7 gadgets for your carry-on
Traveling brings challenges both mad- dening and mundane: fees for over- weight suitcases, tight fits in overhead bins. lost luggage and ever-shifting secu- rity pc/kits. Fortunately. gadget maker* have your back. Inventing all kinds of new devices that may bail you out on a trip and still fit in a carry-on suitcase. After reviewing the best of what's new we've chosen seven time-saving and stress• redwing gadgets to help you check your travel troubles at the gate.
Luggage scale
Its no fun haring to un pack your over-weight luggage at the check-in counter to transfer a few pounds of your unmen-tionables to another suitcase so you can avoid additional fax The Balazza Mini compact hand held scale lets you weigh your luggage before you get to the airport and avoid hassle and ent embarrassment. Attach the LISB-powered scale to your suitcase and lift the handle. After a few seconds, the back-lit screen displays the weight. The handy scale is about the size of a har-monica. Balanzza Mini luggage scale on Amazon: $24.95.
Compact compressor
Winter isn't quite over yet, which means trying to find space in your suit-case for bulky items such as jackets and sweaters. It's easy to use a vacuum clean-er with comp sen lon bags when you' re packing for a trip at home. But what do you do once you get to your destination and unpack? The Va go vacuum compressor solves the problem with asp ice jar-sized device that CNET says-makes it easy to vacu-um pack your luggage as te ." The proce otis simple. Put your bulky clothes inside the compression hag. attach the micro US D-charged compressor and press a button. In less than five minutes your clothes will shrink to half their previous size. A pressure sensor automatically turns off the compressor once all the excess air is removed. One core The Va go comes with only one medium-sized bag; and addi-tion alba par en' tc heap at 10.99 to $2( K 99( depending on the size ). Va go vacuum compressor on Amazon ;$69.99.
Smart-writing set
Sometime% nothing beat% the feeling of putting pen to paper — even if you want
the results to end up in digital form eventually. The Moleskine smartwriting set lets you take notes and draw pictures in one of its distinctive journals as your work syncs in real time to a smartphone or tablet. The mobile app can transcribe handwritten words into digital text in 15 languages.
At first glance, the notebook looks just like any other Moleskine with its elastic strap enclosure.
But flip it open, and a dotted grid on the technology-embedded pages pairs the notebook with an infrared camera-enabled smart pen. The companion app lets you adjust stroke thickness or change the ink color on the fly. The micro USB-powered pen’s onboard memory can store up to 1,000 pages if you happen to be away from your phone or tablet (like that would ever happen). The one knock: It’s expensive. Moleskine smart writing set on Amazon: $199.99.
DSLR lenses
Smartphones can take very fine pictures, but what if you want to elevate your photography to the amazing level without the hassle of lugging around a bulky digital SLR camera?
Lenses from a company called Moment let you take DSLR-quality photos with either an iPhone or Android. Mount one of its wide-angle or telephoto attachments over your phone’s lens and you’re ready to go. The wide lens expands your field of view beyond your phone’s fixed lens to capture two times more picture while the telephoto lens offers four times the optical zoom with less image degrada- tion. Moment DSLR lenses: $89.99 (telephoto) and $99.99 (wide angle).
Door alarm
Sometimes you need a little extra peace of mind when you’re traveling to an unfamiliar place.
The Lewis N. Clark travel alarm is a reusable sensor that attaches to a door or window in seconds, adding a layer of protection to your hotel, Airbnb or hostel room while you’re out or asleep.
To set it up, just slide the motion-sensor blades into the crack between the door and the doorframe, loop the cord around the doorknob and set the alarm. When triggered, the alarm produces a high-pitched sound and flashing LED light that alerts you and, hopefully, deters intruders.
The alarm runs on two lithium button cell batteries and doubles as an LED flashlight. The pocketsized device weighs only a couple ounces and fits comfortably in your suitcase. Lewis N. Clark travel door alarm on Amazon: $11.99.
Photo drone
Ditch that ridiculouslooking selfie stick for a pocket-sized photo drone that takes photos and video from up to 65 feet in the air. The AirSelfie photo drone is the size of a cellphone and weighs about 2 ounces. The micro USBpowered drone can fly for about three minutes on a charge. To launch the drone, you just toss it in the air and swipe the takeoff switch on AirSelfie’s smartphone app, which also lets you control the drone. Built-in sonar and a visual sensor help steady it in the air. Be aware: Rules regarding drone flight vary by state and country, with some locales banning their personal use.
Image files are transferred wirelessly to your smartphone from the drone’s four-gigabyte memory. The recently announced AirSelfie2 upgrades the camera quality, battery life and memory capacity of the original. AirSelfie photo drone: $339.
Bluetooth tracker
It’s easy to misplace things when you’re traveling, especially in unfamiliar environments where nothing is where it usually is. Fortunately, there’s a small solution to this big problem: Attach one of Tile’s smaller Tile Mate trackers to anything you want to find if it should ever get lost: Your keys, passport, wallet, suitcase or even a wandering child. You’ll know exactly where they are at all times via a smartphone app.
The Tile Mate uses Bluetooth wireless to connect with an app on your phone. If it’s within range (100 to 200 feet, depending on the model), you can push a button on the app to make the Tile sound a ringing noise. Lost your phone? The Tile Mate can find that, too. Press the button in the middle of the tiny square fob twice, and your phone will ring, even in silent mode. Tile Mate Bluetooth tracker on Amazon: $19.99.