25 best travel gadgets

Nintendo 3DS XL

£180, amazon.co.uk
Nintendo's given its 3D gaming handheld a plus-sized refresh – and while it may not be as easy to fit into your pocket, that bigger screen really makes the 3D effects pop out. Get your game on – and check out our 3DS XL hands-on review.

PocketGuide

£free, pocketguideapp.com
PocketGuide crams the knowledge of a well-travelled tour guide into your smartphone – you can buy audio and augmented reality tours, or just use the free offline maps and alerts which let you know there's something worth looking at near by. We'll never be stuck in a sweaty throng of tourists ever again. Huzzah! Get it for iOS and Android.

Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G

£150, amazon.co.uk
"Not the newer Kindle Touch 3G?" we hear you cry. Nope – the earlier Kindle Keyboard has a little trick up its sleeve for travellers, in the form of free, unlimited 3G web browsing overseas. Sure, you have to fire up the clunky, glacially-slow experimental web browser – but if you're find yourself urgently needing to check your e-mails, it can be a life-saver. Plus you can carry all your holiday reading and stock up on new titles overseas. Who could ask for more?

iControlPad

£40, icontrolpad.com

This pocket-sized gamepad turns your iPhone or Android smartphone into a full-fledged console, with proper physical controls – including two analogue sliders. Supported games are mostly casual and retro titles, though a bit of jiggery-pokery with a rooted Android phone and the Gamepad Enabler app will get it working on A-list titles like Shadowgun and GTA III.

Skype

£free, skype.com
For staying in touch with your friends and family back home, you can't beat the ubiquitous VoIP app. Plus you can fire up the camera on your smartphone and show off your holiday destination to your nearest and dearest as they shiver through the unseasonal July rain. Get it for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone 7.