Gillian Shaw
Sun
TomTom XXL 530S and XXL 540S, TomTom
X340 laptop, MSI Computer
Easy Riser mobile mouse, Verbatim
TomTom XXL 530S and XXL 540S, TomTom, $300 and $350
There was a time during this past summer holiday that I would have cheerfully paid double for these new TomToms just to save the anxiety of peering at indecipherable maps while driving in circles. To say nothing of frayed tempers and other holiday joykillers. If you’re not ready to shell out for a new car with a built-in navigation system, the latest models from TomTom make it easy to add to that functionality to your existing vehicle. They deliver TomTom’s IQ Routes technology for the best and most efficient route to your destination, on a five-inch (12.7-cm) screen. They come with maps of the United States and Canada, and users can modify street names, directions, points of interest and other information, sharing in corrections made by others. The Help Me menu lets you locate emergency services in a hurry.
www.tomtom.com.
X340 laptop, MSI Computer, from $750
Part of MSI’s X-Slim line, the 13-inch (33-cm) X340 is super skinny — 20 mm at its widest point — and weighs only 1.3 kilograms with its four-cell battery included. It’s powered by a 1.4-GHz processor and comes with a 320-gigabyte hard drive and built-in 1.3-megapixel web camera with a mic. Its operating system is Windows Vista Home. It has built-in 802.11n wireless, but Bluetooth is optional, as is the 2-in-1 card reader.
ca.msi.com.
Power Film portable solar panels, Transformative Technologies, from $130
Portable solar panels that come in a range of sizes and wattages are good for powering everything from cellphones to videogames and laptop computers. It’s as easy as tucking a rolled-up newspaper in your backpack and the solar film is cadmium-free, making it even more environmentally friendly.
www.ttinc.ca/powerfilm.html.
Easy Riser mobile mouse, Verbatim, from $20 US
A truly versatile little mouse, this can be adjusted in height with the flick of a switch. Put it flat for travelling; raise it up for comfortable computing. The Easy Riser line comes in three versions, including a Nano wireless, a Bluetooth wireless, and a USB retractable wired version. Good for both right-handed and left-handed mouse users with a programmable scroll wheel to get one-click access to your preferred features. The Easy Riders have a sleep mode to save battery life.
www.verbatim.com.
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