The future now
OK, so it's pricey, but Charles Wright digs a handtop marvel.
It's a sizeable investment, but think of it like this: the OQO e2 UltraMobile PC could put the future of computing in the palm of your hand. More accurately, perhaps, on the palm of your hand.
Microsoft's initial launch of the so-called Origami computer was less than impressive, but typically it has evolved considerably following the release of the latest generation of handtop computers. This one a 450g package with an 800 x 480 5 inch diagonal screen and slide-down keyboard is the world's smallest Vista-capable computer. But it makes even more sense as a Windows PC Tablet that allows you to do your word processing, spreadsheets, web browsing and email with a stylus and touch-screen.
You can slip a 3.5G SIM card in there for data traffic too, and it's a great platform for e-books and portable video and music. There are several configurations, from one with a 1.5Ghz VIA processor, 1GB of RAM and 60GB IDE drive, to the top-of-the-line version that has a slightly faster CPU and 32GB solid-state disk (SSD).
The OQO will stay alive for around three hours, or possibly six with the optional extended life battery. Price: $2499-$3699.
Faster data
You may have observed while transferring those high resolution images or video from your digital camera to your PC that electronic files appear to move at roughly the same rate as hair growth. In that case, if your notebook computer happens to be equipped with an ExpressCard slot, you'll love the Belkin High-Speed Docking Station. T
he sleek little box stands vertically on your desk, giving you a permanent connection to your monitor (1600 x 1200 resolution), keyboard, speakers, 10 / 100 Ethernet, USB slots and the like. That's the primary function, but for us, the main attraction is that it moves data at roughly four times the speed of USB 2.0.
There's an internal sound processor to provide analog and digital surround sound to a set of speakers, and two of the five USB 2.0 ports are on top of the smart-looking case, for easy access for USB keys. Price: $349.95.
Freedom and quality
If, like most of us, you find yourself literally tethered to your desk by your telephone cord and / or your PC headset cable, you'll love the freedom of the premium-quality Jabra GN9350 Dual-Connection VoIP and PSTN Wireless Headset.
It handles both VoIP phone calls via your PC's USB port, and the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network, with advanced digital signal processing, auto-volume and noise-cancelling microphone that guarantees sound clarity.
It uses the 1.8Ghz channel and 63mW of power to double the range of conventional hands-free phones, allowing you to stroll within 100m or so from your desk without strangling yourself. You get up to six hours talk time via VOIP, or nine hours on the plain old phone, and a spare battery can be kept charged in the base and hot-swapped. Price: $599.
Keep your bearings
It's all very well for Telstra to instruct us to let our fingers do the walking, but what if they get lost? No problems with the HTC TyTN II SmartPhone, a PDA / phone. In addition to being a dual-mode UTMS / HSDPA 3.5G (and quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE) phone, it includes in-built GPS that can run TomTom Navigator or CoPilot software.
There's a sliding, tilting QWERTY keyboard, a 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi, and a Windows Mobile 6 interface via a Samsung Stacked 400MHZ CPU, and brilliant 2.8 inch QVGA touch screen. You'll have to spend some time with the manual learning what the 16 external buttons including directional keypad and super-handy jog-dial do, but the phone is eminently user-friendly.
Telstra doesn't have it on a plan, but it works quite well on its network. You can use the stylus or touch-screen, but if that's your preferred mode, you'd probably go for HTC's 3600i, which, minus the keyboard, is a touch lighter. Price: $1299 or on mobile plans with 3, Vodafone and Optus.
Reference: February 2008, volume 78:01, p. 78 79
