Eight Best-of-Breed Gadgets for the Tech Connoisseur
Here's what to buy among the gear everybody needs, from laptops and desktops to HDTVs.
T-Mobile's Wi-Fi-equipped Research in Motion BlackBerry Pearl 8120 ($200 with a two-year contract) stands out for more than just its excellent messaging capabilities (owing to RIM's e-mail-friendly software and 20-key SureType keyboard). The T-Mobile Pearl occupies the top of our chart (the AT&T Wireless version ranks number two) because it works with T-Mobile's innovative HotSpot@Home technology, which lets you make VoIP calls over a Wi-Fi network.
The voice-over-Wi-Fi feature provides a viable calling alternative in locales where cell signals are weak, and the service has worked well in our testing. Wi-Fi speeds up Web browsing and data-intensive tasks, too. The HotSpot@Home Talk Forever Mobile service, required for voice-over-Wi-Fi calls, costs $10 a month.
The T-Mobile version of the phone is less attractive than its AT&T counterpart, in part because of its mousy-gray case; the icons in the BlackBerry menu look cartoonish, as well. The cluttered interface is mostly a result of all the software that T-Mobile loads on the device. Some of the add-ons are versatile (such as a voice-command application that worked very well for dialing contacts), while others aid productivity (RepliGo views, prints, and faxes Microsoft Office documents). You get a couple of games, too.
The phone packs a sharp 2.0-megapixel camera and an excellent multimedia player. The Pearl's SureType predictive text-entry system turns this candy-bar-style phone into one with an effective 20-key keyboard. And both voice quality and talk-time battery life were excellent: The T-Mobile 8120 lasted the full 10 hours of our tests.
Bottom Line: The sleek T-Mobile BlackBerry Pearl 8120 not only has RIM's excellent messaging capabilities, but it lets you place voice calls over a Wi-Fi connection, too.
Digital Camera
Digital SLRs are hot items in the camera category, with models such as the Canon EOS Digital Rebel Xsi leading the way. But in our increasingly photo-centric society, simpler digital camera models, such as those occupying our Top 10 Point-and-Shoot Cameras chart, have evolved into must-have products.
The 8-megapixel Canon PowerShot A590 IS is attractively priced at $150, and it gives you such features as 4X optical zoom, optical image stabilization, face detection (which recognizes faces in the frame and optimizes the autofocus accordingly), and a serviceable 2.5-inch LCD screen.
This model is a starter camera, with 19 shooting modes and limited manual controls (though you can program the shutter speed and aperture settings, Canon designed this PowerShot primarily for automatic use). The camera conveniently runs on two AA batteries, which makes it a great travel companion; it has an easy-to-hold hand grip, too, but that means the camera may be less pocketable for some owners.
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Everything BlackBerry with tips, news and reviews from our mobility expert Al Sacco.
