Gillian Shaw
Sun
POKEN
T505 BLUETOOTH VISOR SPEAKER, MOTOROLA
EPSON PERFECTION V500 OFFICE COLOUR SCANNER
INPULSE WRISTWATCH, ALLERTA
POKEN $20 US
I was at a conference recently when Internet entrepreneur John Chow suggested we Poken our contact info. A hit at the recent bloggers‘ conference in Las Vegas, the tiny Poken hangs on a keychain, doubles as a storage drive and shares your contact details with other Poken owners. To exchange info, you hold up the tiny hand, its palm glows green, and the exchange is done. Plug the USB drive into your computer and you’ll have the contact info on the profile that you’ve set up at Poken. They come in a range of designs — I got a kitty one — and you can customize them with your own brand. Any time you update your information on Poken, your contacts will automatically see it on their Poken site. Targeted for companies and great for trade shows and conferences — but everyone has to have one to make it work. www.doyoupoken.com
T505 BLUETOOTH VISOR SPEAKER, MOTOROLA, $130
I watched a guy parking the other day with a cellphone in his ear, and his attention was so clearly directed to the conversation that he hit the car behind him. Definitely a candidate for hands-free, possibly one who shouldn’t even try to drive and talk at the same time. With Ontario and British Columbia only the latest in a growing number of jurisdictions that don’t want you to juggle a phone and the steering wheel on the road, it’s time to start considering hands-free options. The Motorola T505 Bluetooth Visor Speaker allows for instant Bluetooth connectivity in any vehicle, great for those of us who haven’t recently sprung for a new model that has such features already built in. www.motorola.ca
EPSON PERFECTION V500 OFFICE COLOUR SCANNER, $400
An automatic document scanner to help small offices manage the paper clutter. This has a 30-page auto document feeder included, and an event manager configures jobs to let you start scanning at the touch of a button. You can create enlargements from film, at 6400 dpi for enlargements that are up to 43 cm to 56 cm (17 by 22 inches) and larger. It also scans slides, negatives and medium-format film, and has easy photo fix to touch up faded photos. USB connection. www.epson.com
INPULSE WRISTWATCH, ALLERTA, $149
The long-rumoured Dick Tracy watch for BlackBerry users has arrived in the form of the $149 inPulse. The brainchild of a 23-year-old Vancouver-born entrepreneur and University of Waterloo grad, the watch connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to your BlackBerry. It alerts you to incoming calls, text messages and e-mails. Released to coincide with the cellphone driving ban in Ontario, the fourth province to go that route and soon to be followed by British Columbia, it is billed as a BlackBerry “accessory.” It also vibrates when you get an incoming call. There is no input and it only gives you a snapshot of what’s happening with your BlackBerry, but it saves you rooting around in your purse or pocket to find it. And in jurisdictions where there are regulations on cellphones and driving, you’re not supposed to be even holding up your BlackBerry to look at it. It doesn’t take the place of a Bluetooth headset. Just don’t take your eyes off the road to look at it. www.freeupyourhands.com
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