Gadget

The BlackBerry You may have heard about BlackBerry e-mail readers from friends in the United States or Europe, where they have made a name for themselves. They are about the size of standard Personal Digital Assistants, but allow you to read and send e-mail from almost anywhere via GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). Other devices can also do this, but with a BlackBerry you don't have to check your mail: messages are sent to the reader as soon as they arrive in your account.

Being beeped during a meeting with a message about the inadequacy of my manhood doesn't make the BlackBerry sound that exciting to me. But if you travel on business, having one in your pocket could take the pain out of picking up your e-mail when out of town. The BlackBerry also has standard PDA features, a cradle for synching with your PC and recharging its batteries, and it can be used as a mobile phone if an earpiece-microphone is attached.

The BlackBerry is available from Hutchison Telecom for $3,980 if you are an Orange subscriber, or $4,580 if you are not. The monthly service charge is $286 and allows for one megabyte of mail, which is a great deal when you consider most messages are only one or two kilobytes. Data in excess of the one megabyte limit is charged at a rate of six cents a kilobyte during peak hours and three cents during off-peak hours.

Omnifi The past few years have seen a revolution in the personal stereo market with the advent of high-quality MP3 players such as Apple's iPod. Devices that can fit your entire music collection into a shirt pocket have been hitting the market at a fast and furious rate, and now US-based company Rockford Fosgate has come up with its Omnifi system, designed to help you transfer tunes wirelessly, via a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) attachment, from your computer to your car. The system has only just been unveiled and prices are not yet available, but you can expect to pay about US$700 (HK$5,460). Contact Rockford Fosgate distributor Queenswell Development on 2751-8938 for more information, or see www.omnifimedia.com.