HARDWARE
Great input devices don't appear often. That's why I've come to appreciate Sony's Jog Dial, currently on its ultrachic PCG-SR7K (as well as its palmtop PDA). The Jog Dial, about as thick as a nickel, sticks out slightly and uses ridges around its edge to give fingertips traction.
The dial does three things: rolls up, rolls down, and clicks in. Pressing the SR7K's Jog Dial while writing this review, for instance, I turned the wheel into a scroller; a little flick moved the page up or down. Neat. Another press closed the Word document.
Sony has even built Jog Dial functions into its video-editing software, which also makes good use of the firewire port on the SR7K. And a whole selection of Jog Dial combos with the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys will keep power users from ever fingering a touchpad again. Roll on.
PCG-SR7K: $2,499. Sony: www.sel.sony.com.
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