Making life stylishly easy

Slim, sleek and smart — that’s what 2009 threw up for gizmo freaks. Here’s a look at some of the coolest, snazziest gadgets of last year

Slim, sleek and smart — that's what 2009 threw up for gizmo freaks. Here's a look at some of the coolest, snazziest gadgets of last year

ViewSonic Digital Photo frame
Not really the snazziest brand name you may have come across, but we loved this one from ViewSonic. The digital frame is a really cool gadget to keep by your bedside. Excellent and bright display, remote control — all you need to do is attach a picture pen drive or even store it up. Set the time for the pictures to change, and voila! — you have an ever-changing photo frame! How about doing a slide show of your New Year's eve bash? This can be a good gifting option, too. Price: ₹8,000 approx.

Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch
'Beautiful' is how one can sum up this laptop. A sleek design with a 15-inch screen, great display, dual-core processor, illuminated keyboard...it has everything that will make you proud to own the laptop. This is at present one of the best entertainment devices when it comes to sound and picture quality. Few laptops in the market can boast something better than this. And why not, if you are shelling out a cool ₹1,49,000 for this 250 GB gadget.

Kindle
It took just a decade to change the way we talked, walked, listened to music... and now, with E-readers, the age-old habit of reading is also set to undergo a change; rather, it has already begun. Kindle, from Amazon.com, is being touted as the literary world's answer to the iPod.

Presently circulating in the market is the Kindle DX. It is the first Kindle model that automatically rotates pages between landscape and portrait orientations if the device is turned on its side. Slightly over 1/3 inches thick, it has a 4 GB storage capacity, holding approximately 3500 non-illustrated e-books, a 9.7 inch display with 1200 x 824 pixel resolution, and a battery life of up to one week while using wireless or two weeks offline.

Sony Vaio X
Designed for style, this Sony Vaio model is matched in looks to one of the most highly talked about Bollywood style statements of last year — the size zero figure. Amazingly thin for a 11.6-inch screen laptop, this one has a great battery backup with an equally big 128 GB hard disk space. At ₹64,990, this is one luxury you would love to flaunt — ladies, especially.

HP Mini 110
This little beauty caught our eye in 2009. The HP Mini 110 — stylish, built to surf, and actually affordable at ₹18,990, this one's made for those who love to stay glued to the net — anytime, anywhere. This snazzy little netbook comes with a 10.1-inch screen size and has the standard netbook components such as an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, Windows XP, and a 160 GB, 5,400 rpm hard drive.