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MSI, best known for its Wind netbook, a thin and light laptop, is releasing the WindBox, a tiny computer that can literally attach to the back of a monitor or television, completely out of sight.

The WindBox will cost about $250 when it arrives in the United States this spring. It will run an Intel Atom processor at 1.6 gigahertz and includes an Intel graphics processor for video and photo playback. It contains 1 gigabyte of RAM and a standard SATA drive port for hard disk expansion. It also has a 3-in-1 card reader and supports wired and wireless networking.

While the WindBox is intended for more industrial applications – digital signs, for example – the device is small enough and powerful enough to run as a media server behind a TV or computer monitor. Because it runs a less powerful processor, it has no fan and is just 10 inches long and about 1 inch thick.

It might not be powerful enough to run the latest version of Vista, but this mini-PC is ideally suited for situations when you want a versatile PC in a small space.

– John Biggs

A TRAILBLAZING CELLPHONE MOVES TO THE FAST LANE In the world of cellphones, Helio was a pioneer. The carrier offered high-speed Internet, cool applications and music downloads before anyone else – even Apple – got into the game. Their Ocean cell phone, released in 2007, was far ahead of its time and had a unique sliding design with a qwerty keyboard and numeric keypad.

Helio, now owned by Virgin Mobile, has just released the Ocean 2, similar to its predecessor but with more power and faster cellular networking. The $149 phone has a 2.6-inch colour screen over a scroll wheel. When you push the screen up it reveals a numeric keypad and when you push it to the side it reveals a full keyboard.

It runs on the CDMA network, which means it will not work in Europe but may work in Asia if properly configured. The phone has 133 megabytes of internal storage, supports multiple accounts and includes a media player as well as a built-in 2-megapixel still and video camera. Downloads, including ring tones of current hits, cost extra but are imperative to recreate those heady days before everyone jumped into the wireless media game.

John Biggs

LAPTOPS, ALREADY TOUGH, NOW PACK MORE INSIDE

Why leave well enough alone when you can make it better? Case in point: Panasonic's Toughbook 19 and Toughbook 30. Though not a new product for the electronics maker, the hard-to-break laptops are now tougher on the inside too.

Both models can last up to 10 hours on a single charge (a 40 per cent improvement over previous models) and come with a new security feature called concealed mode that shuts off the machine's lights when pushed.

The screens on both were tweaked to better handle varying visibility conditions using Panasonic's circular polarization technology and antireflective and antiglare screen treatments. Also added is an Intel Centrino 2 processor with vPro technology, and the option for a 32-gigabyte solid-state drive.

Other specifications include a 13.3-inch display and 6-gigabyte L2 cache for the Toughbook 30 and a 10.4-inch display with a 3-megabyte L2 cache for the Toughbook 19. The upgraded Toughbook 30 ($3,650) and the Toughbook 19 ($3,750) are both available now.

Azadeh Ensha

A HOME PHONE WITH THE CAPABILITIES OF A CELLPHONE

Landlines are going the way of the dinosaur, so what is a telecommunications company to do? If you are Verizon, your wireless division puts out the Verizon Hub. The desktop phone is a revamped home-phone system that uses Voice over Internet Protocol and high-speed fibre optic service from Verizon, DSL or another broadband connection to make calls.

The Hub consists of a cordless handset and a 7-inch touch-screen display. Included in the phone are widgets for a calendar, contact lists, movie listings (with the option to view trailers), and traffic and weather information. The Hub is intended to serve as the central home unit, so you can post events to the family calendar and send out appointments and other messages to your contacts' cellphones. You can also check up on your children using the Chaperone child location service from Verizon Wireless.

The system, which is now available, requires Verizon Wireless service and costs $200 (after a $50 mail-in rebate) with a two-year contract and a $35 monthly unlimited Verizon voice plan. Each additional Hub handset costs $80.

Azadeh Ensha