Accessories, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Network Equipment

GreenGoose not only tracks pets and things, but also knows what they have done

Tracking people, pets and items is possible with GPS or even with mobile phone technology, because the phone has to connect through local cells that can be located. If you also want to know what the particular person, pet, or item has been doing, you need something else. GreenGoose has developed a sensor system that knows if you have brushed your teeth or taken your dog for a walk.

Samsung Navibot vacuumes your home when you relax

We have firmly believed that the ultimate mobile computer is a smartphone that can do just about everything expect for wash dishes and vacuum the house. Now, we have to reconsider our position after we discovered a mobile device that can move by itself and do something useful along the way. The Samsung Navibot is a robot that can vacuum a house all by itself.

Reflect laser-sharp images from your PC screen to a wall

Projectors are handy devices that can reflect images from a laptop screen to a silverscreen or to a wall. Recently, tiny pocket-size projectors, known as pico projectors, have become more common because it is easy to take one along for a trip. So far, the image quality and resolution, however, has been poor. Now, a new pocket-size projector can draw laser-sharp images to a wall.

Google Nexus One clad in leather

If you pay more than 500 dollars for an advanced smartphone, like the Google Nexus One you may not want to throw it into a bag with keys and peanuts before you protect the device. Proporta has designed a leather case particularly for the Google Nexus One smartphone.

Phone Halo alerts if you are about to forget your valuables

The more things we carry along in our daily business, the easier it is to forget valuable items in unsafe places. Mobile phones, wallets, cameras, keys, purses, iPods, even laptops may be left in unsafe places in a hurry. If you want to be absolutely sure you don't leave your most valuable item on a cafe table, there's a small device called Phone Halo that reminds you may have forgotten something.

Water resistant pouch for mobile phones

One of the most common accidents that can destroy a mobile phone (or any electronics) is dropping the device into water. Water resistant mobile phones designed for sports activities are available, but few people find them attractive. It is, however, possible to totally protect a mobile phone from water. You simply slip the phone into a pouch designed for the purpose. We tried out a low-cost waterproof pouch for mobile phones.

Freeloader Can Charge Mobile Device Batteries Anywhere with Solar Energy

We are so used to having our mobile phone, MP3 player, digital camera, and GPS at hand that it is difficult to be without them even in the great outdoors. Not to mention the sudden panic if the battery in our camera dies in the middle of nowhere. The wilderness doesn't provide power plugs, but the sun provides energy for solar panels. The pocket-size Freeloader is a solar panel charger that can power a mobile phone, iPod, camera, PDA, or other mobile device wherever the sun shines.

Eye-Fi Memory Card Lets You Copy Pictures from a Camera to a Photo Album via Wi-Fi

When the world started talking about the paperless office, the amount of paper increased. When the world began adopting wireless technologies, the number of cables increased. There are perfectly logical reasons for both, such as copiers, or battery chargers and USB cables for portable devices. Until this year, digital cameras have brought even more cables to millions of homes. The Eye-Fi wireless memory card aims to remove cables between digital cameras and PCs.

Move Your Favorite Movies and Internet Videos from PC to TV on a USB Stick

Some people like to watch videos on their smartphones, some prefer Apple iPods, while the YouTube generation may like to view flicks on a PC. Still, the vast majority of human population still wants to experience moving pictures on a TV screen. If you have a movie library on your PC, but occasionally want to show films on the living room TV, you can connect your PC to the TV set, or transfer the film to the TV set. The SanDisk Sansa Take TV lets you copy videos from the PC to a USB stick, connect it to the TV, and enjoy the show on the large screen.

Monitor Your Home from a Mobile Phone

How many times you have returned home, only to check that you locked the door? Wouldn't it be reassuring to know that the dog is peacefully sleeping on her blanket or the nanny is putting the child to bed for a nap at 2 pm as agreed. Home monitoring systems may not be this year's invention, but remotely monitoring the home hasn't been easy. Lagotek has created a home monitoring and security solution that lets you control your home from a mobile phone.

Internetvue Connects Your PC to TV via Wi-Fi

Many Internet surfers have noticed that there is a wider selection of entertaining shows, movies, and music available on the Internet than on traditional TV channels. Despite the overwhelming choice on the Internet, the nice thing with TV is that usually its screen is large. Internetvue is a connectivity product that wirelessly hooks up your PC to a TV, allowing you to view Internet videos on a large TV screen.

SlingPlayer Mobile Lets You Watch Home TV Anywhere Your Smartphone Can Access the Internet

When you are away from home, but desperately want to watch a TV show that you could view at home, asking someone to record the show may not be the right solution. For instance, when a businessman from India is visiting Korea, he might want to watch the three-day Cricket test between India and Australia, while a tourist from North America visiting Switzerland might want to follow the American Idol final. Sling Media has created a system that lets you view your home TV on your smartphone or notebook PC anywhere you can access the Internet.

Establishing a Wi-Fi Hotspot without Wired Broadband Connection

Avis has started offering wireless broadband connection from rental cars. The connection makes it possible to use a Wi-Fi laptop, smartphone, camera, or MP3 player for Internet access while on the go. What a fascinating idea! In fact, the technology doesn't have anything to do with cars, because anyone can purchase a 3G Wi-Fi router that lets them access and share a broadband connection even in places without connection to a fixed-line broadband.

Lexmark Printers Are Joining the Wireless Revolution

When you want to print a photo or a document from your laptop at home, you probably walk up to a printer, hook up a USB cable from the printer to the laptop and hope for the best. It's not a very elegant solution for anyone who is used to wireless technology. Fortunately, a printer manufacturer has realized that we are living in the wireless age. Lexmark is offering a range of printers that can connect to a Wi-Fi access point to allow wireless printing.

Wi-Fi Access Point Doesn't Have to Be an Ugly Box in the Corner, but a Discreet In-Wall Element

Installing a wireless Wi-Fi access point can considerably reduce the number of Ethernet cables lying around floors or hanging on walls. The problem is that if you are into home decoration, Wi-Fi access point devices are not exactly beautiful design elements. HD Communications Corp has designed an in-wall Wi-Fi hotspot that looks like another power point on the wall. The in-wall Wi-Fi access point also includes an Ethernet port, making it a new way to wire a house or an office.

H2O Audio Case Protects Your Apple iPod from Water and Dirt

Some Apple iPod owners are so attached to their favorite music that they want to take it everywhere, even into the water or for a ride along dusty paths. The problem is that normal electronic devices easily malfunction or brake down altogether if they get in touch with dust or water. Fortunately, products that protect our valuable electronic products are available. Waterproof cases for cameras and phones have been available for quite some time, and now H2O Audio has designed protective cases for MP3 players like the Apple iPod.

Control Your Phone from the Sony Ericsson MBW-150 Wrist Watch

Some of our less-organized and absent-minded friends tend to miss phone calls simply because they can't find their phone in time to answer the call. They don't always have a clue if they left the device on the kitchen table, in the car, or if it is buried deep in a bag. The Sony Ericsson MBW-150 wrist watch not only alerts our dear friends about incoming phone calls, but it also vibrates on the wrist if the owner is about to abandon the phone by leaving more than 10 meters/30 feet distance between the watch and the phone.

Keep Your Phone, PDA or iPod at Hand with Cliphanger

We love our small portable devices because they are, well, portable and can do useful and fun things for us. Strangely, we haven't been able to find a solution that would allow us to carry any of our phones, MP3 players, or PDAs so that the device would always be easy to reach. Just like most people, we are stashing our handheld devices into pouches, bags, purses, and pockets because there are no other solutions available. Now, there maybe one. Cliphanger is a simple accessory that lets us attach our devices to the dashboard, bag, or other gear where they are easy to reach.

SanDisk V-Mate Video Recorder for Mobile Devices

More and more people have digital mobile devices with video playback ability. Portable media players, iPod Video, mobile phones, and PDAs can all play video; the problem is getting the videos you desire to the device. SanDisk says they have an answer for you with the SanDisk V-Mate, a video memory card recorder. It allows you to record video from your TV, DVD player, VCR, Cable Box, or TiVo onto whatever flash memory card your portable device uses. Playback is as easy as inserting your card into your mobile device and hitting play >

Don't let a weak mobile network signal drive you crazy

There's nothing more exasperating than living on the edge of a mobile network. Sometimes the signal is strong; sometimes it's extremely weak; but it's never there when there's an important phone call to make. Using the landline phone is out of the question, because it doesn't have the contact database stored on the unit. Both an external phone antenna and a network signal booster are accessories that can help relieve the misery. And if everything else fails, the combined power of Wi-Fi, smartphone and VoIP won't fail >

Using a Music Phone as a Remote Control for Your Home Stereo

Most of the time, you are probably listening to songs stored on your music phone through headphones, but there are moments when it would be more fun to play the tracks through the home stereo. You don't even have to bother to transfer the songs anywhere from the phone, because you can simply beam the tracks to your home stereo system. The songs are being played on the phone but you and your friends hear the music through the Hi-fi loudspeakers. Only a small Bluetooth adapter that's hooked up to the stereo set is required for this low-cost system. And best of all, the Bluetooth adapters can receive music from PCs as well >

An Interchangeable Battery You Can Charge from an USB Port

How many devices do you have that use batteries? If you are like me, you have a mobile phone, a digital camera, an MP3 player, speakers, a wireless mouse, a TV remote, flashlight, and probably a few more battery-powered devices. That’s a lot of batteries and a lot of adaptors to keep track of, let alone lug around. Wouldn’t it be great if you could recharge your batteries from something that is always around and convenient, like say… a USB port >

Increase your chances for getting good camera phone photos in low light

Regardless of the number of megapixels the latest camera phone models come with, digital cameras tend to capture sharper images than camera phones. Especially, photographing in low light continues to be a challenge for many camera phones. Phlash is a new product that brings some extra light for camera phone photographers and can improve the quality of your low-light photos >

What are the differences between memory cards?

Do you know the name and type of the hard disk inside your computer? You couldn't care less? Right, it really doesn't matter as long as it does its job. But why on earth do we have to care and know about memory cards: which one is compatible with which camera or phone? Let's find out if there's a reason for having so many different memory cards and which card is the best choice for you >

Get the most out of the battery in your handheld device

As sure as the queue at a hamburger stand is crawling slower than the one next to you, the power on your portable device crawls to a halt when you need it the most. After a year, it may feel like you have to recharge the battery ever more frequently, or is it just that you are losing your patience with the whole damn thing more frequently. We have a few tips to help you get the most out of batteries on your portable devices >

Targus locks for the Apple iPod

Is it true that thieves mainly target white Apple iPods? Perhaps the black iPod doesn't attract as many crooks as the more visible and shiny white unit. It doesn't matter anymore whether you have a white or black iPod, because you can lock your precious player so that a casual thief won't be able to snatch it easily >

After you have upgraded to a new product, how do you gracefully dump the old one?

When old batteries die, we all have some idea what to do with them so that the toxic substances in them are properly managed, but did you know that many of our favorite electronics products, such as phones, digital cameras and portable audio players can be harmful to the environment as well. It's simple to properly dispose of your old product >

Mobile technology for your dog to wear - and for you to feel happy about

In the past, some dog owners dressed their poodles in sweaters in the winter, costumes for Halloween and maybe even a two-piece bikini at the beach. Now, modern technology has brought dog lovers new, more useful products that will have both you and your dog barking with delight. Advice on mobile electronics for dogs >

Hands-free headsets for mobile phones

There are moments in our lives when many of us wish we had more hands, like during a phone conversation, when trying to write something down on a piece paper that keeps slipping away from the pen. A hands-free headset with a microphone and an earpiece frees your hands for more useful tasks than for holding the phone. Advice on mobile phone headsets >

Faster typing with external keyboards

If you are one of those handheld owners who have realized that you are typing more than you expected on the handheld and want to speed up on your typing, there are other choices than getting a new device. An external keyboard allows you to type on your existing handheld. Advice on external keyboards >

Bluetooth, fun and privacy

Bluetooth has a feature that lets you find all Bluetooth-enabled devices near you. This feature and the things that can be done with it, can make using Bluetooth a lot of fun, but you should also be aware of potential privacy issues. Full story >

Bitten by Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that was designed to free us from cables between mobile devices, computers and their peripherals. Bluetooth can make your mobile life a whole lot easier if you already know in what way you intend to use it. Full story >