Peripherals Focus - In Brief

Digital is shipping its LA400 Multiprinter, a wide carriage addition to its LA family. The multiprinter can handle two separate paper paths of multipart continuous paper and includes three automatic sheet feeders and a manual paper feed. It costs u1,175.

Contact: 01734 868711.

Two Sony speakers, SRS-PC21 and SRS-PC41 (above), feature intelligent bass boost to give a distortion-free bass response at all volumes. They deliver 2W and 3W of output per channel respectively. Both models are reported to offer improved sound quality due to a new cone paper in the speaker unit. The SRS-PC21 costs u29 and the SRS-PC41 costs u59.

Contact: 01932 816000.

Star Micronics UK has launched two mid-range dot-matrix printers, the wide carriage LC-4511 and LC-1521, as upgrades to the LC24-15 II and ZA-250. Both models come with a 12-month on-site swapout warranty. The 24-pin LC-4511 offers output of up to 270cps and costs u399. The LC-1521 costs u499.

Contact: 01494 471111.

In a bid to undercut existing CCD scanners, SB Electronic Systems has launched a Telepen Laser Scanner for reading barcodes. The laser optical system is mounted on an aluminium chassis and can be handheld or fixed.

Contact: 01582 769991.

Pelikan, the compatible printer consumables manufacturer, has released toner products for Brother HL 630, Hewlett Packard Laserjet 5P/5MP, Epson EPL 3000 and Lexmark Optra series. Pelikan claims the toners produce images of the same quality as the original products and can be up to 30 per cent cheaper.

Contact: 01494 551320.

Smartview from Adder Technology allows multiple PCs to be controlled and monitored from a single keyboard, monitor and mouse. It supports any mix of AT/PS2 keyboards and PS2/RS232 mice. Adder's Smartboot technology ensures that compatibility between products is maintained. Prices start at u295 for the two-port version.

Contact: 01223 420912.

Mobile computing solutions provider Portable Add-ons has launched speakers that are powered by a laptop's PS/2 port. They consume little power - 100mA when in use and 30mA when idle and do not require AC adaptors or battery sources to operate. Featuring a built-in microphone for Internet telephony capability and speech record/playback, the speakers enable customers to use a notebook to make long-distance calls over digital data lines, providing a PC sound card is used. The speakers cost about u139 and weigh about 1lb.

Contact: 01483 241333.

SMART Modular Technologies division Apex Data has launched an Mpeg-1 PC Card called Media Express. The card provides 30-frame per second video and sound. It is available bundled with CD-Rom applications for $249.

It is also sold as an OEM product to Toshiba for its Tecra 720CDT.

Contact: 01256 381700.