Father’s Day is Sunday, so I’ve assembled a list of some gift ideas, ranging from $30 to $1,000. I’ve reviewed each of these products, so that I can wholeheartedly recommend them from personal experience.

Music in your pocket

Personal music is much more enjoyable with great content and great headphones. For traveling I recommend the Etymotic ER-4 in-ear earphones. They were originally developed for auditory research and have become the gold standard of the category.

While others have tried to copy them, no one has come close to matching their pureness and neutrality, as well as their ability to block out background noise in airplanes and other loud surroundings. When I recently met one of the top audio pioneers in the UK, I asked what he used while traveling, and he pulled out a pair of these. Additionally, they are made in America. ($299, etymotic.com)

The best headphone ever

For the ultimate headphone experience, I’ve been auditioning the Audeze LCD-2, reputed to be the finest headphone. I can’t say enough about how good they sound and how comfortable they are for listening hours at a time. They are made in California and provide an experience matched only by spending big bucks on speakers or headphones that cost five times as much. They are an open-air design, so they are best for private listening to avoid disturbing others. (Those nearby can hear sound, because the backs of the headphones are open.) They are best used in your home relaxing in a chair or in your office.

They are made of rosewood and lambskin and come in a protective carrying case, along with very high-grade cables. They can be hard to get, as the demand is so high, but are a luxury experience every father deserves. ($995, audeze.com).

A wallet for the 21st century

Wallets have not changed much over the years, and haven’t kept up with the myriad credit cards and electronics we carry. So I was glad to discover the Finn wallet from Waterfield.

Made in San Francisco of soft leather, the zippered wallet is more like a small case with room for more than 20 plastic credit cards, business cards and folded bills, much more than is possible to fit a conventional wallet. There are two mesh side pockets inside for carrying more cards or small items such as SD memory cards.

The wallet comes in two sizes. The larger version will also hold an iPhone and more than a dozen cards and cash. Available in several different colors, it’s a bargain at $29 for either size (sfbags.com).

The ultimate scanner

Fujitsu has come up with what I call the ultimate scanner. It’s the ScanSnap iX500 Desktop Scanner for PC and Mac that’s a fast, versatile, two-sided (duplex) scanner with a long list of clever features, some new to scanners.

First, it can scan almost anything: documents, business cards, clippings, receipts and even plastic credit cards. The documents zip through in a split second and appear on the computer a second or two later, with a list of destinations in a pop-up window. Several suggested places are listed where you might like to send the scanned file: Word, Excel, SugarSync, Dropbox, iPhoto, email, Evernote, Sales Force and others. You can even add new ones, as long as they accept a jpg or PDF file as an attachment. I can even scan directly to my iPhone or iPad using Fujitsu’s free app.

The iX500 can scan a stack of documents of most any size or shape, because of its advanced feed mechanism. In fact, I took out a stack of credit cards and my license from my wallet and placed it in the feeder and it scanned both sides of each, one after the other without a hitch. I then sent the files to iPhoto and Dropbox, which keeps the card details handy should I ever lose my wallet.

As I used this scanner I kept coming across new surprises. Want to scan a document that’s too big to fit into the scanner? Fold it or cut it and scan it using the carrier provided, a portion at a time, and it will create one large image on the computer.

The all-black scanner has a small footprint, with folding paper and output trays to keep it out of the way when not needed. So forget those scanners you see advertised on QVC and late-night TV. This is your solution to move all your papers to the computer or the cloud ($449, fujitsu.com).

Other gift ideas

Best pocket digital camera: Sony DSC-RX100, the ultimate pocketable camera with a 1-inch 20.2 MP CMOS Sensor and a 3.6x zooms. ($649, sony.com)

Best new smartphone: The HTC One Android phone from T-Mobile, AT&T, and soon from Verizon. Another good choice is the Nokia 925 and 928, Windows Mobile 8 phones that are fun to use and have an elegant, modern, easy-to-use interface.

Best TV add-on: The Sonos Playbar nine-speaker system brings expanded and improved hi-fi sound to your TV, along with wireless streams of music, radio and your own tunes using the Sonos wireless network,, which connects to your computer. ($699, Sonos.com).

Best health-monitoring device: The Nike+ FuelBand bracelet with a built-in accelerometer that tracks your walking and running and has a beautiful scrolling display that works as a great night watch, as well. $149.

Best iPad keyboard: Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard Cover, designed to look like a part of the iPad. Works over Bluetooth. $80 for mini, $100 for iPad. (Logitech.com)

Best minimal business case: This newly released Briggs & Riley digital case (KA001) is designed to carry all your portable electronics in a single bag. It holds a 13-inch or smaller notebook, iPad, eReader, chargers and other small items. The case has multiple compartments for pens, keys, cards, music players or phones. It comes with both a shoulder strap and handles in a compact vertical format. ($129, briggs-riley.com)

Baker is the author of “From Concept to Consumer” published by Financial Times Press. Send comments to phil.baker@sddt.com. Comments may be published online or as Letters to the Editor.

Camera users, pros and amateurs alike, have some common desires: Produce great images from smaller and lighter-weight cameras. While each has differing requirements about whether the camera is fully automatic or preserves the flexibility of professional digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR), more in less is what the camera designers are striving for.

I’ve been using a camera that comes as close as any in providing DSLR-like shooting in a package that fits into a jacket pocket. It’s another gem from Sony, which has been on a roll delivering terrific cameras to meet a wide range of photographers’ needs. It’s the NEX-3N and targets advanced amateurs looking to step up to something more substantial than a typical pocket camera. Yet it’s equally appealing to more experienced photographers who want something they can carry with them most of the time.

I previously reviewed the Sony RX100, an amazing little camera with a 1-inch sensor that fits in your pocket. It’s been widely acclaimed as the best pocket camera available, although at $649 it’s pricey.

The NEX-3N, the entry model to Sony’s NEX series of mirrorless cameras, is a worthy competitor with a different set of features. The mirrorless category is the class of compact cameras with interchangeable lenses, but no mirror behind the lens as on DSLRs. That allows the lens to be closer to the sensor and the bodies to be much more compact. But while the bodies are slim, the lenses usually are bigger and stick far out in front of the body. Mirrorless cameras are available from most of the camera manufacturers, but they don’t all use the same size sensors.

The Sony NEX mirrorless line uses some of the biggest sensors, called APS-C CMOS, the same as found on midpriced DSLRs. Its diagonal is almost twice that of the sensor in the RX100.

This latest entry model, the NEX-3N, is equipped with an interchangeable 16-50mm (f/3.5-5.6 ) zoom lens, the first interchangeable lens that collapses to become less deep.

The tiny camera body measures 3 inches wide x 2.4 inches high x 1.4 inches deep. The lens doubles the depth to just less than 3 inches. At $500 it could be today’s best bargain for an interchangeable lens camera with such a large sensor.

The camera comes with a neckstrap and a cable to charge from your own USB charger. Sony has eliminated a separate battery charger, which I appreciate. There’s no need to carry a custom charger that can get lost.

The camera has a Sony-made 16-megapixel sensor, which allowed me to take a wide range of beautiful images under many lighting conditions, some at ISO speeds as high as 16,000. While you use it much like a simple compact, the images are noticeably sharper, and colors are very well-balanced. Results were comparable or just slightly less than their RX100.

The camera has a built-in pop-up flash, and a large bright LCD panel on the back that hinges upward for waist-level shooting or self-portraits. The screen is about half the resolution of the top-of-the-line displays, but still very sharp and bright with exaggerated colors to better compose in bright light. The camera and lens housings are well constructed, using a number of metal parts. With its built-in handgrip and off-centered lens, the camera feels solid in the hand, with good balance for one-hand use. Power zooming can be done from the camera or using a sliding button on the lens.

The camera’s menu system is similar to other Sony cameras, and is one of the most usable of all brands. It uses graphics to designate modes, and displays many screens with explanations, rather than just using text-based menus found on other brands.

However, it can be mind-boggling to figure out the meaning all of the 30 little icons displayed alongside the image when you’re composing. A suggestion to Sony: Define these icons on the panel beneath the tilting viewfinder display instead of filling it with the list of regulatory approvals.

The camera has a full range of settings that should please everyone: Intelligent Auto, Superior Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Panorama and Scene modes. While there’s no rotary dial on the top of the camera to select the mode, you use the now standard five-way rotating control on the back to the right of the display. Turn the dial to see an image of a turning knob in the viewfinder, and press the middle button to access that mode. Alongside each setting is a description of the setting.

There’s no hot shoe for an external flash or viewfinder and no touch-screen, as on more advanced models. I still miss a real viewfinder, real or electronic, and that’s this camera’s major drawback. Access to the SD memory card is from a convenient door on the left side of the camera, while the battery is accessed from the camera’s bottom.

I found the NEX-3N easy to steadily grasp and inviting to shoot (once you removed the manual lens cap). The under one-pound weight and solid construction felt good in the hand.

Sony is the only camera manufacturer to make its own screen protectors, and I’d recommend one for this camera. It’s easy to install and has a black border and Sony logo, making it look like part of the camera.

In short, this is a camera I’d recommend to anyone looking for an advanced amateur camera under $500. It’s versatile, takes excellent pictures, and is a very good value.

If you’ve traveled lately, it’s been hard to miss the latest trend in luggage: Colorful, shiny hard-sided suitcases.

This popularity of these suitcases stems from their lightweight style and durability.  The best of these products can even withstand the weight of a person standing on the case. While the case may collapse to the floor, it’s designed to snap right back when the person steps off. They’re more water resistant than conventional fabric luggage and do a better job of protecting their contents. With the increased fees for checking baggage, their lighter weight can make a difference in avoiding a hefty surcharge. The disadvantages are that they are more difficult to overstuff and some users report non-repairable dents and cracks, particularly on the cheaper products.

Rimowa, a German company, introduced some of the first polycarbonate suitcases in 2000. The designs were a follow-on to their aluminum cases, which had been used to protect expensive equipment. Their plastic luggage used the same iconic design elements, a pattern of vertical ribbed grooves, that today’s suitcases are using.

I’ve used a Rimowa bag off and on for almost a year and like it for some trips. It’s a bare-bones design that’s basically an expensive plastic box with wheels and a handle, and has limited capacity. Their current version of what I’m using is the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe 21″ Cabin Multi-WheelRimowa, which sells for $595. The main difference is a change to the wheel design from two large to four smaller ones that allow easier maneuverability and the ability to push the suitcase along smooth floors. These bags are typically called spinners.

There are now lots of choices, including models from Tumi, Briggs & Riley, and Samsonite. I’ve been trying out the newly released Briggs & Riley Torq International carry-on spinner that costs $479. (briggs-riley.com)

While both the Rimowa and Torq are made of Makrolon, a high-tech grade triple-layer polycarbonate, their designs are quite different. The Rimowa is a simple, classic design while the Briggs & Riley looks more high tech with its complex shape designed to incorporate many new features. Both are high quality and come with long warrantees, 5 years for the Rimowa and a lifetime warranty for the Briggs & Riley.

According to the company, the Torq was in development for three years, much longer than most of its other products. They began with a clean sheet of paper to come up with a design that offered the most function, highest capacity and best performance. Wearing my design-engineering hat, that comes through loud and clear. The product wears some of its functionality in its looks and details, much as a Range Rover or Jeep stands apart from its competition.

Whereas other products have a 50/50 split between the bottom and top lid, The Torq has an 80/20 split that makes packing much easier.  You can pack it on a luggage rack without the lid being opened 180 degrees.  I found its capacity to be about 20% greater than the Rimowa.

One of the best features of the Torq is a large compartment that runs the full length of the front with padded pocket for storing a notebook and iPad, as well as other items that you may need to keep handy.

The Torq also incorporates one of the latest trends, 4 wheel assemblies that rotate 360 degrees for easy mobility. Each assembly has two wheels with rubber treads mounted onto ball bearings and a steel shaft for durability, all made in Japan. Other details abound, including an ID card holder, a second bag carrier strap, and an easily accessed control panel with a combination lock for TSA access. The Torq still is relatively lightweight at 8.9 pounds and lighter than similar-sized conventional ballistic nylon luggage.  Because of its good looks, large capacity, lightweight, and easy maneuverability, I’ve been using this for all of my trips.

Strotter Platforma case for iPads

Strotter, a small start-up company on the East coast, has created a clever bag for carrying your iPad and using it while standing up or on the move. The Platforma is a slim vertical messenger bag that hangs around your neck to form an inclined surface, much like a mobile desk.  The iPad fits into a plastic snap-on tray with magnets that firmly grips it to the outside of the bag. It’s a convenient product for those wanting to use their iPad while being mobile, including appraisers, surveyors, journalists, etc. The bag is constructed out of beautiful soft-grained leather with a fire-engine red lining and has seven additional pockets. It can be worn as a shoulder bag or as a backpack. ($179, strotter.com)

The new Samsung Galaxy S4 is this year’s replacement for the company’s hugely popular Galaxy S III, introduced a year ago. The S III has been a huge success because it took the lead in bringing Google’s Android OS to a phone with a beautiful large display in a thin, lightweight package. If there was one criticism about the S III, it was the cheap feeling of its plastic enclosure. It’s the tradeoff Samsung makes for cost and thin shape.

Physically, the S4 looks much like the S III. The enclosure is still plastic and looks even cheaper with gaudy, dark chrome plating and a black pattern of dots. (If I owned the phone I’d buy Samsung’s clever case, a book-like folding cover attached to a replacement back cover.) It’s now even more slippery to hold. And like its predecessor, it might feel a little large for a person with small hands.

The Galaxy S4 is intended to be an improvement to the S III; it does offer a few advantages, but creates usability problems with new software additions. The display is slightly bigger by 0.2 inches, the phone is 3/4 millimeter thinner, and the camera is slightly improved.

The major changes are new software features that, for the most part, seem unfinished and scattered. It’s as if the designers came up with all the gimmicks they could think of and then built them into the phone, with little thought to ease of use, value and performance. While it adds to the checklist of features, it makes the phone seem unpolished, especially compared to the HTC One, the Nokia 920 and the Apple iPhone 5.

The Galaxy S4′s display is slightly bigger by 0.2 inches, the phone is 3/4 millimeter thinner, and the camera is slightly improved. Photo courtesy of Samsung
In addition, Samsung added many of its own apps to take advantage of these features, but that added even more confusion, because it duplicated many of the standard Android apps. I found it to be a hodgepodge.

Some of the new software features are interesting in concept, such as the ability to use eye movements to scroll or to pause video. I also liked hovering my finger over the screen to open a selection list. But they worked inconsistently on only some apps, and, even when they did work better, seemed more of a gimmick than something of real value.

Samsung offers an escape from all of this with an Easy Mode that provides a simpler interface with larger icons and fewer menu options. But for me, this dumbed down the phone too much. I’d rather just turn off all of the software functions.

The S4 has a gorgeous 5-inch Amoled (1920 x 1080) display that looks beautiful, albeit with Amoled’s characteristic exaggerated colors. Outside in the bright sunlight, it was more difficult to read than the LCD displays found on most other phones.

The phone has a super-sized user replaceable 2750mAh battery, which is twice that of the iPhone’s battery, but the extra battery life is needed to get the phone through a full day of use. With this type of display, consumption is more for white than black pixels, so you’ll find many of the built-in menus displaying white text on a black background to save battery power.

Samsung provides an excellent camera that takes a picture using both the front and rear cameras at the same time, and inserts your image in the photo. Camera performance was excellent. With its 13-megapixel sensor and excellent color balance, it produced detailed and vibrant images.

Call clarity and reception on this AT&T phone was very good and is one of Samsung’s strengths. But its single speaker for listening to music is disappointing. Compared with the excellent sound from the HTC One with its Beats technology, the Samsung sound was poorer at playing music, suffering from distortion even at low volumes. It worked a little better as a speakerphone.

In summary, the S4 is a good phone that will likely sell in huge volumes; it has a fast response, a great display and speedy performance. The one disappointment is the piling-on all of the extras, which takes away from the otherwise positive experience. I much prefer the HTC One phone, which is much more attractive, solid and fun, rather than frustrating to use.

For those with a Samsung Galaxy SIII, my advice is to save your money and don’t upgrade to the S4. For those looking for a new phone, this is a good choice, but not the best. It’s available from all of the major carriers for about $200.

With nearly a million apps in Apple‘s iTunes store, it’s nearly impossible for an app company to get noticed. I’ve found that a better way is to check with friends and see what they like. Word of mouth seems to be the most effective marketing approach.

So, here are a few apps I’ve recently been trying and like very much. How did I find them? Mostly referrals from other users.

BizXpenseTrkr

While I’ve tried a number of apps that track business expenses and manage track time, this app has become my go-to product for managing both. It’s simple to use, comprehensive and flexible. For example, it lets you set different rates for different clients and use different currencies, whose conversion values are automatically updated over the Internet.

You enter your clients’ or customers’ names one time to track both time and expenses. It prompts you to take a snapshot of your receipt and integrates it with the expense description. You can export your records, including the photos, onto your desktop or send a report by email.

The app allows you to establish custom categories, such as personal and business, and assign your expenses to either. One of its latest features is tracking mileage, which using your GPS to monitor locations and distance.

The product, along with other tracking apps, comes from Silver Software, one of the pioneers in creating products for mobile devices, going back to the Apple Newton. It’s a product that shows a deep understanding of how such a product is used in real-life situations. ($5.99 from the App store; Apple only)

ScanBizCards

Remember those stand-alone card scanners that cost about $150? Now all of that functionality is in your phone thanks to ScanBizCards. It’s a $2 app that turns your iPhone into a powerful business card scanner.

I learned about this app from a San Diego lawyer who I sat next to on a recent flight from San Francisco. I watched him take a stack of business cards and photograph them one by one into his iPhone. The display shows the card information and imports the data into your Contacts list, including Outlook, iPhone address book, Evernote, etc.

The scanning accuracy was very good. The image is automatically cropped, properly oriented and you can easily make corrections with the text entry window adjacent to the image of the card.

You can also scan both sides of a card, particularly useful when you take notes about the individual. Or you can attach a picture of the person. Available for iPhone, Windows phones and Android phones. ($3.99)

Twixt Time

This Apple app tracks the long-term accuracy of your mechanical watch. It works by analyzing pictures you take of the watch dial over successive periods of time and then displays the daily error in seconds. It’s an interesting product for those who use fine mechanical watches, which tend to be far less accurate than a quartz watch. Typical accuracy of mechanical watches is within 10 seconds a day.

To use, you take a close-up image of the watch face and move markers using the touch screen over the tips of the hands and the center of the dial. You can monitor the accuracy of multiple watches at the same time. ($4.99)

Of course, another way to check accuracy is to use the free Official U.S. Time app, which gives you accurate time checks, and then record the information by hand.

Vintage-45

This app for the iPhone is one of several products that re-create one of the classic Hewlett Packard calculators from the 1970s and 80s. This particular 99-cent app from CuVee software does a superb job of re-creating the iconic HP-45, which, along with the HP-35, made up the world’s first pocket scientific calculators.

Key clicks and displays are accurately re-created, and it uses reverse Polish notation for data entry, just as the originals. The company also offers a free version of the HP-67, a later model, along with a simulated paper tape displayed on the screen.

New smartphone stand,
camera timer app

For all smartphones, insert the Keyprop prong into the headphone jack, and Keyprop rests against the front panel to prop up your phone. Courtesy photo

KeyProp is a clever tripod and stand that fits on your keychain. The key-like device fits onto a phone using one of its connectors to prop up the phone for taking pictures, reading, watching a video or playing a game. It comes with an app, KeyCam, which provides a camera timer so you can be in the picture. Clap your hands to start the countdown timer.

Since Keyprop is on your keychain, you always have it at your fingertips. For all smartphones, insert the prong into the headphone jack, and the Keyprop rests against the front panel to prop up your phone. Adjust the angle of the stand by propping the stand on your keys. It works with phones, with or without cases or bumpers. The product is now on Kickstarter and will retail for $15. (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alisonw/keyprop-simple-smartphone-stand-self-timer-app)