TOM THUMB WOULD LOVE THESE BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES
Bluetooth stereo headphones don't come much smaller than the Plantronics Pulsar 260. These wireless headphones, which can pick up streaming audio from phones and compatible MP3 players, weigh less than 14g.
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The Pulsar 260 includes a pair of noise-isolating earbuds and a microphone unit. The battery lasts for up to nine hours on a charge, and can transmit and receive audio as far away as 9m.
When you are at home, you can use the included adapter to stream music to home stereo systems or receivers. There is a clip on the back of the microphone unit, and the device can be worn around your neck like a high-tech medallion.
Buttons on the device control volume and — if your device supports it — track selection. There is also a standard answer/hang-up button as well as a center mute button.
This Pulsar 260 is designed for use with music-capable mobile phones and is not directly compatible with non-Bluetooth music players like the iPod or Zune. It needs a Bluetooth adapter, sold separately, to work with those players. Also, only music plays back in true stereo, so don't expect phone calls to sound like outtakes from a Rolling Stones session.
A COMPACT DIGITAL CAMERA THAT CAN SHOOT IN LOW LIGHT
Owners of digital single-lens reflex cameras can shoot in low light without flash by turning up their sensitivity controls. At settings of ISO 800 to 3200, the better cameras make pictures that are increasingly grainy, but still usable. At high settings, greater depth of field and faster, shutter speeds make pictures sharper.
This ability has generally been lacking in pocket cameras — until now. Nikon's just-released Coolpix P5000 pocket camera is designed for high sensitivity, with a processor tuned for an improved signal-to-noise ratio and aggressive noise reduction. In informal tests, images shot at ISO 800 and 1600 show grain, but at levels that are not terrible — and the shots are better than those from the P5000's pocket-size peers. At ISO 3200, noise reduction takes away much of the grain, but also some of the sharpness.
This 10-megapixel camera also has an anti-shake mechanism and a hot shoe for external flash units that can bounce light off of a wall or ceiling for sophisticated lighting. And Nikon has brought back the optical viewfinder, a feature that has disappeared from most small cameras but helps those with glasses frame shots without squinting at the 2.5-inch screen.
MORE PC PROTECTION, LESS TIME LOOKING AT AN HOUR GLASS
Aiming for people who do not like to buy multiple security and utility programs, Symantec recently released an all-in-one suite called Norton 360 for Windows. The package combines antivirus and anti-spyware tools, a firewall and other applications to help protect a PC from the Internet's ills, along with a backup feature to keep data safe in case of hard-disk woes.
In the past, Norton suites have taken knocks for hogging system resources and slowing the computer, but Symantec says it has reworked the code for Norton 360.
"In the past, our products had six or seven running processes in the background," said Tom Powledge, a Symantec senior director of product management.
"We've reduced that down to two processes," Powledge said, adding that Norton 360 uses 7 to 10 megabytes of memory in the background and only loads the pieces of the program it needs at the time. Earlier Norton programs used around 45 megabytes of system memory.
Norton 360, which works with Windows XP and Vista and includes a free year of updates, is now on sale at www.symantecstore.com.
Other features include two gigabytes of online backup storage and a transaction security component for safe Internet shopping.
iPHONEKILLER (OR PERHAPS A WORTHY RIVAL)
While smart-phone makers cower in the looming shadow of the release of the iPhone from Apple, a small mobile phone service provider called Helio is introducing a device that is getting plenty of buzz.
Helio's phone, the Ocean, has two keypads. Sliding the phone up reveals a standard phone keypad, while sliding to the side reveals a full QWERTY keyboard. The 10cm-long phone has a 2.4-inch display and 200 megabytes of internal memory for video and audio recordings and media files.
Helio gives the phone its own special interface and offers downloadable content including games, TV shows, movies and music.
The Ocean also handles e-mail, instant messaging and Global Positioning System services. What makes the Ocean stand out is the integration of almost all of these services into its contacts software. Each contact listing has small icons that show your friend's current status in AIM, Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger.
ALMOST LIKE HAVING A PERSONAL SECRETARY IN THE KITCHEN
You rarely realize your kitchen's running short of something until you are busy cooking — and then, inevitably, the pencil for the shopping list is missing. Luckily, there's a gadget that will let you dictate it.
Tap a button on the SmartShopper, state your needs to its built-in microphone, and speech-recognition software turns them into text. SmartShopper recognizes 2,500 item names and common errands ("dry cleaners," say, or "post office"), and lets you add items of your own. It also displays each new entry so you can correct it. When you're going out to shop, it prints out the list, alphabetized, with errands followed by your list of things to get.
Available from www.smartshopperusa.com, SmartShopper comes with three rolls of thermal paper. It also requires four AA batteries.
SmartShopper can be set on a counter, hung on the wall or magnetically attached to a refrigerator — wherever you're most likely to be when you realize something's running low.
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