Compiled by
CIARA O'BRIEN
Dragon Dictate 3 (Mac)
£130 (€161)
The latest version of Nuance’s voice-recognition software for the Mac has hit the market, promising to be more accurate than its predecessors – up to 99 per cent accurate, to be precise.
It certainly does the job – it will translate your words to text, complete with punctuation, and even with minimal training its reasonably accurate. Use the included headset – don’t even attempt this with an inbuilt mic; it’s a recipe for frustration. You can also use your iPhone or iPod as a digital voice recorder and get the software to transcribe your recording later on.
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Cross Tech 3+
€60
The humble pen may be suffering at the hands of the mobile phone and tablet, but Cross is fighting back. The Cross Tech 3+ is one of a range of pens that is hoping to make its presence felt in the tech world.
Oh sure, it’s a standard pen, but it has three different modes – a black ballpoint pen, a mechanical pencil and a red ballpoint. You switch between the three by rotating the barrel.
The end of the pen also functions as a stylus for your touchscreen mobile phone or tablet, so you can avoid mucking it up with fingerprints.
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Dyson Digital Slim DC44
€329.99
The clever people at Dyson have recognised something since they released their last version of their handheld cleaner – people prefer to use it instead of lugging around a regular size vacuum cleaner.
So with this in mind, the Digital Slim is a redesigned device that bridges the gap between the two. The cordless cleaner has a digital motor that works three times faster than conventional ones, and is more lightweight. It comes with an aluminium extension wand, and it can be easily tilted for use on curtains. Its battery lasts longer than its predecessor – 20 minutes instead of 15 – and it weighs 2.3kg.
