Beaches used to be a no-go area for gadgetry. Sand would inveigle its way into the complicated mechanisms of cameras and ruin them – if the salt spray from the sea didn’t do the job first.

Transistor radios could survive the sand, if not the spray – but playing them was highly antisocial. How different things are these days, when we can go to the beach with a bag of electronic entertainment devices and expect them to work in the face every natural peril.

Here, then, is our summer selection of gadgets. They’ll provide more fun beachside or by the pool than you’ll ever get from an Ambre Solaire-soaked Stieg Larsson with a sand-encrusted spine.

Olympus Tough TG-810

This 14-Megapixel Olympus is about the most resilient camera on the market. It’s indestructible within reason – waterproof to 10m, droppable onto concrete from 2m, crushproof to 100kg and freezeproof to -10C. None of this absurd level of everything-proofness prevents it from also being a great little camera. The TG-810 has an optical zoom (the equivalent of 28mm- 140mm in old-style 35mm cameras), GPS and an electronic compass. It also has a 3D shooting mode and takes 720p HD video.

BladeFish Seajet

This beach gadget is a rechargeable sea scooter that’s light (4.7kg) and small enough to bring on a flight as hand luggage. Held between the hands, the €440 BF3000 model will propel you effortlessly at 4km per hour for up to 40 minutes on a single charge and works at depths of up to 30m. There’s also a €330 version, the BF1000, which is a little slower and takes a bit longer to charge – but is still terrific fun.

Amazon Kindle 3G

Time was when taking more than one book onto the beach was cumbersome and a bit silly. With an electronic reader, however, you can take thousands of books and flit from one to another. Better still, you can get one up on the smug iPad brigade, who are left struggling on the beach because it’s useless in sunlight. The Kindle, by contrast, is at its best in bright light.

Yelpie Beach Safe

No amount of technology can keep sneaky beach thieves at bay, or so you’d think. But this electronic beach safe, a bargain at just €33, is a pretty secure place to keep the stuff you can’t take for a swim, like your phone, wallet and car keys. Place your valuables in the Yelpie, set your own code like a hotel-room safe and from that point onwards, the device will let out a piercing 90dB alarm if its motion sensor is disturbed – loud enough to be heard above a gentle sea and miscellaneous jolly beach sounds.

Solargorilla

Power Traveller makes a variety of gadgets to keep your electronics living and breathing beyond their normal battery life. Its solargorilla portable solar charger provides free solar power on tap wherever the sun is shining. Used in conjunction with its powergorilla device, it will keep mobile phones, iPods, handheld games consoles and even laptops working pretty much permanently in sunny climes.

Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player

Swimsuit-maker Speedo has brought this waterproof (and sandproof) MP3 player to the beach party. The Speedo Aquabeat has a slightly sparse 1Gb of memory, but that’s still enough for 500 tracks – sufficient to swim the Channel without repeating itself. The Aquabeat works on the surface and even underwater, down to 3m. It’s also an entertaining companion for bath, jacuzzi or steam room, since it works at up to 60C. Available in black, green or pink.