Stretch that credit limit

18.07.2005
Von Sean Bacher

Yes, it is that time of the month again, time to blow what is left of your budget on the cool and, often, ridiculously expensive.

Kyocera FS-920

The FS-920 desktop printer is designed to utilize Kyocera?s Ecosys technology, with a cartridge-free design. The drums are designed for 100,000 copies -- about five times that offered by other laser printers, Kyocera claims -- and the only consumable required is toner. The FS-920 supports PCL6 and Postscript 3 in a bid to enable best performance in Microsoft Windows, Apple or Linux environments. This is intended to optimize the output of documents with graphical elements. The printer also features a 266MHz processor, and comes with 32MB RAM, the vendor says.

Availability: Visit Kyocera?a Web site at http://www.kyoceramita.co.za for ordering

information.

HP Compaq tc4200 tablet PC

The HP Compaq tc4200 tablet PC is a full-function convertible notebook PC. The tablet is designed for mobile professionals needing powerful and highly-mobile computers that also offer enhanced security and reliability. It claims to offer HP?s full portfolio of integrated security options and a breadth of integrated wireless choices.

Availability: Contact HP on 0800 11 8883 for more information.

Epson EMP-732

The Epson EMP-732 is an addition to Epson?s ultra-portable range. Designed to meet the growing demands of the mobile professional, it is a 3LCD projector. The unit is claimed to offer 2 000 ANSI lumens, XGA resolution and a contrast ratio of 400:1. In lower ambient lighting environments, or when used with interactive whiteboards, the economy mode of 1 500 ANSI lumens is intended to give a lamp-life of 3 000 hours, helping to reduce cost of ownership.

Availability: Contact Epson SA on 0860 337766 for information.

LG LH-NK6540 karaoke

The LH-NK6540 system features 5 x 60W satellite speakers as well as a 120W sub-woofer. It also has all the features that users would expect from a top of the range LG home theatre system, LG adds. According to the company, it can play DIV-X, MP3, WMA and all writeable DVD formats to add to all the various sound categories it can control with DTS, Dolby digital and Prologic II.

The karaoke machines features are said to include inputs for two microphones with volume, echo, tempo, key control, score, fanfare chorus as well as the challenge game.

Availability: Log on to LG?s Web site at http://www.lge.com for stockist details.

Samsung SC-D455

The Samsung SC-D455 is designed to pack a large amount of movie-making power into a compact unit, measuring only 53,5 x 74,5 x 102mm. The camcorder features a 10x optical zoom and a 900x digital zoom. Also included on the unit is a 2,5? 123K LCD screen and color viewfinder. The camcorder comes with a light, and connects to PCs via standard fire wire or USB 2.0 cable, Samsung adds. And, if the 32MB built-in memory capacity is not enough, users can take advantage of the built-in memory stick slot to expand the storage capacity, the company says.

Availability: Visit http://www.samsung.co.za for ordering information.

Logitech MX3100

The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3100 features Logitech?s MX1000 cordless laser mouse and numerous navigation controls on the keyboard, aiming to add a hint of professionalism to users? computing experience.

The laser technology in the mouse is claimed to allow it to see approximately 20 times more surface detail than typical red light-emitting diode (LED) optical mice, allowing it to track with more precision and work on more surface types, the company says.

Logitech?s navigation keyboard aims to make it easy to listen to music and Internet radio, use instant messaging, watch videos and view photos -- by putting more control at people?s fingertips, the company adds.

Availability: The MX3100 is now available at most consumer electronic outlets nationwide.

Toshiba Qosmio G20

Toshiba?s Qosmio G20 features a 17-inch LiteBrite screen with 500NITS brightness, said to be twice the brightness of a standard TFT panel. The company has opted for the 915 chipset, said to offer faster bandwidth, and support for PCI-Express. Additionally, it features the ATi Mobility Radeon X600 graphics card. The styling of the chassis incorporates a volume dial on the right-hand side. As the dial is software-linked, the user will not need to fiddle with any other settings, Toshiba concludes.

Availability: Contact Rectron on (011) 203-1000 for a dealer.

GeForce 7800 GTX

Gaming enthusiasts can now enjoy 860m vertices in a second with the new GeForce 7800 GTX (XFX GF7800 GTX) graphics card; code-named the G70 chip. The XFX GF7800 GTX features the new nVidia CineFX 4.0 engine, intellisample 4.0 technology, shader model 3.0, Microsoft Longhorn support, 24 pipelines that have 38.4G bps of bandwidth and a 10.32 bps fill rate, and is SLI-ready and Windows 2000/XP-compatible.

Availability: Contact Axis on (011) 237-7000 for information

NetOp School

NetOp School is a tool designed to enable teachers to monitor and control student PCs in a computer-equipped classroom environment. Teachers can simultaneously view multiple students? screens as thumbnail images on a single screen, or monitor and control students individually in real-time, the company adds.

The product is designed to put the teacher in control of the computer-based classroom, aiming to provide a number of tools that help the teacher to conduct effective teaching sessions. It is also great for administrators to watch what office users get up to when their backs are turned, the company adds!

Availability: Contact Networks Unlimited on 021 702 8000 for a dealer in your area.

Motorola Razr V3

Motorola?s new special-edition black Razr V3 is 13.9mm thin, 53mm wide (the width of a credit card) and 98mm long, it is apparently one of the slimmest phones on the market, and yet is still full of functions, the company says. It features a 176 x 220 pixel 2,2? color display, Bluetooth connectivity and an integrated VGA camera with a 4x zoom, Motorola adds.

Availability: The Razr V3 is available from most cellular outlets nationwide.