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Personally, I'm completely happy with my USB keyboard and optical mouse. But if you're a fan of alternative input devices, such as the PaperShow, you now have another choice.
Hitachi Software announced Tuesday its new StarBoard WT-1 interactive wireless tablet. Basically, it's a mouse and keyboard replacement that lets presenters in educational facilities and corporate environments interact with their audiences.
(Credit:
Hitachi)
The device has a range up to 30 feet thanks to RF wireless technology, and a battery life of up to 16 hours of continuous use. This seems nice as the PaperShow offer only a few hours of continuous usage, possibly because it uses Bluetooth.
Other than offering regular functionality as a input device, the WT-1 also includes 16 shortcut function keys, handwriting recognition, search engine integration, and a small built-in LCD indicator screen. It comes with an interactive pen with two programmable buttons that you can use to, for example, move back and forth between slides.
However, the feature I find most unique is that you can use up to seven WT-1 units to a PC. This makes the device well-suited for presentations hosted by a group of people.
The StarBoard WT-1 weighs around a pound and measures 10.9 inches by 11.1 inches by 0.8 inches with a writing resolution of 2000 lpi. It will be available sometime next month. Right now it's unclear how much it costs.
The Samsung CLP-315W is designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs who want a laser printer for speed but also need to print out documents, photos, and presentations in full color. This version also has a wireless print server built into the device, a convenient feature if you have several computers attached to the same network that will share the same printer. Unfortunately, the CLP-315W is not without its serious flaws.
First, the quality of the printouts are simply unacceptable. The printer has trouble separating subtle gradations in color and tends to blur together close sections on the color gamut. Also, forget about printing even the lowest-quality photos with the printer--in our experience, even small portraits on a presentation slide look smeared in some spots. We do like the small footprint, the easy wireless setup, and the separate color toner cartridges, but the output quality and sluggish print speeds take the overall score down to just an OK 2.5 stars.
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
Presentations are easy when you have a large screen and projector setup, but what if you're a traveling salesperson? Should you sit next to your client with your laptop, and potentially make him feel uneasy? Or turn the screen away and hope you have memorized the slides perfectly?
The Prezenter PSR claims to do away with such worries. Unlike conventional laptops or tablet PCs, the PSR has two touch-screen displays. The larger 14.1-inch screen faces your audience while you control the presentation from the smaller 7-inch touch screen. Both displays can be set on "clone mode"--where both show the same images--or "dual mode," a little like an extended desktop setting. The client can also interact with the presentation, drawing circles, or images to point out areas in question.
The battery lasts up to 3.5 hours (with the wireless radio on) and can hold its charge for up to 20 hours on standby. Like most laptops, it has three USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11b/g connectivity. A 1.3-megapixel camera sits above the 14.1-inch display.
Though the company claims that decoding videos is not an issue with this machine, our experience with the AMD Geode LX800 processor makes us doubt this claim. Low bit-rate files may be smooth, but higher-quality videos may stutter during playback. The 512MB memory and 80GB harddisk don't make the Prezenter PSR a powerhouse either. Fortunately, it runs on Windows XP Home Edition, which requires relatively fewer system resources than Vista.
The unit has a recommended retail price of $1,800 and is undergoing trials in the U.S. and Europe. (Get more CommunicAsia 2008 coverage here.)
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Newton Peripherals)
Gadgets don't always live up to their names, but the wireless "MoGo Mouse" is one that definitely does--it's always on the move, morphing into various forms while adding functions along the way despite its nearly one-dimensional profile. Its latest incarnation sacrifices some of that svelte physique, but for good reason: It's now become a remote control for presentations too.
The additional media features apparently make the Bluetooth X54 protrude a bit from the laptop's PC card slot, which also serves as a built-in charger, so it doesn't disappear in storage the way its predecessor does. But Newton Peripherals, the company that makes the device, is keenly aware that mice must constantly evolve to stay competitive.
In fact, the latest MoGo is arguably already behind products like Vavolo's flat all-in-one model, which has taken the all-in-one concept one step further. Not only is it also a combo mouse and remote that can store in a card slot, but it does the X54 one better--it has a laser pointer. We'll hold out for a version with a color LCD for video.
(Credit:
Jasper Laser)
We're old enough (unfortunately) to remember when laser pointers were new and expensive, not the kind of bargain-bin item you can find at OfficeMax. But even though they've become surprisingly affordable, we've been disappointed at the preponderance of laser-pointing objects that make little or no sense.
That's why we appreciate the "Jasper Keynote." It's a laser pointer with a built-in radio transmitter that can let you point and run your PowerPoint presentation simultaneously if used with a USB receiver. And the best part of all: It's green (our favorite color).
Thanks to I4U News, we also learned that the human eye is roughly 50 times more sensitive to green than red. There'll be a quiz in the morning.
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