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March 5, 2007 More Items from CES 2007 With nearly 3,000 vendors showing off their new products at the International Consumer Electronics Show there are hundreds of items, large and small to talk about. Here are a few more items you might be interested in: (if you missed our other CES product reviews go to our Web site www.norma-tony.com or send us a SASE at the address below)
An OtterBox iPod case (www.otterbox.com, $49.95) lets you keep your music and iPod safe wherever you go. You probably wouldn’t dream of taking your iPod snorkeling or into the swimming pool with you, but if you put your iPod or other MP3 player in an OtterBox, you can. The cases are rugged, waterproof to three feet, dust, dirt and sand proof and drop proof. The iPod’s control wheel is accessible through a protective membrane, and there’s a waterproof earphone plug for your headphones. Or use the optional waterproof earphones if you really want to swim with your music and not just romp on the beach. Use the case to protect your player during other activities too, such as snowboarding, kayaking or snowmobiling. OtterBoxes also come in a variety of sizes and styles designed to protect anything from your cigars to your laptop. Some styles have clear covers so you can see the contents, others have opaque covers to hide the contents. OtterBox iPod cases are solidly built and incorporate a heavy molded plastic shell with reenforcing ridges, piano hinge, full weather seal, heavy duty latch, carrying strap and a padlock hole. Cases are available for iPod nano (first and second generation), video, photo, mini, 20GB, and shuffle (first generation). Great insurance for your investment.
MoGo Mouse BT (www.newtonperipherals.com, $70) is tailor-made for those laptop users who dislike using the computer touchpad and don’t want to drag around a loose mouse as they travel. MoGo Mouse BT is a business-card size, Bluetooth enabled mouse that stores and recharges in the computer’s PC card slot. When in use, a rear kick stand positions the mouse for comfort. In addition to the left and right buttons, the Mouse sports a center pad that functions as a scroll wheel. Simple and useful, it fills the bill for the road warrior, student or any laptop user on the go. If your laptop is not Bluetooth enabled, an optional USB Bluetooth adapter is available.
DYMO LetraTag (www.dymo.com, $20 at Target) is a simple battery-operated handheld portable label printer that we continually use at home and for business. The unit quickly and easily prints single or double lines on 1/2 inch wide adhesive-backed paper, plastic or metallic tapes. LetraTag offers single or double line printing, four type sizes and five type styles (bold, italic, underline, shadow, vertical). The display shows only six characters but a preview scrolls the entire entry for you to check. Tap the Print button, and the label scrolls out the side; push the "Cut" button, and the label is ready to use whatever you want. Paper tapes are available in white only, but plastic tape comes in five colors, and clear and metallic tapes come in silver or green. Dymo LetraTag uses a sequential keyboard that may slow down entries a bit, but a slightly larger DYMO Personal Labelmaker ($30) uses a QWERTY keyboard that enables faster entries. Either model is perfect for labeling file folders, jars, drawers, boxes and more. (We haven’t labeled the cat yet, but his turn is coming!)
DYMO also introduced the DYMO Desktop Mailing Solution ($230), which consists of a dual printer: one side for printing mailing labels, and the other side for printing a USPS postage stamp. The unit includes an attached USB scale for weighing pieces to be mailed. Select one or more persons to mail to from the included address book, design the mailing label, weigh the mailing piece and print both label and stamp. Postage is provided through Endicia, a no-monthly-fee Internet service. Quick and easy, the unit could save tons of time for organizations, small businesses and those doing a lot of mailing.
UV Hawk (www.q3i.com, $30) is a tiny (1.25 x 2.25 x 0.5 inch) portable device that measures the amount of ultraviolet light from any light source, including sunlight, even through the clouds. Bring the unit outdoors, and it displays the Ultra Violet Index (UVI) of the light and then begins a countdown of the time of maximum safe sun exposure in hours/minutes and what percent of the maximum time you’ve used. The time of exposure will be adjusted depending on your settings for your skin type and the SPF of any suntan lotion you’re using. UV Hawk makes sense considering the reported thinning of our ozone layer and resulting increase in the UVI, The UVI is a scale developed by the World Health Organization. A 12-page Owner’s Manual details information on the dangers of excess UV exposure and the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for protective actions based on the UVI.
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