Certain advances in technology have made getting from A to B so pleasurable that the travelling is almost better than arriving at your destination. That's why we're taking a look at the best little devices that will ensure your holiday goes smoothly, including the best digital cameras, GPS gadgets and portable players.

CAPTURE YOUR MEMORIES

Camcorders

Say goodbye to shaky, blurry home movies. Today's camcorders offer a host of features, such as anti-shake, waterproofing and hard disk drives to allow you to create some pretty flashy little (or not so little) travel movies. And since digital recording doesn't deteriorate as quickly as the old VHS, you'll be able to create DVDs that the family will enjoy for years to come.

 

Sony SR-Series Handycams | $1699 (60GB) $1399 (30GB) | www.sony.com.au 

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These are the latest hard disk drive Handycams from Sony and now feature storage up to 60GB. The handy thing about a 60GB hard drive built into your camera is that you can shoot continuously for a fair amount of time before having to replace media.
Sony claims the 60GB hard drive will store up to 42 hours of footage, which is protected by a shock absorber wrapped around the Handycam. If the 3G Sensor built into the unit detects a drop, the hard disk power will shut off automatically, thus preventing any damage to the hard disk. Recording continues via the Drop Stream Buffer and once hard disk power resumes, the buffer video stream is saved into the hard disk.
The cameras feature Carl Zeiss lenses and feature a 1/5.5 inch megapixel CCD in the top-end models. They also offer an indexing tool for searching through the hours of recorded footage to find the scene you're after. There's also a one-touch function to burn DVDs.
The new Handycams feature Stamina battery packs, which Sony says will keep the 30GB models going for six hours continuous recording, and the 60 GB model for seven hours straight.

Panasonic DVD D300 | $1979 | www.panasonic.com.au

If you're more comfortable with DVDs, then this feature-packed camera from Panasonic may be more up your alley. It allows you to record on DVD-RAM discs, which you can remove from your camcorder after shooting and put it into a DVD player or recorder for immediate viewing (as the camcorder is also DVD-RW and -R compatible). DVD-RAM discs come in different storage capacities, including 4.7GB and 9.4GB.
The discs are easy to use as finding a blank space for recording is automatic, therefore you don't have to go searching for one and it will not record over a previous file by mistake. They can also be re-written up to 100,000 times. USB 2.0 compatibility gives you the option of uploading the DVD data to your PC.
The D300 boasts a Leica Dicomar lens and 30x optical zoom (brilliant for safaris). There is also a joystick control, which allows you to operate most common functions using one hand. Top it all off with 3CCD and an optical image stabiliser, and amateur film-makers can (almost) go pro!

Digital cameras

There are many benefits of carrying a digital camera on holidays. Firstly, the sheer capacity available via a host of memory cards means hundreds of photos can be taken continuously, so no running out of film at crucial moments. There are plenty of choices out there. Here are some of the travel-friendly ones.

Ricoh Caplio 500SE | $1399 | www.ricoh.com.au 

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Let's face it, we all get a little bit crazy with digital cameras – shooting hundreds of photos, simply because we can. The downside of that is facing the inevitable question of "so where was that again?" when sorting through the pictures back at home. This 8.1 megapixel digital camera from Ricoh features Bluetooth connectivity and an EDR interface. These allow you to connect a Bluetooth GPS receiver to the camera to attach location data to the photo. That means you will never have to ask that question again!
GPS connectivity is particularly useful for the adventurous traveller. "Now a rock climber or bush walker can detect his final destination in unknown territory. They simply take a photo with the new Caplio 500SE and the software embeds the location data onto the image. When downloaded to their computer back at base it will show them the exact location on a map," says Ricoh's Stewart Pickersgill.
Naturally, the 500SE also has Ricoh's trademark adventure-proof features including a dust resistance grading of JIS 6, water resistance in depths of up to one metre and shock resistance to falls of up to one metre. A 3x (28-85 mm) optical zoom, anti-blur mode, 1cm macro mode and 2.5-inch LCD monitor/viewfinder complete the package.

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Nikon D80 | $2249 (body + 18-135mm lens) | www.nikon.com.au

If you have a penchant for photography, there's no better time to get serious with the camera then when travelling. And serious photography requires a serious SLR camera. This is Nikon's latest digital SLR offering, among a whole host of features, Nikon's well-reputed lens, including compatibility with AF Nikkor lenses, 12-bit digital image processing algorithms (for colour and tone reproduction) and the new Auto-area AF sensor module (for fast, precise focussing), all wrapped up in a 10.2-megapixel camera. 
Featuring a 2.5-inch 230 000 dot LCD with a claimed 170° viewing angle, the camera takes 0.18 seconds to power up. Nikon says the shutter's minimal release lag time is approximately 80 milliseconds – so you don't miss a thing on your travels. And if you want to catch the swift movements of a cheetah on safari or perhaps even your child's screams on a roller coaster, capture it with continuous shooting at three frames per second in bursts of up to 100 JPEG (Fine M size or smaller) images.   
The D80 also comes complete with battery pack, wireless remote control and remote cord to give you more stability when using long exposures, such as for capturing beautiful landscapes or macro photography.

Sony Cybershot T10 | $649 | www.sony.com.au 

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Most photographers will tell you that the key to taking a great photo is to be armed and ready with a camera at all times. However, carrying around a bulky SLR whilst traveling isn't always easy. A good alternative is to have the SLR for specific shots but to carry around a compact digicam in your pocket or purse.
Sony's 7.2 megapixel Cybershot T10 is an ultra-compact digicam that packs in further travel-focused features such as Double Anti-Blur technology to minimise hand-shake or low-light blur, and High Sensitivity ISO so you can get decent shots out of not-so-decent camera skills. It also features Carl Zeiss lens, 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD. Compatible with Memory Stick PRO cards, this camera will take up to 240 pictures from a single charge.
But what makes this camera particularly good for travel is the new GPS unit, GPS-CS1 ($229). This is a GPS unit designed specifically for Sony Cybershot cameras and Handycams. It allows you to record the time and location (worldwide) of each photo you take onto an internal memory and then apply that information to photos via the supplied PC software. Basically, you upload the GPS data and photos onto your PC. The photos have time data hidden in their files so that you can match up the GPS data and photos based on the time the photo was taken.

NAVIGATE YOUR WAY

GPS devices

You'll have no need to ask for directions again with a portable GPS device. And from a safety perspective, blending in with the locals when travelling is a wise idea – a huge crumpled map is pretty much a big ‘x marks the tourist' for pick pockets and thieves.

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Mio Digiwalker C310 and C510 | $599 and $799 | www.mio.com.au

The new and improved Digiwalkers have an incorporated walk mode, so you can unclip them from your car mount and take them on foot.
These units are packed with 383,000 points of interest and cover over one million kilometres, including the latest road additions such as the M7 Westlink in NSW and 50 off-road four-wheel drive tracks.
Weighing in at a highly portable 170 grams, the Mio Digiwalker features a zoom function and tilt function to switch between 2D and 3D display. You can also choose between a male or female voice and select one of 15 languages, which could be a handy way to practice the local language. A built-in MP3 player is also standard in Mio GPS devices.
Since Australian driving holidays are inevitably around double-demerit point long weekends, a particularly handy feature of the Mio unit is to alert the driver to thousands of school zones and over 500 red light and speed cameras. Both units come with 512MB of built-in memory, Bluetooth connectivity and built-in microphone, thus allowing you to take calls safely whilst driving.

Navman N60i | $899 | www.navman.com.au  ;

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Navman makes some pretty neat satellite navigation products (see page 64 if you don't believe it). One of its newest products is the slimmer and compact N60i mobile GPS device, which is particularly good for travel.
The secret is NavPix technology, which allows you to select your point of destination by means of an image, rather than by typing in an address (though you do have that option as well). Navman and travellers' bible Lonely Planet have put together an image library consisting of thousands of images and information for users of NavPix to download to their devices. These images range from public buildings and stations to cafes and restaurants. You can add your own images as well, as the unit has an integrated 1.3-megapixel camera. So once you arrive at a destination, say a friend's place, take a photo of it with the camera and the unit will automatically download and embed the geographical details and address in the image – smart!
Navman has also developed a NavPix community online, allowing you to share your image library with other users. So before you set off on your trip, go online and check out Navman's own database of Lonely Planet tourist attraction images and guidebook information. After that see where other Navpix users have been – you could get the precise map data of an off-the-beaten-track restaurant someone has found in Paris or a boutique vineyard someone else has found in Tuscany. All this content is free to download. The map data in SD card format for England, North America, Europe and New Zealand can be purchased from the Navman Web site.

TomTom GO 910  | $1179  |  www.tomtom.com 

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Since the map data used by all the different GPS device makers is the same, the way it is presented and the add-ons are the point of difference between vendors. In this mobile GPS unit, TomTom has chosen to add on Bluetooth, a safety camera database and seamless Apple iPod control via the 910's touchscreen. The latter allows you to listen to your music either via the built-in audio speaker or the car stereo. And you can control it all via remote control. 
This TomTom unit is particularly handy as it allows you to download maps of Western Europe, North America, Australia (obviously), Hong Kong and Singapore directly to your TomTom or using a computer. And you don't have to download the whole country – just purchase the map of the area you need from TomTom's Web site.
The 4-inch LCD touch screen has a newly improved anti-glare screen and built-in sensor to adapt automatically according to light and weather. The text-to-speech technology in the 910 can also allow SMS messages to be read aloud, while the built-in music player and 20GB inbuilt drive gives you room to play and store a bunch of tunes to while away those long car or train hauls.

STAY IN TOUCH

Stay in touch via a mobile phone or get online via a 3G handset so you stay up-to-date with local news, temperature and sights. Even the humble PDA may have a place in your travels.

Nokia n93 | $1399 | www.nokia.com.au 

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Part of Nokia's high-end music-playing N-series range, the N93 has been designed with an emphasis on connectivity, content sharing and cameras. And yes cameras, plural. This phone also functions as a really decent video camera and digital camera, so you won't have to lug around your camcorder every step of the way.
Featuring a 3.2-megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom as well as MPEG-4 VGA video capture of up to 30 frames per second, this phone has TV out support (in addition to WLAN and USB 2.0) so you can watch footage captured on the phone on your TV directly. And in order to make all this content actually useful, (as opposed to lying forgotten in your phone somewhere), Nokia Lifeblog 2.0 allows you to easily collect, store and share your photos and video. Agreements with Yahoo and Flickr also allow for one-click image uploading. The phone supports a memory card of up to 2G and comes with a 512MB memory card to store your content.
As a Symbian 60 phone it is also compatible with Travroute GPS software CoPilot Live, which the company says is simply ‘plug and drive' with NAVTEQ street maps pre-loaded on a storage card. And you can even use the mobile phone's Internet connection for live tracking and messaging.

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HP iPaq Travel Companion rx5965 | $899 | www.hp.com.au

Unfort unately, the new Travel Companion series does not have phone functionality included, but it is a PDA with a difference. It features an integrated GPS antenna, SiRF Star II GPS receiver, inbuilt GPS navigation software and carries pre-installed Tom Tom Navigator 6.0 maps in the flash memory, thus requiring no SD cards or Internet activation.
The TomTom Navigator can provide the usual voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation instructions and maps via the 3.5-inch anti-glare touchscreen. Other useful travel tools include real-time travel information with WorldMate Standard Edition, world clocks, a packing list organiser, weather forecasts worldwide and a currency conversion application with an online exchange rate service.
Connectivity options include integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN, Bluetooth 2.0 and mini-USB synchronisation. Powered by a Samsung 400MHz processor and built-on Microsoft Windows Mobile! 5.0, the PDA supports up to 2GB flash ROM memory, allowing you to store and play music, photos, videos and games – great for passing time on the road. The series also supports SD or MMC memory cards and comes with a car mount kit.

STAY ENTERTAINED

Headphones

There's nothing worse than having to listen to the shouts and screams of kids, chatter and even background noise when you want to relax on the plane or simply listen to your own music via a portable music player. Enter noise-cancelling headphones…

Sennheiser PXC 300 | $399 | www.syntec.com.au  ;

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Sennheiser has come up with a pretty slick new range of headphones this year – check out our Best Of The Best Awards for more details (see page 72). Part of the company's new range is these travel-dedicated supra-aural mini headphones: the PXC 300s.
These smart little headphones are foldable and feature NoiseGard Advance active noise cancelling technology. Sennheiser says they will reduce unwanted noise by up to 80 percent. In addition, ‘optimised circuit technology' is in place to minimise mobile phone interference.
Add on an ergonomic head-band, two-point suspension, soft ear pads, Duofol diaphragms for transparent audio reproduction and you've got yourself a pretty sweet set of travel headphones. The included accessories are a protective case, batteries and aircraft entertainment system adaptors.

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Shure E3c | $299| www.shure.com and www.jands.com.au

Earphone specialist Shure has created a pair of sound isolation earphones (E3c) that were originally designed for professional musicians, but are now available to anyone looking for a portable audio device accessory.
The earphones don't feature active noise cancelling technology (which may interfere with sound delivery), but isolate sound naturally by fitting directly into the user's ears (much like a pair of foam earplugs do). As for the sound, Shure says the speakers are constructed of studio-grade components and feature WideBand MicroDrive technology.
There are a number of different fitting options including foam sleeves, flex sleeves and soft flex sleeves, which come in small, medium and large sizes. You also have three different options of wearing the headphones to ensure a snug and ambient-noise-free fit.

Bose QuietComfort 3 | $599 | www.bose.com.au 

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The Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphone is the latest product from the Bose Noise Reduction Technology Group. The idea behind these babies was to reduce the bulk-factor without affecting the performance. So how was this achieved?
According to Bose, a new proprietary acoustic design was put in place to ensure audio quality at all frequencies, a new electronic design for superior noise-reduction and a new mechanical design to ensure a comfortable fit for long-term listening. This allows QuietComfort 3s to rest on your ears rather than surround them.
And since travellers should pack light, the headphones also fold flat in a small slim carrying case and come with a rechargeable battery.  Plug them into your music player or even some stereo-enabled mobile phones.

Portable Video Players

Portable players are an ideal way to while away the time on long journeys, and are an especially useful device for keeping the kids entertained in the car, train or plane. The units out there today are pretty small and are truly portable, so it's not a bad idea to take one along as a just-in-case item.

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Sony PSP | $399 | www.sony.com.au

So ny's built-in UMD drive (and studio backing) means that watching movies on the PSP is definitely possible. You can watch the mini-disc movies available through Sony, or for more variety, you can convert DVDs into PSP-compliant files. Sony has aimed to make transferring videos, music and other non-game content a lot simpler with the release of the new PSP Media Manager Software, which you can download online or buy a hard copy in stores.
As the PSP doesn't have a built-in hard disk drive, you will have to squeeze movies onto a Memory Stick Duo, which can reduce the quality of the image somewhat. But the main advantage of the PSP is that you may have one already for its more obvious use – gaming. Thus, you can get more out of the one device – freeing up luggage space for souvenirs and duty-free!
There are also new Sony interactive, ‘up-to-the-minute' city guides ($50 each) developed in conjunction with Lonely Planet for the PSP. Available in UMD format, these guides currently cover Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Paris, Prague and Rome. They give you heaps of information including the hottest bars, hotels, services and attractions. There are also maps, audio tours, pre-planned itineraries as well as language phrases with audio. You can keep all the info up to date via the dedicated Web site www.psppassport.com.

Topfield TFP20 | $799 | www.topfield-a ustralia.com.au 

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The TFP20 is a compact unit offering a 4-inch display and since it comes from a set-top-box specialist, it is only natural that it has the ability to record up to 400 hours of movies, 10,000 MP3s, 100,000 photos and 10 million e-book pages onto its 20GB hard disk drive. It also allows you to record directly from your TV, DVD or CD player to the hard disk.
A handy feature for travellers is the USB OTG host port on the unit, which allows you to connect your digital camera directly to the player to transfer your photos without the use of a PC. This can save you having to carry additional memory cards for your camera or paying to have your pictures burned to disc to free-up memory card space.
Back at home, features such as the time recorder mode will allow you to simply connect the player to your TV, set the record timer in the same way as you would for a PVR or VCR and your favourite show is ready for the road. 

Though who has time for TV when they're on holidays?