Cool Tools

By Keith Shaw

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Keith Shaw is Network World's reviews editor. Contact him at kshaw@nww.com.

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Watch Keith's weekly product reviews.

Dualie combines hard drive, iPod/iPhone dock: 02/03/10; The Dualie, by Buffalo Technology, lets users have one device that enables them connect a portable hard drive to their computer, and synchronize/recharge their iPhone or iPod at the same time.
Grandstream makes the desk phone more fun: 01/13/10; The GXV3140 IP Multimedia Phone, by Grandstream Networks, features a tiny built-in Webcam and a color display as well as your typical numeric keypad.
Will the litl make it big?: 12/16/09; The litl is meant to be an Internet computer (or "Webbook"), accessing its applications across the Internet with no hard drive or optical drive.
It's an app world after all: 12/02/09; The success of Apple's App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch has generated app stores from other smartphone makers, but the concept of downloadable applications that can be put onto a device has spread to other products. For example, Logitech's Squeezebox Radio lets users download additional apps that connect them to streaming media services such as Pandora and Slacker.
Motorola Droid vs. iPhone: It's on!: 11/12/09; I found some time away from producing this year's holiday gift guide to try out one of the hottest smartphones of the season.
Ditch the projector (well, the bulky one): 10/28/09; The MPro120 Pocket Projector, by 3M, lets you project videos, photos and presentations from a video source (such as your notebook, camcorder or even an iPhone) onto a wall or other screen surface.
HP's DreamScreen: Not quite dreamy, but great potential: 10/22/09; HP has raised the bar on the Internet-connected digital photo frame, showing off what a device like this can be.
Wireless charging and wireless mouse make me happy: 10/14/09; The Powermat Wireless Charging Portable Mat and the Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 are two products notable for their ease of use.
Seagate's DockStar: Instant NAS, just add hard drive: 10/07/09; DockStar, by Seagate, is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to turn your portable hard drive into a NAS box
Doing more with video chats: 09/30/09; HP SkyRoom software allows for high-definition videoconferencing for employees at their desk and lets lets participants share multimedia files with each other.
Cool products, companies at DEMOfall 09: 09/23/09; The DEMOfall 09 show in San Diego showcased more than 60 companies offering pitches of new companies and products aimed to make your life better, whether as an individual user or at your company.
iTunes' Home Sharing nice, but could be nicer: 09/17/09; Out of all the new product announcements from Steve Jobs at Apple's most recent shindig, I was most intrigued by a feature in the new iTunes software: Home Sharing.
Vacation Internet better than ever?: 09/10/09; A trek in the family truckster from the Boston area down to Myrtle Beach, S.C., last week not only gave me the chance for rest and relaxation (well, after the drive), but also the opportunity to test out some Internet access devices.
Discovery 975 headset melds noise improvements with style: 08/27/09; The Discovery 975 Bluetooth headset, by Plantronics, takes the lightweight design features from the 925, making it a more stylish and fashionable option for users who want the technology benefits of the Voyager Pro but don't want to have to wear a bulkier, over-the-ear headset.
The new car stereo system: 08/18/09; A few months ago I ditched my satellite radio service, which I turned to when I decided to ditch regular radio a few years before (2004, to be exact). My current choice of entertainment for my 25-minute-or-so commute to and from work is my iPhone.
No excuses for no backup: 07/23/09; Portable hard drives have been around for a while, but some recent ones include very easy-to-use automatic backup features, giving mobile workers no excuses for not backing up their systems.
Hate the iPod? Try a Zune or SlotRadio: 07/09/09; If you own an iPod and love it, stop reading. This column isn't for you. But if you're still in the market for a digital audio player, I've got two other options that present digital music offerings differently than the Apple/iPod/iTunes ecosystem.
One headset for two phone systems? That's Savi: 07/02/09; Savi Office, by Plantronics, combines the traditional desktop phone wireless headset with a VoIP headset connected to a PC.
Same mobile router, different approaches: 06/23/09; I've got the same complaints that I had with the Sprint version of the MiFi. There should be a signal strength indicator as well as some kind of LCD screen on the device that tells you how good your 3G wireless is in your location.
Palm Pre: The official Cool Tools review: 06/17/09; The touchscreen Pre is Palm's latest entrant into the smartphone market, and includes all of the features users would expect from today's smartphones.
Wi-Fi gets personal with Mi-Fi: 06/10/09; Sprint Mi-Fi 2200 has a 3G/Wi-Fi combination that lets users take advantage of 3G network access and provide Wi-Fi LAN coverage for as many as five other users.
More power for your iPhone or iPod: 06/04/09; The beautiful modular design of the battery and docking stations means users can put the wall charger in their home, the car charger in their vehicle, and the Reserve Battery can be charged by both docking units.
Bluetooth headset Battle Royale: 05/27/09; A few weeks ago I praised the Plantronics Voyager Pro high-end Bluetooth headset for its noise-reduction features and extremely comfortable fit (you really can wear it all day). Two other headset vendors wanted my opinion to see how they compare with the Voyager Pro, so let's check out these other contestants.
Interop journey lets me test new tools: 05/22/09; Last week's Interop Las Vegas 2009 show gave me a chance to break out some of the travel-related devices that have been around the office for a while. In the course of doing audio podcast interviews and videos, I took advantage of several gadgets to make my life a bit easier.
Seagate’s Replica: truly set and forget: 05/14/09; The Replica backup storage device, by Seagate, is a 250GB or 500GB hard drive that connects quickly and easily to your PC or notebook to provide instant backup of everything that you've got stored on the computer.