Mobile Computing: PDA Keyboards

NOTEBOOKS & ACCESSORIES

Follow-Up: Reliable Wireless Access on the Road

A few months ago I reviewed Sprint's PCS Vision and found the 3G wireless Internet access service to be dependable and reasonably fast--a tad speedier than a 56-kilobits-per-second dial-up connection. But my tests were conducted entirely in San Francisco, and I was curious about how the nationwide service worked elsewhere.

So I recently tried Sprint PCS Vision on a trip to Atlanta; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia. I'm happy to report that the service worked without a hitch in all three locations. In hotel rooms, airport lounges, and the homes of friends and family, I checked e-mail and surfed the Web without the hassle of setting up dial-up connections. Each connection I attempted was made easily, and only once was a connection dropped.

If you travel with a notebook and need to check e-mail frequently from a variety of locations, Sprint's PCS Vision may be worth the considerable expense (monthly service begins at $40). While Wi-Fi Internet access from hot spot providers such as T-Mobile is significantly faster, PCS Vision is far more ubiquitous.

News: Fujitsu Tablet PC Goes Outdoors

Most notebooks today offer transmissive screens that produce crisp, bright images indoors but lose contrast outside. Fujitsu's new Stylistic ST Series Tablet PC can be configured with a 10.4-inch reflective front-light display that offers "extraordinarily clear" text and graphics in a variety of lighting conditions, the company says. I haven't evaluated the Fujitsu Tablet PC myself, but I'm told that the display becomes brighter under direct sunlight, while in low light you can adjust the screen's front light for a better view. The Fujitsu Tablet PC weighs 3.2 pounds and is less than an inch thick. Pricing begins at $1999; indoor/outdoor display models start at $2199.

Fujitsu's new Tablet PC isn't the first portable with a reflective screen for use outdoors, however. NEC's Versa E120 DayLite notebook, for instance, features an illuminated reflective screen designed to be at its most legible in bright sunlight--but in my tests, I found its display difficult to read indoors.

News: A Powerful Briefcase

APC's new TravelPower Case is a notebook bag with an integrated powering system. Like any carrying case, the TravelPower Case allows you to tote your notebook, cell phone, and PDA. But APC's version features a power supply that sits in its own compartment. Just connect your devices to the power supply to charge them right in the case, without having to deal with a bunch of cords and AC adapters. The TravelPower Case is available in synthetic leather ($99) and ballistic nylon ($129) from APC.