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TRAVELLER
WORDS ALEX PELL. WE REGRET ALEX CANNOT ANSWER QUESTIONS INDIVIDUALLY AND NO CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE ENTERED INTO
FLIPBOARD
FREE; IOS
This clever app
automatically pulls
together your
entire digital life
to create one truly
glossy package.
Once set up, it can
showcase your
favourite newsfeeds
– plus any updates,
images or videos
shared by your
friends online, such
as a Flickr stream.
It’s not as flexible
as more specialised
apps, yet the whole
is greater than the
sum of the parts.
Coming to Android
very soon as well.
INSTAPAPER
¤3.70 (£2.99); IOS
About to nip onto a
plane? This cunning
little minx will strip
out the text from
any web page you
have previously
selected, in either
a standard web
browser or the
app itself, ready to
be read offline on
an iPhone or iPad
at your leisure. It
works seamlessly
with a multitude of
other apps and has
superb social tools
for sharing articles
with friends. In
short, a godsend for
air travellers.
AMAZON KINDLE
FREE; ALL
PLATFORMS
Amazon has
created a superb
app to access its
digital bookstore,
so even if you don’t
own its hardware,
you can still make
use of the resource.
The Kindle apps –
available for most
gadgets with a
screen – make it
simple to enjoy
low-cost books on
the move. Best of
all, they remember
the page you’re
on if you switch
from, say, laptop to
phone. Genius.
TAPATALK
¤3.70 (£2.99);
IOS, ANDROID,
BLACKBERRY
Keeping in touch
with the various
online forums
you’re interested in
can be a real faff on
a phone, because
they’re not often
optimised for a
small screen. This
handy app enables
you to see exactly
who is saying what,
all in one place,
without needing to
visit each website.
It also makes it far
easier to contribute.
Go on, it’s time to
have your say.
FEEDLY
FREE; IOS, ANDROID
If you keep your
beady eye on a
whole heap of
newsfeeds from
various websites,
this app elegantly
coalesces them into
a single dollop of
digital goodness. At
the simplest level,
Feedly repackages
the clunky yet
powerful Google
Reader tool, but
at its best you’re
effectively creating
a personalised,
online magazine.
It works with all
browsers and most
phones.
Q
We need a travel speaker to
add some poolside ambience
to our holiday home. It must be
small enough to take out for
the day as well, if we go to the
beach. Given my partner and
I both own Android phones, it
can’t be restricted to Apple kit.
Can you help?
JP, Bournemouth, UK
+
GADGET DOCTOR
Technology expert Alex Pell solves your travel-techwoes
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Enhance your life on themove
BEST APPS FOR...
A
The dominance of Apple means that most docks
have a 30-pin iPhone connection, but they all have
a standard 3.5mm jack, too, for other flavours of
phone. Many now include a wireless Bluetooth
feature, which also means you can keep your phone
safely out of sight. The Logitech Mini Boombox (
¤75;
Logitech.com
) is one such option, or try the next notch up:
the stylish Jawbone Jambox (
¤138; Jawbone.com
). These tiny gadgets
sound louder than they look, though neither will get the party really started.
Luckily, each brand also offers a bigger wireless model with added oomph.