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But what the hell am I supposed to do with my touch-screen sensation when my fingers are caked in sunscreen and gritty grains of sand? When the beating sun bounces off its backlit surface whilst the panel gets literally too hot to handle? Marvellous as it may be, technology has yet to become truly holiday friendly. I still carry my bog-standard iPod in a zippable, waterproof case following an unfortunate island incident involving an unseen puddle of boat-board sea water. Sure they can tell you the state of the stock markets, but they certainly can’t keep themselves afloat.
So for your perfect vacation companion, head down to your newsagents tomorrow and invest in a copy of the inaugural MONOCLE newspaper. Supersized for handy handling and packed with 64 colour-loaded pages of essays, interviews and reportage, it’s aimed at holiday makers and will be available at airports, city hubs throughout Europe, Asia and North America and hot-spots around the Med. Sure it doesn’t have 3G – but then it doesn’t come with exorbitant roaming charges. You can scrunch it into a beach bag, flap it about after stray flies and use it as an impromptu sun shield – then you can throw it away.
And if you really can’t bear the thought of heading abroad without something plugged into your ears, download the accompanying weekly Summer Series of music, discussion and debate to keep you company. In your curtained, wi-fi’d hotel room, on your own. Fun, right?
INFO
MONOCLE Newspaper is available from tomorrow for eight weeks, £3.50. Weekly
MONOCLE audio bulletins available online at www.monocle.com from 30th July.
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