Mobile Computing: Hertz In-Car GPS

NOTEBOOKS & ACCESSORIES

News: Multimode Wireless Notebooks

Coming soon: Notebooks from Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Toshiba, and NEC featuring an Atheros wireless chip set that provides Internet access via either the 802.11b (Wi-Fi) or 802.11a wireless LAN standards. Wi-Fi is used by thousands of hot spots, such as those at some Starbucks locations. There are far fewer access points today using the 802.11a standard, but it provides significantly faster download speeds than does Wi-Fi.

Review: Thin's the Thing

New notebooks from Sharp and Panasonic manage to pack powerful features into petite cases, says PCWorld.com reviewer Michael Lasky. Sharp's 3.1-pound Actius PC-UM32W ($1999) and Panasonic's 2.4-pound Toughbook T1 ($1850) both provide a 40GB hard drive; 256MB of SDRAM; a 12.1-inch, 1024-by-768 display; twin USB 2.0 ports; Windows XP Professional; and Ethernet and modem ports. Sharp claims a 2.4-hour battery life; Panasonic boasts that its new thin-and-light gets up to 5 hours. Both models have touch-typist friendly keyboards. Sharp's Actius is a better deal overall, Lasky believes, because of its built-in Wi-Fi and included CD-ROM drive. (You can use the PCWorld.com Product Finder to shop for the lowest prices on the Sharp Actius.

News: Dell at the Mall

Next time you're at the mall, don't be surprised if you see a Dell computer kiosk (across from your favorite Banana Republic, perhaps). The online and catalog retailer set up kiosks during the 2002 year-end holidays and plans to keep them open indefinitely. While you can't buy a desktop or notebook at a Dell kiosk, you can ask a sales clerk questions and go online to configure your computer.