Sun
Lexmark Z1420 Wireless colour Printer, $100
BlackBerry Red Pearl, from $250
Thoshiba HD-A20, 1080 High Definition DVD player, $600
LEXMARK Z1420 WIRELESS COLOUR PRINTER, $100.
Lexmark is hoping to reinvigorate a printer market that has gone flat in recent years with a new lineup that makes wireless more affordable for home and home office users. The cheapest is the $100 single function version, but it is joined in the lineup by the X4550, a wireless all-in-one at $150 that adds copying and scanning to the printing function. Third in the lineup is the X3550 all-in-one with wireless as an extra cost option but at $100 with the wireless option pushing the price up it makes more sense to buy the already-wireless X4550. Expected on store shelves later this month.
BLACKBERRY RED PEARL, FROM $250 WITH A THREE-YEAR PLAN TO $450 WITH A ONE-YEAR PLAN.
BlackBerry turns into cranberry with this colourful version of that ubiquitous business tool. This one is included in the Rogers Wireless lineup. Also comes in pearl white or piano black. If colour coordination isn’t important, consider the pricier but more feature-laden BlackBerry 8800 with built-in GPS and a $500 price tag with a three-year contract. These are available ahead of the BlackBerry Curve, a smaller device with an expected price of $200 US that is getting a jump on Apple’s iPhone by coming out this month.
TOSHIBA HD-A20, 1080 HIGH DEFINITION DVD PLAYER, $600
Yet another new player to add to a daunting array of entertainment devices that are making it more fun to stay home and watch the tube than to shell out big bucks to see a movie in a theatre. This is Toshiba’s second HD DVD player delivering 1080p output, the highest resolution available right now and to sweeten the pot, the company is throwing in three free HD DVD titles with some of its models, including the HD-A20. Coming with a built-in Dolby True HD decoder providing surround sound this is aimed at turning your home into the theatre.
PANASONIC SWEDE-ATSU COMPANION CHAIR, MODEL EP1273, $3,300
So it’s not a gadget you can exactly fit in your pocket but when Panasonic suggested its new massage chair as the answer to what to give mom on Mother’s Day, we couldn’t help but agree. Promising to stimulate acupoints for increased energy flow — and what mom doesn’t need that — this latest nod to in-home pampering comes with eight massage modes, pre-programming option and an ottoman to massage your calves and feet so they don’t feel left out.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
