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Nice Day At The Office Our spring buyers' guide reviews 13 productivity-boosting products.
(FORTUNE Small Business) – Technology and fashion are two industries that don't often intersect. Tech products may have added some style of late, but it's not as though proper decorum dictates that you use only a white PC between Memorial Day and Labor Day. But just as you want a great wardrobe that makes you look good and tells people you're not someone to be trifled with, you can deliver a similar statement with the technology tools you use to run your business. To that end, we're here to help you outfit your office (you wouldn't want our fashion advice). We've taken a look at the new and notable tech products being released this spring, reviewing 13 types of hardware for your desk, conference room, briefcase, and even the back office that can make you more productive--and maybe a little more stylish too. The perception in the tech industry is that there isn't that much excitement to be found in these core business tools. And admittedly, the desktop PC isn't a great source of innovation at the moment. The most impressive advances we've heard about are new case designs in black and silver. Go, Raiders! But there is a burst of innovation in all the tools surrounding the desktop. Little desktop printers can now deliver results that would make Kinko's blush. Digital cameras are stocked with big-league features in packages smaller than your hand. Flat-panel monitors produce such beautiful images that it's a shame you have to view spreadsheets on them. We could go on...and we do in the pages ahead. But before you turn the page, remember the No. 1 rule of fashion: Accessories make the outfit. And the office too. Coming Soon Products we wanted to review but companies didn't send them to us in time. Dell enters the projector business with the 3100MP, a 3.5-pound digital microportable that's bright (1,050 lumens) for its size, with a suitably micro price. Well, for this market anyway: around $2,500.... Samsung will release its first third-generation, or 3G, wireless phones in June. The SPH-n400 and the SPH-a500 will work with Sprint's high-speed wireless data network and offer full-color screens and a richer Internet experience. Sounds cool, but you may want to wait for 3G applications to close the generation gap.... Speaking of faster wireless, back in the office you can expect higher-speed wireless networks to be more accessible as products like Linksys' become available. The products supporting this standard, known as 802.11a (hey, don't blame us), deliver data speeds up to 54 Mbps--five times faster than 802.11b, its predecessor. It will, of course, be more expensive.... Digital cameras that shatter the six-megapixel barrier (like the Nikon D100) will make you shudder--and shutter (stop us before we pun again). It's overkill for most, but still good news if it means that three-megapixel we've been eyeing will drop below $400.... If you keep your money in the mattress--an idea we sort of endorse--you might also be interested in Iomega's new portable high-speed storage devices that hold 20 or 30 GB. Usually that much storage is better off on a server. But the drive is slim enough to slip under the bed. |
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