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WHETHER YOU WORK FROM HOME OR HAVE CORNERED a hot spot at your
favorite coffeehouse, chances are you want productivity tools that are
light, efficient, and worry-free. We've rounded up a team of office
devices to help you on your way to work nirvana.
A. If you're like the rest of the more than 125 million cell
phone subscribers with Bluetooth-enabled devices, you've been
hard-pressed to find a headset that fits just right. Aliph Inc's
Jawbone might be the solution. The super-light headset gives you a
choice of six earbuds and four ear loops for a truly customizable fit.
But the real draw is in Jawbone's Noise Shield technology, which,
in our tests, significantly reduced background noise. You can also turn
the Noise Shield off or adjust it depending on the surrounding noise
level. For the fashion-forward, Jawbone is available in gunmetal silver,
black, and red. (www.aliph.com; $119.99)
B. On the prowl for a hot spot but can't be bothered with
launching a search every time you hit a new city? Try Canary
Wireless's HS20 Digital Hotspotter, a Wi-Fi detection and analysis
tool. Weighing just 2 ounces, the sleek black device provides network
ID, signal strength, encryption status, and channel data for 802.11 (b,
g, and n) networks. Hotspotter's scroll feature toggles between
multiple available networks, a backlit display, and a larger screen with
quick-glance icons. (www.canarywireless.com; $59.95).
C. You're on the road and you need the latest sales figures to
close a deal when you suddenly remember--you've left them on your
home PC. With Rove Mobile's PCMobilizr software, you can access
your PC from your mobile phone. It even displays the computer's
screen and lets you control the keyboard and mouse--all remotely. In an
instant you have secure access to all your files and applications. The
software runs on any Windows Mobile device (the company promises iPhone
and Nokia devices support soon, as well as a Mac version of the
software). (www.pcmobilizer.com; free 30-day trial, $9.50/month).
D. Though the PC crowd might deny it, nothing says cool like
Apple's new MacBook Air. The "thinnovative" notebook
weighs just 3 pounds and comes equipped with a 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
processor, a 13.3-inch glossy widescreen TFT, and five hours of battery
life. Everyone who carries around high-performance portable Macs knows
they tend to run heavy. The Air lets us travel lighter. (www.apple.com;
starting at $1,799)
COPYRIGHT 2008 Earl G. Graves Publishing Co.,
Inc. Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.