High-Tech Gift Ideas
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Jealous of your kid’s FLY Pentop Computer? Logitech has created just the thing for you. While not as fun as the
connectivity, an integrated keyboard, an 800 x 480 pixel
FLY, this digital pen works in a similar manner. With a
screen and a rugged magnesium chassis with a shock-
tiny camera, the digital pen captures your handwritten
mounted hard drive and drop detect technology, the
notes and sketches up to 40 pages at a time. Imagine no
OQO model 01+ is “specifically designed for professional
more re-keying notes into your computer. The Digital
and personal productivity, anytime, anywhere,” according
Pen integrated software learns your handwriting and
to OQO, a leader in technology innovation. Small enough
converts it into digital text that can then be edited and
to fit in your pocket but packing as big a punch as a per-
used in any application. You can also synchronize e-mails
sonal computer, this big-things-come-in-small-packages
w ritten by KRIS DECKER and SHERIL BE NNE T T TURNER
using Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, keep track of
computer is worth a look. From $1,699. www.oqo.com
photo g raphed by KRIS DECKER
appointments, and export graphics into any application. This hi-tech wonder is the perfect gift for either the note-
hat do a 20-something single guy and a
about the iPod is that you can also store calendars, ad-
40-something mother and wife have in
dress book contacts, to-do lists, grocery lists, photos, and
common? We both love technology. Any-
even use it as an external hard drive. With all the useful
thing new, different, life-changing; these are the things
features and array of storage capacities, it’s no wonder
that intrigue us. Just in time for the holiday season, we’ve
that the iPod or an iPod accessory is on everyone’s wish
teamed up to find out what’s new in the world of hi-tech
list this year. From $70 to $330. www.apple.com
gifts that we’re sure, whatever your price range, will be the perfect gift for your own gadget lover.
Apple ipod MP3 Player As Xerox is synonymous with copying so to has the word iPod become part of the American vocabulary meaning an MP3 music player. Apple, one of the first to develop a player for the new MP3 format, has dominated the market by doing what they do best — making a userfriendly product. Different models are available with storage capacity that varies from the 512MB iPod shuffle, holding 120 songs, to the massive capacity of the 80GB iPod video, which can handle 20,000 songs plus play fullcolor movies on its 2.5" screen. The power and capacity of the iPod lineup is only made better by iTunes. With the iTunes software you can connect to any Macintosh or Windows PC where purchasing and downloading just about any song that you can think of is a breeze. You can even sample the songs before you buy. But the best part
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processor, a 30GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, wireless
FLY Pentop Computer and Logitech io Digital Pen Developed for the 8- to 14-year-old crowd by
taking college student as well as the professional on the go. From $149.99. www.logitech.com
Humminbird SmartCast RF35 If you’re a fisherman (or fisherwoman) then I’m sure you’re familiar with the name Humminbird. For more than 30 years this innovative leader in recreational angler products has provided America with their favorite fishfinders. One of their latest cutting-edge products is a fully functional waterproof wrist watch that is also a fishfinder. Now isn’t that smart! The watch features date and time
Leapfrog, maker of educational toys, the FLY Pentop
capability while the fishfinder features a highly visible dis-
Computer is an amazing Jimmy Neutron-like gadget
play with a water surface temperature and digital depth
that is just what it sounds like — an ink pen that hides
readout. With a 150' re-
a talking computer. An optical scanner in the tip of the
mote operating range,
pen sees everything you write on the special FLY paper
a 120' depth capacity,
and analyzes it with a built-in computer processor. Want
pulse backlit dis-
to solve a math problem? Simply draw a calculator then
play, and advanced
use it. Is creating music your passion? Draw a keyboard
remote sonar sensor
and drums and the FLY will play it for you. Keep track
for night fishing,
of important events by using the scheduler to record the
your family’s fisher
date and time and FLY will remind you of the event. Play
is sure to know
challenging educational
where the fish are,
games, keep a journal,
any time. From
learn another language
$104.99. www.
— it’s all possible with
humminbird.com
this nifty little object with additional software programs. This inventive device is sure to “fly” off the shelves as this year’s musthave toy. From $99.99. www.flypentop.com
OQO Model 01+ Ultra Personal Computer Tired of lugging around that big, bulky laptop com-
Icuiti AV230 Digital Video Eyewear Imagine a home theatre experience that you can wear like glasses and fits in your pocket! Winner of the 2005 and 2006 Consumer Electronics Show Design Award, the sleek and stylish Icuiti AV230 is a revolution in the personal entertainment industry. Just plug in and view extraordinary high-resolution video on a 44" virtual display that also supports 3D for an incredible movie experience, in the privacy of your own virtual movie theatre. Independent focus adjustments allow most people to use without prescription eyeglasses. Use it with your DVD player, iPod video, laptop, PC, A/V cell phone, multi-media player, or game console. Capable of connecting to virtually any mobile or home video source, Icuiti Digital Video Eyewear will forever change where and when video can be experienced. An integrated rechargeable battery allows about five hours of continuous use. From $499. www. icuiti.com
Palm LifeDrive Mobile Manager Want a way to stay organized, play your music and video, use e-mail and the Web — all with one handy dandy gadget? Palm, the leader in PDA development, has
puter? Then this lightweight (14 ounces), pocket-sized
created the LifeDrive with a 4GB hard drive and built-in
(4.9" long, 3.4" wide, 0.9" thin) full-featured Windows
WiFi and Bluetooth wireless support. With this one small
XP computer is just the ticket. Complete with a 1GHz
device you can easily transfer office documents from GreerNow NOVEMBER 2006
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Tech Terms
FEATURE
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from your desktop comput-
they jump in and out of each other’s cube and play with
er and back, as well as keep up with e-mail using a Wi-Fi
the dog. There are 12 individual stick figure cubes to
hotspot. With the capability of holding 300 MP3 songs,
choose from and cubes are sold in sets of two to encour-
storing 1,000 photos with the use of a MMC/SD memory
age you to build your own world. With thousands of ways
card, and two hours of video, this all-in-one PDA is an
the cubes will interact just by connecting them in different
organizer’s dream. From $399.00. www.palm.com
ways, this interactive, social toy is sure to be a family hit.
DPI (dots per inch) – A measure of the sharpness on a display screen. In printing, the measure of printed image quality on paper. The more DPIs the sharper the image.
From $29.99. www.radicagames.com
Plantronics Explorer 350 Headset
Hard Drive – The mechanism that controls the positioning, reading, and writing of the hard disk in a personal computer, which furnishes the largest amount of data storage.
Samsung POPCON Refrigerator
In 1969 Plantronics headsets carried the first words from the moon. Now
With every Mom’s busy multi-tasking schedule, wouldn’t it be nice to have an appliance that did a little multi-tasking, too? Now Samsung has developed a 25-
they make headsets for everyone. The
cubic-foot “popular convergence” refrigerator that has
Plantronics Explorer™ 350 is a sleek, lightweight headset that fuses Bluetooth wireless technology with effortless call control for a true hands-free experience. The Explorer 350 headset is easy to use and incorporates all call features — volume, answer/end call, last-number redial, and voice-activated dialing — into one single button. Delivering up to eight hours of talk time and convenient in-car accessories for charging and stowing, the Explorer 350 lets you keep your headset handy and charged while you’re on the go. Plantronics not only makes bluetooth enabled headsets for mobile phones, they also make headsets for multimedia applications. Everything from playing games on an Xbox to widespread use in national call centers to in-office headsets, they have you covered, or at the very least,
a detachable 10.4" wireless TFT (Thin Film Transistor) LCD which allows it to “serve as both a dedicated food storage appliance and a family information center.” What this really means is that it has a touch screen that allows for management of both fresh and leftover foods, a digital scheduler and calendar, as well as a memo pad that you can leave text, voice, or with the stylus, even a written message. If all this wasn’t enough, the digital wireless LCD screen is also a TV with built-in high-quality sound system and AM/FM radio. The best part is that the screen can be detached and placed anywhere you want to watch TV
Radica Cube World Digital Stick People Now how cool is this — a world of stick people that you create by attaching cubes together (they have magnetic strips on each side). This may sound like a simple concept but the interesting part is that each stick person has a unique personality and when you connect the cubes together, the stick people interact! Take Whip, who has a rope, and join him with Scoop, who has a dog. Together
Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50" Plasma TV Plasma television is the most expensive on the market. Available in a variety of screen sizes, a plasma is thin, can be mounted on the wall, and has the best viewing angle from the sides. This Panasonic model, with its impressive widescreen size, built-in HDTV tuner, and contrast ratio of 10,000:1 is top of the line. Plus, no more hiding all those tangled cables. A single cable carries both audio and video information. From $2,199.00. www.panasonic.com
Samsung LNS4095D 40" LCD TV
or keep track of your family. Move over Jane Jetson! With
Thin, sleek and slightly less expensive than plasma
this really hi-tech appliance, slated for release by year-end,
televisions, the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) television also
the future is now. From $3,499. www.samsung.com
comes in many different sizes. If you’re looking for a good large screen LCD TV, the Samsung LNS4095D 40” LCD TV
hands-free. From around $80. www.plantronics.com
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Bluetooth – A telecommunications industry specification that describes how mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants can be easily interconnected using a short-range wireless connection.
is one of the most popular. With its 40" screen, sleek design, and contrast ratio of 6000:1 it provides a realistic home
Plasma, LCD and Rear Projection Televisions Almost every American has at least one television in their home. While most other tech gadgets have gotten smaller and more mobile, the good old home TV has gotten bigger, thinner, and clearer with the advent of plasma, LCD, and much improved rear-projection televisions. Also, seeing that year after year more and more stations are sending their broadcasts in HD (High Definition), you may want to look into spending the extra cash and getting yourself an HDTV or an HD-compatible set. You’ll love the picture quality. Here’s a sampling of some of the most popular large screen televisions on the market.
theatre experience. Hidden bottom speakers with surround sound and fast game mode also ensure gaming and music quality. From $2,049.00. www.samsung.com
Toshiba 62HM 195 62" DLP Projection TV OK. So you can’t hang this one on your wall. Still, rearprojection televisions are about half the cost of plasma and LCD TVs, they’re big, and with new technology, they’ve come a long way since they were first introduced. The highest TV resolution available is 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels), and this Toshiba model has it. With its pinpoint clarity, optimized picture brightness and contrast controls, and built-in HD tuners, this large-screen rear-projection television is not your dad’s old projection TV. From $1,895.00. www.toshiba.com d
HDTV (High Definition Television) – A high-quality video standard that uses digital signals instead of analog, thus eliminating interference caused by electrical currents and magnetic fields. HDTV offers a much higher resolution, a wider aspect ratio for watching widescreen, and has a higher quality digital audio signal than standard analog broadcasts. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Television – Like a computer monitor, the screen has two polarized layers of a glass-like material consisting of individual liquid crystals. Electric current is passed through the crystals and light is either passed or blocked to create images. A florescent bulb is then used to make the image visible. These televisions are slim and lightweight. Megapixel – A unit of image-sensing capacity in a digital camera. It is the basic unit of programmable color on a computer display or in a computer image. The more megapixels, the higher quality picture. MP3 – A standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file (about 1/12 the size of the original file) while preserving the original level of sound quality when played. PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) – Any small mobile hand-held device that provides computing and information storage and retrieval capabilities, often for keeping schedule calendars and address book information handy. Plasma Television – Similar to the technology used in fluorescent light bulbs, the screen is made up of tiny cells consisting of neon-xenon gas sealed in plasma form. These cells eliminate the need for the standard bulky picture tube, so plasma televisions are thin and flat and can be hung on the wall like a picture. RAM (Random Access Memory) – The place in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached by the computer’s processor. Rear-Projection Television – Five elements are needed to make this type of TV. First, a projector produces the video image. Second, a lens assembly magnifies the projected image. Third, a mirror reflects the projected image. Fourth, a screen presents the reflected image. Fifth, a sealed box contains it all. Large, but bulky, new technology has made high quality images possible. Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) – Certain types of wireless local area networks that use specifications in the 802.11 family. Locations that offer public access to Wi-Fi connections are called “hot spots.” Wireless – Telecommunications that use electromagnetic waves rather than actual wire to carry a signal over part or all of the communication path.
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