a little helping hand

over LFW, i had a lot to keep on top of. shows, interviews, stalking kanye west and remembering to eat, to name a few. i like to think i'm pretty tech-savvy, but for the last few seasons i've always taken to carrying a notebook which is always full to bursting by the end of the week, full of invites, crossed-out and rewritten schedules and email addresses in my scrawly, doctor's handwriting. it might look cute, but the notebook option was just not practical, especially this season when i had a great deal more to be getting on with for time out. i'm not super clued up about tablets, but the more i thought about it, the more a good idea it seemed to have one. a little, mini-laptop i could slip into my bag, use to keep track of where i'm meant to be, write up reviews, send emails and play tetris on in the gaps between shows (yawn). i spotted the BlackBerry PlayBook at selfridge's press day a few seasons ago, so i decided to trial one for the season.

i don't have a BlackBerry phone, so i missed on some of the functionality (BlackBerry users can tether their smartphones for easy email and internet access), but this little guy came in very handy. the playbook is really, really slim, and weighs nothing. in fact, i was constantly checking to make sure it was still in my bag it was so small! but it's the perfect size for quick note-making, and discreet working. the colour screen is big and bright, and the integrated word processer is brilliant - i was able to edit my schedules and write up show reviews on-the-go. the camera's not bad at all - better than most phones - and i'm not one to turn my nose up at tetris. like with any new technology, it took a little bit of getting used to - the frame is touch-sensitive too, which seems odd at first but later very intuitive - but seriously, i couldn't have got through the week without it.