Here's what you need for your personal home office

A third option is also emerging. Some new devices use the Symbian operating system for their handheld computers. The Nokia Communicator 9290, a cellular phone/PDA hybrid, uses this operating system.

Recommended manufacturers: Palm, Handspring, Sony, Hewlett Packard and Toshiba.

1. Cell phone: A mobile phone is perhaps the most useful device you can buy if you need to stay in constant contact.

   Today’s phones are lighter and smaller, and have greater battery life and clearer reception than their ancestors. Many have built-in organizer functions and more and more have web browsing capability.

   Let’s not forget SMS messaging which allows you to send short text messages across cellular networks. There are four national providers in Canada and perhaps as many as a dozen brands of phones. Old phones use wireless network technologies called CDMA, GSM, or TDMA. They allow phones to be used as wireless dial-up modems that can move data at up to speeds of 14.4 Kbps.

   Newer phones use GPRS or 1XRTT technology. These phones offer a potential 114 Kbps always-on data connection (which in the real world is more like 56 Kbps) for faster web-browsing and messaging. When in data mode, they also bill according to the amount of data you send and receive and not minutes connected.

   Recommended manufacturers: Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Ericsson. Also look at the Palm Treo, a PDA/phone hybrid.
   

2. Digital Camera: If your business requires the use of photographs, a digital camera may be of interest. These devices allow you to snap high quality pictures and store them on your computer or print them out on color printers. The key here is to look for the megapixel rating. A two megapixel camera will give you good printouts. The higher the megapixel rating, the better the printout capability. Anything lower and you’ll find the camera only useful for taking pictures that can be viewed on a computer. Look for a camera with a mini-screen on the back so you can preview a shot after you’ve taken it. Some photo stores will allow you to take the storage cards from the camera to do printouts on photo paper.

   Recommended manufacturers: Hewlett Packard, Olympus, Nikon, and Kodak.
   

3. Digital recorder: Need to take notes at a meeting or transcribe a document? The perfect tool is a digital recorder/transcriber. Not only do these little wonders do away with the need for clumsy micro-cassettes, they also have longer recording times and, with certain models, the capability to transfer your recorded information to your computer via special software.

   Recommended manufacturers: Sony, RCA, and Panasonic.
   

4. Scanner: If you’re not taking your own pictures digitally, perhaps you need to scan images or documents for use in brochures, proposals, or even your Web site. This is another category where prices have fallen while quality has increased. New models can scan in colour documents at resolutions as high as 4800 dpi. The rule of thumb is the faster the scan speed, the higher the price, but a good scanner shouldn’t cost much more than about $300. You can also get models that can scan from color negatives or transparencies.

   Recommended manufacturers: Hewlett Packard, Agfa, and Epson.
   

5. High-speed Internet modem: If your work requires you to spend any time online, you owe it to yourself and your staff to get a faster connection than dialup. The two most dominant technologies in the high speed arena are cable and DSL (or Digital Subscriber Line) which works across a phone line without interrupting voice calls.

   Both work on a similar principle and offer comparable speed - somewhere in the ballpark of 10 to 20 times faster than a 56 Kbps dialup modem. Most big cities have several high speed service providers with a wide range of packages and prices for both the home user and the small business operator. Your Internet service provider will rent or sell you a high-speed Internet modem that works with their service.

   Recommended manufacturers: Typically, look to you local phone or cable company for these services. There are also some independent providers that may offer more competitive pricing and better service.
   

6. Internet gateway: These devices allow you to share a high speed Internet connection among multiple computers. They also create a small office network so that you can move files between computers and share printers and other devices. Some routers offer wireless connectivity too, so you can use your laptop or a PC with the network (within about 300 feet) without hooking up cables. Internet gateways, which cost between $150 and $350, also have built-in firewalls to protect your network from Internet snoopers.

   Recommended manufacturers: D-Link, Linksys and 3Com. Check TigerDirect for some of these manufacturers products.
   
   

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