CNN.com - Review: High-tech gifts for communication, travel

Review: High-tech gifts for communication, travel

Got more gadgets than free hands? The $99 Scott eVest is perfect for the technology enthusiast.

By Russell Kay

(IDG) -- It's that time of year again, and for the IT person looking for a gift, we've assembled a gallery of high-tech gadgets, gizmos and good things to have or give. Some of these things are slightly far out, of course, and you may consider one or two overpriced, but that's part of the fun.

Cool stuff 2002: Communications

Treo 180
Manufacturer: Handspring Inc., Mountain View, Calif.
Web Site: www.handspring.com
Price: $399

To date, products that combine a cell phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) have been awkward, unwieldy and just plain too big. Now the creators of the original PalmPilot have come up with a unit that succeeds in both usability and packaging. The Treo, due out early next year, is larger than a Palm Inc. device or Handspring Visor but still small enough for a shirt pocket. The two devices are well integrated, so you can look up a person in your address book and make a phone call by pressing a button. However, initial models are compatible only with Europe's Global System for Mobile Communications standard, so their use in the U.S. will be limited at first.

The most radical difference, especially for dedicated Palm fans, is the keyboard. Recognizing that wireless e-mail and Short Messaging Service paging are the future, and acknowledging that the Palm's Graffiti pen input system isn't suited for everyone or every application, Handspring has built in a thumb keyboard, with the standard QWERTY layout, rather like the one used in Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry device.

Cool stuff 2002: Travel gear

Scott eVest
Manufacturer: Scott eVest LLC, Chicago
Web Site: www.scottevest.com
Price: $99

Got too many gadgets to carry around -- cell phone, PDA, MP3 player, GPS unit, digital camera? One solution is the eVest, which is chock-full of pockets for devices (including pockets inside other pockets, and a secret pocket) and built-in Velcro-closed channels to run wires through. Hidden collar loops hold your headphones or earbuds close. Made of a lightweight but sturdy water-repellent cotton and nylon fabric with a mesh-lined back and neck area to keep you cool and dry, it has a raised collar and is reinforced at armholes and other stress points. Plus, there's an interior reward tag in case you lose it.

Travel Mouse
Manufacturer: Logitech Inc., Fremont, Calif.
Web Site: www.logitech.com
Price: $50

If you're like most people, you'd rather use a mouse with your laptop than whatever else the maker provided. A new travel package from Logitech combines a high-styled, scroll-wheel USB optical mouse with a short cord, plus a USB extension cord and carrying case in a compact unit that takes up little space in your case. If you look at this and wonder what happened to the buttons, never fear. The sleek one-piece aluminum top actuates the two buttons, even if it doesn't look like it. Works like a charm.

Keyspan Mini-USB Hub
Manufacturer: Keyspan Corp., Richmond, Calif.
Web Site: www.keyspan.com
Price: $39

My laptop has only one Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection on it. But sometimes I need to connect three or four USB devices, such as a mouse, PDA, Zip drive, external CD-rewritable drive, business card scanner, digital camera or memory card reader -- it seems as if there are more USB peripherals every day. The Keyspan Mini-USB Hub is perhaps the best answer to that situation when you're on the road. There are many others available, but Keyspan's nifty little package is the smallest of the bunch, and when you're traveling, smallest and lightest is the name of the game.

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