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Cool Holiday Tech Toys
The Travel Technologist · September 20, 2002

Peter Shankman is scaling down his holiday wish list. In years past, clients lavished expensive tech toys, such as the newest PalmPilot, on him. But, lately, gifts have been more modest: an optical mouse engraved with a company logo. "Business travelers and the people giving them gifts are more price-conscious this year," says the Manhattan marketing consultant. "They aren't expecting anything extravagant. They'll settle for something practical."

Practical, not useless, says trend-watcher Anita Dunham Potter, editor of online newsletter AnitaVacation.com. What's the perfect present for a road warrior? Something that costs less than $100 and either complements their current technology or solves a travel problem, such as driver fatigue, oversized luggage or spam.

Products being marketed to travelers for the upcoming season reflect the more-for-less attitude.

Tools for the road. The McGuyver XT (www.topeak.com) is a new 16-function stainless steel tool in a magnesium body that includes a fork with bottle opener, screwdriver, can opener, scissors, saw, serrated knife and tweezers ($39.95). Swiss Army (www.swissarmy.com) offers a comparably priced tool, the SportRatchet, which features a bottle opener, screwdriver, wire stripper and toothpick. It also comes with several sizes of wrenches ($49). Although these gadgets can be useful, they're meant to be checked in with your luggage. Otherwise, a well-meaning gift might get confiscated.

New headsets. Plantronics' (www.plantronics.com) MX100 headset for mobile phones uses new technology called "Flex Grip" to make sure you can wear the unit even while exercising without it slipping off your ear. The company also upgraded its noise-reduction technology so that the person you're talking to can hear you even if you're sprinting through a terminal ($39.95). Its big brother, the CT10, is a new 900 MHz telephone that features some of the same technology for home users ($129.99).

Pillow talk. Dr. Scholl's (www.drscholls.com) just introduced a line of cushions designed for travelers. They're all made from high-density foam that responds to your body's heat and weight, then "remembers" its original shape. Among the new pillows are a U-shaped neck cushion for long flights ($24.99) and a lumbar cushion designed to fit behind your back on marathon car trips ($14.99). If you're looking for more high-tech relief, try the battery-operated lumbar cushion with a massage motor that keeps a gentle, consistent vibration on your back ($19.99).

Luggage innovations. The eVest (www.scottevest.com) is out with a new version of its popular "wearable" luggage. The lightweight sports edition is made of water-resistant fabric that can be worn in warmer weather or indoors and comes with more than 17 pockets. Some compartments are big enough to hold large peripheral devices or laptop computers. Shankman, who owns an eVest ($109.99), easily fits his shoes into his jacket before he goes through a security line. "I can get all of my gadgets into the jacket, and then I just put the whole thing through the X-ray machine," he says. "It's saved me lots of time."

Spam savers. Unwanted e-mail can slow down your productivity, especially on the road. Now, there are two new versions of programs that, when used together, cut the amount of spam you get to almost nothing. Nelson E-mail Organizer (www.emailorganizer.com) is an application that runs alongside Microsoft Outlook. It fixes many flaws in the program, allowing you to run lightning-fast searches and prioritizing your incoming messages ($29.95). ChoiceMail (www.digiportal.com) forces spammers to ask for permission to send their messages to you - which they never do - through an innovative Web-based filtering system ($39.95).

Key chain gifts. The Cool-iCam Micro-Cam (www.cool-icam.com), a combination digital camera, video camera and Web cam, also doubles as a key chain. ($49.99 at jcpenney.com). One of the best-known manufacturers of key chain memory is DiskOnKey (www.diskonkey.com), which offers an entry-level key chain that plugs into your laptop for $29.99. It holds 8 MB of data; a newly introduced 512 MB unit will set you back $499.99. These key chains are easy to use and, given the new luggage restrictions on aircraft, make a practical present.

Laptop camera. The Veo Mobile Connect (www.veo.com) is a new Web camera designed for the frequent traveler. It clips onto a laptop and plugs into your PC's USB port, letting you record video or still images and send them back to the office or to friends and family while you're away ($79.95). Logitech's (www.logitech.com) QuickCam for Notebooks Pro includes software that lets you add video to instant messenger services ($99.95).

Gift guru Potter says travelers still crave expensive technology but are patient.

For example, Jessica Stockwell, an Atlanta communications consultant, says she really wanted a top-of-the line cell phone this year. "But I think it's too soon," she says. "I'm going to settle for an Apple iPod, so I can listen to tunes when I travel."

Even Potter is part of the trend. Instead of spending about $400 to upgrade her 2-year-old personal digital assistant to a wireless one, she's asking her family for a $170 wireless modem this Christmas. "Travelers want to recycle their technology this year without it looking like they're recycling," she says.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. The Travel Technologist appears weekly on this site. This story was also published on USAToday.com.