Just in time for Christmas, the Gazette takes a look at some of the latest stocking fillers from the world of technology from BlackBerry, Vodafone and Leica. Rupert White weighs up the products' pros and cons... and puts a sherry out for Santa




Santa has, traditionally, little eye for the cutting edge of technology, favouring instead reindeer-powered locomotion, medieval attire and the inability to understand door keys. His penchant for drinking and driving is also woefully outmoded.



So it behoves the Gazette to stand in for him, at least in terms of stocking-filler suggestions this year. Three devices we have been playing with would make any solicitor at least a little more merry, and also fit a variety of budgets.



BlackBerry Pearl 8120

Research In Motion has made some nifty upgrades to its latest Pearl (pictured below) email and phone device that make it a more attractive prospect.



The upgrades include a better word-recognition system (improved SureType, in other words), a much better camera (two-megapixel, a great improvement over the 1.3MP unit before), an externally accessible memory card slot (before one had to take the battery out to change that), improved multimedia and user interface elements and - wait for it - WiFi.



All these improvements should, frankly, have been in the original Pearl, so to see them is welcome but expected. But WiFi is a big deal. And one thing WiFi in mobile devices is really good for is using voice-over IP (VOIP) applications such as Skype. If users could load Skype on to the 8120 to use, say, on their home wireless networks, what a great, multi-role device RIM would have created. Sadly, it appears that users cannot yet do this.



Apart from all that, the Pearl has been greatly improved without ruining anything - a rare feat in techland. Long may this continue.



Vodafone 7.2 USB modem

Vodafone's version (right) of Huawei's 7.2-megabit-capable USB 3G modem is good-looking, a good size, weighs nearly nothing and would not look out of place next to a Mac or in a handbag, making it truly general in appeal.



Download speeds, when not on a speeding train or trapped in a basement flat, are cracking - genuinely broadband 2.5Mb-plus stuff, often getting well over 5Mb. As usual, all one needs to do is take it out of the pack, plug it into a PC and away one goes.



In all, there is not much one can say about this device apart from: if you travel with a laptop

a lot, do not have a laptop with built-in 3G, and want connectivity beyond WiFi zones at comparable speeds, buy one. With the growth of WiFi, devices such as these could be obsolete within a matter of years, but until then their usefulness is obvious.



Leica M8

The last time we reviewed a Leica digital camera (the C-Lux back in August), the company received 'loads of calls from lawyers', according to Leica's PR people.



This led us to take a look at what is the Daddy of digitals, because it is one of the Daddies of photography. The Leica M8 (above) is the digital addition to the iconic Leica M series used by luminaries such as Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and when one holds it one feels a little of this lineage.



This is mainly because it is far heavier than even the 'normal' digital SLRs - without a battery or a lens it weighs in at around 545g. Add a lens and the battery to that and it must come in at around 700g or more, which seems very heavy indeed now one is used to tiny, light digitals.



But really, there is the Leica M and there is, well, everything else. There is no autofocus and no built-in flash. This does not matter. The shots are clear, bright and huge with the 10.3MP, low-noise sensor and the weight of the M lenses are enough to indicate how high the image quality will be. Add to this the joy of using such a venerated camera, and looking like a Gauloises-smoking Left Bank intellectual while using it, and satisfaction is guaranteed.



All we need now is to find £4,000 from somewhere. Perhaps Santa could oblige...



Factsheet

Leica M8 body only: £3,390; Summicron lens: from £1,030;

Go to www.leica-camera.co.uk;

tel: 01908 256 400.

BlackBerry Pearl 8120 pricing varies, from O2, Carphone Warehouse, Orange

Vodafone 7.2 USB Modem from £49 plus £25 a month