The latest array of computerized gewgaws on the market look as though they were snatched right out of a Dick Tracey comic strip or a James Bond movie. From hard drives and MP3 players that fit in the palm of your hand, to PDAs with built in cell phones, there are plenty of dazzling gifts to computer savvy kids from 8 to 80.
Digital doodling
For me, the Logitech IO Pen is one of this year’s most intriguing inventions. The size of a big fat cigar, this digital pen has a tiny scanner next to its point. Using special pads or post-its, you can sketch in diagrams or jot down notes and reminders etc, as per regular pen and paper, before uploading them to your computer for storage. This smart tool is equipped with a memory that can hold up to 40 pages of writing or drawings. When not using it in this capacity, you can use it as a standard ballpoint pen on regular paper. Though sold in computer stores throughout the United States, so far the pen (about $90) and notebooks ($10 each) are available only through Logitech’s website at www.logitech.com.
Thanks for the memory
USB’s Memory Keychains have to be the neatest item of the season. The trouble will be finding a store with them in stock. Smaller than a pack of chewing gum, these mini gizmos act as portable hard drives, sold in a multiplicity of denominations: 32, 64, 128, 256, 516 Mb and 1 Gb, that work with both Apple and PC systems. A 128 Mb Lexar Jumpdrive costs about 38E, needs no special drivers or configuration and can transfer info between two completely different operating systems. The Sony Microdrives are a little more expensive (119E for 128 Mb), but can achieve this via USB 2.0 and offer password protection. The digital, Square ORC 200 is a 128 Mb USB key also doubles as an MP3 player, dictaphone and costs a scant 158E. However, you can carry your valuable data with you wherever you go and read the time with the VEO USB memory watch (79.90 E). This gizmo can store up to 128 Mb of data, then transfer files to and from both PC and Mac operating systems. The nifty built-in USB cable is kept in the watch band and the USB connector can be conveniently tucked in. Available from — Surcouf 139 av Daumesnil, 12e, www.surcouf.com
Cheap shots
Digital camera prices have nosedived in recent months, making it possible to treat any photography aficionado in your midst to a top-name brand toy like the 2-megapixel point-and-shoot — for instance, the Nikon 3100 (319E), the 3.3-megapixel Canon powerShot A300 (329E) or even the 6-megapixel Canon EOS 300D SLR style camera ($1 099) too. Also arriving on the market are a number of inexpensive digital “gadgets” your kids will enjoy like the “Digital Dream JB1-007” spy camera straight out of an 007 movie. What looks like a stainless steel Zippo lighter is really a tiny, low resolution (640x480) device with dictaphone that can also be used as a webcam sold for just 99E. Galeries Lafayette, 40 bd Haussmann, 9e
Prints charming
The HP Photosmart P145 (149E) looks like a tiny aluminum toaster. In reality it’s a small printer that produces 4x5 snapshots directly from your CF or SM digital card. Let’s say you wanted to digitize that shoe box full of prints... The pint-size HP Photo scanner is just big enough to immortalize your 4x5 photos. Galeries Lafayette 40, bd Haussmann, 9e
Music man
For anyone old enough to remember their household’s first “portable radio” or cassette player, today’s MP3 players are a remarkable piece of technology. No bigger than a pack of chewing gum, the Philips Key 004 is just 86x27x15 mm and weighs only 36 grams. It connects directly to your PC or Mac via USB cable and requires neither a special driver, nor an additional cable. At only 150E, it comes complete with a remote control that is suspended from a cord worn around the neck and earplugs. The newest in CD players is the Digital Mini-disk recorder. These pint-sized wonders use tiny CDs that provide up to 320 minutes of recording in MDLP (long play) mode. Using Net MD, you can actually record MP3 and WMA files from the computer onto these disks. The Sharp MD-MT 190 has an anti-shock system, remote control, a port for a microphone and voice-activated dictaphone function, all for just 180E. FNAC 74 av Champs-Elysées, 8e, www.fnac.com
Multimedia masterpiece
The Sony Ericsson P900 “Smart Phone” is the most powerful device of its kind on the market. A true pocket computer with a 62 x 40mm screen and a tactile touchpad, it is a combination cell phone, PDA, MP3 player/radio, digital camera that takes both stills and MPEG-4 video clips, With this little stunner, you can check your email, download and share files over the Internet, synchronize data with your PC or Mac desktop using infrared or Bluetooth technology, or play games you’ve downloaded. At 999E, it’s not cheap, unless you consider all of the different gadgets you’re getting rolled into one. FNAC, 136 rue de Rennes, 6e, www.fnac.com
Coffee break
If Darth Vader had a coffee maker, more than likely he’d have a Krups Nespresso machine or its esthetic qualities. On the other hand, you will want this machine for the excellent coffee it produces. Using capsules of premeasured grains, the machine uses automatic ejection to produce a perfect cup of jo with no effort or guesswork on your part. The Krups expresso maker is 349E and comes with two cups and 40 capsules of four different varieties of coffee.
Darty, pl Carée (niveau 2), 1er, www.darty.com
Star Academy
The hottest toys to hit the children’s department this Christmas season draw their inspiration fhit TV show Star Academy. For budding starlets, Lansey’s “tapis de dance” (30E) is a floor mat with pads that light up under your child’s feet, teaching him or her 15 different dances to three different beats of disco, latino and rock. The Karioke Studio Camera (199E) comes complete with a microphone, webcam and boom box that connects to a TV or computer. It comes complete with song lyrics and your kids can sing along and see themselves on the screen as if they were on TV. Printemps, 64 bd Haussmann, 9e
