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Stock up on tech gadgets for the holidays | November 17, 2008
By Peter Wolchack
TekGadgets Archive
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Have notebook, will connect Sierra Wireless Compass 597 Another very simple productivity pitch: would it be useful to connect your laptop to the Internet wherever you are? That’s what the Compass gives you. (Well, at least anywhere there is a cell signal, which is most places.) The Compass costs $99 on a three-year contract from Telus, and once purchased the setup takes about five minutes: plug the USB key into a notebook, install the software stored on the key, click Connect and you’re online at speeds rivaling a good DSL connection. Sierra Wireless www.sierrawireless.com |
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Stylish sound Orb Audio Mod1 Plus Orb Audio sells only online, so it’s unlikely you’ll get to listen to these speakers before you buy. However, read all the reviews and that will likely convince you: the reviewers really like Orb Audio, and after listening to the system, so did we. The Mod1 Plus set costs US$999 and gives you a 5.1 system with upgraded front speakers and even includes all the cabling to string it together. This is a solid home-theatre sound system for a bargain price. Orb Audio www.orbaudio.com |
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Change everything Bluelounge Sanctuary The value proposition here is simple: your family owns two iPods, a BlackBerry, a Palm Treo, a couple of Bluetooth headsets and two or three digital cameras. Now, wouldn’t it be nice to charge them all in one place? The Sanctuary (US$129.95), compatible with more than 1,500 electronic devices, can do that. Bluelounge www.bluelounge.com |
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Portable printer PlanOn Printstik PS910 The work-anywhere mantra has been well served by small notebooks and feature-rich smartphones, but no one lugs a printer on a business trip. Until now. PlanOn’s Printstik is less than 30cm long and weighs about 0.4kg, including a battery and paper roll, and it can print from a laptop, PDA or other Bluetooth-enabled device. If you need to print on the road, this may be worth US$299.99 to you. PlanOn www.planon.com |
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Pick the best 3G for you Choosing the right smartphone is an important decision, and here’s the good news: while both the new iPhone and the Bold are excellent, the feel is entirely different, making it easy to choose. The best BlackBerry thus far, the Bold looks great and offers useful consumer features—video playback, iTunes sync, the Roxio Media Manager—but it still feels like a business device. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; if you need to keep on top of work, get a Bold. The iPhone 3G also handles e-mail and calendaring but its approach to life is more Friday evening than Monday morning. The big touch screen, the App Store stuffed with downloadable goodies and the full-on iPod functionality make this a fun device. Both offer cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, on-board GPS with mapping, media players and Web browsers. Available from Rogers on a three-year plan, the Bold starts at $299.99 and the iPhone at $199. Apple www.apple.ca RIM www.rim.com |
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More than “Turn left here” All GPS units share the same basic function: getting you from where you are to where you want to be. If you want a unit that adds a little flair to your directions, read on. The new TomTom ($499.95) selects routes based on traffic-pattern data such as congestion, reads out street names, has voice-address input and a Bluetooth radio for hands-free calling, and comes with maps of both North America and Europe. And it also offers multimedia options like support for music, documents and photos, it can link to an iPod and it even comes with a remote. The Knight Rider GPS (US$269.95) has all the standard features—more than four million points of interest, North American maps and turn-by-turn guidance—but that’s not really the point. The point is the design inspired by the Knight Industries Two Thousand car of TV fame, complete with the KITT user interface, the moving LED lights and the original TV voice of KITT. TomTom www.tomtom.com MIO www.knightridergps.com |
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