Singapore Expo is a long way away for most people, other than folks living in the east, so before you head down to Sitex, Singapore’s last quarterly IT bazaar for 2011, check out some of the standout deals that people have been putting up on brochure sites.

Yes, in the past, you had to squeeze your way through the halls for some small bargain, collecting loads of brochures on the way. Today, you can check out what’s on offer online before heading down for a more targeted trip.

Here are some great deals so far at this weekend’s show. We’ll update this page as we get more info.

D-Link’s DIR-825 router and DNS-320 network attached storage (NAS)

These are some of the best bang for buck gear that you can hook up your home with if you are looking for both high performance and value for money.

A great router for homes, the DIR-825 (S$129) supports dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi and comes with four gigabit ports that are necessary for today’s fast PCs and large file transfers. Not too long ago, similar routers cost a whole lot more, likely closer to or more than S$200.

The DNS-320 is another favourite NAS of home networking buffs because it’s not only good looking but also extremely speedy and feature-packed. Supporting two hard disks, it even lets you convert the backup device from a non-RAID to RAID 1 configuration easily, so you can mirror your hard disk content for safer backups.

Needless to say, it also comes with a bit-torrent client that you can use to download to your heart’s content, especially with that S$39-a-month M1 fibre plan offering 100Mbps to homes. At S$109, the DNS-320 is a definitely worth checking out for folks looking to set up their own NAS for the first time.

>> Download the brochure.

Pay S$48 for an Apple Magic Trackpad and memory upgrade with an Apple iMac

Buy an iMac at nubox’s stand, one of several offering Mac computers at the show, and you can pay just S$48 for a double memory upgrade (usually from 4GB to 8GB) and have an Apple Magic Trackpad to add to the style of your Apple computer.

The offer goes with several models of the iMac, from the entry level 2.5GHz version with a Core i5 chip and 21.5-inch screen costing S$1,648 to the top-end S$2,748 version with a 3.1GHz Core i5 chip and 27-inch screen.

Also noteworthy to folks opting to run Windows on a Mac: Parallels Desktop 6 and Windows Home Premium (OEM) are being bundled at S$238 (usual S$298). The package of software lets you run your Windows programs right on your Mac desktop as if they are Mac programs.

>> Download the brochures.

Print anywhere with an HP printer
Printers are a mainstay at each IT show in Singapore and this Sitex expo is no different. One interesting all-in-one machine worth checking out is HP’s Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One, which lets you print remotely using the Internet. It also comes with all the useful features expected these days, like Wi-Fi support, so you can share the printer at home easily without worrying about wires.

The S$369 printer is going for S$299 at Sitex, so it may be worth checking out.

>> Download the brochures.

Buy Microsoft Office, get a wireless mouse free
This is the type of deal that will be welcome news to new PC or laptop owners. Microsoft is dangling a free Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 (usually S$39.90) as part of a deal with its Office 2010 productivity software, which will be nice to install on a new PC.

The Office packages you can buy at the Microsoft booth include Office Home & Student Edition 2010, which costs S$199, and the Office Home & Business Edition 2010 which retails for S$298.

>> Download the brochures.

Nokia N9 at S$98 at StarHub

Nokia’s neat-looking N9 is going for a nice S$98 at StarHub’s booth, along with other Android favourites now like the Samsung Galaxy S II (S$218), HTC Sensation XE (S$198) and Motorola Razr (S$48), if you sign up with a high-end mobile plan.

Worth queuing up? Well, if you plan to spend a day at Singapore Expo anyway, no harm doing so!

>> Download the brochures.

Share with us other great Sitex deals you have spotted in the comments here!

For those who tire of a scroll wheel, Apple’s Magic Mouse has always been the standard in touch mice that let you simply slide your finger on the smooth surface to navigate on screen.

Recently, Microsoft came up with the quite amazing Arc Touch Mouse, which offered not just touch sensors but also a smart flexible shape that users cracked open whenever they wanted to use it, but snapped back into a easy-to-store position when not in use.

This month, Microsoft is shipping two more touch mice – the sexy-looking S$99 Touch Mouse and the more budget-friendly S$59 Explorer Touch Mouse.

Let’s talk about the Touch Mouse. It doesn’t have some of the indentations that fit your grip like Logitech’s MX series mice, for example. But the basic shape, as Microsoft points out, does feel pretty natural to grip. It also makes life easier for left-handers whose hands won’t fit sculpted mice shapes made for right handers.

Microsoft’s new Touch Mouse is fully touch-based, which means you can not just scroll up and down your webpages using a simple movement of your fingers, but also control a whole range of actions.

The top portion, though not marked out physically, actually responds like three physical mouse buttons. So, you can set, say, your left mouse finger to tap for the traditional left click, while the centre and right can be programmed for either anything from right click to zoom in/out.

Speaking of which, there are a lot more things that you can do with touch. Using your thumb, you can go forward or back on your browser. Slide along with two fingers and you can maximise, minimise or restore your window. Finally, when you put as many as three fingers on the mouse, you can minimise all windows and reveal the desktop – a great help for folks who work with many windows.

I like the Touch Mouse’s design and build, which are as reassuring as the three-year warranty that Microsoft offers. But like all touch mice, you may have to set the sensitivity to a level you are comfortable with.

I used my wife’s iMac to create some Powerpoints recently and was annoyed to no end by the Magic Mouse’s ultra-sensitive surface that kept scrolling through the slides accidentally.

Another thing to note, of course, if that the Touch Mouse works only with Windows 7, at least for the advanced touch functions. So, if you are using Windows Vista or XP, too bad. Still, if you are on Windows 7, I’d recommend the Touch Mouse – it’s a well-built alternative to Apple’s Magic Mouse.

The Explorer Touch Mouse feels a little plasticky, and does not have the all-round touch sensors that the Touch Mouse offers. But to be fair, it is quite a lot cheaper, comes in four colours and also promises battery life no shorter than 18 months.

(WIN a free Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse from Techgoondu – find out more here)

Logitech has recently introduced its M325 wireless mouse with 72 ratchets so you can scroll through more lines of content with a single flick on the scroll wheel.

Each ratchet corresponds to about one line of content, so fewer ratchets means more choppy onscreen motion when you scroll down a page.

The scroll wheel of most computer mice usually have 18 to 24 ratchets, giving you a scrolling experience that isn’t as smooth when compared to that of a laptop’s touch pad.

Aimed at laptop users, the M325 is small and portable enough to be carried around by telecommuters. The S$39 rodent also offers a firm grip on both sides and will fit snugly into the hands of both left and right handers.

Setting up the M325 is easy – simply plug the Unifying receiver into the computer’s USB port, turn on the mouse and start browsing. The receiver, which can also be used to connect up to six compatible wireless keyboards and mice, can be stored in the battery compartment when not in use.

The M325 can be used with Mac OS X, Windows and Linux operating systems out of the box with no additional software or device drivers required. On Windows and Linux systems, you can tilt the scroll wheel to the left or right to move pages back and forth. On Mac OS X, tilt wheel actions can be assigned to Dashboard, Expose and Spaces functions in System Preferences.

The mouse worked like a charm in Windows 7 Ultimate, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Ubuntu Linux 10.10. On all three OSes, the M325 was smooth while scrolling webpages and offered precise control over the mouse pointer. The only tweak I made was to reduce the pointer speed that was previously set for a three-year-old Apple Mighty Mouse.

Logitech claims the single AA-size battery required by the M325 will last for 18 months. I have no idea if that’s really the case right now since I’ve only used it for a week. On the product packaging, however, Logitech says that “battery life may vary based on user and computing conditions”. In any case, the mouse will enter sleep mode after a period of inactivity to conserve battery juice.

Targus has recently introduced a series of peripherals aimed at Mac users who tend to be a picky bunch when it comes to design. The Targus for Mac line includes the Bluetooth Laser Mouse (seen above), Wireless Mouse, USB Hub, Bluetooth Presenter, File Share Cable, Privacy Screen and Chill Mat. Techgoondu laid our hands on a few of these products which should go down well with owners of both new and old Macbooks and Macbook Pros.

Bluetooth Laser Mouse

At first glance, this Bluetooth enabled mouse is shaped somewhat like Apple’s Mighty Mouse which I have been using with my 2-year-old white Macbook. Ergonomically, it feels familiar and comfortable to hold and control mouse movements. The grey edges and base of the mouse is made of material that gives users with a good grip.

There are five buttons that are used to control various mouse operations, including two programmable buttons on the left edge. In Mac OS X system preferences, you can control the Bluetooth Laser Mouse’s tracking and scrolling speeds, which tend to be way faster than what I had set for the Mighty Mouse. For more accurate tracking, make sure you lower those speeds if you’ve been using the Mighty Mouse.

While you can still use the Bluetooth Laser Mouse without any software, the programmable buttons do require Targus’ driver software, which allows you to run AppleScripts, launch apps, perform keystrokes or predefined functions such as bringing up the Dashboard in click.

Clearly missing from the Bluetooth Laser Mouse is a mechanical scroll wheel. Instead, Targus has designed a touch scroll where you run you run your finger over an optical unit in the middle to scroll horizontally and vertically. This may take some getting used to, especially if you’re used to a conventional scroll wheel. In the beginning, I found the touch scroll a tad too sensitive, and had to reduce the scroll speed for greater control. The optical unit also serves as an indicator to warn you when battery power is running out via a blinking red light.

The Chill Mat is essentially a cooler pad that helps to lower the temperature of a running laptop, especially my Macbook which tends to get hot after a while. Powered by a USB port, the Chill Mat comes with two fans to cool your laptop and a mesh material underneath that keeps your laps cool. There is a switch for you to turn the fans on or off, but you can’t control the fan speeds. I found working on my Macbook more tolerable with the Chill Mat, though be prepared for battery life to take a hit and to sacrifice one USB port unless you’re using a USB hub.

This compact 4-port USB 2.0 hub will be welcomed by those who are looking for a matching product that goes well with Macbook designs. When not in use, the ports are protected by a wide rubber cable that fits snugly into the edges of the USB hub. As someone who hates wire clutter, it would have been better if there was some way of tugging the USB cables somewhere within the hub.

The Bluetooth Presenter is possibly the gem in the Targus for Mac line. This nifty laser pointer/slideshow controller/mouse hybrid is targeted at those who need to walk across a large room to connect with audiences during a presentation without being tethered to the laptop.

In Mouse Mode, the Bluetooth Presenter can be used as a mouse for you to start and navigate within an application. Like the Bluetooth Laser Mouse, you can program two buttons to run AppleScripts or even start your Keynote or PowerPoint application. Also, the volume control buttons at the side are especially useful when you need to raise the volume when showing stuff from video sharing sites.

At the center of the Bluetooth Presenter lies a touch scroll optical unit that brings up a laser pointer when depressed. Like the Bluetooth Laser Mouse, you control the mouse onscreen by running your finger over the optical unit which will emit a red light whenever the device is out of range. There is a tendency, however, for users to click on the optical unit to register a mouse click, rather than use the surrounding left and right buttons.

In Presentation Mode, you can start and stop slideshows with dedicated buttons at the top, including the ability to switch to a blank screen to prolong your laptop’s battery life if you’re not connected to a power point during a presentation. Bluetooth Presenter works with both Keynote and PowerPoint, but make sure you specify your presentation software in the Targus device settings.

The only problem I had with the Bluetooth Presenter was the need to increase cursor speeds when I’m using it in Mouse Mode since it appears to be less sensitive than the Bluetooth Laser Mouse that’s connected to the same machine. Although I have two mice connected, Mac OS X does not allow any way of specifying different cursor speeds for each mouse.