While the chunky Suunto X10 might not go well with a tuxedo, James Bond would still love it. The watch hides a Global Positioning System unit, stopwatch, compass, barometer and altimeter into a package not much bigger than 007’s favorite Omega.
Because the X10 can track GPS satellites, you can record and download your last run or hike to Google Earth or other digital mapping programs. You can also plan routes and set waypoints for future trips on a PC using the included Track Exporter software.
The X10 offers 33 percent longer battery life than its predecessor, the X9i, and charges via an included USB cable. It also uses a newer GPS chip that finds and locks onto satellites faster than the X9i.
If you become lost, a press of the “Find Home” button will direct you back along the same route you came or even offer a more direct route. The watch also displays current speed and distance traveled.
It should be available in September, sadly without the garrote or sleeping gas attachments available from Q branch.
For people who routinely use two computers at once, a keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch has long been a useful add-on: with it, you can use the same keyboard, monitor and mouse and simply switch between PCs. Of course, the computers remain separate devices — they are not linked or networked as a result.
That’s why Iogear’s new USB Laptop KVM Switch (US$130) is so interesting. One double-ended cable connects two Windows PCs or laptops together (a Mac version should be available soon). Then, you can use one PC to control the other and even drag files and folders between the machines.
This isn’t as esoteric as it may sound. If you bring your company’s laptop home and connect it to your PC with this cable, you can share and sync files between the two machines. You can add an external hard drive or other peripheral “between” the two computers that both machines can use.
You can also use your laptop as a second screen: Your e-mail inbox could live on the laptop’s smaller screen while, say, a large Excel spreadsheet is on your larger monitor. And since you’ll also be using your full-size keyboard and mouse for both machines, you won’t just be more productive — you’ll probably be more comfortable.
Parents have been telling their children to turn the volume down since “wireless” meant “AM radio,” but noise-monitoring has gotten trickier as music has moved into headphones — where sound levels can get dangerously high. With parental concerns in mind, the LoudEnough earbuds from Ultimate Ears have volume-limiting safeguards built into the hardware.
Although safe volume levels are still important, the components in the LoudEnough earbuds also reduce sound-pressure levels up to 20 decibels, or one quarter of the volume of other earphones. They use a standard 3.5mm stereo plug, which allow the Ultimate Ears to fit just about any portable MP3 player or other audio device.
The earbuds, available in three colors, sell for about US$40 and can be found at www.loudenough.com. Each pair comes with two sets of silicone tips in three sizes (extra-small, small and medium) for keeping the buds in place inside the ears — which may even make them appeal to adults who complain that the iPod earphones are too big and tend to fall out.
Adventurous questing and fierce battles are much easier when a player has good weapons on both sides of the screen. Made with the needs of video-game fans in mind, the Avatar mouse from NZXT comes with seven programmable buttons that can be custom-configured for different types of games, including multiplayer online worlds, real-time strategy contests and first-person shooters.
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