Sandra Vogel

Bookeen Cybook

There are a number of dedicated ebook readers on the market, and although they are not as widely used as some enthusiasts would like, this has not halted the development of related technologies or delayed the release of new products such as Sony’s LIBRIé and Franklin’s eBookMan. Now French company <a href="http://www.bookeen.com">Bookeen</a> is pushing the Cybook, a Windows CE-powered device that, although it's being marketed primarily as an ebook reader, has other features on offer too.

January 18, 2005 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

MoGo Mouse BT

Many notebook users work perfectly well with the navigation system that's built into their computers, but others prefer to use a mouse. However, a mouse is yet another item to carry in your bag, and that there's often an inconvenient wired connection to the computer. The <a href="http://www.newtonperipherals.com/Mogo_Products.htm">MoGo Mouse BT</a> addresses these issues by communicating with your notebook via Bluetooth and residing (and charging up) in your system's PC Card slot when it's not in use.

February 20, 2007 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Sharp LL-151-3D

Sharp announced its first device with a 3D display -- a notebook called the <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/Sharp_Actius_RD3D/4505-3121_7-30573410.html?tag=pdtl-list">Actius RD3D</a> -- in the US towards the end of 2003. The Actius RD3D has not shown up in the UK, and Sharp has no plans to launch it here. However, the company has introduced the same technology into a standalone 15in. LCD monitor which is available to UK buyers. It’s not cheap at £950 (ex. VAT; £1,116.25 inc. VAT), but, like the Actius RD3D, this monitor does offer 3D viewing without the need for those awful 3D glasses.

November 4, 2004 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Sony Reader PRS-505

e-book readers are an interesting class of device. Some think they are the classic example of a solution looking for a problem, while others find them invaluable for carrying around large quantities of information. Sony has been targeting US users who hold the former view with its Reader for some time. That product has now made it across the pond, where its main competitors — in the absence of <a href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39290938,00.htm">Amazon's Kindle</a> — are the <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/handhelds/0,1000000735,39289156,00.htm">iRex iLiad</a> and <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/handhelds/0,1000000735,39348295,00.htm">Bookeen Cybook</a>.

October 2, 2008 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Bluetake i-Phono BT420EX

Bluetooth add-ons are nothing new -- for example, notebooks and desktop computers have been able to use USB Bluetooth adapters for some time. But owners of portable audio devices -- such as non-Bluetooth mobile phones and digital music players -- have not had similar opportunities. Bluetake’s i-Phono BT420EX, which is available from <a href="http://www.eurosimm.com/sites/eurosimm.nsf/home.html">EuroSimm</a>, changes this, allowing you get wireless stereo sound from any audio device via its 3.5mm jack.

August 17, 2004 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

I.TECH Virtual Keyboard

Handheld computers with integrated keyboards used to be quite common. But Psion abandoned this market, and Microsoft has allowed its Handheld PC variant of Windows CE to wither on the vine. This leaves users with few options -- in the UK, you're basically stuck with grey imports or obsolete hardware. External keyboards for handhelds are therefore quite popular, and the best of them allow for touch typing at reasonable speeds. But even the smallest of these folding keyboards represents a significant addition to your travel kit, and they often feel cramped to use. I.TECH (part of the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa group) has identified a gap in the market and come up with the Virtual Keyboard: this is a small unit that projects a keyboard onto any surface, and connects to a range of smartphones, handhelds and notebooks. It’s certainly innovative, but how well does it work?

September 3, 2004 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard

For some users, a handheld and a keyboard can be a realistic substitute for a notebook system. Although lacking processing power, storage capacity, screen size and so on, such a solution is incredibly portable. There are many portable keyboards to choose from, but unless you go for the futuristic laser-based <a href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/inputdevices/0,39023910,39165419,00.htm">I.TECH Virtual Keyboard</a>, they mostly interact with your handheld using a physical connector or via infrared. <a href="http://www.thinkoutside.com">ThinkOutside</a> recently introduced its Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard, which takes the wireless connection concept to the next level.

September 21, 2004 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Amazon Kindle DX Global Wireless Edition

Amazon's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015TG12Q?amp%3Brw_absolute=y">Kindle DX Global Wireless Edition</a> is the largest e-book reader we've seen to date. It benefits from an HSDPA connection for purchasing books, magazines and newspapers, so there's no need to connect it to your PC to populate it with content. But it's also somewhat hamstrung for the UK market, so is it still worth considering?

March 4, 2010 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Bookeen Cybook Gen3

It has been said that e-book readers are one of the great missed opportunities of the portable computing world. The ability to carry many tens of 'books' — be they training manuals, novels, comics, short papers, reports or other kinds of texts — on a single device is alluring, but the devices themselves have generally failed to prosper.

February 28, 2008 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Photos: Livescribe Connect

Smartpens from Livescribe now have a (free) software add-on that lets you share handwritten and audio notes to a variety of sources.

June 28, 2011 by Sandra Vogel in Hardware

Latest from Sandra Vogel