PADDY COMYNreviews the latest gadgets
Keis X4 Heated Bodywarmer
Price: €170
Buy: highergear.ie
Every die-hard year-round biker should have a Keis X4 Heated Bodywarmer under their gear. The X4 uses the latest “carbon weave technology” to dispense with the usual heating wires and provide reliable, consistent, even heating.
It’s extra durable and completely waterproof so you can wear it in a downpour and wash it afterwards.
The X4 is wired directly to your bike’s battery using a special temperature control unit (included) but if winter golfing is more your thing, you can attach the small Li-ion battery pack (included) to the vest and stroll around at a balmy 19°C for more than six hours. It’s available in seven sizes from XXS to XXL and costs just €170, including free shipping.
BlackBerry Curve 8520
Price: From €129
Buy: o2.ie
O2 has launched the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 and the big news is that it introduces an innovative touch-sensitive trackpad, which makes scrolling and selection smooth and easy for a great navigation experience.
It is also the first BlackBerry smartphone to feature dedicated media keys, smoothly integrated along the top of the handset. It comes with 256MB of flash memory and a 512Mhz processor as well as a 2MP digital camera and you can expand the memory using microSD/SDHC memory cards. It also comes with WiFi and is Quad-band.
Palm Pre
Price: From Free
Buy: o2.ie
So my trusted iPhone finally gave up being a phone last week and went back to Apple in its little cardboard coffin and this gave me a chance to try a few alternatives.
One was the Nokia N97, which we will return to another day, but the other is the Palm Pre, which has been a hit in the US. Ireland is one of the few countries in Europe to get its hands on it.
It looks great, with a large screen and a slide out keyboard, but from here, there wasn’t a lot going for it. Perhaps I got a bad one but it takes ages to start up, kept switching itself off and general operation was just way too slow. Aside from those gripes, it works well, with better reception than the iPhone and for those who love Gmail and their Google calendar, it works brilliantly with those.
It’s not quite as clever as the iPhone, more like a mix between that and a real phone.
Tao Digital Photo Keychain
Price: €11
Buy: firebox.com
This ultra-slim USB-friendly gizmo lets you drag and drop saved photos straight from your PC or Mac in order to display them on its 1.5” LCD screen.
It’s a fantastic pressie for loved ones, or for the gadget lover who has everything.
With 8MB of onboard memory you can store up to 100 photos, toggle through favourites and even watch a slideshow, from 10 seconds to three minutes. Brilliant!
You won’t have to worry about juice, either, because an internal lithium battery automatically recharges the Tao via USB.
And, thanks to its idiot-proof software, you can crop photos to fit the screen.
