BLUETOOTH SONY WH-1000XM3
Life can get loud, as many of us
discovered during lockdown. Did you
know babies cry at 130db, which is
louder than a jet engine heard inside
a passenger cabin. These high-end
wireless cans have some of the best
active noise cancelling on the market.
RRP: £329. sony.co.ukWF-1000XM3 TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS
Noise-cancelling earbuds that are also
wireless are quite rare — complex
technology is hard to cram into tight
spaces. This really impressive pair,
however, has an accompanying app
that lets you adjust ambient sounds
to allow voices to be heard, while
blocking out other noises.
RRP: £220. sony.co.ukSOUNDCORE LIFE Q20 HEADBAND
Budget shoppers often have to forfeit
some of the features and sound quality
found in more expensive headphones,
but this reasonably priced pair have
active noise-cancelling technology
slated to reduce up to 90% of external
noise. They’re also very comfortable
and have a built-in bass booster.
RRP: £48.99. soundcore.comWhen it comes to virtual
socialising, there are now a
dizzying number of text and
video-call platforms. The most
important question to ask when
choosing the right one is: what are
the people I want to talk to using?
WhatsApp is a safe bet, with two
billion active users worldwide
and automatically encrypted
messages for security. You can
start a one-to-one or group chat
with anyone in your phone’s
contacts — if they don’t have
WhatsApp, they’ll get a message
inviting them to download it.
In some regions (notably South
America and Southeast Asia),
it’s the default communication
tool for both individuals and
professional travel companies. A
useful feature: give the app access
to location data in your phone’s
settings, and ‘attach location’ to
show a map of where you are.Video-conferencing app Zoom
has exploded in popularity: free
and easy to use, you don’t need
to download the app to set up or
attend a gathering. Just tap the
invitation link and Zoom will run
in your browser. Installing the
app provides better call quality,
and some security features
aren’t default. Add the password
option to stop random ‘Zoom-call
bombers’ disrupting your call,
and under advanced settings
enable ‘Waiting room’ to place
all attendees in waiting until
approval from the conference
host to ensure you have invitees
only. Also, in advanced settings,
‘Touch up my appearance’ adds
a soft-focus filter to your video
that smooths out shadows and
wrinkles in a subtle way. You can
even add a virtual background,
which is useful if your house or
hotel room isn’t camera-ready.The free Zoom video-call service
can host up to 100 participants,
but if you want something even
easier for groups of up to six, Talky
lets you set up and join an audio
or video call without registering or
downloading. Just give your room
a name, then start chatting.
As online socialising becomes
imbedded in daily life, the likes of
Microsoft, Google, and Facebook
have upped their virtual comms
offerings. Microsoft Teams
have travelled outside of office
space with a mobile app to
connect friends and family, while
Facebook’s group video-calling
feature, Messenger Rooms (which
lets up to 50 people to chat at the
same time), and Google Meet,
platforms already at our fingertips,
look set to become long-term
travel companions. whatsapp.com
zoom.us talky.io meet.google.com
IMAGE: GETTY messenger.com/rooms
STAYING IN TOUCH
PEOPLE FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE AND ALL WALKS OF LIFE ARE COMING
TOGETHER ONLINE AS A WAY OF STAYING IN TOUCH, A HABIT WHICH SEEMS SET TO
CONTINUE LONG AFTER SOCIAL DISTANCING HAS ENDED. WORDS: KATE RUSSELLTECH TRAVELLERTOP THREE...
noise-cancelling
headphonesTRAVEL GEEKS
Jul/Aug 2020 139