A new school year means plenty of shiny new tech goodies. Here are a few picks with features that deserve a look:
Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant smartphone
$499.95 alone, $149.95 with three-year contract and minimum $50/month plan with Bell
Samsung’s latest Android 2.1-powered smartphone is sleek, powerful and makes a great impression in-hand.
Besides, with its bright, responsive four-inch touch-screen, the phone introduces a revolutionary typing feature sure to win over new users: Swype, which allows you to input text by dragging your finger across the keyboard in a continuous line instead of tapping. It really works — a few minutes of playing around and you’ll be sending messages easily twice as fast as compared to the standard tap method.
It also incorporates a six-axis sensor for tilting and panning.
Toshiba Satellite T230 Notebook
$699
Small, light and very aggressively priced, Toshiba’s 13.3-inch LED notebook also sports some impressive features: Facial recognition, a hard drive impact sensor for protecting your data if you drop it and an HDMI port for showing off your Frosh Week antics on a flatscreen TV.
Nintendo DSi XL
$199.95
Nintendo’s evolved hand-held touch-screen system also doubles as a music player, basic digicam, web surfer and even comes with a built-in microphone for recording. Of course, it can also make school commutes fun and it comes pre-loaded with several mind-expanding Brain Age games.
Kodak ESP 7250 wireless all-in-one printer
$199.99
A great little wireless printer that’s perfect for a family (or a shared apartment), the Kodak ESP 7250 is a budget-priced printer with a full suite of features.
Best of all, Kodak’s ink prices are famously cheap, so you won’t feel too bad about letting your roommates print their concert pics in full-colour.
