The “Lincoln advisor”

Hands-free dialling is probably the most important consideration for any mobile business person. Holding a cellphone while driving is now illegal in most provinces, but there are options that keep you safe and within the law while communicating.

The BlueAnt S4 True Handsfree dialling device is a speakerphone for your car that integrates with your cellphone via Bluetooth. The BlueAnt recognizes your speech and can dial your contacts by voice command. This device also can tell you who is calling you, and read your texts aloud without you having to take your hands off the wheel.

Alternatives include Microsoft Corp.’s Sync technology, which can be purchased as an option on Ford and Lincoln cars. This product also integrates with your smartphone and is voice-controlled.

> Acer Zenbook UX21
www.bestbuy.ca ($999; pre-order)

You’ll want a thin, light computer to take on the road. Consider the Acer Zenbook UX21, a tiny, thin computer that fits into the “ultrabook” category, as defined by Intel Corp. This device features battery life of up to five hours, an 11.6-inch screen with 1,366 x 768 resolution, and a 128-gigabyte, solid-state drive, which both helps to keep the unit’s weight and size down and makes it more reliable and rugged for computing on the go.

> Motorola Atrix 4G
www.bell.ca ($599.99)

For the ultimate in portability, you could combine your cellphone and your laptop. Motorola’s Atrix 4G is a smartphone with a four-inch display and doubles as a personal computer. This device plugs into an accompanying “lapdock” that features a keyboard and a screen and is powered by the phone.

This phone can deliver superfast broadband capabilities of up to 14.4 megabits per second, so it can double as an automobile navigator using Google Navigation, and can be purchased with a vehicle dock.

> IOSAFE Rugged Portable GB External Hard Drive
www.frontierpc.com ($304 and up)

Conventional hard drives may not stand up to harsh conditions, especially if they are repeatedly left in a cold vehicle overnight. The ioSafe portable external hard drive can keep your data protected. This drive protects your precious bytes from UV rays, blowing sand, dust, rain, salt, fog, ice or freezing rain. Capacity ranges from 500 Gb to one terabyte, and this gadget also features a one-time forensic data recovery service should the worst happen.

> HP L411 Officejet 100 Mobile Printer
www.hp.ca ($299.99)

Having a printer in your vehicle will enable you to produce documents on the fly to suit your clients’ needs. But you will want a compact solution without messy cables.

This mobile printer uses Bluetooth to print from smartphones or PCs without cables. It produces 22 black-and-white pages or 18 colour prints per minute, and also has a 50-sheet paper tray. It is tested for rugged environments, and features a 500-page-per-month duty cycle.

> Neatreceipts Professional
www.uneat.ca ($259.99)

A printer is all very well for getting documents out, but what about for getting expenses in? NeatReceipts is a portable scanner and digital filing system that can digitize receipts of most sizes. This device recognizes printed text and does a good job of extracting information about the vendor, the amount spent and the sales taxes for categorization in NeatReceipt’s special software. When you’re finished with your receipts, you can scan business cards, and other documents.

If you’re the kind of professional that leaves receipts floating around in the car, or trailing from your wallet, then you need one of these devices. Put it on the dashboard, connect your laptop and ditch the paper. We just wish there was a wireless option.

> IPAD 2
www.apple.ca (from $519)

Tablet devices are perfect for automobiles, thanks to their lightweight design and touch-based operation. We recommend the iPad 2, largely because of its easy-to-use interface, slim profile and broad base of applications. This device comes with up to 64 Gb of storage, and will provide up to nine hours of mobile operation for road warriors who take advantage of the cellular data option.

We recommend that you get the optional foldable cover to protect your tabular assets.

> Power Cup Converter
www.thinkgeek.com (US$29.99)

One problem with most of the above devices is that they come with conventional 120-volt power plugs, and many cars have only a DC socket. Solve the problem in style with a Power Cup Inverter.

This gadget plugs into your cigarette lighter and sits inside your coffee holder, and provides two three-prong power adaptors, along with a USB socket for recharging other devices, such as your smartphone. Buy one of these converters and never worry about in-car power again.  IE