.m. Why not take advantage of it?
I looked at a range of tech products that can enhance your summer fun. Some let you to do something you couldn't do before, or at least make an activity better, safer, or more fun. SwingSmart Duo, a clip-on gadget and smartphone app that together improve your golf swing, falls into this category, as does the SteriPen, the latest way to sterilize water on your travels.
We have become a documenting and sharing society -- to the point where some folks question whether an event really happened if there's no video proof. While some memories might be better left undocumented, it's hard to turn down tech that lets you easily record and share vacation memories, especially if you don't want to spend your summer behind a viewfinder. Here's where a "life log" camera like the Autographer Classic -- which attaches to clothing and can take random candid shots -- can add a lot of fun.
I also looked at summer tech aimed at kids in grade school and younger. Sure, kids should unplug whenever possible during the summer months, but when you can't withhold the electronics any longer, make it something educational, like the Leapfrog tablet. A fun, creative alternative is the VTech Kidizoom camera for preschoolers. Good kid-tech teaches, lets kids play a bigger role in capturing summer adventures, or simply keeps them quietly entertained while you're on the road.
The cost of this summer tech fun varies a lot, from free apps to high price tags on some of the gadgets. (No one ever said your first drone -- such as the $1,299 DJI Phantom2 Vision+ -- would be cheap.) But they all will put a memorable twist on your summer adventures.
What's your favorite summer tech toy? Let's get together in the Comments section and talk about your own discoveries.
Imagine you're on a reef at 90 feet, taking in some of the most breathtaking underwater views you've ever laid eyes on. If only you had an underwater camera that was as easy to use as the one on your smartphone! With the $329 iGills SE-35 dive computer case and app, that's exactly what you'll have. It turns your iPhone 3 or 4 into a Nitrox-compatible dive computer that also lets you to take photos and video from underneath the waves. Better yet, you can prepare Facebook and Instagram posts while you're doing surface interval time. Your dive data will be formatted to sync with your computer so you can review those dives for years to come.
Water is the ultimate thirst quencher, especially on a hot summer day. But when bacteria and other aquatic critters invade your biota, your dream vacation can turn into a gastrointestinal nightmare. The $99.95 SteriPen Ultra can help prevent that. It's a compact unit that uses ultraviolet light to kill microscopic nasties, rendering water from unknown sources safe to drink. A SteriPen won't fix chemical contamination, but if you're worried about a herd of unwanted bacteria, amoeba, or rotifers taking over your innards, a SteriPen Ultra is a solid investment.
What could be simpler than hitting a golf ball? You stand with feet firmly on the ground and swing at a highly visible ball using a club that's specifically engineered for that purpose. It's not that simple, as it turns out. But help is available in the form of the $249.99 SwingSmart Duo, a sensor that clips to the shaft of your golf club and your smartphone. Once calibrated, the sensor sends information on acceleration, speed, and relative position to an app on your phone so you can improve your swing -- and maybe enjoy an extra drink or two at the 19th hole.
Family vacations typically generate lots of great photos of everyone -- especially the kids -- having a good time. How about arming the kids with their own cameras to capture the vacation from their point of view? We're not talking about teenagers, who probably already know more about photography than you do. It's the pre-school set that has a point of view -- both physically and creatively -- very different from everyone else's.
Among cameras designed for kindergartners, the $39.99 VTech Kidizoom consistently gets high marks for both ease of use and ruggedness. The 1.3-megapixel camera won't produce poster-worthy images, but the shots will be just right for sharing online or printing for inclusion in a scrapbook. For an even slicker keepsake, have your child type or dictate text to go along with the photos and create an e-book using Apple's iBook software. Put the e-book on a tablet, and you'll be amazed at just how often your children relive the memories of a special summer trip they helped document.
We've all seen kids playing with an adult's expensive smartphone or tablet while a parent either hovers nervously or hopes for the best. Here's a better solution: LeapFrog's $129.99 LeapPad Ultra, a safe, rugged, easy-to-use tablet that lets kids play games, create stories, and surf a small, heavily curated corner of the web while staying out of mom and dad's hair during long meals and travel segments.
There are hundreds of educational LeapFrog games, some included in a series of bundles with the device and some available for download. The controls are designed for kindergartners' level of dexterity; and the games, while they might seem simple to adults, provide literally hours of fun for youngsters.
Ever seen someone walking around with a "life log" camera attached to their clothing? They appear to believe that the minutiae of their lives is so fascinating it must be captured every five seconds or so. What they frequently capture is the annoyance of the people around them.
Funny, but what's annoying in everyday life turns out to be rather useful on vacation. Put the $399 Autographer Classic on a lanyard or shirt clip, and it will use timers and a variety of sensors to snap away at the world around you while you relax. It records your adventures, and you don't have to be the person with his (or her) nose pressed against the back of a camera for eight days.
At the end of the day, download the photos (along with GPS and other information) and use them to create all sorts of visual records of the fun you and the family have been having. If you like seeing the tech behind the fun (or have a tween in your crew) there are several limited edition versions available in colorful translucent cases.
I could fill several slideshows with smartphone apps for the vacation-bound, but this handful stands out. If your summer plans involve flying or driving, do yourself a favor and download these apps before heading out the door.
GateGuru: When you hit an airport, especially connections, it's helpful to know what part of the airport you're in, where your gate is, and where to grab something to eat or drink between those two points. GateGuru is great at giving you all that info and more.
TripIt: Some vacations involve multiple reservations, for the plane, hotels, rental cars, and activities when you get there. TripIt brings all of those reservations together in one app, with calendar and email alerts. There's a premium version, but for most people the free app works just fine.
FlightTracker: Whether you're stuck on the tarmac waiting for your flight to take off, sitting at the gate wondering when your plane will arrive, or out in the parking lot waiting for relatives, FlightTracker can tell you what to expect. I've found it to be far more accurate than the notice boards in the airport, and it even provides a little tracking map so kids can see how close Aunt Sue's plane is getting.
GoogleMaps: Yeah, there are a lot of mapping programs. Make sure you have this one. It just works.
MyRefuge: Everyone is familiar with big national parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone, but did you know the US has hundreds of wildlife refuges that also offer outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, and boating? MyRefuge has the maps, refuge information, and notices of special events.
Sure, the water looks calm, but what lies beneath? Big-dollar boats have expensive fish finders and depth plotters. Now you can have the same sort of data whether you're in a kayak, on a standup paddleboard, or fishing from a bank.
With the Deeper Smart Fishfinder, $259, you take something that looks a lot like a largish fishing float and cast it upon the water using a regular fishing rod. Once it's floating, you can fire up the companion app on your smartphone and see an image of what lies beneath. Whether you seek a trophy fish or just want to make sure it's safe to swim and dive, knowing what's below can make water sports safer and more fun.
Admit it: You want one. You've seen the amazing videos and you want your own drone, for taking epic aerial videos of your house and yard or your kids on the beach. If you can afford it, summer is the perfect time to get one of these quad-rotor video platforms. One of the most popular is the DJI Phantom2 Vision+, which has a built-in camera for video and a 3-axis motion stabilizer. Who knows? This could be the Summer of the Drone for your family. All you need is a spare $1,299 for the Phantom, and the ability to steer clear of late-season firework shows.
It might not be digital, but this tech could change your life, at least at the beach. The $40.53 CGear Sand-Free Multi Rug is woven out of a material that acts as a sieve. Any sand that lands on the rug dives right through the material to be left on the beach and not your food. Throw your beach blanket down on top of the rug and never again get up from a nap looking like a powdered donut. The rug can even handle kids with wet sandy feet. In fact, you can put all your electronic summer tech gear on top of this rug, and it will stay sand free. Enjoy your beach vacation. You're welcome.
It might not be digital, but this tech could change your life, at least at the beach. The $40.53 CGear Sand-Free Multi Rug is woven out of a material that acts as a sieve. Any sand that lands on the rug dives right through the material to be left on the beach and not your food. Throw your beach blanket down on top of the rug and never again get up from a nap looking like a powdered donut. The rug can even handle kids with wet sandy feet. In fact, you can put all your electronic summer tech gear on top of this rug, and it will stay sand free. Enjoy your beach vacation. You're welcome.
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