05 July,2015 08:35 AM IST | | Harpreet Kaur Sapra
Make a call without a SIM card and charge your gadgets without a plug point. Here is a list of gadgets that will help you remain productive even if you are stuck in wilderness
ASUS ZenPower
In this hyperconnected world, we rarely travel without our favourite gadgets. We tend to remain connected to our workplace even while on a vacation. So, here is a list of gadgets that will help you remain productive even if you are stuck in wilderness.
Instax Mini 90
Smartphones have made it easy to capture pictures and share them instantly on social media. But, what if you need something more tangible? Like a printout of your photo? In comes Fuji's Instax series. With its toy-like design and classic retro look, the camera is a delight to use. It can be used to click portraits and landscapes, and has a shutter button for each. The front- mounted shutter doubles as a mirror to accurately frame selfies, and the ring around the lens can be rotated to select different modes. The party mode, which uses the flash with a slow shutter speed to achieve a slightly lit-up background in dark areas, while the high shutter-speed modes for action shots. It has a fairly light sensitive ISO of 800, but the lens has a small, fixed aperture of f/12.7, which means that you will use the built-in flash pretty often. You can brighten or darken the image. You can also layer two images on top of one another, or use the bulb mode to produce long exposure shots in the dark. The only hitch is that the film for the Mini is tiny or, as Fuji film calls it, credit card size. The actual picture is smaller, thanks to the thick border that surrounds it. But, you can print on plain, white bordered film. Priced at R10,999, Instax Mini 9 is great for instant results.
SpareOne
Need to reach out to someone in an emergency, but your phone's dead? It makes sense to carry SpareOne, an emergency phone that should be a part of your backpack. It functions on an AA battery and can dial 911 or 100 in case of an emergency (the phone simply redirects the call). The Ultimate Lithium AA battery in the pack ensures that it never needs charging. All you have to do is replace the battery when needed. The emergency distress feature includes Panic Siren, SOS flash with the universal distress LED signal - Morse Code. It's available in red and white. The phone is priced at about Rs 4,500 and is available on www.spareone.com
Intuos Creative Stylus 2
Tired of the touchscreen but the keyboard is back at home? Pick up Wacom's Intuos Creative Stylus 2, which is a 5.6-inch stylus with a 0.4-inch diametre at the top, where it is at its thinnest. The grip is 0.8 inches in diametre, making it comfortable to use. The top half of the stylus is made of a dark, grey-coloured plastic, while the bottom half is made of a slightly rubberised black plastic, with a chrome ring at the tip to accentuate the design. The rocker button in the grip doubles up as a shortcut for features such as undo and erase. The LED above the rocker button indicates power and connectivity status. It can also be connected to the iPad via Bluetooth. Once paired, you can use apps such as Bamboo Paper, Autodesk, SketchBook etc. Depending on the app you choose, the Stylus 2 allows you to use its various features - you can, for instance, choose from 2,048 pressure levels, palm rejection and programmable shortcuts. The case comes with a spare nib for the pen and a USB cable that can be used to charge the rechargeable in-built battery. The battery takes around two hours for a full charge and lasts upto 26 hours. Priced at Rs 5,175, it is a blessing for those on the move.
ASUS ZenPower
ZenPower by Asus might just be the answer to all your low battery woes. The gadget packs a 10,050mAh battery and features a smooth aluminum exterior with rounded bezels, weighs a mere 215gm, with an ultra compact form factor of 90.5x59x22mm. The power bank features an LED strip battery indicator, a power switch, a USB port for output and a micro USB port to charge the battery. The device does not heat up like other power banks, thanks to its PowerSafe technology which monitors the temperature, controls both input and output voltage and guards against shorts circuits while charging. The gadget is available in a range of colours - black (Rs 1,599) and gold, pink, silver and blue (Rs 1,499).
