duet

Finally, a dual SIM card cell phone

Though dual SIM card cell phones have been around for a while, I've only seen them while traveling abroad and at trade show booths. The premise is simple and very attractive: with slots for two SIM cards, a single phone can have two phone numbers. You can receive and make calls on both lines and the SIM cards can even be from separate carriers.

It's a great option for anyone who wants to combine their work and personal phone and it's perfect for frequent international travelers who want a local number while retaining their U.S. number.

With such advantages, it's no surprise that a lot of CNET readers have asked how they can get such a phone. But outside of a handful of unlocked models, and a few crude adapters for regular handsets, dual SIM card phones remain relatively scarce in the United States. No U.S. carrier sells them and you can bet that no carrier would give up that kind of control.

But leave it to National Geographic to come up with another option. The organization has partnered with Cellular Abroad to offer the Duet D888. Made by Beyond E-Tech, the unlocked Duet accommodates two SIM cards: one for the Cellular Abroad intentional SIM card and one for another card of your choice. You could use your own SIM card for a GSM carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile or you could buy a prepaid card during your travels. … Read more

JBL Duet II speakers will make your lava lamp jealous

The beauty of desktop speaker sets is that their universal connectivity (usually via a standard 3.5mm plug) makes them suitable for use with MP3 players and other audio devices in a pinch. Of course, many of the models on the market aren't exactly inspiring in the looks department. One exception to this rule is the JBL Duet II, a pair of "space-age" desktop speakers that retail for about $100. If you can get past the tangle of wires sprouting from the back, they're a solid option for your office, den, or dorm room listening needs.… Read more

Logitech Squeezebox Boom looks like a winner

I was a big fan of Logitech's Squeezebox Duet, which I saw demonstrated at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, and today Logitech announced a follow-up that looks even better: a boombox for your digital music collection. And unlike the Duet, which had to be plugged into a stereo, the Boom has speakers.

Once again, CNET's John Falcone has beaten me to the punch with a full review, but even without his validation, at first glance this looks like a great product for users with large collections of digital music trapped on their computers. Beginning in September, $300 will … Read more

Gadgettes 80: The Everything Old is New Again Episode

EPISODE 80

Special report: Are we getting iPhones soon? http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9886460-1.html

Taser party! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19353066

Ford Fiesta! It’s back! http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9887525-1.html

You cook, Readybot cleans http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9887236-1.html

Robo-lawnmower goes hybrid http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9887567-1.html

Rotating Sphere Lounger http://dvice.com/archives/2008/03/claustrophobia.php

Toy for children who want to grow up to work at the TSA http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/ toy_for_children_who_want_to_grow_up_to_work_at_the_tsa_9059.asp

A propos (of) nothing (Oh, my god edition) Squeezebox Duet http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/ logitech-squeezebox-duet/4505-6739_7-32815168.html… Read more

Logitech Squeezebox Duet: First hands-on impressions

UPDATE: The full review is now up at CNET.com.

The Logitech Squeezebox Duet, our pick for the best home audio product of CES 2008, has just shown up at the office. We spent a few minutes with the system before at CES, but this has been our first chance to sit down and live with the product in our own environment. A full review will follow, but in the meantime, here are some off-the-bat first impressions: … Read more

Logitech Squeezebox Duet

John Falcone already beat me to the punch with a detailed preview of Logitech's Squeezebox Duet, but I'll second his verdict: this looks like a more affordable competitor to the Sonos multiroom digital audio system, which I got a chance to experience in a real home environment last summer. In a nutshell: you connect the base station to any stereo with RCA inputs, and it draws music from your PC over a home wireless network, and lets you control it all with a handheld remote with a color screen. It supports every imaginable digital audio format, and is … Read more

Logitech's Squeezebox Duet: Sonos for the masses?

Digital audio is great--especially if you've got a multigigabyte music collection sitting on your computer or you subscribe to an "all you can eat" music service like Rhapsody. The problem, for a lot of people, is that they're stuck listening to all that great music on the tinny speakers of their computer--or perhaps patching the laptop into their living room stereo system. Dedicated audio streamers have helped somewhat, but they have tiny little screens, which--like docked iPods--aren't very useful if you're sitting on a sofa across the room. And the best solution to date--the excellent Sonos Digital Music System--costs a prohibitive $1,000. Enter Logitech's new Squeezebox Duet: the $400 network digital audio streamer employs a winning handheld remote with a brilliant color screen (not unlike an iPod) that lets you navigate your entire music collection--including some online services and the majority of free Internet radio stations--from the palm of your hand, even while you hear the music from the big speakers of your home stereo. … Read more