Turn on, plug in, tune out
>> Avoid annoying socializing with
these handy new gadgets
BIGGER SURFING: Internet tablet
by Erik Leijon
If you plan on spending the summer outdoors, please, for your own safety, have some sort of portable electronic device in your possession at all times. There’s no reason in this modern age to not have superfluous gadgets constantly by your side, so stop pretending to be interested in sunsets and get on board with the machine-dependant future by checking out these expensive, life-enriching products.
LG Portable DVD Player LPA-838 ($250)
In this work-a-day pressure-cooker of a society we live in, we spend an awful lot of time waiting. We wait for the bus, for meetings, for doctor’s appointments, we even get stuck in traffic, but that’s no reason to do something drastic like socialize with loved ones. LG’s latest portable DVD player has an eight-inch LCD screen and five-hour battery life. It supports NTSC, PAL and DivX formats. The LPA-837’s screen is one inch smaller but retails at $180.
Targus USB Notebook
Mouse Internet Phone ($50)
A PC-peripheral for the road, it’s a three-button optical mouse that doubles as an Internet phone for P2P phone networks. A better alternative to paying ridiculous cell-phone roaming charges or allowing the hotel you’re staying at to rape you of every last cent with their draconian phone-usage policies, this mouse/phone will let you take of advantage of your Skype account anywhere. Of course, one must first be a member of a P2P phone service and have a computer if you plan on making a few calls home during your summer trip “discovering yourself” in Eastern Europe.
Sanyo Xacti E1 Waterproof Camera ($500 U.S.)
It won’t be out in Canada until the end of June, but the world’s first mass-market underwater video recorder is worthy of mention. It’s submergible to a depth of five feet for 60 minutes, and it’s small enough to hold with one hand (the other hand presumably will be fighting off sharks). The E1 records both pictures and video on SD or SDHC cards, and can hold up to 10 hours of 640 x 480 pixel video at 30 frames-per-second. Water-resistant video cameras have been around for a while, but they could only stand minor splashes.
Nokia N800 Internet Tablet ($470)
With so many Wi-fi hotspots in the city, an Internet tablet is convenient for people who want to surf the Web but not on a tiny PDA or Blackberry screen or an uncomfortable laptop. It’s skimpy on the options since it doesn’t have a DVD drive or a big hard-drive (it does have memory card storage), but it can surf the Net, do instant messaging, be used to check e-mail and do P2P phone calls. It also runs on a Linux operating system and can connect online with your existing mobile device, which are welcome features.
Oakley THUMP Pro Sunglasses (256MB: $285,
512MB: $340, 1GB: $400$, 512MB w/transition lenses: $430)
SPORTY SHADES: Oakley pro sunglasses The new addition to the Oakley sunglasses/mp3 player family, THUMP Pro was designed primarily for athletes. The nose and ear padding are more comfortable and the lenses can be interchanged. The built-in rechargeable battery will play six hours of music, but unfortunately m4a music files (the kind you get at iTunes) aren’t supported unless you convert them to mp3 first. On the plus side, fashionable music playing headgear has come a long way since radio baseball caps. 
SkyGolf SkyCaddie SG4 ($440+shipping)
If it’s good enough (and considered legal) for use by the LPGA, then the hottest device in golf must be good enough for me. Currently on back order in Canada and the U.S. (new shipments should be arriving in late June), the G4 uses GPS technology to determine the distance to potential hazards, the shape and slope of the green and a billion other things designed to eliminate any human element from the game of golf. One must become
a member of SkyGolf, which requires a small yearly fee. The course you want also has to be uploaded onto the site, but courses can be requested and they are constantly adding new ones.
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