Fellowes PowerShred PS70-2CD | $444
Headlines on identity theft have boosted paper shredder sales recently, and the PS70-2CD fits those high-volume duties be they mundane or malevolent. It shreds 15 sheets or one CD per pass, dropping 0.2-inch strips into a seven-gallon basket. The wide entry width easily handles letters and legal-sized documents, while also effectively destroying staples and credit cards.
Xerox Phaser 8400 | $1,399
Always on top of the game, Xerox has put together a lightning-fast, accurate network printer at a price that any high-output small business can afford. Pages come out clean, sharp and fast; the first colour print within six seconds. This surprisingly compact workhorse can churn out 24 pages-per-minute in vibrant colour, using Xerox’s efficient and environmentally friendly single-pass solid ink technology. The backlit LCD panel, simple toner replacement, instant network detection, smart controls and quiet operation all add up to make the 844 a wise choice for your office.
Logitech Io Personal Digital Pen | $299
Now here’s a concept: Instead of hauling a laptop, Tablet PC or PDA with a fold-out keyboard to meetings, Logitech offers a novel way to digitally capture your notes. Logitech’s Io Personal Digital Pen houses a tiny digital camera next to the ballpoint tip, which takes 50 pictures per second and learns to recognize your scrawls when you write on specially designed paper. It stores up to 40 pages of notes, which you can later upload to a PC. Slightly chunkier than a highlighter, the rubberized Io Pen is still light and comfortable to use.
IOGear Phaser Mouse | $78
Want to deliver more effective presentations while deeply impressing the Star Trek geeks in the audience? IOGear’s new hand-held wireless mouse uses a built-in laser pointer, a trackball and a left-click “trigger” to make your PowerPoint presentations go smoother than a pick-up line from Captain Kirk. Comfortable and ergonomically designed, the Phaser uses a radio receiver that lets you control the cursor from up to 50 feet away. Beam me up.
BellSouth Text Messaging Communicator | $65
On the continents of Europe and Asia, there’s a new fad erupting among today’s reckless youth: Owning cell phones, but never calling anyone. In areas where mobile phones are too expensive to use, text messaging has become wildly popular. So, if BellSouth’s two-way Text Messaging Communicator ever takes off, tweens everywhere will be typing shrieks of joy. The compact unit delivers voice within a ten-mile range, and offers text messaging on a walkie-talkie’s payment plan — that is, no cost per convo. k3wl, d00d!!!
BellSouth DSS Earbud Phone | $N/A
For the multitasker in us all, BellSouth introduces a cordless 2.4 GHz phone that wraps around the ear. The design innovatively places the dial buttons directly on the headset, freeing up those workaholic hands. Weighing in at 10 ounces, the unit features speed dial, volume control, and digital security codes. Picking at your ear has never been so socially acceptable.
Logitech QuickCam Orbit | $225
Most webcams look and work the same way but not Logitech’s funky QuickCam Orbit. Mounted on a standard base or a nine-inch-high “stem,” the tennis-ball-shaped camera offers a scope perfect for videoconferencing. Besides looking like the eye of HAL 9000, the camera can pan 128 degrees side-to-side and 54 degrees up and down. Software includes a tracking program that allows the camera to capture your moving face. Webcam models, rejoice!
DoubleSight DS-1500 Monitor | $1,295
One monitor? That’s lame. Double your viewing pleasure with the DS-1500, which connects two 15-inch LCD monitor panels side-by-side using a single base stand. Now you can open attachments on one screen while reading emails on the other, or play games against friends on separate screens. Its slim, flat design works well as a wall-mounted monitor, although it also saves major real estate on your desk. An accompanying wireless keyboard and optical mouse round off the Siamese twins of the monitor industry.
OnClick VIA Mouse | $133
That square in the middle of the mouse isn’t just for show; security hand-wringers can relax using the VIA Mouse, whose sensor scans fingerprints to permit or restrict access. Besides verifying access to any computer, file or website, it also verifies re-entry from screensaver mode. Hello biometrics, good-bye passwords.
Apple iPod Mini | $330
Apple’s trademark MP3 player just got smaller and appallingly cuter. The iPod Mini stores up to 1,000 songs and features a 1.67-inch backlit screen. Using identical audio circuitry as its bigger brother, the 4GB Mini also offers the same 25-minute skip protection and eight-hour battery life. This time around, though, the little fella is draped in a choice of five metallic colours: silver, gold, green, blue or pink.
Sanyo VPC-C1 Xacti Pocket CameraCorder | $1,000
Jumping into the all-in-one craze is Sanyo’s camcorder/digital camera combo, complete with a handgun design ideal for trigger-happy technophiles. Capture 3.2 megapixel still images and film memorable moments with the MPEG-4 camcorder, using tapeless storage from a postage stamp-sized 128MB SD memory card. Unlike most camcorders, users can take snapshots while still recording in video mode. Snap snap, grin grin, say no more.
Bluetrek G2 | $105
Dubbed the second-generation Bluetrek, this headset trumps its predecessor by offering four times the battery life (nine hours of talk time) and weighing only 12 grams. A soft rubber material coats the ear loop, which provides a comfortable fit. A flashy chrome-plated finish adds to the appeal of a headset both stylish and functional.
