Gear Guide: Gift ideas for the office (or home office)

[done incl prices]

With today's flexible workstyles, your office can be in a corporate workspace or the dining room table of your home. No matter the place, sometimes you need more than just a notebook and a mouse to get things done - so we're here to help.

The following are a bunch of gift ideas aimed at the workplace - whether that's an office or a home office.

HP Passport 1912nm Internet monitor

$440

The 1912nm is an 18.5-inch monitor with a very basic, non-PC operating system built into the back of the monitor, that lets users connect to the Internet via a Web browser (a basic version of Firefox), as well as view photos, videos or listen to music (via attached SD cards or USB flash drives).

The goal is to provide companies with a Web experience for users without needing to go and use a full PC - think of locations like a hotel lobby, office reception area, Internet café or airport. The business can provide Internet access via the browser as well as the other basic entertainment options - music, video, photos. The system comes with a USB wired keyboard and mouse, and three additional USB ports (for access to USB-attached storage devices for file access).

The $200 price tag should appeal to businesses that want to provide basic browser access to customers/guests/users without having to go out and purchase an entire PC, whether the PC is an all-in-one system or not.

However, there's not much in terms of configuration or tweaking - settings changes are minimal. You get what you see - browser access, videos, music, and photos. If you want to add software to this, no such luck. If you want to change the resolution, you can't - you're at 1,366 by 768 (which seems off when using the browser). Also, it seems odd that the system requires an Ethernet connection - this potentially limits places where you can place the unit.

- Keith Shaw


AOC Portable USB Monitor (model e1649Fwu)

$120

The name says it all - The AOC Portable USB Monitor is an additional monitor that you can attach to an existing PC or Mac to provide some extra screen real estate. The 16-inch monitor connects to your system via USB cable only - no extra power cables are needed to run the monitor (the cable provided has two dongles if you use this on older systems). A swivel kickstand on the back of the unit lets you run the monitor in horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait modes). The monitor has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 5 ms response time and 1,366 by 768 resolution (the same as the HP monitor, but this one looked a lot better).

The monitor is extremely portable - at 2.3 pounds, it feels lighter than my iPad. For business travellers who want to take along an extra screen for presentations (or if they just want to extend their existing notebook screen), this is a very lightweight option for a very reasonable price. I've seen several USB monitors that can extend a user's display - this one, by far, is the lightest and most impressive.

Unfortunately, there's no sleeve or protection for the monitor if you want to travel with it - you may have to look at buying a separate 17-inch notebook sleeve to try and protect the screen surface. In addition, you can't adjust the brightness on the display, and Mac owners need to download a separate DisplayLink driver (the provided CD only gives a Windows driver), which could cause some confusion. Also, Mac users can't get the pivot feature, which lets you display the monitor in portrait mode.

- Keith Shaw


ViewSonic Smart Display (model VSD220)

$603

Imagine a giant Android tablet that went well beyond its 10-inch display, say more than twice that amount, at 22 inches. While that device would stop being mobile, if you put a stand on the back of it, the device would be able to sit on a desktop or tabletop and look a lot like a computer monitor.

That's basically what ViewSonic has done with its Smart Display, a 22-inch monitor that also contains the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system. Running off a TI Dual-core ARM Processor, the Smart Display has a touch screen for navigating the interface, although you can also plug in a USB keyboard and/or mouse via two ports on the side. Like other all-in-one systems, the Smart Display features a Webcam (1.3 megapixel), Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. An Ethernet port and SD card slot on the back of the unit lets you connect wired Internet and transfer data from a memory card to the device. Rounding out the unit is built-in stereo speakers and a headphone jack on the side.

There's also an HDMI input port, so if you want to connect another computer to the display (or an HDMI-supported gaming console), you can via this port. The unit also would seem to support a Windows 8 computer system with its touch-screen functionality. In other words, you're not necessarily stuck with just the Android OS on the Smart Display.

The processor seemed to run things slower on the Smart Display than what I had experienced with smaller Android tablets. But this could be a misperception on my part - the unit looks and feels so much like an all-in-one computer system, I was trying to compare speeds/activity based on my use of a computer rather than a tablet. Accessing content and apps is done the same way that you would with a tablet, except ViewSonic also created its own app store, hopefully to showcase specific apps that take advantage of the 22-inch screen. Here it fails a bit - the interface of the app store is not very good, and several of the apps I tried didn't work (for example, the CNN app kept failing). Luckily, you can head to the Google Play store and download regular apps if you don't like the ViewSonic app store options (which also require a separate login/account).

The Smart Display seems to be the answer to the question, "Hey, let's build a combination monitor and Android tablet" - a solution looking for a problem. The additional functions of allowing HDMI input and support for Windows 8 touchscreen features may give this device a longer lifespan as a computer monitor rather than a giant tablet.

- Keith Shaw


Epson Expression Home XP-400 all-in-one printer

$155

Every year, printers get smaller, cheaper and better. This Epson multi-function device offers printing, scanning and copying features for less than $160. Billed as a "small-in-one," the Epson XP-400 has a more sturdy and well-built feel than some of the smaller entry-level printers.

One feature that we really enjoyed was wireless printing. If your home computer area is like ours, it's a jumble of cords, wires, charging devices, SD cards and power strips. Being able to eliminate that annoying cord that runs from the printer to a USB slot is a relatively small thing; but it's much appreciated. In terms of quality, you aren't going to be able to scan in photos of grandma and print out anything resembling the original photograph, or take a picture that you like from your digital camera and print out an 8x10 copy for framing. But for everyday printing of Word documents, school reports, etc., the XP-400 is easily up to the task. In our testing, we weren't hit with a paper jam even once, and would recommend this printer for home use.

- Neal Weinberg


Brother Business Smart InkJet (MFC-J4510DW) all-in-one printer

$290

Well, the name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But the Brother MFC-J4510DW, a multi-function/all-in-one printer, does an admirable job performing the tasks it was built to do. For a printer, it's actually pretty stylish, too.

Out of the box, most people will be immediately drawn to the unit's large color touch screen (3.7-inches), which is used to navigate menus and set everything up. It's a nice addition to the printer, but I was even more impressed with the fact I never had to plug the printer into anything to set it up. You plug it in, turn it on, connect it to your wireless network, and you're good to go!

Print quality was good, and can be toggled from your computer depending on what you're looking to achieve. Other features include printing at 35 pages per minute of black; 27 pages per minute of color, the ability to print 11-by-17-inch pages, mobile device printing (support for AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Cortado Workplace and Wi-Fi Direct, as well as Brother's own iPrint&Scan app) and the ability to top load your paper in landscape orientation.

Overall this was a great printer to use, and highly recommended if you are in the market for a new printer.

- Dan Hunt



ViewSonic PLED-W200 LED projector

$900

With large-screen TVs donning every other living room it seems, the age-old projector is a thing of the past. But ViewSonic has created a projector that could bring back memories of the days when your family would sit together watching films - albeit not the old, grainy reels from the 1950s, but modern movies with high-definition resolution.

The PLED-W200 LED projector is about the size of a paperback book, so this also makes for a great projector for road warriors who need to make a boardroom presentation. All you need is a laptop to show a PowerPoint presentation or play a DVD or you can also show off your latest photos or videos you might have on a CD - just be careful not to mix up those vacation photos when on your business meeting.

The biggest obstacle for me was thinking that I needed to install software from ViewSonic in order to connect the projector to my computer. After figuring this out, it's a quick matter of plugging in the AC power cord, connecting to the computer via the included multi-input cable, and getting the popcorn ready. The unit does come with cables that let you hook up to external speakers, but for the most part we found that laptop speakers provide adequate sound. Or you can use the projector's 2-watt speakers.

The projector includes a very easy-to-use dial for focusing the lens once you're projecting, and also for adjusting the height of the display. It has an SD card slot that you can use for PC-less presentations.

Overall this handy unit provides for quick and easy setup for viewing videos or presentations, whether you're in the boardroom or the living room.

- Ryan Francis


ViewSonic PLED-W500 DLP LED projector

$1350

Compact, portable projectors remain a staple of business, but these can also be useful in the home, especially when optimized for HDTV. The ViewSonic PLED-W500 is just such a beast, with a native 720p (1280x800) resolution. No, this isn't 1080p (although up to 1080p input [scaled] is supported), but the objective here is a great big-screen experience from a very small package. And this resolution does indeed match that of many notebooks today, so the PLED-W500 might also be a good choice for business presentations. But wait - it gets better.

The PLED-W500 has 1GB of internal storage, which can display Microsoft Office, PDFs, and other files natively, without a computer attached. Wi-Fi is optional (at up to 1024 x 768), meaning you don't even have to plug in a computer - but HDMI is standard if you do, along with composite, component, USB, and even S-video ports. Apps for iOS and Android are available to drive presentations right from your handheld - long a desire of mine.

The internal guts are DLP, which isn't seen much in TVs anymore (it can't be made super-thin) but this is perfect for projectors. The light source for the PLED-W500, as one might guess from the model number, is a bright white LED, promising long life, limited heat output, and little noise (the bane of most projectors, in my experience). We set up the projector using a commercial projection screen at a distance of about three meters with a resulting 2.13 meters image size, and the result looked great, with brightness rated at 500 lumens. DP-Link 3D is supported (with optional glasses and an external video processor), with a 120-Hz. refresh rate.

The projector is quite small - just 2.6 pounds and 1.6 inches high. You'll need to download the manual; the included Quick Start Guide is less than basic. The zoom is digital-only; a minor drawback in most cases. You can tweak a large array of options, but the results look pretty good right out of the box. The only drawback - it's still kind of noisy, but not unusually so for a projector.

- Craig Mathias

Acer c120 projector

$415

This very portable projector weighs only 6.35 ounces, making it very easy to stick into a laptop bag for mobile workers and sales staff. The DLP Pico projector connects to a user's Windows PC (sorry, Macs not supported) via a provided USB cable (two cables attach for power, or you can also connect a power adapter for additional brightness). The projector supports an input resolution of up to1280 by 800 that down-converts to 854 by 480, and has 100 lumens of brightness and a 1000:1 contrast ratio.

The small size and light weight of the C120 is a huge factor for sales professionals who don't have to lug around a heavier projector when traveling. The USB connections are also very nice -- too many times I've seen people struggle with trying to connect a VGA adapter or other connector to their laptops for projecting presentations -- the USB connection works quickly and easily.

However, end users need to make themselves familiar with the device -- it has a maximum projection distance of 12.14 feet, and a minimum of 15.75 inches, so figuring out where to place the projector for the best possible image could be tricky at first. In a larger board room setting, the brightness was not optimal -- this would be better for smaller room settings, and you still need to keep the room very dark. It took some time for me to find the focus wheel on the device -- the unit's minimal user guide could use some updating. I was also disappointed that the projector had no Macintosh or even iOS support -- connecting an iPhone or iPad to the C120 would be extremely awesome.

- Keith Shaw


D-Link Cloud Camera 5000 (DCS-5222L)

$400

In essence, the DCS-5222L from D-Link is a security camera that can be mounted as a traditional security camera (upside down), vertically on a wall or on a table or other flat surface. It can rotate 360 degrees and will pan/tilt. A scan feature moves the camera around 360 degrees at the level it's set, returning to its previous position. You can also toggle between night vision and normal viewing.

The picture is pretty crisp, and the sound from the microphone is above average (you can almost hear too much). You can record the video feed with a built-in microSD card slot, and you can connect wirelessly to a router via WPS (I had to quickly check if my router had those capabilities - luckily most new routers do). If you don't want to connect over wireless, you can attach the camera via Ethernet (they include a cable).

Setup via WPS was simple - just press a button on the camera, then the WPS button on your router and it instantly configures. Software needs to be downloaded to your computer (I did have some issues with the required Java Runtime Environment for my Mac), and you also need to create an account on mydlink.com in order to view content over the cloud.

In addition to viewing the camera's video via browser, you can access the camera from mobile devices. I tested apps for my Android phone as well as an iPad. The iPad interface had less functionality than the Android app, which appeared to be the same experience as if viewing from the computer.

I mainly used the camera and apps to watch what my dogs were doing while I was at work (they're older and require more attention). This can be a perfect gift for pet owners, as well as those who have caregivers in their homes, or for people with second homes who want to keep an eye on their place while away. The fact that the camera can be moved around (although you can also permanently attach it to a wall if you want) is very helpful, especially if you're unsure about placement.

- Juan-Roberto Ortiz