A few times a year, Pepcom comes to New York and throws a media-only bash, with lots of vendors showing their technology products -- mostly consumer stuff, some enterprise too. A whole herd of PC Magazine folks headed over to this one, which featured a barbecue-in-the-city theme. These events are a good place to get some hands-on experience with products you've heard about but not seen yet; to discover a few new companies with innovative products; to catch up with friends and colleagues; to eat a lot of free food; and for one brave urban cowboy, to have a go on the mechanical bull (left).
After I polished off a plate of pulled pork, I took a walk around the show floor. A few things stood out to me: Sony Ericsson had some very appealing speaker docks for their walkman phones, which we'll post about here later when we get our hands on them. ScreenTek (new to me) offers replacement screens for laptops, which they claim are easy to install. Belkin has a new surge protector coming out (OK, I get excited about surge protectors... so what!) that look a whole lot better than the ones I have in every outlet in my apartment; again, we'll post about that when we try it out for ourselves. And Western Digital showed a cool-looking personal hard drive called My Book Premium Edition; it comes in capacities of 160GB to 500GB, the latter costing $329.99. Check out the blue capacity gauge on the front of the drive -- nifty!
There was a lot more to see at Digital Experience: BBQ Edition, but PCMag Web producer Molly McLaughlin worked a lot harder than I did to show you. She put up a great slideshow of standout products at pcmag.com; take a look.
On Tuesday, June 27th, LG Electronics and Jermaine Dupri launched the new LG So So Def Fusic Phone at the FUSIC Launch Party in Hollywood. So of course, celebs wishing to feast their eyes on some bling-bling attended, including Janet Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Bow Wow, Kelly Rowland, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder and Jessica Alba.
This is what Dupri has to say about the phone: "As I am constantly pushing the envelope with my music and other different business enterprises, this marks the perfect timing for us to fuse our brands and celebrate our mutual success together."
FUSIC by LG not only plays music, it's the first cell phone in the U.S. to feature an FM transmitter for listening to music through a radio or car stereo. Fusic also features Bluetooth and comes with four changeable faceplates in black, pink, blue and green.
Seen here are LG FUSIC phones blinged out with Swarovski crystals. And you don't have to be a celeb to score one!
Dupri is offering five of the first run of Limited Edition LG So So Def Fusic phones on eBay. You'll get the collectors case, the Afro man doll, LG portable speakers, and the Fusic with Swarovski crystals. Each case is autographed by Dupri.
-Smart recharging to let users power-up both the mouse and keyboard in one easy-to-use place -Ambient backlighting turning on when it senses a room is dimly lit -Proximity sensing that will turn backlighting on as a user approaches the keyboard -Sleek design with authentic metal accents and only one inch of height at its tallest point
What's also cool about this keyboard is that it has a 30-foot range, so it will work from your desk to your lap, even to your couch. Now that's what I'm talking about!!
It will be available later this year, and we can't wait to review one.
Struggling Mobile ESPN, the wireless carrier for sports fans, decided to go to the gym, slim down and buff up a bit in an attempt to become more attractive to the masses. Don't you feel for them just a little? Their first phone, the MVP (a derivative of Sprint's Sanyo MM-9000) had great reception and sound quality, but it was something of a big, ugly lug. Well, they're giving away the MVP now for free and launching the Ace, a version of Sprint's Samsung MM-A900 -- a sleek, slender Bluetooth-equipped a phone, a stylish, competent Derek Jeter compared to the MVP's Barry Bonds-style grouchy power slugger.
They're selling it cheap, too, at $99 with contract. If you like sports even a little, Mobile ESPN's fire sale looks like a good way to get some very good Sprint phones at a very low price, as long as you can deal with restrictions like expensive off-Sprint roaming fees and lack of free mobile-to-mobile calling to non-ESPN users.
Sprint's lack of the nation's most popular phone, the Motorola RAZR, has been frustrating. But rather than grabbing a RAZR V3c away from Verizon and Alltel, Sprint decided to leverage their exclusive relationship with Sanyo to produce the Katana -- an extremely RAZR-like phone, in four colors, launching very soon.
The Katana is 0.6" thick (the same thickness as Verizon's RAZR V3c) and has the characteristic RAZR antenna bulge at the bottom. But unlike the metal-clad RAZR, the Katana is plastic (perhaps alluding to the Japanese expertise in making ceramic knives?) It's also $129.99 with a 2-year contract, or $279.99 without a contract. That's considerably cheaper than the RAZR started out at, though it's much more expensive than the free-to-$50 RAZRs you're seeing on the market right now.
The RAZR doesn't have high-speed data, unlike the V3c, it doesn't support Sprint's Power Vision TV or music services, and the camera is only VGA. But it does have Bluetooth, and the main screen is a delicious 320x240 resolution. Like the RAZR, this is primarily a good-looking voice phone. Sanyo is famous for their good reception and voice quality, so I can't wait to test it.
Citibank sent me a new way to spend money last weekend, a MasterCard PayPass. It is a little RFID token; just wave it in front of a reader and the charges appear on your credit card. MasterCard has been slowly but steadily rolling these out to it customers. The concept is pretty simple, but every single person I have shown my new toy to said they would be too afraid to use it themselves. (Including some PC Magazine editors.) I was wary too, but as an intrepid technology journalist I was determined to road test this widgit. Then I spent the better part of four days looking for a place that actually accepted PayPass. Right now it isn't very common, even in New York City, although the city is testing a pilot program for PayPass to replace the current MetroCard system for the subway system.
Last night I hit Pay Pass pay dirt. Waiting in line at a Yankees Stadium concession stand I saw the reader; in fact every register has a PayPass reader! Elated, I swiped and was automatically charged $42.25 for three beers, three jumbo hot dogs, and a bag of peanuts. What a bargain! I still had to sign a receipt because the purchase was greater than $25, but it did get me back to my seat faster than if I had handed over my credit card.
What about the risks? They are real, but I don't think they are any greater than using a plain old credit card. I just don't think you should worry about it. Here is why:
The risk of losing the token is basically the same as losing your wallet. Treat you keys more like your wallet and you should be fine.
Credit cards are more risky. In most cases you actually have to hand-over your credit card when making a charge. This opens it up to duplication and abuse.
The range on the token is very short, just two or three centimeters, so you won't get charged just by walking by a reader.
For charges greater than than $25, you need to sign the receipt, anyway.
You can't read the numbers off a pass pass token. I have a picture of mine right here in this post; I would not do this with my credit card.
"North American MasterCard cardholders are protected by zero liability for any fraudulent transaction."
What is there to be afraid of? Am I missing something? If anyone out there has fallen victim to fraud with PayPass, let me know. Otherwise, I am going to keep swiping.
If you're looking for a stylish alternative to the plethora of plastic iPod cases--or maybe if you collect Altoid tins--the Tinpod might be right up your alley. Tinpods are limited-edition cases sized for 3G, 4G, or 5G iPods made by Kollective.de, featuring artwork by illustrator Kurt Ketchum.
The case feels light and sturdy, and has 3mm of neoprene padding lining the interior. You won't have to worry about scuffing up your iPod if it's locked in one of these things. The Tinpods have openings for headset cables, remotes, and L-shaped mini plugs up to 7mm. They come in three funky multi-layered designs: Shown at left is L'Orange Lune, my personal favorite.
I'm feelin' the designs, and I like the safety that the durable case offers; but it has no center opening like other cases. When I'm listening to my iPod, I'm always skipping tracks, toying with the volume, or changing playlists, and it's a bit annoying to have to pry open the lid every time I want to use the click-wheel. But if that's not a problem for you, and you fancy yourself a trendsetter, the Tinpod would make a pretty cool fashion accessory. Pick one up for $16.95 through Kollective.de's site.
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