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For your pocket

Iconic sounds

Apple iPod

September 2006 | Apple

What more can be said about the iPod? It'd be considered a mere pop icon were it not for the fact that it's actually a very capable piece of technology.


Together at last

Dark Shadow MP3 Sunglasses

September 2006 | New Universe Technology

Some pairings, unlikely at first - like maple syrup and bacon - can have an uncanny synergy. Then again, others, while logical, can end up suffering the reverse Gestalt: the whole is less than the sum of the parts.


Green with envy

Creative Zen Vision:M

September 2006 | Creative

It might not be as funky as an iPod, but for features, the Vision:M is up with the best.


Little big player

SanDisk Sansa e260

September 2006 | SanDisk

The Sansa e200 series, with capacities up to 6 GB in a form factor reminiscent of the iPod nano, is a series of portable audio players from a world leader in solid-state storage technology.


Cherry of your eye

Toshiba Gigabeat X

September 2006 | Toshiba

When it comes to tackling Apple, competitors can't really hope to beat the iPod in outright style. Instead they can try for a 'unique' look and then try to best the iPod with features. This is precisely the route taken by Japanese technology behemoth Toshiba.


Rock and...

Roll Up Piano

August 2006

All musicians, particularly drummers, tuba players and pianists, envy singers. While all the musos in the former list are required to invest in an expensive musical instrument and buy a large van for carrying it around, only to end up with back strain from hoisting it about, singers just waltz up to a microphone and they're off. Well, pianists rejoice, because this is your equaliser: the Roll Up Piano.


Fold all your gadgets into one

Microsoft Ultra-mobile PC

August 2006 | Microsoft

The UMPC falls between a phone, a PDA and a notebook. The question is: is it trying to do too much? We'll see when it's released later this year.


Touch wood

Hardwood USB

August 2006

The Hardwood USB range comes in three sizes/woods: a light coloured sycamore with 256 MB on board; a darker cherry, with 512 MB; and a rich rosewood with a full 1 GB.


Dude, where's my car keys?

Sun Trap handbag

August 2006

Handbags are mystical and powerful things. Somehow they seem to be bigger on the inside than they are on the outside - like the Tardis. However, this bodes ill for the fate of your keys, especially when it's dark and you really just want to gain access to your home through the front door. Rosanna Kilfedder, a 24-year-old design student from Brunel University in West London, was all too aware of this problem and went to work on a solution. The result is unique: the Sun Trap.


Watch where you run

Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS watch

August 2006 | Garmin

Running is as old as legs, but it took the invention of satellite networks for us to track our running down to the nearest metre and calorie burned. The Garmin Forerunner 201 is a clever device that, although appearing to be a cross between a wristwatch and a stopwatch, is filled with impressive high-tech gizmos. First off, it's in constant communication with the GPS satellite network to keep track of your movements, including altitude. This gives it much higher accuracy than a simple pedometer, which doesn't take elevation into account when calculating your energy expenditure.


Bringing your balls back home

Scout Golf Ball Finder

June 2006

Lost balls can be both embarrassing and irritating. Well, may you never fear another errant ball or unfruitful swing with the Scout. In these days of rampant convergence, it's one of those rare devices that unapologetically does only one thing: it finds your golf balls.


Spotting hotspots

Canary Wireless Hotspotter wireless-network finder

February 2006

We're not saying it's the right thing to do, but with so many open wireless networks around, it'd be a shame if they went unused. You can do your part by making your own wireless hotspot using the small handheld Canary Wireless Hotspotter.


Open sesame

MyKEY 2300 digital door-lock

February 2006

We've been opening our cars at the push of a button for years, yet resort to plain old metal for our front doors. So why not bring your home up to date and do away with keys? That's exactly the promise of the MyKEY 2300. Once you've installed the MyKEY 2300 keypad on your door (and it can be retrofitted to any door), all you need to do is wave your radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag in front of the keypad, and the door will unlock.


What time is it?

Tokyoflash EleeNo G watch

February 2006 | Tokyoflash

We might be used to reading the time from an analogue clock face or a digital display, but these aren't the only ways in which time can be represented. Tokyoflash has decided to do away with the traditional methods of timekeeping, and has chosen a graphical system for its new EleeNo G watch. Instead of using numbers, the EleeNo G uses blocks of colour to show the hours and minutes.


Is that a printer in your pocket?

Fujifilm Pivi MP70 portable printer

February 2006 | Fujifilm

Do you have a camera in your phone, but nowhere to print the pictures you take? You're not alone, but you'll be relieved to know that Fujifilm is on the case with the smart little Pivi MP70. This diminutive printer works as a stand-alone unit and accepts input through either infrared or the PictBridge format directly from phones and digital cameras. Never let your embarrassing photos of friends and family disappear into the ether again.