Tech journalist and frequent traveller Nafisa Akabor shares new tech you can use on your travels as well as a trip to beautiful Botswana.
November has us grabbing on to the coolest new toys, from the Galaxy Note 10+ to the Nintendo Switch Lite, and the Philips electric toothbrush suited for travel.
Plus a new Thule organiser for cable packing, and the anticipated Apple Arcade platform.
Samsung Note 10+
The Note 10+ is a delight if you want capture and edit footage on the fly during your adventures.
The new native video editing mode is easy to use, and the quad-camera set-up is great.
The S-Pen has new gestures, and the shade “aura glow” is bound to get attention. Whether its gaming, business, or entertainment, the Note 10+ is a worthy all-rounder.
Price: From R23 000. Available from cellucity.co.za
Nintendo Switch Lite
Nintendo has made the perfect handheld gaming console for when you are travelling.
The Switch Lite is a travellers dream because it is lighter, smaller, and easy to carry around.
It has built-in Joy-Cons, up to 7 hours battery life, and comes in bright colours.
Price: R3 999. Available from raru.co.za
Philips Sonicare DiamondClean
Philips has made travelling with an electric toothbrush uncomplicated with its Sonicare DiamondClean model.
It has five cleaning modes that work brilliantly, including polish and shine. The nifty design includes a travel case that can be charged via USB; with cables, and plug included in the box, along with two brush heads.
Available in black or rose gold.
Price: R2 650. Available from Takealot.com
Thule Travel Organizer
If you are packing for any trip, cables are going with.
The Thule Crossover 2 Travel Organizer is a nifty little sectioned pouch with a magnetic clip-out travel wallet.
Essential if you don’t want to fumble around in your bags for cables, power banks, gadgets, passports, and bank cards.
Price: R999.
Apple Arcade
Apple’s new Arcade gaming service, available on iOS13, is the ideal way to kill time during transit.
At R89 a month, there are no hidden costs, and you get access to over 100 unique games to play.
It is not a streaming service, and games can be downloaded. Works between iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, so you can carry on where you left off.
Price: R89/m, Apple devices only.
Beautiful Botswana
I had the opportunity to drive the new Ford Everest in Botswana a couple of months ago.
There is something special about driving around in a new place instead of being transported; you get to take in more.
After arriving in Maun, we took a 25-minute charter flight to Khwai, and saw the most amazing views of the eastern side of the Okavango Delta along with animals from up in the sky.
It set the tone for the trip, heavily emphasised by animals who roam around freely, as there are no fences. During the three days, we covered roughly 600km, and everything felt like an education.
The cherry on top was seeing the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the largest salt flats in the world. It was majestic, and such a privilege to experience.
Did I mention that during this time, we had access to Wi–Fi at certain spots, but you know what? The magic about touring Africa is that you don’t need connectivity.
