Best tech products for studio living

• Dyson hand vac provides power, but at a high price
• Solemate speaker is a stylish alternative
• Sony Pulse headphones deliver high-fidelity experience

Living in a small space requires carefully curating items that pack a ton of utility. We look at five products with tiny footprints that could make a studio lifestyle feel larger than life.

Dyson DC44

Your apartment's small size is no reason to forego a vacuum. But instead of dealing with the hassle of using and storing a full upright, Dyson's latest hand vac is a pint-sized appliance that can sit comfortably on a bookshelf.

The Digital Slim DC44 Animal features the same cyclone technology (that keeps suction powerful and constant) that's found in Dyson's other vacuums. Like its predecessor, the DC35, this comes with a wand attachment letting you reach high and low. (If you're already an owner of the DC35, take note the attachments for both are not interchangeable) Dyson says its new motorized floor tool lets the bristles reach deeper into carpet pile, doubling the suction power of the older model.

The hand vac also has increased battery life. The older DC35 touted 15 minutes of suction, or six minutes in boost mode. The newer DC44 can run 20 minutes continuously or eight minutes when boosted.

Stunning and powerful it is, but as is the case always with Dyson products, this is geared toward those with deep pockets. At $400, you could get a few quality (less attractive) full-powered vacuums, and then some. On the up side, with the DC44's introduction, the DC35 has come down in price to $330.

Jabra Solemate

Jabra and Jawbone have much in common. For starters, there's the first syllable of their names. The two also make stylish Bluetooth accessories and are known especially for their headsets. And now, with Jabra's latest product, they both sell hip portable Bluetooth speakers.

Since Jawbone's Jambox has a two-year head start (and also recently started letting customers custom color their speakers for no additional cost), it'll be an uphill battle for Jabra. But its Jambox competitor, the Solemate, has an interesting angle. As its name suggests, this speaker is designed to resemble a shoe, everything from the shape, rubber sole and an integrated audio cable that harks to shoelaces.

Though both can fill a small space, I personally think the Solemate's sound is warmer than the Jambox's. It's also especially slick in how it handles volume, letting me control the iPhone's audio directly from the Solemate's buttons. (On most Bluetooth audio accessories I've tested, there are usually two levels you balance: the device's and the speaker's. This minor annoyance requires coordination of two separate gadgets.)

Given the bold look of the Solemate, buying decisions will not be guided by audio alone. While I've made my admiration for the Jambox no secret, I can see it being too in-the-box for some people with its clean lines and minimalist design. Solemate offers some funk for people searching for a stylish alternative. And like Jawbone, Jabra is pricing its speaker at $199.

Cubedge

Another Bluetooth speaker alternative is the EDGE.sound, which originated out of a failed Kickstarter project. Though the crowdfunding route didn't work out, Austin-based Cubedge still went into production, shipping its speaker in September for $149.

Since the portable Bluetooth speaker market is rapidly being saturated by newcomers (see: Jabra Solemate), EDGE.sound is distinguishing itself with eco-friendly materials, avoiding brominated flame retardant and PVC while using a recyclable aluminum enclosure. There's even a solar panel (sold separately and not yet available) that can be attached to the speaker to keep it charged when you're off in the great outdoors.

Though Cubedge claims this speaker is stylish and can project big, crisp sound, I beg to differ. The audio's tinny and at high volumes suffers from distortion. The strange shape, buttons and overall design also make for an eye sore. Let this be a lesson that Kickstarter projects often over-promise and under-deliver.

Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset

Counter-Strike might be best experienced at full volume at 3 a.m., but your neighbor on the other side of your thin walls might not think so.

No need to sacrifice the experience with Sony's Pulse Wireless Headset Elite Edition for PlayStation 3. With Pulse, Sony delivers a high-fidelity experience with rich surround sound, aided with what the company calls BassImpact, which vibrates "pulses" in the ear pads during low frequencies. (BassImpact also works with non-gaming content, such as movies and music.)

The 7.1 virtual surround sound helps pick up faint audio you might otherwise not notice (eg. letting you detect footsteps from behind or know when a car's on your tail) providing a fuller gaming experience. The headset includes seven preset modes optimized for music, movies and different gaming genres (shooter, fighting, racing). Overall, Pulse brings a vivid surround sound-like experience without the hassle or cost. It retails for $150.

ECBC

For the techie who's looking for a bag to hold his or her gadgets, ECBC has a great new line of backpacks. The B7 Series is made with a rugged high-density ballistic nylon that's waterproof and includes comfortable plush straps for comfort.

The Javelin ($129.99) and Lance ($149.99) daypacks include a FastPass System that lets you partially unzip the laptop compartment to lay flat on the belt during security check at the airport. I, however, was more drawn to the entry-level Harpoon Daypack ($99.99) because it has the lowest profile of the bunch. When empty, it measures less than three inches in thickness.

Yet despite its form factor, there's plenty of space. The secret is in the pockets, and the Harpoon has a pocket for a 17-inch laptop, pockets for several tablets, quick-access pockets for mobile devices and many more sub-compartments I don't know what to do with. Despite its thinness, it also has clever external compartments that unzip and fold out to hold full-sized bottles. Overall, the Harpoon is a well-designed bag for the minimalist gadget lover.

E-mail Alice Truong at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @alicetruong.