Today, Motorola (MOT) is unveiling its $100 Motopure H15 Universal Bluetooth Headset. It’s available from Verizon’s (VZ) stores and Web site, and I’ve been testing it.

While focusing on the new Motopure H15, I also took another look at two noise-canceling headsets we reviewed in May — the $130 Jawbone from Aliph Inc. and the $120 Plantronics (PLT) Discovery 925. I made calls on the three headsets while standing beside a construction crew’s loud generator in busy downtown Washington, D.C., and, in a separate test, running my hairdryer on high in the background.

In both of these loud scenarios, the results favored the Motopure over the Jawbone and Plantronics Discovery. Of the three, the Plantronics headset allowed the most background noise through and made it difficult for people to hear my voice. The Jawbone was much better than the Plantronics headset, but not as good as the Motopure, which dimmed loud background noise to a faint hum and seemed to amp up the volume of my own voice. I called various people and even left myself voicemails so I could hear the differences.

More Microphones

The Motopure H15 uses two microphones, while the Jawbone uses two microphones and one modified microphone that works as a voice-activity sensor. The Plantronics headset uses one microphone. Motorola says one of its microphones hears the user’s voice, the other picks up background noise and a technology called CrystalTalk works to filter that noise out.

In my Motopure testing, I saw at work technology that Motorola says is meant to automatically adjust the headset volume as noises increase or decrease in the background. And at no point during my tests with the headset did friends on the other end of the line notice any odd echoing or fading volume in my voice, as with some headsets.

Snug Fit

Unlike the Jawbone, which — as its name reflects — works by touching bones in the face to eliminate excess noise, the Motopure H15 never touches one’s face. In fact, Motorola cites this as an advantage over the Jawbone because it doesn’t need to touch a user’s face to work. Motorola’s headset fits using a loop of clear plastic that wraps snuggly around the ear, along with an in-ear piece, though it took me a little while to figure out which of its five earbuds fit best.

And unlike the Plantronics headset, which has a larger, triangular-shaped boom, the Motopure has a tiny boom that folds away when not in use. Users receive calls by simply folding the boom down, which instantly turns the headset on and connects to calls. When the boom is closed, the headset turns off to save battery. I liked the finality of closing the boom and knowing my headset was definitely off whenever I put it in my purse. And in its tucked-in position, the Motopure H15 is petite and portable.

But if you’re wearing this headset on your ear, opening and closing the boom is almost impossible. Motorola recommends using the boom as you would a clamshell cellphone: Answer calls by opening the boom before donning the earpiece and end calls by removing the earpiece and closing the boom.

Of course, many users will want to keep the device in their ear for an extended period, rather than fishing for it when a call comes in. For them, the awkwardness of the boom switch may be a problem. They can still keep the Motopure on with the boom opened, receiving and ending calls at any time by simply pressing the large Call button. In this state, the handset is in standby mode rather than off — the same as most Bluetooth headsets waiting for calls.

One Headset, Two Phones

A plus of the Motopure is its ability to simultaneously pair with two phones, such as a personal cellphone and a work smartphone. Incoming calls to both lines are represented by different colored lights on the headset. But as soon as a call with one phone begins, the Bluetooth link to the second phone is disconnected.

The Plantronics headset also has dual-phone pairing capability, but the Jawbone doesn’t.

According to Motorola, the Motopure’s battery lasts for about 4.5 hours of talk time. The Jawbone’s battery lasts four hours; the Plantronics headset, five hours. In standby, Motopure and the Plantronics Discovery last for about seven days; Jawbone lasts for eight. Pressing and holding the Motopure’s up and down volume buttons spurs an indicator light to glow red, yellow or green to represent battery strength.

I liked the Motopure’s sturdy charging stand, which doubles as a holder for the headset. Though this desktop charger isn’t available today from Verizon, it will be available later this month from other carriers and retailers in a $130 bundle with the headset.

More Colors Later

Today, the Motopure is available in a slate color, but it will be available in black later this month and other colors are tentatively planned for November. The Jawbone and the Plantronics headset are each available in three colors, and Jawbone will release blue and pink headsets later this month.

Overall, the Motopure H15’s noise cancellation worked the best out of these three headsets, and its tiny build and fold-up boom make it a helpful tool for consumers who want quiet conversations no matter where they are.

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

As technology continues to shrink, more features are being packed into these small mobile devices, making navigation and ease-of-use more important. This week, I tested the Motorola ROKR E8, which costs $199 with a two-year T-Mobile service agreement and makes a real attempt to be more user-friendly. The device, which comes out on July 7, isn’t much bigger than a typical cellphone but its standout feature is its keyboard, which dynamically changes to accommodate whatever you’re doing at the time, revealing only buttons that would be of use to that particular function.

The secret sauce on the ROKR E8 is its keyboard, which changes when it’s used as a phone, music device and camera.

The surface of the ROKR E8 has no physical keys at all. In its off or resting state, in fact, it’s just a black surface with rows of tiny, unlabeled bumps. But this surface is actually divided into two: The top half works like a typical cellphone display while the bottom half projects virtual keys onto its surface and uses the rows of bumps to give these keys a physical presence.

When making a call or sending a text message, the ROKR’s surface displays a regular phone keypad. But as soon as a music shortcut button is pressed, the surface morphs into five buttons for music navigation: play/pause, seek forward, seek backward, shuffle and repeat. Pressing another shortcut button to start the ROKR’s camera mode shows four buttons for zooming in or out, switching to playback mode or changing to video. Motorola (MOT) calls this its ModeShift technology. Though the lower half of the ROKR can be considered a touch device, objects can’t be manipulated with gestures like pinching or dragging as with the Apple (AAPL) iPhone’s multitouch screen.

Overall, I found that the ROKR E8’s dynamic keyboard gave me a real advantage in figuring out how to use the multi-functionality of the phone. Its changing keyboard eliminated a lot of guesswork and time that I may have spent hunting through menus for a command. And true to its name, the ROKR (pronounced “rocker”) is focused on its music phone functionality with an FM radio, a neatly organized music menu and a speaker that has convincingly simulated surround-sound effects.

But this ROKR didn’t always jam out in perfect pitch. A touch-sensitive semicircle in the center is meant to make scrolling through long lists easier — much like Apple Inc.’s iPod wheel. But because this tool on the ROKR isn’t a full circle, scrolling felt unsatisfying. You also can’t buy songs with the ROKR, or even mark songs for purchasing later on a PC.

And while the morphing buttons look futuristic and hip, I experienced a few instances when the phone was slow to react after I touched a button, as when I touched the seek forward button while listening to music or when I chose to open an MMS message I sent to a friend.

Twenty-two tiny bumps dot half of the ROKR’s surface, and the surface below each bump vibrates when it’s touched to provide sensory feedback. Nothing is ever physically pressed down, though the vibration response leads you to think otherwise.

A smart switch on the side can be held down to turn it on or off, or switched into the upward position to lock the device, preventing accidental calls or battery drain.

The ROKR E8 runs on T-Mobile’s (DT) GPRS/EDGE connection, which felt sluggish at times. And not even the dynamic keyboard on this device could help make email or instant messaging easier.

It has a two-megapixel still camera with an 8x digital zoom that can change into video-camera mode in one step. Two gigabytes of memory are built into the ROKR, and more memory can be added via a microSD card slot, which is hidden beneath a back panel. A one-gigabyte microSD card comes with the ROKR. Without this card, the internal memory will hold about 1,500 songs.

With help from a USB cord and Windows (MSFT) Media Player 11, I transferred over 200 MP3s onto my ROKR. Album art that transferred with my songs appeared on-screen as songs played, and the speaker gave off a powerful sound. Built-in stereo Bluetooth can send tunes to Bluetooth-enabled stereo speakers, and it took me just a few seconds to pair my ROKR with Motorola’s EQ5 speakers.

A preloaded program by Shazam lets users hold the ROKR up to any speaker playing a song, and in 30 seconds, identifies the track title, artist, and album art. I held the ROKR up to my alarm clock radio and it worked perfectly. But once these songs are recognized, the track data can’t be used to buy the song or even to transfer a request to buy that song to a PC for buying online at another time.

The ROKR’s FM radio will work only if its included stereo headset is plugged in because the headset has the radio antenna. But once the headset is plugged in, the radio will play via the ROKR’s speaker.

The ROKR E8 has an audio technology called Crystal Talk, which Motorola says allows your phone to perform better in loud environments. Even if the person on the other end of your phone is in a noisy place, the company says Crystal Talk will raise the volume to improve the call. I tested this by speaking to someone on the ROKR while turning a hairdryer on beside the phone. I then used a regular Razr cellphone. The person on the other end said that the ROKR sounded slightly, but noticeably, better.

Motorola’s ROKR E8 is a head-turning phone with many built-in advances that give it a smarter interface. One might wonder what other ModeShift functions the company will integrate into its devices in the future, such as a full QWERTY keyboard. The overall idea of a dynamic keyboard is a step ahead for small devices. It forces the phone to work more intuitively and improves navigation while looking stylishly sleek at the same time.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg.

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Polaroid’s $150 PoGo is an inkless printer that churns out 2×3-inch photos sent to it via Bluetooth-enabled devices or from plugged-in digital cameras.

Just this year, Polaroid Corp. said it would cease production of its “magical” cameras. But this week, I had the chance to test the company’s latest attempt at relevance in our digital world: the $150 Polaroid PoGo (thenewinstant.com). The PoGo, which stands for Polaroid-on-the-Go, is an inkless printer that churns out 2×3-inch photos sent to it via Bluetooth devices like cellphones or from plugged-in digital cameras. It uses technology created by ZINK (Zero Ink) Imaging Inc. to activate paper-embedded dye crystals, creating a new kind of photo magic. The PoGo will be in stores on July 6.

Cool Factor

This device’s ZINK Technology gives it a cool factor that will leave friends scratching their heads over how such a small device can print without ink (technical details about the 100 billion heat-activated dye crystals on each sheet of paper can be found at zink.com/technology). Photos that I printed from a 10-megapixel digital camera looked sharp and colorful. And some people may use this Polaroid gadget as a solution for freeing images that would otherwise likely remain stuck in a mobile device’s memory.

But four major problems with the PoGo make it a no-go: It isn’t quite small and light enough to be truly portable; its battery life is poor; its prints are half the size of normal photos; and image quality when printing from mobile devices is unimpressive — though this can be attributed to the low-resolution images taken with and stored on these devices rather than the printer itself. For roughly the same price, you could buy a photo printer that produces better quality 4×6-inch or larger prints.

The PoGo works only with ZINK Photo Paper, which costs between 30 cents and 40 cents a page, depending on whether you buy a 10-sheet pack for $3.99 or a 30-sheet pack for $9.99. (Later this year, a 100-sheet pack of ZINK photo paper will be available for $29.99.) The PoGo comes with 10 pieces of this paper, which is coated with a waterproof, tear-proof, smudge-proof, semi-gloss finish. You can peel the backs of these 2×3 prints to stick them to things, though not in the same way Post-its can be stuck and removed (they leave a gooey film — I learned the hard way).

A Device With Weight

Surprisingly, Polaroid is touting the PoGo’s portability; it arrived in a custom-made jeans pocket to demonstrate the device’s pocket-sized shape. But at over 8 ounces, this thing was heavier and measured larger than Apple’s (AAPL) biggest 160-gigabyte iPod Classic. It even weighed more than a bulky point-and-shoot Kodak (EK) camera I recently tested, discouraging me from bringing it along when I went out.

A chart on polaroid.com/pogo/us/comp.html tells whether or not your mobile device is Bluetooth-compatible with the PoGo. Two out of the three devices that I tried worked: A new Motorola (MOT) Z6C and Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Curve were compatible, though an almost-two-year-old Motorola Razr V3 wasn’t.

Each mobile device needed only one initial “pairing,” or setup, with the PoGo before it sent photos. The device used a simple method of sending photos via Bluetooth that generally involved selecting a photo and telling the mobile device to send it to the PoGo. It usually took a few seconds for the send to go through.

The PoGo doesn’t have a display to tell users when images are received, when to load more paper or if the battery is running low. Instead, it uses two indicator lights that glow or pulse in green, orange or red colors. Each light means something different, such as whether or not the PoGo is ready to print or if it has a paper jam, but I usually had to refer to the user’s manual to figure out what each light meant.

Quiet Printer

The PoGo is rather quiet while printing, making a soft whirring sound as its thermal print head turns on and zaps dye crystals, which are embedded in the ZINK photo paper. These small pieces of paper are stored in and printed from a holding space inside the device, which saves users from opening a tray and loading paper before each print-out. However, the PoGo can hold a maximum of only 10 sheets at once. Some images printed in 45 seconds and a few took about twice that long, but most were done in about one minute — counting from when I pressed Send on a mobile device to when the print finished.

I hooked a Sony (SNE) Cyber-shot DSC-W170 to the PoGo via a USB cord and used the camera’s built-in PictBridge technology to print from the camera, following directions on the camera’s display screen. I even printed four of the same photo at once after adjusting the quantity category in a menu, though this seemed to slow the printing process a bit.

While prints from my grandmother’s Polaroid camera couldn’t be touched until about a minute after printing, the small PoGo prints come out dry to the touch. I held one under the kitchen faucet to test its waterproof claim, and the colors held up without running. These prints are borderless, which looks good but seems like the only sensible option with such small paper. Images from the digital camera looked dramatically better than those taken by mobile devices’ 1.3-megapixel or two-megapixel cameras.

Short Battery Life

The PoGo’s battery life wore out quickly, especially for a device that is advertised as portable. In one test, after I unplugged my fully charged PoGo and used it for about 40 minutes to print 16 photos — half from a Bluetooth-connected cellphone and the other half from a USB-connected digital camera — its battery indicator glowed a steady orange, meaning the PoGo was running low on power. This is about right, considering Polaroid claims that a fully charged battery will last for 15 prints. (It takes about 2.5 hours to fully charge the PoGo.)

I really liked the quality of the photos that PoGo printed from my digital camera — in fact, I’m planning to enclose a few small PoGo photos in cards that I send to friends and family members. But the PoGo’s awkward size, bad battery life and small prints make it a tough sell. I’m afraid the PoGo falls short in too many categories to be a practical gadget. Teens might like this device for printing photos from their cellphones that they can stick on lockers or books. And who knows — maybe a grandmother somewhere will buy one of these gadgets to create a little Polaroid magic for her grandchild.

Edited By Walter S. Mossberg

• Email: mossbergsolution@wsj.com

The reason it seems as if I haven’t had to charge my phone is because of a new device I’ve been using called WildCharge. This is a small, thin pad covered in panels that conduct electricity. It plugs into the wall and lies flat on a desk or nightstand, serving as a place where devices in need of a charge can be dropped, casually and effortlessly, to start juicing up.

The $59.99 WildCharge pad currently charges Motorola RAZR phones using a $34.99 adapter.

The pad, from WildCharge Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz. (www.wildcharge.com), eliminates the messy tangle of wires that many people struggle with each time they want to charge their portable devices. But more to the point, it turns charging a gadget into something that happens in the background rather than an active task. And it spares you from that nagging question: Did I remember to plug my phone or iPod or BlackBerry in before going to sleep?

Effortless Charging

I must confess that of the hundreds of products we receive, this was one that I took home to test on a whim, thinking I’d use it once before returning it. Once I started using the WildCharge pad, I realized how much effort I put into charging all of my devices each week, and often each night. Three weeks later, this charging pad has me completely spoiled.

WildCharge isn’t for everyone. It’s a bit pricey — costing $60 for the charging pad and $35 for an adapter — especially when almost all gadgets already come with individual AC adapters. For now, WildCharge works only with Motorola Inc.’s RAZR cellphone, though in January the company will release adapters for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPod nano, as well as Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry Pearl and BlackBerry 8800.

For the WildCharge pad to work, the device you’d like to charge must be equipped with a special adapter. In the case of my pink Moto RAZR, this adapter was a black plastic piece that replaced the phone’s battery-cover panel and plugged into its charging port. I liked using the pad enough to not mind carrying a slightly thicker, two-toned phone around every day.

The idea behind WildCharge’s creation isn’t unique. For example, a company in the United Kingdom called Splashpower Ltd. (www.splashpower.com) has a charging mat in the works, according to its Web site, though the company won’t give specifics about its products.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology takes the concept a step further with its idea of “WiTricity” or wireless electricity, which transmits power without using wires or requiring the charging object to touch anything as it refuels. Instead, this concept works by coupling two objects with the same frequency to exchange energy through the air. But this isn’t a product — yet. WildCharge is.

Thin and Lightweight

The current WildCharge weighs six ounces and its surface measures about the size of a hardcover book, though its 0.2-centimeter thickness would make it a quick read. One pad delivers 15 watts of power, allowing three to five small devices to charge simultaneously at the same speed as they would when plugged into individual wall chargers. I’d guess that about four devices, depending on their sizes, could comfortably fit on one pad.

Different Shapes and Sizes

When additional adapters are introduced in January for prices ranging from $30 to $40, these will also work with the WildCharge pad. The company also plans to sell its charging pad in various sizes and shapes next year, including a version that will deliver 90 watts, enough to power to a laptop.

Since the iPhone and iPod touch don’t have removable battery panels, they will use special adapters that look like rubber, protective sleeves. The second generation iPod nano will use an adapter that looks like a small aluminum extension of the device.

I set my WildCharge pad up on my nightstand. After a phone chat, I tossed my RAZR cellphone over to the charging pad; four magnetic contact points on the phone’s adapter helped it stick to the pad. A chime indicated my phone made electrical contact and started charging (the same sound I normally hear when I plug it into its AC adapter cord). A tiny blue light on the pad indicated a device was charging. I really grew fond of not hunting for the correct cord to charge my phone. Instead, I’d finish conversations, reach over and simply drop my phone down as if I was laying it on the table.

Likewise, if I walked in the room after a chat, I’d set it down for a few minutes before leaving and taking the phone with me. Charging didn’t have to be an event; it wasn’t even a conscious effort.

Once in a while when I’m running out of battery in the middle of a phone chat, I’ll plug my phone into its power cord and continue talking. This isn’t possible using the WildCharge because the phone must lie on the pad, face up. However, you could use a BlueTooth headset or switch to speakerphone. (I tried the latter without a problem.)

Easy to Pack

I imagine that WildCharge made its pad for stationary usage rather than for portability. But after becoming so accustomed to WildCharge, I couldn’t resist taking it home with me over Thanksgiving, and its flat panel and AC adapter were easy to pack.

WildCharge Inc. says its charging pad won’t be damaged if most liquids are spilled on it. I wiped water off with a cloth and it was fine. Other electronics won’t be affected if they’re placed on the device, and it doesn’t use radiation or magnetic fields to charge devices.

Right now, no matter how slick your portable media player, smart phone, laptop or digital camera, it’s still enslaved to its power cord. The WildCharge pad cuts out the cord and lets forgetful, busy people stop worrying about plugging in each of their devices. WildCharge would be improved if its adapters were built into phones.

Even more exciting is the thought of public places using WildCharge or similar technology so that when you can walk into a restaurant, you can rest your cellphone on a table and have it powering up in the background. Now that’s something we can all get a charge out of.

Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com.

VTech Communications wants to put an end to this mad phone dash with its new $150 Expandable Cordless Phone System with Bluetooth, the LS5145. This device synchronizes with your cellphone and redirects incoming cell calls to ring wherever the VTech phones are placed in the house. It works with your landline and up to two Bluetooth-linked cellphones, and can be expanded using additional handsets that cost $80 each.

The $150 Expandable Cordless Phone System with Bluetooth from VTech Communications Inc.

The concept of a cellphone extender isn’t new, but not many of them have caught on. Another popular add-on to cellphones at home is the repeater, which focuses on boosting a phone’s signal in a place with poor coverage. The VTech 5145 could work as a repeater, assuming you put it and the finicky cellphone in a place with good coverage. But if your entire house has lousy cell coverage, it won’t work as a repeater.

AT&T licenses its corded and cordless phones through VTech, which sells a less-expensive product similar to the 5145 called the AT&T EP5632. It costs $100 and has the same basic functions as the 5145, but is clunky and much less stylish. Its additional handhelds cost $60 each.

This week, I put my feet up and tried the VTech 5145 and one of its accessory handsets, the LS5105. These phones are stylishly thin and have bright color display screens, which can be set to one of 27 still color wallpaper images or four animated designs. It took me only a minute to pair cellphones with the system using Bluetooth, a wireless technology that connects devices that are within about 30 feet of one another. And the VTech’s primary function — extending the cellphone throughout a house to make it more convenient to answer — worked well, ringing much louder than my cellphone.

But the 5145 didn’t display the numerous names and numbers stored on my cellphone’s contact list. Unless I wanted to painstakingly enter the data into the VTech, incoming calls were only identified with phone numbers, so I rarely knew who was calling. And I could only call the handful of numbers that I know by heart.

Bluetooth technology isn’t incapable of transmitting data: My BlackBerry Curve even tried to transfer its contacts to the 5145, but couldn’t. VTech chose to use headset Bluetooth synchronization on the 5145 rather than hands-free synchronization. Hands-free is the same technology used in most Bluetooth-equipped cars; it provides more access to the Bluetooth device, such as phone-book integration.

I also missed other features on my cellphone when it wasn’t by my side, such as text messaging and voice mail. Incoming text messages were sent to my cellphone unbeknownst to me since I wasn’t near it, and when I didn’t answer incoming calls through the VTech, I had no way of knowing if the caller left a voice mail on my cellphone.

The 5145 includes a base station and primary phone; the 5105 additional handset includes a small stand just big enough to hold it upright. I set up the base station near where I drop my work bag after coming home each night. After the initial pairing during setup, phones automatically link to the VTech, meaning I never had to take my cellphone out of my bag.

I paired the 5145 with two phones at once: a Motorola Razr using Verizon and a BlackBerry Curve with AT&T service. I also tested pairing a third phone with the system, the HTC Pocket PC 6800 from Sprint, though only two cellphones can be paired simultaneously. Just one of the Bluetooth phones can be used at a time, in addition to the landline. As long as the two paired phones stayed within about 30 feet of the base station, they automatically started routing calls through the VTech.

Call waiting worked like using my actual cellphone, except I pressed different buttons on the 5145 to “swap” calls. If you’re chatting on a landline call, you can answer an incoming cellphone call by placing the landline call on hold. If each line — landline and cellular — has call waiting, a total of four callers could potentially be linked to the VTech system at once.

In my house, we gave up our landline years ago, so I tested the system using only cellphones. I saved myself a few trips racing up and down the stairs to find where I had left my cellphone, instead placing the base station on one floor and the additional handset on the other. Using cordless phones for the first time in years reminded me of the issues that accompany this system. The line became fuzzy when I moved too far away from a phone’s base station, though VTech says a connection can stay clear for up to about 900 feet.

I almost forgot that cordless phones can’t be taken out of the house. While on a phone call, I had to stop myself from heading out the front door and continuing my chat as I walked to the corner store. Cellular calls that are in progress on VTech handsets can be continued on the cell by adjusting a setting on the cellphone, or by walking far enough away from the base station to receive a cellphone prompt to disconnect from the system.

I made calls from the handsets by first choosing which of the paired cellphones to use. My calls were received by friends and family just as if I was calling on my cellphone, though a couple of people told me that the connection didn’t sound quite as good.

Each handset is equipped with a speakerphone, and missed calls are noted on the color screen and in a call log, along with the date and time. A built-in intercom system lets handsets communicate with the other or the base station. Users can choose from one of 23 ringtone-like melodies; I chose a steel drum tune for one handset.

If you’re looking for an easier way to answer your cellphone whenever and wherever it rings, VTech’s system might be a good solution for you. But if you rely on your cellphone’s address book to identify callers and aren’t up for inputting these data again, it might be worth waiting for a Bluetooth cordless phone system that will automatically copy data from your cellphone.

Edited By Walter S. Mossberg

• Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com

But what about when you need directions and you’re unable to get to a computer? The same companies that you look to for directions on your home PC are eager to help out on your cellphone, including Google, Yahoo and MapQuest. But while the mobile versions of these services are improving, the user interface of a cellphone isn’t ideal for inputting addresses and extracting directions. Even smart phones with larger screens and full keyboards can be hampered by slow Internet speeds.

This week I tried a service that cuts the time it takes to get directions from a cellphone. It’s called Dial DIR-ECT-IONS, and it works as it sounds: You dial the word “directions” into a cellphone (347-328-4667) and speak the address, name of business chain or event to which you need directions. Step-by-step directions are instantly sent to your phone via SMS, or text message.

This isn’t a substitute for phones that have GPS and can give real-time directions, and it may not be ideal for those who need visual cues, like turn-by-turn maps, but it is very convenient on the go and works on any basic cellphone.

The service, from a determined start-up called Dial Directions Inc., is free — except for the cost of receiving text messages on your phone. After the first 30 days of use, a one-line advertisement will start appearing at the bottom of the last text message sent per set of directions (some take multiple text messages to include all of the steps).

In many instances, I found using Dial Directions to be helpful and efficient, a welcome change from squinting to see miniature maps on cellphone screens. It’s smart enough to ask you if you know how to get to the highway, thus saving you from reading directions you already know. I tried the service with a few different cities — you don’t have to be in the city to use it because GPS isn’t involved — and valued the instant gratification of returned results with so little effort.

Dial Directions is still a work in progress. The service prides itself on superb voice-detection technology, but in one instance, it interpreted “New York City” as “Newark, N.J.,” and didn’t stop to check the accuracy of this, forcing me to hang up to restart. And the two other aspects of the service, finding business chains and events, need just a little more time to include a better variety of businesses.

The service was launched in July, but this week marks its expansion to nine metropolitan areas, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento, Calif. The service still isn’t in major cities like Boston and Philadelphia, but these cities and others will be included within the next month, in the company’s attempt to take the service nationwide.

Dial Directions also plans to add landmarks in the next month. I tried asking for directions to the White House and Yankee Stadium without any luck. General terms will also be better integrated into the service. I tried saying “movies” but Dial Directions thought I was saying “Mervin’s” one time and “Arby’s” the next. Just 40 terms, including “hotel” and “gas station,” are usable right now.

I called Dial Directions from a Motorola Razr cellphone, a Research In Motion BlackBerry Curve and an Apple iPhone. All worked well. Since SMS messages are limited to about 160 characters, regardless of your phone, none of the directions came through in just one message; most directions required from two to five text messages. Symbols help to shorten the messages, like using “L @ Maryland Ave. SW” to tell a user to turn left at Maryland Avenue Southwest.

To receive these directions, you must first tell the service what you’re looking for. The female voice representing Dial Directions is friendly and doesn’t sound stiff and robotic. She offers to give instructions on how to use the service if you don’t know how. After telling her what you’re looking for, she asks what city you’re in and where you’re trying to go.

I tried a variety of addresses and intersections; the system suggests not saying “Street” or “Avenue.” In certain instances when a highway was involved, I was asked if I knew how to get on the highway, and if I did, that extra text wasn’t included in my directions. Once I confirmed what I was looking for, the voice said directions would be on the way in a couple of text messages. Each time, they appeared on my phone almost instantly.

In the case of business chains or general terms like “hotel,” the voice told me first of the closest one it knew, asking me to confirm whether or not it had found the right place. If I said no, it suggested four more that were the next closest. This worked well in most cases, including searches for McDonald’s, Bloomingdale’s, Starbucks and pizza. However, in a hunt for the closest Dunkin’ Donuts, it couldn’t find four stores that were located a mile from my office in downtown D.C.; instead, it thought the closest one was in Arlington, Va.

The company pledges that this and other faults will be improved over the next month as its database is improved and as more users report issues that can be corrected.

Directions to local events can be retrieved as long as the event is posted on DialDirections.com. Then anyone can just say the name of the event (like “DC Shorts Film Festival”) to receive directions to that event. But this feature, too, isn’t what it should be right now. On my way to a Washington Nationals game, I couldn’t get the service to recognize the name of my event, which was frustrating.

If the company can correct some of its hit-or-miss aspects, this free service could be a big help, especially for people who don’t own smart phones. But even if you do own a smart phone, it’s faster than typing in data and waiting for a Web browser to retrieve the directions. If this service can improve its ability to find nearby businesses, this alone could be really useful.

When it knows about more locations, Dial Directions will be a great service. As it stands now, it’s helpful for directions from one address to another in certain areas. Sometimes, the most straightforward solutions really do work best.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Today, things are different. Many parents buy cellphones for their preteen children to keep in touch and as a safety measure. Teens have the luxury of their own cellphones that some parents won’t even know how to use.

But cellphones introduce a host of problems. Parents have no way of knowing with whom their children are talking or text messaging, nor do they know what is being said in these calls or in text messages typed in abbreviated slang. Digital photos and videos can be captured and sent from one phone to another in seconds, and smart phones with Web-browsing capabilities bring the Internet and instant messaging to kids wherever they are.

Mobile alerts, which can be received via email or text message, are useful for on-the-go parents.

This week, I tested a new software application called Radar that can be wirelessly downloaded onto a kid’s cellphone to digitally monitor the phone’s activities, including incoming or outgoing calls, emails and text and photo messages. Alerts are sent notifying parents of any contact with unapproved people.

Radar comes from eAgency Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., and is geared toward 8- to 14-year-olds. Though Radar doesn’t yet work on the most basic cellphones and has limitations, including not notifying parents when a child uses a phone for Web browsing or instant messaging, eAgency says these improvements and others are in the works for future versions. Overall, Radar performed well and was user-friendly enough for tech-shy parents.

The company charges a monthly fee of $10 for one user or $15 for a family, which enables monitoring of up to five accounts. There’s no limit to the number of people who are alerted to a phone’s activities, as they don’t need to download Radar. Instead, notifications are sent via text message and/or email to a parent’s mobile device; they’re also collected on a Web site where all activities are listed together.

EAgency is careful to note that its software application isn’t spyware, lurking in the background of the device without making itself known. In fact, whenever the child’s phone is turned on, a message says it’s being monitored by Radar. This message also appears on the phone once daily.

For now, Radar only works on all BlackBerrys regardless of carrier, and eAgency has a deal on its www.MyMobileWatchdog.com site that can get BlackBerry Pearls free of charge for certain customers. But many parents’ kids already have basic cellphones or don’t want their kid to have a BlackBerry. In roughly a month, Radar will work with devices that run Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software, though this doesn’t help much, as these devices function more like BlackBerrys. Radar will be available for regular cellphones, like Motorola’s Razr, by mid-September.

I tested the product using a BlackBerry Pearl as the kid’s device and an LG Chocolate phone as the parent’s device that would get alerts of phone activity. To get Radar running on the Pearl, I sent a text message with a download link in it from the company Web site, and loaded the application onto the BlackBerry in a few seconds.

I used the Pearl as anyone might, adding names, numbers and emails of new friends and contacts that I wanted stored in my BlackBerry. I also used it to make and receive calls, and to send and receive emails and text messages. Every time any of these activities took place with an unapproved person, the parent phone was notified within seconds, as was my account on Radar’s Web site and the email addresses that I set up with my account.

Unknown people are automatically considered unapproved until you go onto the Radar Web site to change their status in your account. I accessed this account on MyMobileWatchdog.com with a username and password. EAgency asks that you call the number on its Web site the first time you set up a Radar account so that it can walk you through how the software application works with your child’s phone.

The account home page on Radar’s Web site is a clean space, organized using tabs at the top and six shortcuts in the center of the screen, including “Alerts,” which shows a comprehensive list of all the alerts.

Alert notifications are simple, stating who did what, when it was done, and what the message or call involved, such as the content of a text message or the documented length of a phone conversation. Radar won’t record phone conversations. Mobile alerts can be received via email (on a smart phone) or text message (on a regular cellphone or smart phone).

After using Radar for a few days, I realized some text message alerts were truncated due to the SMS standard that limits messages to 160 characters. So though your child might send a message with 100 characters in it, your alert might contain only 90 of those because characters are used up by notifications such as, “Katie has received an unauthorized text message from…”

Radar’s Web site offers a text message abbreviation dictionary so you can decipher what your kid is actually saying when he or she types “JTLYK” (just to let you know).

During testing my BlackBerry Pearl received an MMS, or Multimedia Message Service, containing a digital photo. My parent phone and email account were notified through a message with a link to this photo.

Alerts are also generated whenever a child adds a new contact to his or her device. A list of the most recent contacts added to the child’s device conveniently appears on the Radar account home page. By marking someone as “Approved,” a parent agrees not to be notified of contact between that person and the child. People marked as “Unapproved” and “Suspicious” will generate alert notifications.

Reports documenting your child’s interaction with specific people over certain time periods via text, email or voice calls can be generated at the click of a button. These reports can be printed out or digitally exported from Radar’s site using Internet Explorer as your browser.

For $10 or $15 monthly, Radar might be worth a try, especially with very young kids. But until Radar is available for the phones most popular with kids, parents will have to continue with their tried and true methods of keeping track of their kids’ phone use.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

The cellphone — or, more accurately, the device formerly known as the cellphone — is getting to be more and more like a little portable computer. High-end models, known as smartphones, can handle large volumes of email, complete with attachments; surf the Web at high speed; view and edit Microsoft Office documents; take decent pictures; and play back music and videos.

To manage these laptop-like tasks, they come equipped with faster and faster processors; more and more internal memory; expansion slots for increasingly spacious memory cards; and small, but usable, keyboards, instead of mere phone keypads.

We’ve been testing two new such phones. One, from Palm Inc., is an improved model of the Treo, which has long been our favorite smartphone. The other, an entirely new design from Motorola Inc., manages to pack most of the Treo’s functionality into a much thinner and lighter body, at half the Treo’s price.

The new Palm model, called the Treo 700p, uses the Palm operating system and is being sold by both Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. for $399, with a service contract. The Motorola challenger, called the Q, uses Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system and is being sold by Verizon for $199, with a service contract.

Palm’s Treo 700p, priced at $399 with a service contract (left); Motorola’s Q, priced at $199 with a service contract (right)

The Q is the bigger news here. In the tradition of Motorola’s RAZR phone, the Q is a sleek, handsome devil. It demolishes the two biggest problems with smartphones like the Treo: They are bulky and expensive. The Q is a little wider than the Treo 700p, but it’s just half as thick and, at 4.06 ounces, is more than one-third lighter.

Unfortunately, its Microsoft software is much clumsier than the Treo’s Palm software, degrading its utility. Also, the Q’s screen is lower-resolution than the Treo’s and slightly smaller, and its battery life as a phone is weaker than the Treo’s. While the Q keyboard is larger than the Treo’s, we actually found it worse for typing.

Still, the Q is a decent solution for light email users and for those who have avoided a smartphone due to bulk and cost. We assume that, at $199, the Q will sell well and will challenge the Treo and BlackBerry in the marketplace.

However, we still prefer the Treo for serious users of mobile email, Web and Office. And the new model, with greater speed and other enhancements, only adds to the Treo’s strengths.

Both of these phones run on the new, broadband-like EV-DO data networks offered by Verizon and Sprint, so they are actually practical for Web browsing and for downloading big email attachments. In our tests, both registered speeds of between 200 and 500 kilobits per second, compared with about 70 kbps for the older Sprint and Verizon networks. Neither phone has Wi-Fi wireless capability.

The new Treo 700p is essentially the same as the Treo 700w introduced a few months back, except that the “p” model uses the Palm operating system, while the “w” model uses Windows software. Like the 700w, the newest model has a squarer shape than that of the older Treo 650. It also has bigger, better keys than the 650, roughly twice the usable internal memory and a higher-resolution 1.3-megapixel camera.

Also, the 700p now has — built into its memory — the excellent Documents To Go program from DataViz, which allows you to view, and in some cases edit, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and Adobe PDF documents.

The main advantage of the 700p, however, is its ability to use the high-speed EV-DO network. And the new Treo can be used as a modem for a laptop, either via a USB cable or a wireless Bluetooth connection.

In our tests, over a couple of weeks, the Treo 700p performed well. Web browsing was a pleasure at the new high speeds. Our only complaint was a short but annoying lag in displaying the text of emails and in performing certain other operations. Also, our test unit crashed twice and had to be restarted. (It didn’t lose any data in the crash.)

The Q is a mixed bag. Its hardware is elegant. Its software is annoying, often requiring two clicks to do what takes one on the Palm.

Motorola chose a more stripped-down version of Windows Mobile software than the one used on previous keyboard phones, and it does work better one-handed. But it still requires many of the extra steps of its Windows sibling and yet lacks the touch screen and built-in Office programs of other Windows-based smartphones.

In our tests, we found the Q easy to carry, but often irritating to use. Things like muting the phone, locking the keyboard and even playing the built-in solitaire game took much more effort than performing the same tasks on the Treo.

The Q has four navigation buttons positioned below the screen like the Treo; like a BlackBerry, it has a scroll wheel and back button on the right edge. The Q’s keyboard has more space between each key than most smartphones, but the rounded shape of the keys themselves makes them uncomfortable to use for more than a few sentences of email.

The familiar green Send and red End keys are prominently located just above the keyboard, and number keys are distinguished in black. We chatted away using the Q’s phone, and it worked well on voice calls.

Special designated Back and Home keys are next to the Send and End keys, and two other buttons enable direct access to email and the Q’s digital camera.

We set up email accounts on the Q using EarthLink and Hotmail.com, but Windows Mobile software really started to get annoying while we were navigating through our email. Performing a task as simple as deleting a message requires two steps — selecting Menu, then selecting Delete — and we couldn’t find any way to highlight and delete a group of emails.

By contrast, on the Treo, using the major email programs, you can delete an email with one click and even clean out a whole inbox with a couple of clicks. This may not matter much to people who get little email, but for heavy users, it’s crucial.

We also had trouble with attachments on the Q. While we successfully received some pictures and documents, a test series of four emails, each with a different type of document attached, failed on the Q. On both of our test Q units, using two different email services, the four attachments simply disappeared, even though they came through fine on the Treo and on Windows and Macintosh computers.

Viewing Microsoft Office and PDF files on the Q is a more cumbersome process than on the Treo, and the files can’t be edited on the Q.

The 320×240 resolution on the Q’s screen is 25% lower than that of the Treo 700p, which has a 320×320-resolution screen. Many things — Web sites, photos, attachments — just didn’t look as good on the Q compared side-by-side with the Treo. The Q’s built-in 1.3-megapixel digital camera captured videos and still shots without a problem, but the view on our screen was cluttered by information bars at the top and bottom.

You might like the $199 Motorola Q because of its price tag or striking design. If you don’t use email too much, or if you’ve never used another smartphone, you might not miss the more user-friendly features that the Treo 700p has to offer. We wish that the sleekness of the Motorola Q could be combined with the intuitive features of the Treo 700p. For now, we’ll stick with what works best — the newest Treo.

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

Cellphones keep getting sleeker and smaller, which means they are also getting easier to lose or misplace. For instance, Motorola’s latest model, the SLVR, is so thin and light, you’d hardly notice if it slipped out of your pocket or purse.

And, of course, losing your cellphone can be a disaster, because it contains your address book. In fact, it often contains the only copy of your address book. Except for a few smart phones, like the Palm Treo, most cellphone models — especially the small ones that are easiest to lose — don’t synchronize with your computer to back up data.

So, how can you back up your data to protect against losing your phone?

Most of the big-name phone carriers offer services that will store your cellphone contacts for a relatively small monthly fee. But these services, which are designed in part to keep you tied to a carrier, aren’t widely used, or even well known to most users.

The $39.99 CellStik by Spark Technology plugs into your cellphone and copies your contacts onto the tiny device with the press of a button.

There are also various carrier-independent backup software products out there, but they involve the use of a computer and can be clumsy and complicated. Some use cumbersome cables to attach your phone to a PC, others use your phone’s messaging capabilities or Bluetooth functionality to send data onto a nearby hard drive.

But this week, we took a look at a new product from Spark Technology Corp. in San Jose, Calif., that eliminates the need for a computer altogether: CellStik. This $40 product is a pocket-size USB thumb drive with a cellphone adapter on one end and a USB adapter on the other. By plugging the phone adapter into your cellphone and pressing a button on the CellStik, you can have your contacts backed up on the device in just seconds — problem solved.

In our tests, we found CellStik to be a smart solution that really works, and it’s about as easy to use as possible. We did have one problem with it, but that was relatively minor compared with the potential loss of all your contact data when a phone goes missing.

While CellStik doesn’t require a computer, it can optionally be used with one. The USB end of each CellStik can be plugged into a Windows PC, so you can view and edit your backed-up contacts via a simple software program. You can then unplug the CellStik and reattach it to your phone, uploading any changes.

In addition to backing up your phone’s data, CellStiks can be used to transfer contacts from an old phone to a new one, but you may need to buy a separate CellStik for each phone if they differ in manufacturer or connector type, and use a PC as an intermediate device.

Six versions of the CellStik are currently available for about 70 different models of Motorola, LG and Samsung cellphones, and Spark hopes to introduce CellStiks for Sanyo, Sony Ericsson and Nokia this spring. CellStiks can be purchased online at www.sparktech.com and Amazon or at retail stores including Fry’s Electronics and J&R Electronics.

CellStik can also be used with your computer for viewing and editing your cellphone’s contacts.

We tested two of the three CellStik-compatible phone brands: an LG VI125 and two different Samsung SCH-A670s. Backing up the contacts from each phone took just a few seconds after we pressed an arrow-shaped button labeled “Save to CellStik” and waited until it stopped blinking green, indicating that all contacts were saved.

The CellStik software, called CellStik Central, is basic and self-explanatory, listing each of your contacts’ names, various phone numbers and other data in spreadsheet-like fashion. We loaded it onto our computer from an included CD, but it’s also available as a free download.

After making a few changes in our list of contacts with the convenience of a full computer keyboard — rather than using the painstaking entry process on our cellphone — we selected “Save to CellStik” in the software program, detached it from the computer’s USB port and reattached it to our phone. By pressing the “Update to Phone” button, we made sure the changes were reflected on our cellphone.

We ran into one frustrating problem with CellStik: in the case of our Samsung cellphone, which has a built-in camera like most new cellphones, the pictures that we had assigned to our contacts were scrambled on the phone after CellStik was used. In two cases, instead of a friend’s picture showing up on the cellphone screen during an incoming call, a picture of Katie’s mother appeared. That was pretty confusing and also made caller ID via pictures useless.

Spark Technology says this picture mix-up is a problem only with certain cellphones and that CellStik is a backup product, first and foremost, so most users would be most concerned with keeping contacts rather than getting images associated with the wrong caller. This problem only occurs if you reattach the CellStik to your phone and press “Update to Phone,” not if you’re opting solely to use CellStik without a PC, as a data-backup device. But it’s still irritating.

If you’d like to transfer one cellphone’s contacts to another, such as if you bought a new cellphone, you can do so using “Transfer Phonebook” in the CellStik’s software. It walks you through steps of removing one CellStik from the USB port and inserting another, onto which the old device’s contacts will be saved.

Overall, CellStik is a fast and simple solution that could save users from the frustrating ordeal of losing a cellphone and every name and number on it. Its independence from phone carriers and from your PC — if you so choose — make it a smart buy, but check first to be sure it’s available for your phone. And keep a lookout for photos that might be mismatched with incoming calls.

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

Anyone with a cellphone is familiar with this scenario: You come home, take your jacket off, and set your purse or briefcase down near the door. A few hours later, you get your cellphone out of your bag to use it, only to find that you’ve missed three calls because you weren’t close enough to hear your phone ringing.

Cellphones rule in lots of places — we can call for car help when stranded along a highway, find friends in a crowd, and be nagged by co-workers or spouses at any time and place. But the old-fashioned wired phone wins at home. When someone calls your house line, extension phones all over the house ring, and can be used to answer the call. With a cellphone at home, you have to schlep it everywhere you go.

RCA Cell Docking System by Thomson Inc. — $149.99/ www.rca.com

As more and more households continue to trade in their landlines for cellphones with better calling plans and free long distance, the inconvenience of toting a single cellphone around the house gets more annoying.

So, this week we took a look at two products that aim to solve that problem by tying your cellphone into your wired home phone setup. They allow you to use your home phones, including extensions in every room, to place and receive calls through your cellphone and your cellphone calling plan.

The two products are the RCA Cell Docking System from Thomson Inc. and the Dock-N-Talk Universal Cellphone Docking Station from Connecticut-based Phone Labs Technology Co. Each costs $150.

Both work by directing your incoming cellular calls to a wired phone — and allowing outgoing calls to be made through your wireless network using these telephones. The RCA product comes with a special cordless telephone that links to a cellphone docking station, while the Dock-N-Talk is a small box that connects any corded or cordless home telephone to your cellphone. To use the RCA system in multiple rooms, you need to buy additional cordless handsets for $70 each that work with the RCA system.

These products also allow users to toggle back and forth between a landline and a cellular line, though we tested it only in a house where cellphones had already eliminated the need for a landline. The RCA’s included cordless telephone has buttons labeled Home and Cell to answer or initiate calls using either line.

With Dock-N-Talk, you can also use a landline or your cellphone line by adjusting a switch on the box and buying splitters for your phone jacks. House phones attached to line one will ring for landline calls, and phones plugged into line two on the splitter ring for cell calls.

Dock-N-Talk Universal Cellphone Docking Station by Phone Labs Technology Co. — $149.99/www.phonelabs.com

Because cellphones use many different types of connectors, these products are compatible only with phones for which adapter cables exist, or which can be connected using Bluetooth wireless networking. The RCA Cell Docking System comes with cellphone adapter cables, but these work only with 57 models from three manufacturers: Sony Ericsson (a joint venture of Japan’s Sony Corp. and Sweden’s Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson), Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp.

The Dock-N-Talk is a bit more versatile, but instead of using adapter cables that come with the device, you must buy them separately; most cost about $20 each. These cables are compatible with 418 different cellphone models from six different companies. If your cellphone has Bluetooth, a separate $80 Bluetooth adapter can be plugged into the side of the Dock-N-Talk for use with 267 cellphones from 24 different brands.

We took these devices home and tried them in real-life scenarios. The RCA device wasn’t compatible with either of our cellphones — a Palm Treo 650 and a Samsung SCH-A670. The Dock-N-Talk is compatible with the Treo 650 using Bluetooth.

The RCA device needed 16 hours for its cordless handset’s battery to charge, like most cordless phones. (This handset also functions as a regular phone, in case you ever stop using it with the cellphone docking system.) Thomson lent us a Motorola V551 cellphone for testing, and we used an included cable to plug it into the dock — a clear plastic cradle where the phone can rest.

We called the cellphone’s number, and as it’s designed to do, the cordless handset rang. We picked up the handset phone, and the connection sounded fine.

Using the Dock-N-Talk was rather straightforward, too. We connected it to a cordless home telephone and used the same Motorola V551 cellphone for testing. After setup, the Dock-N-Talk box had four cords running from it: a short phone cord running to the cordless phone, a longer phone cord running to a phone jack on the wall, a power adapter plug running to a wall socket, and a cellphone adapter cord attached to our Motorola.

We called the cellphone and it and the attached cordless phone both rang. We also plugged another phone into a wall jack in a room down the hall — remember, this was in a house with no landline — and both house phones and the cellphone rang without a hitch.

We also tested the Dock-N-Talk’s Bluetooth adapter, a small, flat piece that plugged in where the cellphone cable had been. Our first Bluetooth attempt with a Treo 650 failed — we never got to the pairing step for some reason that we think has to do with the Treo itself. However, we tried our trusty Motorola V551 cellphone once more, as it has Bluetooth capability, and it “discovered” and “paired” with the Dock-N-Talk. Calling the cellphone worked just as it had with the cable — the cell rang, as did the two house phones.

These devices have a practical use in any busy home where cellphones are used. One issue that might arise is the fact that in many homes, each family member has his or her own phone. The solution to serving multiple cellphones is to buy a different device for each phone, which could get pricey.

Though the RCA Cellphone Docking System includes a separate cordless phone and cellphone cables, its compatibility is very limited. It can work only with its own handsets, while the Dock-N-Talk works with various handsets. Dock-N-Talk also works with more cellphones, and is Bluetooth compatible.

If you’re looking for a smart solution to stay connected with your cellphone without the need to keep it in your pocket at all times, the Dock-N-Talk is the way to go. It stands out because it will work with more products, including house phones that you already have. Just be sure your cellphone is compatible before you make the investment.

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com.