Motorola KRZR mobile phone
08000 151 151, www.motorola.com/uk
Free with contract, or £290 from www.carphonewarehouse.com
The KRZR is the latest phone from Motorola, the company that set the standard in chic and stylish handsets, and we are the first publication to get our hands on one. The phone is noticeably narrower than the popular RAZR models and feels better balanced, too. The etched-metal keypad is responsive, despite modestly sized keys, and photos taken on the 2 megapixel camera are sharp. The KRZR also has a memory-card slot making it a viable music phone. However, the circular direction pad is fiddly, the screen is small and you’re stuck with Moto’s hellish software. Irritatingly, despite the inclusion of the new stereo version of Bluetooth, when listening to music it sounds far better with conventional wired headphones. For this you will most likely be restricted to using only the supplied ones that fit the non-standard USB headphone socket. The KRZR goes on sale towards the end of September. Two other new Motorola models are also in the pipeline.
Double vision
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Kodak V705 digital camera
0870 243 0270; www.kodak.co.uk
£279.99
This versatile Kodak craftily boasts two lenses in a compact body. The wide-angle lens is ideal for squeezing a large group into one shot without stepping backwards, or capturing broad landscapes. The 7.1-megapixel V705 offers a 5x optical zoom with the regular lens. In limited tests, picture quality was decent and though snappers will be glad of built-in anti-shake, there are few low-light features. Still, impressive overall.
DAB hand
Intempo PP01
DAB radio 0161 828 5219, www.intempodigital.co.uk
£100
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Hankering for a kitchen radio to blend with your Miele decor? This quirky DAB/FM receiver is strikingly slimmer than most DAB (digital) models, mainly due to the two flat NXT speakers. For £17.50 more, including postage, you can personalise it with a favourite photo. Despite a svelte profile, the Intempo delivers a strong, clean sound. The rechargeable battery lasts around 16 hours between charges. A two-line LCD display on top of the unit is, however, tricky to read and a mere 12 presets is modest.
Gym pack
Sony NW-S200 Walkman
08705 111 999, www.sony.co.uk
512MB £79.99, 1GB £89.99, 2GB £119.99
It seems that Sony is grimly determined to prise the MP3-player crown from Apple’s grasp. Its latest effort is a lightweight aluminium-clad gym buddy, which Sony says is water resistant.
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The sporty features include a sensor to count your weary steps, distance travelled, even calories burnt. And should you find yourself tiring of your workout playlist, you can switch to randomised mode simply by shaking the unit three times. A nice touch. Unlike the similarly diminutive iPod Shuffle, Sony’s contender has a one-line LCD display, an FM tuner and a longer battery life of, it is claimed, 18 hours between charges. Let battle commence.
Mighty mouse
Logitech MX Revolution mouse
01753 870 900 www.logitech.co.uk
about £80
Admittedly this is a high price for a mouse, but for those who plough through 50-page spreadsheets or reports it could be money well spent. While the traditional scroll wheel, for navigating down a document or web page, takes eons the Revolution’s fancy “geared” scroll wheel whizzes through all those pages with one spin. There is also a second wheel that forages on the web for answers if you simply click on a specific word. Both these features work well.
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However, the recharging dock is annoying — and it’s still silly money for just a mouse.