Swiss knife meets Bluetooth

The Swiss Army knife, one of the hottest buys of the last century, is keeping pace with the new millennium and moving from campground to boardroom. Manufacturer Victorinox, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, unveiled the latest version of the ubiquitous multi-purpose tool at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The company has been adding high-tech features to its knives since 2004 but the latest model, the Presentation Pro, takes the trend even further by incorporating Bluetooth and fingerprint recognition technology. Instead of a saw and a corkscrew, the Presentation Pro comes with a laser pointer and an integrated Bluetooth remote control that can be used to direct a slide show or a Powerpoint presentation. It also has a USB flashdrive with up to 32GB of storage and a biometric sensor that grants access through fingerprint recognition. The case remains red and the small white cross is still there but the plastic is now transparent, putting the innards of the device on display. The Presentation Pro is not just high-tech and gives in to tradition by keeping a knife, a pair of scissors and a nail file with a screwdriver head. But the company does offer a "plane-friendly" version of the model, the blade-free Presentation Pro Flight, which should cause no problems with airport security. Explaining the high-tech upgrade, Victorinox North America operations president Rick Taggart said the company is "striving to provide products that are relevant to the consumers of their era." The Presentation Pro is available from May and priced from 169.95 dollars to 329.95 dollars, depending on the memory capacity of the USB drive.