Sun
1 APC UPB10 MOBILE POWER PACK, $83.
There are few things more annoying to the digital road warrior to find out that you’ve forgotten to charge your cellphone, PDA or iPod — or, for that matter, your portable gaming system — and you’re halfway into the middle of nowhere. But if you’ve remembered this power pack device from APC, and it, too, is charged, you’ll be all right, if you’ve also remembered to bring the USB-based charger cord for your phone or PDA. Just hook up that phone and you’ll be able to make a call, leave it on longer and you can fully charge it. It’s lightweight and incredibly simple to use.
2 CAMERA STABILIZING BAG, $60.
So far as we can tell, you’ll have to send away to a site in England (like www.boystuff.co.uk) for this, but, hey, if your camera doesn’t have a good stabilizing lens system or you’re somewhere that a tripod isn’t going to work, this could help you snap the photos you need. When it’s being carried it’s the size of a tennis ball, but when you fill it with, say, sand, rice or (well, this isn’t, perhaps the best alternative) stones or rocks, then you have a place to rest your camera and take those low-light shots.
3 LEXMARK X9350 WIRELESS OFFICE ALL-IN-ONE PRINTER, $350.
With its wireless (or Ethernet) networking and the capability of printing on both sides of paper, this new printer from Lexmark combines both flexibility (and a wire-free uncluttered workplace) and the means of providing professional looking documents at the same time as saving on paper consumption. The printer comes not only with a 150-sheet input tray but also a 50-page automatic document feeder that enables multiple-page faxes and copying. You can also do wireless scanning from the printer to the computer.
4 RICHO 500SE GPS-READY EIGHT-MEGAPIXEL DIGITAL CAMERA, $1,250 OR $1,365 WITH WIFI, NOT YET AVAILABLE IN CANADA.
You can either use this camera’s detachable GPS module or your own Bluetooth-enabled GPS device to capture real-time WGS-84 or MGRS position information. Perhaps it’s not for the average traveller but if you’re one of those photographers who absolutely has to provide the the coordinates of your digital images, then the 500 SE, with a lens that provides the 35 mm equivalent of 28 mm to 85 mm, could be just what you’ve been looking for. The camera also has large buttons and dials so it’s easy to operate while the user is wearing gloves.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007