TECHNOLOGY 74 lime October - December 2008 HOT FOR SHEER INDULGENCE SONY XEL- 1 OLED TV Q Sony, US$ 2,500 Q www. sony. com Sony's been parading its OLED TV for the past few months, but it'll finally go on sale worldwide in 2009. You're probably wondering what's so special about it. Put simply, it's the biggest leap in telly technology since the switch to colour. It uses Organic Light Emiting Diodes ( or OLED for short) to create a pin- sharp picture on a screen just 3mm thick. That's slim enough to slide under a door! The technology also allows richer colours than on any other type of TV, and black levels deeper than any of its rivals. It's the most perfect telly ever created, and Sony is the only company in the world to be selling them. Expect to see them crop up in expensive department stores and showrooms throughout 2009. Their design and image quality will make you stop and stare, but to own one yourself you'll need to shell out a small fortune, even if the screen itself is only eleven inches across. HOT FOR busines BLACKBERRY BOLD Q BlackBerry, from US$ 180 on contract Q www. blackberry. com This new BlackBerry is the brand's flagship phone for 2008/ 09. Inside its traditionally-shaped shell are some seriously advanced features. It's 3G, for speedy e- mail and web access, includes GPS for satellite guidance and route- finding, and also has Wi- Fi inside to connect to wireless networks. OK, so there's no touchscreen, and the camera's still only 2 megapixels, but as business phones go it's one of the best equipped. It also sports the finest screen of any BlackBerry to date, and despite a sluggish journey from the drawing board to the store shelves, expect to see businessmen and women clutching one to their faces or frantically pecking out e- mail messages well into the new year. HOT FOR TRAVEL TOMTOM GO X40 LIVE Q TomTom, US$ 540 Q www. tomtom. com Until now satnavs have been dumb devices that sit on the dashboard and shout directions. That'll change in 2009, as the navigation boxes become connected to the web and extremely clever. TomTom's Go X40 LIVE is the first of a new satnav breed. Instead of receiving slow and unreliable traffic updates from radio signals, it connects to the web to receive new data constantly. It also serves up details on events and attractions as you pass, lets drivers check fuel prices at petrol stations along their route, and even uses the past journeys of other TomTom owners to calculate the speediest, and most reliable route. It's incredibly clever, but doesn't come cheap. After the initial three-month trial period, you'll need to pay around US$ 18 a month to continue receiving the LIVE service. It'll guarantee punctuality, but not without prying open your wallet first.

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