Gillian Shaw
Sun
Tom-tom EASE, limited red-and-white edition, TomTom
BDP-S470 Blu-ray Disc Player, Sony
Tom-tom EASE, limited red-and-white edition, TomTom, $130
With Canada hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, TomTom is marking the event with a limited-edition red-and-white version of its EASE car navigation system commemorating Canada’s flag. With stories of visiting bus drivers getting lost on unfamiliar Vancouver streets, maybe they could have used these at the Olympics. The EASE has a two-icon 8.89-centimetre (3.5-inch) touch screen menu with quick access to search tools, and its Tele Atlas maps of Canada that come pre-installed get the highest rating in every market tested in Canada for having the most addresses, the most points of interest and the most accurate routes. www.tomtom.com
Pandemic Keyboard, Cleankeys, from $400 US
From Edmonton comes a new keyboard that can be wiped cleaned in a way that conventional keyboards can’t be. According to Cleankeys, clinical trials show a disinfecting cloth on the smooth surface of its keyboards kills 99 per cent of all bacteria, compared to five per cent with conventional rubber and plastic keyboards. The touch-sensitive keyboard only types when users tap on the keys, not just when they rest their hands on it. Pricey compared to your average keyboard, but cleaner. cleankeysinc.com
MobileOffice AD450 Scanner, Plustek, $270 US
A mobile scanner with an automatic document feeder and it can run via a USB connection or on AC power, making it truly portable. Documents can be saved in a range of popular formats including PDF, JPG, TIF and others. It can also scan rigid cards, including credit cards. www.plustek.com
BDP-S470 Blu-ray Disc Player, Sony, $300
Get ready for 3-D, coming soon to a TV near you. Sony’s stand-alone Bluray player than can be upgraded to play Blu-ray 3-D discs with a firmware update that is coming. A full-HD 1080p single-disk Blu-ray with DVD, CD and SA-CD player, it takes a USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately to use Wi-Fi. With a boot time of three seconds in quick-start mode, it’s Sony’s fastest Blu-ray Disc player. You can use your iPhone or iPod touch to control the player using BD remote, an application available at the Apple app store. The player streams movies, video, music and other online content when it’s linked to the Internet through a broadband connection using Sony Bravia’s Internet video platform. Grace note lets you check out details about actors and productions with Sony’s entertainment database browsers. On store shelves starting in March. www.sony.ca
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