5 top gadgets for August

Off on a hiking holiday? Take this foldable solar charger to power your gizmos. In strong sunlight the Kickr juices up a phone or tablet at similar speeds to a standard wall charger; equally useful whether you’re halfway up a hill or back at the tent. Weighing in at less than a pound, it’s portability is a massive plus, although sadly it’s not waterproof, so you shouldn’t risk leaving it unattended at the mercy of the British Summer.

I’ve lost count of how many household objects I’ve tested that are unnecessarily equipped with Bluetooth technology just to seem “smart”. But these attractive bathroom scales actually benefit from connectivity, because having outsourced the advanced features to an app, the device itself boasts an uncluttered, minimalist design. Simply step on to reveal your weight on the digital display, or follow-up online to track your BMI, body fat, muscle and water ratio.

“A widescreen sat-nav AND dash cam...in one?!” Truly, the nuviCam is the Wash & Go of dash-mounted devices.  Reliable, clear, Europe-wide maps fill its bright, responsive display, while an integrated camera on the rear records your entire drive. It’ll automatically save the video files if it senses a collision (plus your GPS location and accompanying audio, useful evidence in the event of a crash), but all journeys are stored.

The California behemoth unveils Apple Music—their much-anticipated music-jukebox app. Essentially, they’ve taken the Spotify/Tidal template but have added an extra layer of social networking and artist curation. Apple are sacrificing massive profits by doing so, as iTunes is the world’s most popular place to buy music: concrete proof that streaming has won the digital war.

Want to get up the duff? There’s an app for that! Obviously there’s a limit to what Ovia can do for you if you haven’t got a bloke—but numerous female friends have confirmed to me that this app’s period tracking, ovulation chart and personalised factsheets have helped them to conceive when at their most fertile. Just don’t expect it to help with the school fees.

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