Electronics accessories

Electronics accessories

In the market for some new electronic accessories? Let’s take a look at some of the must-have devices that should be part of your everyday life:

• Power bank: with nomophobia (fear of being without your mobile phone) becoming an actual thing, portable power banks have never been hotter. Most are small enough to fit in your pocket and will charge your smartphone several times over. There are even some that optimise charging speed for different devices, which makes rebooting much more efficient.
• Wireless headphones: if you haven’t made the switch to wireless headphones, you don’t know what you’re missing. So why buy them? Well, they’re wireless! This means freedom on a grand scale – no more tangled cords, no more movement restriction and you can leave the device in your pocket or on the other side of the house while you listen.
• Bluetooth speaker: there are so many reasons to buy a Bluetooth speaker. They’re easy to use, incredibly portable, do not require WiFi to work (which is excellent when camping or at the beach) and are more friendly on the budget than bigger speaker systems. There are even Bluetooth speakers that are made to be completely waterproof!
• Action camera: otherwise known as a GoPro (which is actually a brand!), these devices are made by many other companies like Sony, Garmin, Tom Tom and Garmin. This is your go to when you want to capture action footage while you’re skating, skiing, mountain biking… the sky’s the limit. They will attach to a wide range of mounts and can be used in a variety of environment including under water!
• USB charger for your car: using any kind of map on your smartphone chews battery like nothing else, so a USB charger for your car is something you don’t want to leave home without. These chargers plug right into your car’s 12V outlet (or the old cigarette lighter port for anyone who remembers those!), which make recharging your tech so much easier while in transit.
• Portable hard drive / back up drive: it’s a sad fact of life that hard drives can and do fail, and most likely when you don’t expect it. Even though we can all back up to the cloud, portable hard drives are a second line of defence that provide peace of mind. Top tip – buy a model with more storage space than your device so you can do a complete back up.
• Bluetooth trackers: if you are forever losing your wallet, keys or luggage, then a Bluetooth tile is your new best friend. They work like tiny tracking devices – you simply attach it to your item of choice, pair it with your smartphone and you’re done. They’ve also found a market with parents attaching them to their children’s sleeping or comfort toy, now that’s clever!
• Cable management system: this is really just a fancy way to say “keep your cords organised”. We don’t know about you, but when we’re travelling there are cords and chargers everywhere for our many and varied devices. Do the smart thing and buy a cord caddy – they will generally have separate areas to organise and store all the things you need, plus keep the tangles at bay. Problem sorted.