Smart pens and other top business gadgets from 2011

Usually when you think of business gadgets, you don’t think cool. You think of shoulder-breaking corporate laptops and phones that seem hopelessly out of date. Times are changing, with cool consumer tech starting to seep into often staid workplaces. A recently released global survey of 4000 workers by Accenture found that 43% feel able to make their own IT decisions , and another 23% of those polled say they now regularly use their own consumer tech for work-related activities. Here we take a look at some of the best gadgets for business. The LG Mouse Scanner A mouse that doubles as a scanner is an intriguing ideas, especially if you find that you need to scan documents while you’re travelling. You can plug it into your laptop and scan a document or the business card of a new key contact on the go. I see more use for this when you’re travelling rather than when you’re in the office and might have access to corporate combo copier/printer/scanner, and it’s pricier than most mice. However, it’s definitely worth a look. [caption id=“attachment_163823” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Monkey Power charger. Image from their website”] [/caption] A smart pen It still feels a bit odd to sit in a meeting typing notes on a laptop, but it seems a waste of time to take hand-written notes that you’ll later need to type up into a report or email. Enter the smart pen. Pens like IrisNotes record what you write, which can then later be converted into text you can edit on your computer. It uses a receiver that you need to position at the top of the page you’re writing on. Another option is Livescribe Echo , which has a few more tricks up its sleeve. It not only records what you write, but it also records what is said, in case you need to check it against your notes. Better yet, it can cleverly go back to a specific point in the audio recording just by clicking on the words in your notes. It has a little speaker, and it can translate what you have written and speak it in another language – quite a handy trick when you’re travelling. The only hitch is that you’ll need to buy special ‘dot paper’ notebooks to use it. Watch video of how a smart pen works The Aaxa M2 Micro-projector You can find smaller projectors, those tiny models called pico projectors, but what you gain in portability, you lose in brightness. One-step up from the pico projector is the palm-size, micro-projector, and one of the best is the Aaxa M2, boasting 110 lumens of brightness. It’s obviously not as bright as a full-sized projector, but it gives you a lot in a small package including 1 GB of internal storage an an SD memory card slot. [caption id=“attachment_163829” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“The Aaxa M2 Micro-projector. Image from their website”] [/caption] PowerMonkey charger  When you’re on the move and using your mobile phone or other gear a lot, the last thing you need is to run out of power. PowerTraveller’s line of battery chargers can give you the extra hours of mobile phone, smartphone or even tablet power you need. They started with their reasonably priced PowerMonkey line of chargers, but they now have a wide range of options to give everything from your mobile phone to your laptop a boost. They even have solar chargers for when you’re away from mains power. A portable bluetooth keyboard Typing on a touch-screen smartphone or a tablet works, but it’s not replacement for a proper keyboard. Fortunately, there are a number of Bluetooth options that will allow you to use your tablet or smartphone like a real computer without adding too much extra bulk. If you want to travel light and lean, then give the Freedom Pro a try. It’s almost a full-sized keyboard, but it folds in half to save space when you’re on the move. It works with a wide range of smartphones and both Apple’s iPads and phones or tablets running Android versions 1.5 o 3.0. If you’ve got a bit more room, mobile accessory maker Targus has a great option aimed at the tablet market . Leave the laptop at the office. These keyboards will turn your smartphone or tablet into a proper workhorse.