Product watch: Toys for the mobile warrior

Portability tops the list when executives on the move go shopping for their tech toys. Makers like IBM, Canon and Iomega recognize this too, and have been trying ways and means to shrink their gadgets. The latest products here speak for themselves.

IBM ThinkPad X41
Mobile warriors will love IBM's latest ThinkPad X41, the lightest and smallest laptop PC with a built-in fingerprint reader from Big Blue. Weighing in at only 1.4kg, the new X41 combines advanced biometric capabilities with an ultraportable design and extended battery life, providing road warriors and traveling business users with power, performance and versatility.

	Without passwords that could be stolen, lost or misplaced, fingerprint identification helps reduce the number of help desk calls and costs associated with password resets and system lock out, which can be extremely costly for business travelers. It is available for S$3,699 (US$2,228), and comes with an Intel Pentium M 1.5GHz processor, 40GB hard drive and a 12.1-inch display.

	Canon Pixma iP90 portable printer  This portable printing machine is for jet-setting snapshot fiends and anyone who needs a portable, adaptable color printer. Thanks to built-in PictBridge and infrared (IrDA) ports, users can print directly from digital cameras, PDAs, or cell phones without a computer. The Pixma iP90 features two functions specially designed for print emergencies while on the road. One is the 'Save Black Ink' mode, which reduces the amount of ink used from the black ink cartridge by printing in a more economical mode. The other is the 'Use Composite Black' ink function, which allows the printer to continue printing 'black' documents even when the black ink runs out by combining the three colors to make black. It is available for S$469 (US$283).
	Iomega Mini 512MB USB 2.0 drive It may be as small as a car key, but the mobile Iomega Mini 512MB USB 2.0 drive makes transporting and sharing data faster and easier than ever before. Simply plug it into any PC or Mac USB port to take your presentations, graphics, photos, music and videos anywhere you go. Because Iomega Mini drives use a computer's USB port to connect, you can use them on virtually any computer and have instant access to your data. It's available for S$149 (US$89.95).