travel

There are a great number of travel Web sites on the Internet that let you search flights, hotel listings, and car rentals, but if you want a quick way to get that info while on the go, check out the Kayak for Android app. This latest version includes a sleek interface and fast search results making it a breeze to get your travel plans in order quickly.

Instead of the older tile-like interface, Kayak has instead gone with a list view in this version that makes it easy to browse flights, hotels, and car rentals. Once you choose the type … Read more

A quick housekeeping note: I'll be on vacation tomorrow (Friday, July 8). See you back here on Monday!

Much as I'm loving tablets these days, it's getting harder and harder to justify spending $500-plus on one when you can get an entire laptop for hundreds less. Apples and oranges? Maybe so, but when it comes to productivity, I think laptops still win the day.

While supplies last, TigerDirect has the refurbished Acer Aspire AS5552-3691 15.6-inch laptop for $319.99, plus around $9 for shipping. Make sure to note the "while supplies last" part, because … Read more

PARADISO, Italy--I'm sitting in a comfortable seat, looking out at the foothills of the Italian Alps. High on the hilltops the houses are grand, and below them, small terraced vineyards offer the promise of a leisurely glass of wine and some terrific linguine al vongole.

Not long before, Lake Como had sparkled out the window, and though George Clooney is said to have sold his villa there, it's hard not to go by and imagine him and his Hollywood friends getting the best out of life amid one waterside mansion after another and more glamor than most people … Read more

Not everybody has fingers glued to a touch screen these days. Some folks still like to travel with a portable mouse for a satisfyingly retro computing experience.

Mouse lovers are often faced with the challenge of finding an appropriate mousing surface when on the go. Knees and gunky coffeehouse tables don't offer an optimum experience, and it's times like those when you want your own mouse pad with you.

The Smartfish Mouse Pad Travel Pouch is an overachiever. It pulls double duty as a mouse pad and a zip-up storage compartment.

The 9-inch padded neoprene surface is easy on your mouse while it's in use and protects small gadgets and accessories in its spare time. It looks a lot like a taco when it's closed, except that this taco can be packed with a scrumptious filling of electronics.

A small snap handle opens up to attach it to your briefcase, or you can just shove it in with the rest of the gear in your laptop bag.

The Mouse Pad Travel Pouch will cost you $14.95 and comes in either black or blue. … Read more

Jet-setting BlackBerry addicts now have a few more convenient travel tools at their disposal, thanks to today's update of the BlackBerry Travel app to version 1.1. After releasing the first iteration of BlackBerry Travel back in February, it appears the folks at RIM have listened to user feedback and rolled some of the louder suggestions into this newest release.

One of the splashiest new features users will find in 1.1 is Mobile Rental Car Booking. According to RIM, the updated app can now help you "book a rental car from almost any rental car agency anywhere … Read more

Sure, you know enough to steer clear of Nigerian princes (hopefully), but what about when the hotel desk calls your room because of a problem processing your credit card? Would you know better than to give the "receptionist" your number?

That's just one of the 350-plus scams exposed and explained in Scam Detector for iOS, an informative fraud database that can help you avoid getting ripped off.

The app doesn't "detect" scams so much as educate you about them. The data is divided into five categories: Auto, Face to Face, Internet, Telephone, and Travel. Within Internet you'll find five sub-categories: Social Networking, Financials, Employment Online, Houses & Properties, and Online Auctions & Tech.

In other words, it covers all the bases--and reveals a lot of scams I guarantee you've never heard of. For example, you know the guy standing in line behind you at the register, the one who looks like he's texting on his phone? He might actually be snapping photos, trying to get a readable shot of your credit card as it passes back and forth between you and the cashier.… Read more

Altec Lansing already offered a single housing monaural speaker in its Orbit line of portable speakers. But now it's doubled up with the latest model, the Orbit Stereo--a pair of USB-powered speakers that snap together into one long tube when not in use, so you can tuck them into a suitcase or laptop bag.

While the IML247 Orbit Stereo speakers aren't tiny, they are fairly lightweight, weighing 12.8 ounces, and you don't have to carry around any sort of extra power adapter. They also cost an affordable $49.99, which is $15 to $30 more than … Read more

Sony has three compact megazooms in its 2011 lineup; the Cyber-shot HX9V is the most expensive. It's also the only one of the three (the H70 and HX7V are the others) that's not replacing a 2010 model. It's entirely new and hosts what seems like all of Sony's latest Cyber-shot technologies. That includes (for better or worse) a 16-megapixel Exmor R sensor, a 16x ultrawide-angle 24mm-equivalent Sony G lens, and a high-speed linear-focusing system. It shoots video in full HD at 60p. It has a GPS receiver for geotagging photos while you shoot. Shooting modes go … Read more

The Altec Lansing Orbit MP3 iM227 is a portable speaker. It's basically identical to the Altec Lansing Orbit MP3 iM237. See the full review of the Altec Lansing Orbit MP3 iM237 for more details.