__ Best __ - Great stuff - tested and approved in our top-secret labs.
CORDLESS TELEPHONES
__ First Class: __
CLT-986
Sanyo's top-flight 900-MHz CLT-986 lets you wander upstairs, downstairs, outside, down the block - we're talking pin drops, baby. The unit's digital spread-spectrum capability means it automatically skips among available and clear frequencies, so your privacy is as safe as kittens. Caller ID and speakerphone features right on the sturdy handset make it functional wherever you may gab.
__ CLT-986: US$249.99. Sanyo: +1 (818) 998 7322. __
__ Business Class: __
Telenium
As a cordless phone, the 900-MHz analog Telenium suffers a slight drop in quality from digital sound. But for the price of cellular activation, the Telenium's slender handset morphs into a mobile phone when you wander outside its 1,000-foot range - perfect for the hands-on business owner who can't leave the house without worrying about missed calls. This ambidexterity puts the Telenium in a class by itself.
__ Telenium: US$199 with cellular activation. Panasonic: (800) 441 7262, +1 (201) 348 7000. __
__ Coach: __
9010
With the ubiquity of cordless analog phones, if you've got 25 channels, you've got a paperweight that makes fuzz noises, not a phone. Try the sleek 900-MHz 80-channel Smith Corona 9010 and you'll do just fine. Its generally suitable range of 150 feet indoors - still meager compared with digital phones - falls a little short in wave-riddled cities.
__ 9010: US$59.99. Smith Corona: (800) 448 1018, +1 (607) 753 6011, on the Web at www.smithcorona.com/. __
WEB-BASED NEWS FILTERS
__ First Class: __
Dow Jones Interactive
Why pay for a Bloomberg box when you can use the Web instead? Pricey, yes, but Dow Jones automatically sifts through thousands of news stories as they come in. Ideal for marketers and corporate strategists who want to keep tabs on competitors from the comfort of their swivel chairs, the service boasts great sources, including The New York Times, San Jose Mercury News, and, of course, house newsletter The Wall Street Journal.
__ Dow Jones Interactive: from US$500 per month for five passwords in a single company. Dow Jones: on the Web at www.djinteractive.com/. __
__ Business Class: __
Personal Inquisit
Inquisit is eminently affordable, and although the top national titles aren't part of its pool of newswires, trade papers, and magazines, you'd be surprised what The Baltimore Sun and Wireless Today can teach you. At the end of the day, your in-box is full of the latest stories on the companies, markets, and ideas you've programmed Inquisit to track.
__ Personal Inquisit: US$12.95 per month. Inquisit: on the Web at www.inquisit.com/. __
__ Coach: __
My Yahoo!
Yahoo! starts you off with canned searches, but before long you'll be personalizing this free service to follow the daily news on anything from gene sequencing to Gene Simmons. The sources aren't bad - Reuters, Web news sites, and various PR newsfeeds. A few years ago, personalized news filtering was a pie-in-the-sky idea; now it's effective and free.
__ My Yahoo!: free. Yahoo!: on the Web at my.yahoo.com/. __
CLIMBING WALLS
__ First Class: __
NaturalRock Roll-n-Rock
NaturalRock's radical 20-foot face looks like somebody carved a hunk of Half Dome and put it on a trailer bed. Its fiberglass climbing surface is molded from real rock, giving you enough cracks, pockets, and edges for legitimate free climbing. And who says you can't take it with you? A hydraulic lift easily brings this towering beauty to horizontal for towing behind your pickup.
__ NaturalRock Roll-n-Rock: US$32,500. SolidRock Wall Systems: +1 (760) 721 3664, on the Web at www.srws.com/. __
__ Business Class: __
The Rock
Just because you're trapped in an office doesn't mean you can't climb the Dolomites. This treadmill wall uses an onboard computer to control speed and pitch as you scale it. Measuring just over 11 by 10 feet, the faux mountain face rotates to a treacherous 105 degrees to simulate some of the world's greatest big-wall climbs.
__ The Rock: US$12,900. Ascent Products: +1 (406) 582 5842, on the Web at www.ascentrock.com/. __
__ Coach: __
Woodie
If aesthetics aren't of prime concern, a homemade wall, or woodie, can be just as good as a climbing gym. Ramsay Thomas's book Building Your Own Indoor Climbing Wall provides essential instruction to convert your garage into a challenging climbing playground. As for handholds, the Franklin Top Forty collection of bolt-ons makes a perfect starter set.
__ Building Your Own Indoor Climbing Wall: US$5.95. Falcon Publishing: (800) 582 2665. Franklin Top Forty: $278. Franklin Climbing Equipment: +1 (541) 317 5716. __
