Five Essential Gadgets to Take On Holiday

It’s bare comprehendible anymore. How did people get through day-to-day life without smartphones? How could you shop with confidence if you couldn’t read an Amazon review as you wandered around a shop? What did people do on buses and trains without games or YouTube? How did anyone ever socialise without Facebook?

It isn’t just smartphones that have transformed the way we live, either. We now live in a gadget-driven society, where if there isn’t a piece of digital tech to help you do it, it probably isn’t worth doing. We depend on our gadgets at work, rest and play. And when we head off on holiday, well, the gadgets have to come with us, too.

Apart from our smartphones (obvs), what other gadgets can we absolutely, positively not do without when we go on holiday? Here are five we wouldn’t be leaving behind - what do you think?

E-Reader / Tablet

There are two reasons why tablets and/or e-readers are essential on every family holiday. For mum and dad, those two weeks by the pool while the kids entertain themselves bombing off the diving board are perhaps the only quality time you will get to sit and read a book all year. Don’t make do with the trashy paperbacks you remembered to pick up last minute at the airport. Take your Kindle, and the literary world is your oyster.

As for tablets? Well, there are times on every holiday when having some video games or a collection of favourite cartoons to sedate the kids with is worth its weight in gold. Every parent knows it makes sense.

Action Cam

Holiday snaps are not what they used to be. The days of making do with overexposed family huddles in a restaurant with the waiter’s finger obscuring half the picture are long gone. Nowadays, if your holiday pics don’t involve you riding a wave, jumping into a swimming pool (as you take the picture) or doing something that involves falling from a great height, you might as well not bother your Instagram followers.

Yes your smartphone can take great pics. But unlike an action cam, your smartphone is not waterproof to several metres depth, virtually indestructible and designed to take immaculate quality motion pictures. With an action cam (plus perhaps a selfie stick), your photos really can go wherever the fun is.

Sat Nav

Need we even explain this one? If you are going on a road trip, a Sat Nav is the difference between apoplectic arguments over whose left you meant when you said left at the roundabout two hours back, and a calm, peaceful, trouble-free transit to your next destination. Plus, when one of your party wants to make a quick detour because they’ve just found something they absolutely have to see on Google, you can do so without suffering the dread of wondering if you will ever find your way back to your main route again.

Headphones

It isn’t just professional footballers who ‘need their own headspace’ 24/7. Every now and then, we all deserve to tune out, unwind and enjoy a few favourite tunes in the privacy of our own ears, without someone complaining that our taste in music is rubbish. What better time to enjoy this luxury than on holiday?

There is no longer any need to suffer the indignity of trying to listen to music on the move through headphones that make all music sound like cats scratching a tin roof. Whether your brand is Beats or Bose, you deserve a high-fidelity listening experience as you chill by the pool. Plus, of course, they will double up nicely when it’s time to give the kids some downtime with their tablets.

Solar Charger / Mobile WiFi

Ok so we’re cheating slightly with this last one by squeezing two into one, but they do serve a similar and essential purpose - making sure all your other gadgets keep working. One of the Top 5 holiday packing disasters has to be turning up at a destination only to realise you haven’t brought any plug adapters, immediately rendering all of your electronic devices useless within a couple of short days. The solution? Invest in solar chargers, and then you can have your phones and Kindles charging even as you sit by the pool or on the beach.

It’s a similar story with Mobile WiFi. Although better than it used to be, data roaming for mobile devices can still be pretty expensive. So instead of paying the charges for every device, why not buy one Mobile WiFi unit with one international SIM, and get WiFi connection for up to 10 smartphones and tablets?

Insure It All

Finally, having your favourite gadgets with you on holiday is great. But, should something untoward happen and something gets broken or lost, it could all end in tears. Protect yourself by getting whatever gadgets you take insured. At Row.co.uk, our specialist gadget insurance comes with international cover included, so your must-have devices are always protected, at home and abroad.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

TVs have always been expensive, but there’s a huge range between the most basic sets and the latest smart TVs. If you’re into 4K content, and you want to have access to streaming services, you could easily splash out a four-figure sum on your perfect TV. Likewise, gamers are typically very picky about the displays they use.

As our TVs become more expensive, they are also becoming less sturdy; look around in electronics stores, and you’ll see some that are no thicker than a pencil. If something goes wrong, you’ll need a professional to get it working again. Does your insurance policy measure up?

TV Repair Facts and Figures

The brand you choose will play a part in the longevity of your TV. According to Which?, one in five of the worst-performing brand TVs will conk out in the first five years.

That’s an astonishing failure rate for something so expensive.

Which? has also published some interesting facts and figures about the things that typically go wrong with TV sets:

● 23% of faults are to do with the on-screen picture quality

● Users also commonly report problems with the software on the TV -- the second most common problem

● Sound problems are another common complaint, coming in third in the Which? survey.

If your TV’s performance is anything less than perfect, you’ll be left footing the bill for a repair or replacement.

Repairs vs TV Insurance

If you’ve already paid a fortune for a high-end OLED TV, or you’ve splashed the cash on a smart TV, the last thing you want is an unexpected repair bill. But unfortunately, electronics break down with no prior warning all too often.

And now that our TVs run their own software, they’re like computers; problems can suddenly develop after an update that is beyond your control. And some TVs have cheap components that simply aren’t up to long-term use.

The cost of repairing a new TV could run into hundreds of pounds.

TV insurance is designed to protect your valuable item against the cost of a repair, and get your set up and running again quickly. If you’re in the middle of a season on Netflix, the last thing you want is a long wait while you save up.

If your TV can’t be economically repaired, you may be provided with a brand new replacement. And if you’d struggle to replace your TV yourself, that’s a good sign that you need to insure your unit.

Get a Quote for TV Insurance

Row.co.uk is one of the UK’s leading providers of affordable TV insurance. For one monthly payment, we’ll cover your TV for up to £2,000. You can claim as many times as you need to, and everything’s done online.

Once you buy your policy, you’re covered for faults or total breakdowns, and we’ll either replace or repair your set if a fault occurs.

If your TV is beyond repair, we aim to replace within 24 hours, and we collect your broken set for free. The new ones delivered free as well.

Don’t leave it to chance: cover your TV today, and avoid an expensive repair if something goes wrong. The team at Row.co.uk are here to help you cover all of your household gadgets with flexible payments.

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