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PLAY
CELL
TAKE A PHOTO, PHONE IT TO A FRIEND
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Images by Craig Maxwell
Look Who�s Talking Sure, you can buy camera attachments for your cell, but why bother with all those extra pieces? Sanyo crams a lo-res shooter, storage, and a flash into this 3G CDMA handset. Snap candids on the fly, save them with your friends� 411, and caller ID will show you who�s calling — so you won�t have to fake it when a new Tom, Dick, or Harry is on the line.
Display The clamshell�s exterior features a postage stamp-sized color screen for previewing photos and displaying caller ID. Open it up, and a second, 2.2-inch screen inside gives you a larger view and access to the phone�s menu.
Camera The SCP-5300�s built-in shooter is no slouch: It�s got a low-light flash and a zoom. Simply snap pics by pressing a button on the side. Its internal memory stores up to 100 photos.
File Transfers Upload the lo-res shots to your desktop via the included USB cable. Or email the pics to your cohorts using Sprint�s standard wireless Web service.
SCP-5300: price to be determined,www.sprintpcs.com.
FLATBED SCANNER
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Images by Craig Maxwell
Scans by the Dozen In just four minutes, HP�s Scanjet 5500c can make pixels out of an entire stack of color prints, with resolution like what you see on this page. Place up to two dozen 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 photos in the auto-feed tray, and the scanner sucks them in, one by one. The transparency adapter lets you turn see-through images into prints, up to four 35-mm negs or three slides at a time.
Buttons One push transfers scans directly to a Web page, a CD, or an email message. No graphics program or other middleware necessary.
Fans and Optics Photos float across the glass without touching it, thanks to air flow and pressure created by fans inside. The scans come out at 200 to 300 dpi.
Scanjet 5500c: $299, www.hp.com.
STAY DRY AND ROCK OUT
JACKET
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Images by Craig Maxwell
Plugged-In Parka Most jackets wired for sound really blow because they aren�t designed for practical use. With this limited-edition parka, however, there�s no struggling to reach your tunes: You can run the Sony MZ-N1 minidisc player that�s in the breast pocket from the control strip in the sleeve. So what if you�re dropping a grand on an MD player and a bunch of nylon? For a season, you�ll be the grooviest �boarder on the slopes.
Control Panel The control panel accesses a �textile data strip� that�s made of composite materials and fabrics that conduct electricity. The strip sends commands up your sleeve, sans wires, to the disc player.
Design The three-layer nylon jacket repels water even if you wipe out on slushy slopes. All of the stitching is covered with seam tape to be doubly sure that moisture�s kept at bay.
Burton Analog Clone MD with earbuds: $1,000, www.burton.com.
CALLUS-FREE LONGHAND
PEN
Easy Writer
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Images by Craig Maxwell
In the age of email, writing with a pen is charming. Calluses are not. The PenAgain�s odd shape reduces hand cramps and calluses by encouraging scribblers to extend their fingers instead of curling them.
PenAgain: $10, www.penagain.com.
SPORTS
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Images by Craig Maxwell
Three Wheeler Scooters work little more than your Achilles tendons. Trikke�s ride builds muscle where you need it — your ass. Standing on the Trikke.8 and using a side-to-side motion that�s similar to skiing or inline skating, you can go up to 18 mph. There are no pedals, and your feet never need to touch the ground (not even when tackling a hill). If you pick up too much speed, squeeze the brake controls on your handlebars.
Construction The 19-pound scooter is made from a lightweight, rustproof aluminum, and its 8-inch polyurethane wheels won�t ever go flat. Dual independent rear brakes ensure you can slow down and stop on demand.
Dimensions Press the levers at the rear wheels, and the Trikke.8 folds to the size of a long skateboard. Flip the release switch on the handlebars to adjust their height (the steering column can be set anywhere from 38 to 45 inches).
Trikke.8: $299, www.trikke.com.
MULTICHANNEL SOUND THROUGH ONE DIGITAL PORT
RECEIVER
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Images by Craig Maxwell
Higher Fidelity You don�t have to be a sound engineer to want superb output from your home entertainment system. Pioneer�s i.Link/FireWire-enabled receiver is the first to transfer data from high-end audio discs through a single digital port. Other boxes rely on three analog wires to reproduce the six channels recorded on DVD-Audio or Super Audio CDs (most CDs have four channels).
Microphone To get the best booty bass for your space, put the external mike wherever you plan to sit most often. It picks up sounds from the speakers and sends them back to the receiver�s digital signal processors, which calibrate output accordingly.
Remote The LCD touchscreen on the programmable remote gives you access to most of the components in your rack, whether or not they�re Pioneer products.
VSX-49TXi: $4,500, www.pioneerelectronics.com.
TOY
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Images by Craig Maxwell
Shower Power Don�t get hosed by Toy Quest�s water-bursting remote-control racer, the Jet Scream. Its 9.6-volt dry cell gets the rpms going, but extra vroom comes from the car�s backend spray of pressurized H20. Hit the orange turbo-control button and water squirts out — not so good for the kitchen floor, but great for pushing the buggy past its typical 14-feet-per-second speed by another 4 feet per second.
Hand Pump A reservoir under the hood holds up to 6 ounces of liquid. The built-in pump compresses the fluid — packing a spray 10 psi stronger than the carbonation of a cold can of 7-Up.
Controller The remote features two joysticks — one for forward and reverse, and one for sideways movement. The water-release button is tucked under the blue hatch.
Jet Scream: $70, www.toyquest.com.
| PLAY
| A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
| reviews
| Fetish
