February 2012

GET BACK TO WORK

Spice things up at work with these new buys

WORDS ANNE LOH

A BOOK, A DAY
Finally succumbing to reading e-books while on the go? The Sony Reader WiFi Touch's slim and lightweight design makes it easy to use while its clear touchscreen with e-ink technology makes it easy to read in direct sunlight. Use the included stylus to highlight points or write down thoughts on the page. AU$179 from good electronic stores.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Tired of portable speakers that turn your rock classics into tinny elevator music? The WOWee ONE Classic could be the answer. AU$99; available from JB Hi-Fi stores and www.woweespeakers.com.au

STASH IN A FLASH
For corporate chiefs in need of extra storage space, the Transcend JetFlash 760 USB 3.0 flash drive comes primarily in black with a dash of colour and it's retractable. AU$19.95 for a 4GB; available JB Hi-Fi and Officeworks.

TAKE A CHILL PILL
With SonicMaster technology developed with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower®, the ASUS UX21E Zenbook has a notebook audio like you've never heard before! AU$1,399 (Intel Core i5) / AU$1,599 (Intel Core i7); www.asus.com.au

TECH CRYSTAL BALL

Technology radio commentator Trevor Long also makes regular appearances on Channel 9's A Current Affair and hosts two successful technology podcasts: Your Tech Life and Two Blokes Talking Tech. We ask him what we can look forward to tech-wise this year

CAN WE EXPECT ANY BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCTS IN 2012?
We were spoilt in '11, so '12 is going to be an evolutionary year not quite a revolution; 2012 will see new versions of some popular products. Possibly the iPad 2S, smarter Smart TVs, even more ultra thin laptops, and a boost in the number of quality Android smartphones and tablets. We should also expect some price pressure in 2012, which I hope will make more of these great products accessible to more people. Finally, there's Windows 8 — that's likely to surprise and impress a lot of people.

WHO ARE THE PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS YEAR?
We can't not have our eye on Apple with the next generation iPad, iPhone and likely a new product to their range in the TV space. LG will make a big splash with their huge and ultra thin TVs, however they're out of reach of the average consumer just now, so keep a watch on Samsung and Sony.