One of the first questions I ask when looking at a new device, software or service at a trade show, including last week's Consumer Electronics Show, is whether the product will solve an immediate problem. If it just looks good and has some neat features, it usually goes onto my "eh" list or sticks in the back of my mind as something nice to have if I had lots of money and lots of free time. Fortunately, there were enough products at the show that didn't make the "eh" list but rather look to solve some immediate problems.

Switch between cellular and Wi-Fi with a click

Click to see: The D-Link V-Click phone switches between Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

More companies are coming out with dual-mode phones that merge Wi-Fi connectivity with wide-area cellular network access. D-Link's V-Click phones, which are set to begin shipping in a few weeks, offer users the ability to switch between a cellular network and a Wi-Fi network (when connected to a wireless LAN, it uses Session Initiation Protocol to initiate voice calls). The unlocked V-Click phones include GSM network access (900, 1800 and 1900MHz), and support standard Wi-Fi encryption (Wired Equivalent Privacy, Wi-Fi Protected Access and WPA2). The V-Click looks like a cell phone, not a bulkier cordless phone or earlier models of Wi-Fi phones. It is designed to work as a pay-as-you-go device, which lets users add calling time on a SIM card (T-Mobile offers this, others may as well). The phone will cost about $600 through D-Link's Web site.