Cool Tools

Verizon broadband smart phone aims for iPhone market, with extras
05/08/08
Verizon Wireless' XV6900 broadband smart phone aims to be iPhone-like with its graphical interface, but with additional features that the iPhone doesn’t have and that try to appeal to business users and enterprises.

Should you pass on iPass?
05/02/08
Over the past month, I've been testing a service from iPass that aggregates Wi-Fi hot spot services from a number of providers, offering users Internet connectivity from several locations without having to shell out for expensive day passes or subscribe to multiple services. In addition, the iPassConnect Mobility service offers the addition of a wide-area CDMA EV-DO card for network access in places where Wi-Fi hot spots are not available.

Have good penmanship? You'll like this digital pen
04/22/08
The Mobile Digital Scribe, unlike previous attempts at digital pens, is the same size as a normal pen, uses standard ink refills, can record writing on any size paper, and lets you write notes without being attached to a PC.

BlackBerry Pearl comes with Wi-Fi connectivity
04/16/08
RIM's BlackBerry Pearl 8120 has strong messaging features, multimedia and especially Wi-Fi, but enterprises and those looking for stronger multimedia features should look elsewhere.

GPS Snitch lets you track people, vehicles easily
04/09/08
BlackLine's GPS Snitch is a 4-inch portable device with a GPS radio and wide-area wireless network connection (it connects via GSM) that lets it communicate back to BlackLine servers. In addition to the GPS and GSM radio, the device includes a motion sensor that sends alerts to the user (via mobile phone text message or e-mail) when motion is detected, making it a useful theft-prevention device (the device doesn’t include an audible alarm, so if the device is hidden in a car the thief won’t necessarily know it’s there).

Checking out cool at CTIA Wireless
04/02/08
If there was a theme to last week's CTIA Wireless 2008 show in Las Vegas, it would be, "We're like an iPhone, but better." Several devices were showcased that took a lot of the nice features of the iPhone and adapted it to the mobile carriers' world, including running on faster networks and the ability to access corporate networks.

Odds and ends in the Cool Tools office
03/26/08
Before I hit this week’s CTIA Wireless 2008 show in Las Vegas, I wanted to "clean up" the office and offer some quick hits on devices that have filtered in over the past few months but might not have been worthy of full reviews. So here goes. . . .

Huzzah! Stuff works!
03/18/08
This week I reassess problems with Dymo DiscPainter, Digital Spectrum Photo Frame, FrameChannel and ComOne Phoenix Internet Radio.

Murphy’s Law hits this week’s reviews
03/13/08
Gremlins strike during the testing of a CD/DVD printer, a Blu-Ray disc duplicator, a wireless digital photo frame and wireless Internet radio gadget.

Create an 802.11n network without ripping up your 802.11g net
03/04/08
Netgear's HD/Gaming 5GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit lets you create a wireless bridge between a router and a client. In addition to creating a bridge for a game console or other Ethernet device, the system creates an additional 802.11n-based wireless network.

Samsung's slim international smartphone comes with Sprint service
02/27/08
Samsung's Ace international smartphone comes with Sprint service, full keyboard and 2.3-inch color display, and its light weight makes it feel more like a cell phone.

Dragon offers two-way voice via Bluetooth
02/20/08
The Dragon Bluetooth headset allows for a distance between a Bluetooth-enabled phone or PC and the headset of up to 100 meters (328 feet). The headset can pair itself to multiple phones or PCs, letting you switch between devices with the push of a button. Noise suppression features let the person on the other end hear you better.

Everyone’s got iPhone and Android envy
02/13/08
Two notable trends emerged from last week’s Mobile World Congress 2008 show in Barcelona (no, I didn’t get to go). First, manufacturers are coming out with iPhone-like touch-screen devices, and second, everyone is eager to see what the Android phones will look like.

Sprout and blist impress with betas
02/07/08
This week, I’m highlighting two beta offerings shown at DEMO 08. Sprout’s Sprout Builder Web service and application lets anyone create rich-media widgets (Web-enabled applications) and other flash content. Meanwhile, the blist database-building tool aims to turn anyone into a database expert.

DEMO 08 showcases ‘power of the individual’
01/30/08
When listening to the pitches of more than 75 companies at DEMO last week in Palm Desert, Calif., I focused on products and services that would enhance my life or make me more productive.

Review: HP MediaSmart Server
01/23/08
HP's MediaSmart Server is a network-attached storage device with multiple hard drives that can be connected via Ethernet cable to a home router. The device includes another layer, however, with the addition of Microsoft's Windows Home Server software. This allows for features like media streaming (including iTunes support), automatic backup, and remote access from across the Internet.

Apple at MacWorld: No home runs, but solid hits
01/16/08
January is the best time of the year for gadget nuts: During the first week we get the madness of the Consumer Electronics Show, and that's closely followed by MacWorld, at which Steve Jobs and crew get up and try to outshine CES and gather all of the buzz in the world of gadgets.

Adventures in home entertainment
01/10/08
Before I left for this week's Consumer Electronics Show, I tried to quickly install Sony's LocationFree LF-V30 Base Station (about $250), which acts like a Sling Media Slingbox, in that you can go across the Internet to view TV content live or stored on a digital video recorder. But I ran into some problems with the device, the main one being that my wireless network is only an 802.11g network.

CES 2008: Another batch of gadgets
01/07/08
Just when you've figured out the settings on your latest smart phone, digital camera or GPS device from last holiday, along comes this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with a whole new batch of electronic goodies to get you ready for 2008. Here's a bunch of new items I can't wait to see at the show:

Pleo: The robot you'll love
12/12/07
It would be easy to call Pleo a robotic dinosaur toy, but that's unfair to both Ugobe, Pleo's maker, and to Pleo itself.

Verizon has its answer to the iPhone
12/04/07
The Voyager V Cast Multimedia phone is Verizon's answer to the iPhone.

More cool tools for the holidays
11/29/07
The great thing about personal technology is that new stuff keeps coming out week after week, with no rest for the weary who've spent the last three months trying to come up with holiday gift ideas (feel free, of course, to visit www.networkworld.com for the Cool Yule Tools holiday guide).

Five holiday tech gifts for under $100
11/19/07

Two services to light up your holidays
11/19/07
Retrevo, the world's first "matchmaking service" between consumer and electronics, lets users search for consumer electronics products based on people's individual needs or choices. Support.com, an online PC repair service, lets PC users who might be having difficulties with their systems talk with an expert and resolve the problem quickly.

Nokia impresses with latest Internet Tablet
11/07/07
Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet is a very small, thin and portable handheld device with a large color-touch screen and the ability to perform Web browsing, play multimedia, read e-mails and access other applications. Aleratec's Copy Cruiser Plus is more than an 8-in-1 media card reader (support for SecureDigital, Multimedia Card, SmartMedia, MemoryStick, MemoryStick Pro, CompactFlash, Microdrive and USB drives); it can also copy data from one card onto a USB device, or between two USB devices, without needing a PC as the middle man.

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