Travel gadgets

If you are preparing for a long flight or a cross-country trip with the family, having some travel gadgets along for the ride will save you hours of boredom and a headache from tired kids. Here are some of the must-have travel gadgets on the market:

Kindle
Kindle is an electronic book reader. It fits comfortably in your hands and it is completely portable. You can download blogs, newspapers, magazines, and books and take them with you everywhere you go. What makes Kindle so unique is that you don't need to connect it to your personal computer to download the content. It has its own downloadable device using internet technology where you can download the media. This makes the device even better because you don't need to pay for a separate internet connection to download your books.

It takes less than a minute to download the book from Kindle. If you are interested in a particular book, you can download a sample of the first few pages of the book to see if it is something you want to read. Then you can make the decision to purchase the book or not. The screen is black and white and it literally looks like you are reading pages of a book with its virtual ink that is designed to look like ink on paper. There is no backlighting so you don't need to worry about eyestrain. This also makes it ideal for reading in bright sunlight or well-lit rooms. The screen is about 6'' so it's pretty easy to read all the words. You can purchase Kindle for about $299.

Video Eyeware
A cool travel gadget is video eyeware. Just like sunglasses, you will put on the video eyeware and you can watch movies and play games. The screen is pretty small because it's built right into the eyeware. The eyeware comes with built-in head sets that transmit the sound right into your ears, saving everyone else in the car from listening to your movie. The video eyeware costs about $300 and you can connect it to PlayStation, iPods, and other portable media devices. The lithium battery will last for about 6-8 hours so you can easily get through a long flight.

Laptop
Laptops are one of the best portable electronic gadgets to take with you. The best part about laptops is that you can do practically everything with them. You can watch movies, browse the internet, and play games. Almost every hotel offers Wi-Fi services so you can easily connect to the internet anywhere you go. While your spouse is driving, you can be sitting in the passenger seat working on documents and even uploading them to your company web site if you purchase a Wi-Fi card. Laptops run on lithium batteries that can last anywhere from 4-6 hours. Some cars are coming equipped with charging devices for laptops so you can turn on a movie for the kids for a few hours while you are driving. Laptops range in prices, a good one will cost you at least $1,000 or more.

iPod
Of course one of the best electronic portable devices is the iPod. The newer iPod versions feature videos and can hold hours of music, movies, and videos. The iPod touch features a full-color 3.5 inch screen. You can purchase the iPod Touch for around $299 or less. The prices are continuing to drop while Apple works on new iPods. iPods can last for several hours at a time, usually around 6 hours or longer, and you can purchase an adaptor to charge it in your car while traveling.