A look at the latest motoring gadgets
BMW Mountain Bike Enduro
Price: €2,899 Buy: BMW dealerships (bmw.ie)
Very few people might be able to afford a new BMW car this year, but you might stretch to a new BMW bicycle and this Enduro model is pretty impressive.
An infinitely variable suspension provides enhanced ride comfort and this bike features superb build quality and first-class components. This is for those at a slightly higher level than the novice rider, but it really is an amazing piece of kit.
Sony Ericsson C903 Cyber-shot
Price: TBA (coming soon)
Buy: O2 and Vodafone
Sony Ericsson is getting rather good at packing powerful camera technology into a phone. With the C903 you just slide down the protective lens cover and shoot. The slider has dedicated camera keys and an impressive five megapixel camera to create photos that you can actually use outside of your computer. This device comes with Face Detection, finding up to three people in the frame at a time, and Smile Shutter™ which automatically picks out smiles.
Nikon D90
Price: €789 (body only) plus €12.55 postage Buy: komplett.ie
Nikon’s range of Digital SLRs might not be as well advertised as Canon’s, but try one and you will see that they are easy to use and produce high-quality pictures. The new D90 is a consumer camera that has a massive 12.3 megapixels and allows you to shoot high-definition video – a real bonus to those who dont want to carry around a video camera. Its ISO range means you can shoot in varying brightness. The price isnt bad either.
Optoma Pico Projector
Price: €329.99 (plus €13.50 postage) Buy: expansys.ie
If you have ever felt the need to project something from your mobile phone or iPod onto a wall (eh, who hasn’t?) then this might be for you. This may well be the smallest palm-sized, self-contained, battery-operated, projector on the market. It is smaller and lighter than many digital cameras or smart phones and allows users share images and videos from their media devices at up to a maximum of 60 inches. It comes with a very long lamp life and might be handy if you wish to inflict a powerpoint presentation on your unsuspecting mates.