handheld

LAS VEGAS--At Lenovo's press dinner the other night there was an unidentified handheld on display, sitting casually next to the three new consumer-friendly IdeaPad laptops the company had come to Las Vegas to push.

No one--not even the PR people for Lenovo--could give me specific details. All they could say was that it is only available in China, the company's home market. This video gives a bit more detail, including that it runs Linux and uses a new 45-nanometer chip from Intel.

From what I saw, it had a lot of nice features, even if it was a … Read more

The Sony Mylo is back (remember that little Wi-Fi messaging device?), and it's looking a little more mature and wiser after learning some lessons the first go-round. Available later this month for $299, the Sony Mylo Communicator 2's got a new look and more features, including AIM support and YouTube support, but is it all enough to lure the young'uns? Meh, we're not so sure.

Starting with the design, I have to say I'm liking the changes. I actually got some brief hands-on time with the handheld before CES, and while it's slightly bigger … Read more

Remember when the introduction of a new Palm PDA generated the same hype and hubbub as new iPods do today? Alas, those days are over, which may explain why Palm looks to be clearing out the inventory--maybe for good. From now until November 26, you can get a Palm TX for $199 (a $100 savings) or a Tungsten E2 for $149 (a $50 break).

You also get some freebies out of the deal: a hard case with the E2 and a wireless keyboard with the TX. The latter model (pictured) is without question the best PDA Palm ever produced, offering … Read more

As if incessant infomercials and volume-blasting deodorant ads aren't enough, now there's a handheld TV from Japan that will talk to us all on its own. An unholy alliance of toy giant Takara Tomy and a company called E-Revolutiona has produced a pocket TV dubbed "Segnity" that has some mysterious "talking abilities" along with its 2.7-inch QVGA screen and 1Seg TV tuner.

Akihabara News speculates that it will say something like "Are you leaving already?" when it's being turned off, but that could be only the beginning. If U.S. … Read more

Will a bigger hard drive and a slightly lower price tag move more UMPCs for Oqo?

Oqo has updated its Vista-powered handheld computer, and knocked 33 percent of the cost, bringing it down to $1,299.

The San Francisco-based company has increased the hard drive capacities of both versions of the model 02. The entry-level went from 30GB to 40GB and the higher-end from 60GB to 80GB. Plus, now there's a 32GB flash-based option. They've also slightly upped the CPU speed to 1.6 Gigahertz.

But it has yet to solved the in-between nature of its concept. It'… Read more

Ha! And people thought the PDA was dead. Today, HP introduced two new models to its iPaq line of handhelds: the HP iPaq 110 Classic Handheld and HP iPaq 210 Enterprise Handheld. Now, in this day and age of smart phones, will this type of classic PDA fly? I say yes. There are still plenty of people who want one device for organizing their contacts and appointments while keeping their cell phone separate. And heck, since Dell exited the handheld market in April and there hasn't been a new PDA from Palm in years, HP fills that void. Both … Read more

A cheesy, old security riddle goes like this: how do you protect your bagels? Put lox (locks) on them. Ha, ha. Ha. I can see you rolling your eyes, and I understand. Smack-you-over-the-head Brooklyn humor isn't for everyone. Yet when the nitty gets gritty, this easy-as-smoked-salmon-pie security technique must not be as obvious for mobile phone users as it should be, because although mobile attacks have been steadily rising, users have been more interested in games, ringtones, and customization apps for their PDAs than in protecting mobile data. (See the related CNET News.com article.)

Last December, I put together a little something with tips on how to secure your wireless mobile device. I've updated that below, because it never hurts to rediscover some good security "lox."… Read more

Google PSP redesign or PSP2, and you'll get tens of thousands of results (and even a few interesting homemade Photoshop jobs, such as the "PSP Mini" shown above)--a testament to the fact that many gamers, it seems, were never quite comfortable with the design of Sony's first handheld gaming system. To be sure, the PSP has its share of issues, not the least of which is the UMD format--the proprietary optical disc format is hobbled with slow load times, and the moving parts sap the PSP's battery life. Controls have always been suspect, too, … Read more

Getting lost isn't for everyone. While some people thrill from the challenge of navigating unknown geographies, the non-orienteering among us pout, or worse, panic. Vacations, with their endless opportunity to discover new territories, tend to spark the maddening frustration of getting, and staying, lost.

Take these mobile apps with you this extended Fourth of July weekend, or on any vacation, for seeking and finding your current location and future destination.

Loki for Firefox and Loki for Internet Explorer are browser toolbars that can act as a laptop GPS by locating your whereabouts. In addition, Loki can help you find businesses and landmarks nearby. Loki for Mobile performs the same trick for Windows Mobile devices.… Read more