Features
Holiday Gifts!
Great holiday gifts for the technology obsessed
The
wrap on PDAs
If you plan on giving a loved one a PDA as a holiday gift, you'll
find something pretty much for every budget. The modest Zire 21
from palmOne goes for just $99. It doesn't have a color screen
or a lot of memory, but it keeps track of schedules and appointments
like any other PDA. Willing to spend a bit more? For under $200
you can now get powerful color PDAs that would have cost twice
as much just a couple of years ago. If money is no object, the
sky's the limit. The more expensive units may include phone functionality,
GPS, play music and videos, connect wirelessly to your other computers
and the internet, and even large displays with the same resolution
we used to only get on desktops or notebooks. Let us help you
make the decision by explaining some of your options.
Should
I get a Palm or a Pocket PC? Most PDAs are based either
on the Palm Operating System or on Microsoft Windows Mobile for
Pocket PC. It used to be that Palm PDAs had a much larger market
share and were generally simpler to operate and figure out. That's
no longer the case. These days Palms and Pocket PCs have almost
equal market share and both offer roughly the same functionality.
The average Palm PDA still costs less than the average Pocket
PC, and there is still a lot more third-party Palm software than
third-party software for Pocket PCs. On the other hand, with Sony
no longer marketing its innovative Palm-based CLI PDAs, high-end
Pocket PCs such as the iPAQ 4700 from Hewlett Packard offer unparalleled
power and features. Our advice: ask, or try to figure out what
the person wants. Most people have strong feelings either for
a Palm or for a Pocket PC.
Aren't
PDAs with color screens expensive? Not anymore. The
cheapest Palm still has a gray-scale screen, but everything else
has color. The new PDA standard is a transflective color screen.
This means it can be used both indoors and in bright sunshine.
What you pay extra for today is the size of the screen and how
many pixels it has. Low end Palms still only have 160x160 pixels,
but the more expensive models use 320x320 or even 320x480 pixels.
Likewise, basic Pocket PCs have screens with 240x320 pixels, but
the new high-end models display 480x640 pixels. More pixels generally
cost more.
What
fits into a pocket? It's hard to believe that early
PDAs such as the Apple Newton MessagePad were as big as a VHS
video tape cassette! Today, all PDAs are small÷generally about
3 x 5 inches and about half an inch thick. They fit into almost
any pocket (hey, that's probably why Microsoft calls them Pocket
PCs!). One exception is the new large-screen Pocket PCs. They
are a little larger and heavier, but still manageable. With PDAs,
size really doesn't matter.
How
much Memory? That can be confusing. When you buy a
PC you generally want as much RAM as possible, but it's no big
deal because you can always add more. Not so with a PDA. You're
stuck with what you buy. To confuse things a bit more, 64MB in
a Palm is not the same as 64MB in a Pocket PC. Palms generally
need less RAM for programs and data than Pocket PCs. Also be aware
that the RAM in a Pocket PC is split into one part for data and
one part for programs. So the 64MB of an iPAQ must be shared and
is not all available for data. Most Pocket PCs now have special
nonvolatile backup memory that keeps data safe even if the battery
runs out. More of that is definitely better!
What
expansion slots? Most PDAs have either a Secure Digital
(SD) card slot or a Compact Flash (CF) card slot. SD cards are
hardly larger than postage stamps and very handy. One thing to
look out for is whether the SD interface is ăSDIO compatible.ä
If it is, you can use the slot for peripherals other than just
memory. CF cards are larger and use more space, but many peripherals
have a CF card interface. Top of the line units often have one
of each slots.
Battery
issues The days where a Palm would run for many weeks
on a charge are gone. These days most PDAs get between three and
eight hours from a charge, so you might want to take that into
consideration. Also, some units have replaceable battery packs
whereas others are inside the unit and can't be replaced. To some
people, that makes a big difference. No matter what device you
pick, you really can't go wrong. PDAs have matured to a point
where even low-end units are terrific, powerful organizers. And
the more expensive models can do it all. So go and make someone
happy!
Mobiles
Tired
of carrying around a laptop, a PDA, and a phone? Nokia has
a powerful solution for you in their latest Communicator,
the 9300. Its dual color displays will keep you informed when
the miniature clamshell is open or closed. The Symbian operating
system has all you need to stay productive and informed on
the go.
$600 nokia.com |
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Need
something a little more compact? Check out Motorola's latest
flip-phone, the V710. It's perfect for those who want to carry
a dual display model in a flip design with Bluetooth wireless,
a 1.2-megapixel digital camera with flash, video messaging,
and a removable memory card to store music and image files.
$475 motorola.com |
Sony
Ericsson has released their most powerful communicator yet,
the P910. This machine now features a flip out keypad to ease
text entry, a hi-color display, and more memory than the popular
P900.
$600 sonyericsson.com |
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The
famous RIM Blackberry finally makes its way to consumers in
the form of a lovely smartphone named the 7100t.
$200 blackberry.com |
Samsung
is offering two stunning new flip-phones, the Worldphone that
operates on both CDMA and GSM bands, and the Microsoft Smartphone-equipped
i600. Both offer excellent performance and crisp good looks.
$400 samsung.com |
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Accessories
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If
you have teenagers in the house, you have IM issues. Make
it easy for them to text their friends without surrendering
your computer with the IMFree, a wireless accessory for
your Windows PC that connects to AOL in the background.
$100 motorola.com
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Cables,
cables and more cables! They're driving us all nuts, but
at least someone has done something about it. Codi's new
Five-In-1 USB retracts and connects to any USB device.
$25 codi-inc.com
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100GB
in your shirt pocket or purse? Now it's a reality with Wiebetech's
newest Pocket Drive.
$500 wiebetech.com
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The
latest keyboard from Palm uses infrared to connect to virtually
any Palm-powered device.
$70 palmone.com
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Break
free with the superb new Bluetooth Keyboard from ThinkOutside.
It works with any Bluetooth device, even laptops.
$150 thinkoutside.com
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Get
the cool look without the cost with Targus' Aluminum Attach
Notebook Case.
$100 codi-inc.com
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Digital
Audio Gear
People
who love music love their iPods and people who love to share
love the Altec Lansing inMotion powered speaker system. Two
new designs are shipping for the 4G iPods and iPod minis,
both with richly detailed sound and stunning good looks.
iM3: $179 alteclansing.com
iMmini: $129 alteclansing.com |
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Altec
Lansing scores again with their sweet-sounding new XA2021
amplified speaker system. Targeted to gaming enthusiasts,
it makes a fabulous sound system for your portable audio player
or computer, too.
$50 alteclansing.com |
Turn
your iPod into a flashlight and a laser pointer with Griffin's
iBeam. It's worth 20 bucks just to show your friends what
an iPod-obsessive you really are.
$20 griffintechnology.com |
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Another
winner from Griffin is the iTalk, the first decent sound recording
accessory for iPods. There's even a speaker so you can listen
to your iPod sans headphones.
$40 griffintechnology.com |
If
you're packing several electronic devices around with you
÷ and who isn't these days? ÷ you need to keep them charged.
Voltaic Systems has a nicely designed backpack with solar
panels and a central rechargeable battery pack. Universal
and optional device-specific cable ends can mate with wide
variety of popular gizmos. If you spend much time outside
and love your mobile tech, you need to take a look at a Voltaic
Backpack.
$230 voltaicsystems.com |
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Digital
Cameras
If
you are in the market for a new digital camera that works
pretty much like you'd expect, see our table of recommendations
below. If you want a unique experience, check out Sony's new
hybrid still/video camera, the lovely and talented DSC-M1.
The ingenious folding/twisting design reveals a 5.1-megapixel
still camera that can also capture 30fps MPEG video clips
up to one hour in length, all direct to Memory Stick Duo cards.
$600 sonystyle.com |
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Then
again, you could consider the BarbieCam, a snappy little pink
number for the little girl in your life that comes with fun
Barbie designer and clipart PC software.
$35 oregonscientific.com |
Ansmann
2400mAh rechargeable NiMH AA cells are the most powerful on
the market, and they're cheap.
$13 hpmarketinggroup.com |
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Looking
for a solid, Windows-based image editor with all the bells
and whistles that's easy to use? Check out the new Paint Shop
Pro Studio.
$79 (boxed) / $69 (download) jasc.com |
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