MARCH 2008: BIZ LIFE, TECH TOYS
NEW YEAR, NEW GEAR
The new year heralds the arrival of new gadgets. Two early-year
trade shows — the Consumer Electronics Show and MacWorld
— bring new product announcements galore from consumer
electronics companies large and small. We’ve weeded
through the avalanche to bring you some of the best new gear
out there.
BY NINO MARCHETTI
Samsung BD-UP5500
Been keeping track of the Blu-ray Disc/HD DVD debate? Want
to jump in but afraid you’ll buy a player that later
is useless? Samsung has revealed the BD-UP5500 ($599), a
player that lets you enjoy both types of next-generation
discs in addition to all your old DVDs and CDs. What we
also like about this Samsung player is its slim 2.3-inch
profile and Internet connectivity to help you enjoy movie
extras.
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Altec Lansing T612
If you like to listen to music off of your iPhone,
you’ll like the new Altec Lansing T612 speaker system
($199.95). It sits atop your desktop and has an iPod/iPhone
dock built in. You can be enjoying your music with this
system’s bass enhancement until a call comes in, at
which time the T612 pauses the music so you can chat with
your caller. You can redock the iPhone to continue with
your tunes once the call ends.
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Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS
If the future of GPS in your car involves Internet
searching for addresses, the new Magellan Maestro Elite
5340+GPRS ($1,299) is right in the thick of things. This
upscale GPS device uses wireless GPRS to let you look up
local information from Google, get real-time traffic
information and much more. The generous 5-inch display
shows 3D rendered landmarks and buildings, which is useful
for easily finding your way around town
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Apple MacBook Air
You say you love MacBooks but you also want a really thin
laptop. Worry no more. Hot out of the Apple labs is the
MacBook Air ($1,799). This laptop is 0.16 inches thin at
its thinnest point and 0.76 inches at its maximum height.
It weighs a blow-away-in-the-wind 3 pounds but still
manages to pack in a beautiful 13.3-inch screen, full-size
keyboard and 80GB of hard-drive storage. Anorexic it may
be, but the MacBook Air has the muscle where it counts.
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ClickFree HD700
Say you want a really simple way to back up your most
important files. Storage Appliance is offering the
ClickFree HD700 ($169), a 120GB external hard drive. You
simply plug it into your computer through USB, and it does
the rest. It scans your PC hard drive automatically for
important files and media, backing up all of that
afterward. You can use it to support up to five computers
without needing to install any software.
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La Crosse Weather Direct
You could just look out the window in the morning to guess
the weather or you could instead glance at your new Weather
Direct device from La Crosse Technology ($49.99-$129.99).
These Internet-enabled weather stations bring you
multi-day forecasts at your office or home. They come in a
variety of shapes and one even gives you audio alerts. This
would be a great item, we think, to help you keep track of
weather at your favorite golf course.
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Sony Click Microvault
You’re probably thinking: What’s so exciting
about a USB flash drive? We found we really liked the Sony
Click Microvault (price to be announced) for several
reasons. It offers up to 16GB of storage — plenty of
room for music and PowerPoint presentations. You
“click” the drive like a retractable pen to
extend the USB connector. The coolest reason, though, is
the glowing color LED section to let you know when
it’s in use.
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