Sun
HP 2133 Mini PC
Floral Fashion Laptop Case, Targus
Headset with remote control for PlayStation Portable, Sony Computer Entertainment America, $30
Turn your PSP into a Skype phone to make calls over the Internet with this affordable headset from Sony that can replace the earlier method that involved two accessories — the PSP headset plus the PSP-2000 headphones with remote control for the same job. The PSP-2000 can use the long distance service thanks to a firmware update and you can call anywhere in the world. Calls to other Skype users on a PSP, a computer or a Skype-enabled phone are free. To check on the upgrades you may need, go to www.us.playstation.com/PSP/About/SystemUpdate
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HP 2133 Mini PC, $499
Usually we round up to prices but for all you sub-$500 notebook seekers, here is the latest from HP, a mini version designed for the education market. It could also come in handy for anyone looking for a fully-functioning mini machine with a mini price tag to match. Weighing just over a kilogram it doesn’t add too much to the back-breaking weight of a school backpack or a briefcase yet it delivers all the wireless capability — WiFi standard and Bluetooth an option –and other gizmos you need to work or play. The screen is also mini, at 8.9-inches (22.6 cm) and it has some features to help it withstand the rough and tumble of student use, from the HP Durakey, with a clear coating over the notebook keyboard for protection to a HP3D DriveGuard which shuts down the hard drive on sudden movement or shock. An important feature comes thanks to Vancouver‘s Absolute Software’s Computrace security solution. This service gets your computer to call in if it is ever lost or stolen. The computer delivers a silent signal to Absolute’s monitoring centre the first time it is connected to the Internet, delivering location information that enables police to recover it.
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Floral Fashion Laptop Case, Targus, $100
And for carrying that laptop, or the full-sized versions, a flower-design tote that has a little office inside with protection for your computer, pockets for cell phones, business cards, pens, files and all the other paraphernalia of a working woman’s life. See them at www.targus.com/ca
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ACE smartphone, Samsung, $200 with a three-year contract from Bell Mobility
If you’re a card shark you’ll know the importance of having an ace up your sleeve. Apparently so does Bell which is upping the ante by being the first carrier in Canada to introduce Samsung’s ACE Windows Mobile smartphone. For users who want all the functionality of Windows Mobile, this offers it along with a full QWERTY keyboard, a camera and camcorder, Bluetooth capability and expandable memory with a slot for a microSD card.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008