Whether you’re flying somewhere you’ve never been before, hitting the road to see some sights more locally, or having a “staycation” to get a bit of R&R, check out these products that may help you enjoy your summertime that much more.
Summer. It’s a word that brings a smile to most everyone’s face, evoking pleasant thoughts of sunshine, surf, swimsuits, shorelines, and other things that satisfy your senses. It’s all about relaxation. It’s getting some free time with family and friends. It’s enjoying all that life can offer.
No matter if you’re spending some of your summertime taking a road trip to get away from work and your house, or perhaps chilling out by catching some rays and having a BBQ in the backyard with friends, we’ve compiled a list of some gadgets that’ll make your summer downtime more entertaining and memorable. Check them out to see if these wares can make your summer shine brighter!
We also spoke with Marc Saltzman, Canada’s top consumer-technology journalist, to get his views on these gadgets. Saltzman has been reporting on high-tech products for two decades as a freelance journalist, author, lecturer, consultant, and radio and TV personality. He can frequently be seen and heard talking about tech products on CNN, on network TV programs, on his “Tech Talk” radio programs, and in his “Gear Guide” videos that run before feature films in Cineplex Entertainment movie theaters throughout Canada.
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Under $50
$34.99
If you don’t know about Pokémon GO, you must be living in a cave (though if you do play Pokémon GO in a cave, please find me a strong Geodude for my collection). Pokémon GO is the hot mobile game that enables you to go out in the real world to capture Pokémon (short for “pocket monsters”) and engage in gym battles in your neighborhood. If you see people staring intently at their mobile phones walking down the sidewalk, they’re probably not texting…they’re playing Pokémon GO.
So that you don’t have to be among the ranks of those staring intently at your phone (and to avoid walking face first into a street sign or into traffic), The Pokémon Company is going to offer a bracelet with a small device that looks like a cross between a Poké Ball and a Google Maps icon. While your phone rests in your pocket, the Bluetooth-enabled Pokémon GO Plus will signal you when you’re near a Pokémon ripe for capture or near a Pokéstop by flashing its LED and vibrating. The button enables you to do your Poké business without having to take out your phone.
Marc Saltzman: There’ve already been some stories of Pokémon GO players being robbed of their phones, so not only is Pokémon GO Plus a fun, innovative device, but it’ll help combat that problem by enabling players to keep their phones out of sight.
Jam XT Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
$49.99
If you’re getting outside, make sure to bring your music with you. This diminutive speaker will wirelessly connect up to your smartphone or tablet to deliver solid audio wherever you want it (up to 30 feet away from the device and for up to six hours of play time). However, with its built-in auxiliary port, you’ll be able to tether it with a cable to non-Bluetooth electronics as well.
Jam states that this sturdy speaker can get dirty, be splashed or dropped, so you can safely place it by the pool or on your beach towel, or take it on a hike or bike ride without worry. And if you happen to get a phone call while you’re chilling, the XT has a built-in mic, so you can take the call right there.
Marc Saltzman: Along with many different colors to choose from, I like the fact the speaker is ruggedized for outdoor use, has a flip-out carabiner, and contains an integrated speakerphone feature should a call come in. Battery life tops eight hours.
Between $50–$100
iGrill 2 Remote Meat Thermometer
$99.99
We’ve all been there…there’s nothing worse than inviting a bunch of people over for a cookout, then serving up burgers that are woefully overcooked or dangerously undercooked. Enter the iGrill 2 thermometer, which enables you to monitor the temperature of up to four probes, so your cooking will always be the highlight of your BBQ.
The iGrill 2’s magnetic mount enables you to place it where you want it to be. The device also uses the Bluetooth Smart protocol, so you can download the iDevices Connected app on your phone or tablet, and monitor the probe temperatures from up to 150 feet away, with the ability to set minimum and maximum temperature alarms, cooking timers, and even graph the results of your grilling efforts.
Marc Saltzman: Not everyone likes their meat cooked the same way, and now there’s a high-tech accessory that can help you be a barbeque boss. I’ll take my burger medium-well, by the way.
$99.99
It’s hard to believe that 18 years have passed since the original Furby hit toy stores and Christmas wish lists — and how much it has changed over the years. Today’s Furby is called Furby Connect, and as you can expect from the name, it’s much higher tech and able to connect to the world through the Internet.
The new robotic companion is able to link to a phone or tablet via Bluetooth, and the antenna on its head will signal when new content has been downloaded (it also may be used as a joystick in some games). It reacts to touch and sound interactions, as well as its companion app’s videos and music — and if another Furby Connect should be in the same room. Its LED eyes are more expressive, which enables it to react in numerous ways to app-delivered content. When you want to quit, you won’t have to wait until it decides to go to sleep or pull its batteries to turn it off, because it comes with a sleep mask that’ll turn the Furby off.
Marc Saltzman: Furby Connect is quite a step forward from the previous app-enabled Furby. An Internet-connected toy pet that speaks more than 1,000 phrases and which can be enhanced by new content, it’s unlikely that kids and families will get bored and put it in the closet.
Between $100–$200
$149.99
The Pebble smartwatch started as a concept in the mind of Vancouver’s Eric Migicovsky and was funded with a 2012 Kickstarter campaign it was hoped would raise $100,000. After a bit more than a month, close to 70,000 “Pebblers” backed the device with over $10 million pledged. Since then, Pebble has introduced multiple versions of the watch — which displays the time, but also information that it gets from your phone or tablet via Bluetooth.
The Time model has a crisp, color e-paper display that makes it viewable in light or dark conditions, but which also gives it a long battery life — Pebble claims up to seven days. At its most basic, it tells you the time, who’s calling or texting your phone, and what email you’ve received, but apps give it more and different functionality, such as showing the time in any number of watch faces, counting your steps, tracking your sleep quality, delivering sports scores, and more.
Marc Saltzman: If you’re often on the run, the Pebble Time might be a convenient way to stay on top of your busy life. Best of all, it’s phone agnostic, so it’s able to “talk” to Apple and Android devices. It’s sturdy and waterproof, but also stylish with metal or leather straps.
$199
There’s been an explosion of dash cams in the last couple of years, enabling users to record road trips from a first-person perspective or to document what’s going on inside the vehicle, and then share those videos with others on Facebook, YouTube, and other social-media sites. They’re a source of documentation, proof (in the event of an accident or other driving incident), and entertainment. Imagine the family movies you can capture from a vacation trip.
The Twister shows how these devices have evolved, in that it comes with two wide-angle cameras — one being fixed, and the other that can be swiveled 320 degrees to capture action more selectively. It has a mic to capture all that’s going on, and also has infrared LEDs, so it records well at night or in low-light conditions. It even has a motion sensor, so it can record unattended if the vehicle is parked.
Marc Saltzman: The Dash Cam Twister has two very nice features: One is that video is recorded to Micro-DS cards, which makes it easy to watch and share videos on your computer. And the swiveling camera means you can capture what happens inside and outside the vehicle from the passenger window to the driver window.
Over $200
$249
With the promise that our homes will be filled with connected devices — the so-called Internet of Things — among the first products we’ve seen are smart thermostats. Whether it’s monitoring your home climate from work or on vacation or simply controlling your heating/cooling system to only go on when you’re going to need it, these smart thermostats will save you money and reduce your carbon footprint.
The Ecobee3, from Toronto-based Ecobee, enables you to remotely monitor on a computer or phone/tablet the status of your home climate, not only at the site of the thermostat, but also at up to 32 remote sensors around your home. (You get one remote sensor with the thermostat.) Of course, if you’re in your home, you can use the thermostat’s 3.5-inch color LCD screen to check your inside temperature, humidity, and even get a live weather forecast for your area, up to five days ahead.
Marc Saltzman: Not only will the Ecobee3 save home owners on heating and cooling costs (the company estimates an average of 23 percent annually), but the device works with small room sensors that monitor occupancy (unlike Google Nest), which ensures you’ll get the exact temperature you want per room.
$599
Toronto-headquartered tech firm Mass Fidelity calls The Core wireless speaker “a product designed to be the center of users’ musical universe.” The small device — which will 
comfortably fit on a shelf, countertop, or table — uses Wave Field Synthesis to create audio that the company says “is purer and sounds better than traditional stereo,” regardless of where the listener is in the room without the need for two speakers.
The Core can stream audio wirelessly from a phone or tablet via Bluetooth or you can connect it up to an analog or digital audio device with a cord, and if you’re looking for more punch, hooking up a wired subwoofer “retunes” The Core to only play midrange- and high-frequency audio, leaving the bass output to the subwoofer. Additionally, you can fill your home with synchronized sound; the speaker contains a built-in wireless network that enables the connection of up to nine Core speakers easily and without the need for a separate in-home WiFi network or router.
Marc Saltzman: Despite its small size, the exceptionally good-sounding speaker is loud, well-balanced, and you can’t pinpoint where the sound is coming from in the room.
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