‘Mommy, I’m Losing You. Pick Me Up at Brownies’
Walt wonders whether 8-year-olds really need their own cellphones, but says Firefly’s kid-friendly model is a good choice for parents who want their children to join the mobile mob.
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A Phone That Takes Dictation: Testing Voice-to-Text Function
A new Samsung phone with built-in “speech-to-text” technology turns what you say into text on the screen. Walt says it looks better on paper than it works in the real world.
Music-Playing Cellphones Hit a Flat Note
After testing three music-playing cellphones, including the new iTunes-friendly ROKR, Walt isn’t ready to give up his iPod. None lives up to the full potential of what a combined phone and music player could be, he writes.
A Guide to Cellphone Technobabble
The cellphone industry generates more and more obscure jargon that makes it harder to decide what to buy. Walt delivers a basic glossary of wireless jargon, for mere mortals who speak only English.
Turning Your Cellphone Into Your Home Phone
Cellphones rule in lots of places but the old-fashioned wired phone still wins at home. Here’s a look at two products that aim to solve that problem by tying your cellphone into your wired home phone setup.
A Simple Way to Back Up Cellphone Contacts
Losing your cellphone can be a disaster, because it often contains the only copy of your address book. Spark Technology’s CellStik, which plugs into your phone to back up data, offers a smart, easy way to protect against this.
Cellphones Let Parents Set Limits
Disney Mobile makes it easy for families to stay in touch while giving parents easy control over their kids’ cellphone activities. But there are some downsides, Walt Mossberg says.
Simplifying the Cellphone Experience
We tested two cellphones and a service designed for those who feel nervous using complicated cellphones. Although we missed some features, we found the phones and service simple and helpful.
Testing TV on Your Cellphone
Just when you think technology has turned you into the laziest person possible, another invention comes along to cater to your every whim. This week, I tested just such an invention and a dream come true for the ultimate TV fanatic: television on your cellphone.
MobiTV, from MobiTV Inc., www.mobitv.com, gives people a way to watch [...]
A Cellphone With ‘Talking’ Emails
Every so often, a technology company sticks its neck out and creates a product beyond its repertoire. Dell Inc., known for its computers, began offering television sets four years ago. In 1998, printing titan Hewlett-Packard Co. started applying its imaging expertise to digital cameras. And when Apple Inc. introduced the iPod in 2001, the computer [...]
The iPhone Is a Breakthrough Handheld Computer
The iPhone is a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer, Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret say. A major drawback: the network it uses. Video
Keeping Tabs on Kids’ Phones
A new software application called Radar allows parents to monitor activity on their children’s cellphones. The program is user-friendly enough for tech-shy parents, but it doesn’t yet work with most basic cellphones.
Directions Are a Cellphone Call Away
A new, free service launching in nine metropolitan areas sends travel directions to your cellphone via text message after using voice-recognition technology to determine your current location and where you’d like to go.
Palm’s Centro Tries to Steal Pearl’s Glimmer
Palm’s Centro is geared toward younger people who traditionally only carry a cellphone. Palm hopes the $100 device, a miniature version of the more expensive Palm Treo, will give it a much needed shot in the arm.
Extending Cellphones’ Reach
The $150 Vtech LS5145 Expandable Cordless Phone System synchronizes with your cellphone and redirects incoming cell calls to ring wherever the VTech phones are placed in the house.
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Edited by Walt and written by Katie Boehret, this is a guide to gadgets, web services and other consumer technologies.
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
