60 cool gadgets for the perfect summer
27th Jun 2012 | 12:15
As the name hints, this contraption turns out frozen, stick-mounted snacks in seven minutes. cheaper and more convenient than a dash to the ice cream van, kids.
Price: £31
The official ball of the Olympics, this allegedly takes its name from the Cockney rhyming slang for ball: “Albert Hall”. Just mind your syrup doesn’t come off when using your loaf, alright guv’nor?
Price: £85
This flying disc – not a Frisbee; never that – is ideal for young ’uns and beginners, thanks to its soft edges and ability to float in the pool. Don’t be fooled, though: this thing can really fly.
Price: £10
These noise cancellers offer superb sound and also work as “normal” headphones once the battery’s died. Thus, you can still block out the sound of wailing as you enter your 17th hour stuck in a tunnel.
Price: £350
Supima cotton and clima-fibres react to your body temperature, so you can stay cool without the ignominy of working whilst wearing a vest and say, “I’m feeling too hot – think I’ll put my jumper on.”
Price: £95
A four-clip slide seal system makes your Kindle submersible to 6m. The only way to read 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (NB: not waterproof to 20,000 leagues).
Price: £89 (Kindle), £27.50 (Overboard)
The best tablet coupled with the best free city guides means your passport to great weekend breaks doesn’t need to weigh a ton.
Price: From £399
With a handy keyboard dock, this is a tablet made for proper typing. runs Ice cream sandwich, the latest version of Android.
Price: £TBC
Say goodbye to drive-time boredom and blast your own choice of music instead – this iPhone dock sends tunes to your car radio via its FM tuner.
Price: £70
This pro Aviation watch qualifies you to perform emergency landings just by owning it! Okay, it doesn’t, but it does look chunkily sex-o-matic, though.
Price: £2,800
These long-reach, heat-resistant silicone-gripped tongs are ideal for snaffling sausages off the grill. Or someone else’s plate.
Price: £14
This potion stops you burning in the sun while keeping your skin hydrated. As a result, you should end up looking tanned and healthy rather than turning orange like Ricky Martin from The Apprentice, or ending up looking like the result of a chip pan fire.
Price: £23
Make embarrassing desktop spillages a thing of the past with this leak-proof water bottle. Just press to sip and release to seal.
Price:£15
These super-absorbent towelettes roll up to fit in a coat pocket and come in a pleasing range of attractive yet stain-concealing colours.
Price: £11
A quick prod and this’ll tell you your meat’s temperature and whether it qualifies as “still mooing”, “medium rare” or “recognisable only from dental records”.
Price: £13
Five hours on a plane can leave even the freshest of face resembling Emperor Palpatine. relax: a few blasts of this will leave your skin smoother than Vader’s helmet.
Price: £7
Wear your geek credentials with pride, with a tent that looks like a circuit board. Guaranteed to stand out from the masses of identikit, pop-up jobs.
Price: £495
Packing info on 27,000 courses, this golf watch would be the best caddy you could ask for, if only it would get off your wrist and carry your damn clubs.
Price: £280
Hot and bothered? Retire to the drawing room to enjoy Gin Mare’s blend of sun-drenched citrus fruits, Arbequina olives, thyme, basil and rosemary. Simply dilute with vermouth to taste and add an olive.
Price: £34
With a hi-def, 4.7-inch screen, 1.5GHz quadcore chip and eightmeg/ 1080p camera, this is all the phone you need in 2012 – and should still be looking fairly cuttingedge come 2013.
Price: £450
This case has an IP-68 rating, with military-grade resistance to shock, dust and water. Despite that, it doesn’t add an excess of bulk, and multi-touch continues to work just fine.
Price: £60
The packaging was “inspired by sports materials”, but this smells of grapefruit and bergamot rather than, say, a tennis racquet.
Price: £20
The Bluetooth headset it’s okay to sport, with NoiseAssassin tech to terminate background noise using a kind of electronic garotte.
Price: £100
Still packing salt and pepper shakers? This lets you grind both from the same, groovily stylish and faintly organic-looking mill.
Price: £32
Thermoplastic layers adjust to your weight, meaning comfort even if your beach diet hasn’t gone entirely as you’d hoped.
Price: £390
These beauties offer a three-button remote, a mic for hands-free calls and the reassurance that comes from knowing audio quality has been approved by Lou reed, the writer of heroin and metal machine music.
Price: £300
A fruity mix of cranberry, blueberry, pomegranate and grape, this spray is rich in antioxidants and better in the heat than heavier creams.
Price: £19
Sun ruining your well preserved pallor? The 2,160 design options of this work-of-art-cumtelly is the best excuse to stay out of it, with 200Hz 3D screen, 500GB PVR and 80W speakers!
Price: From £1,395
With orange leather and lustrous chrome, this stylish retro camera, straight out of The Ipcress File, will make you look quite the debonair gent about town. Not a lot of people know that.
Price: £376
The Great British plug is a huge, pointy thing that has more metal in its construction than some cars. This fold-up version makes it far more compact, and also prevents in-luggage scratching as the prongs are covered.
Price: £25
