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Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

News: WiMax Phones Coming Next Year

Next year Nokia and Motorola will release wireless mobile devices that use WiMax technology. Such devices will supposedly make wireless voice calls and data connections less expensive than those made on 3G data networks. WiMax is an open standard wireless technology that will offer a signal that's much stronger, faster, and capable of traveling much longer distances than today's Wi-Fi networks.

Last year Sprint Nextel announced its plans to offer a mobile WiMax network across the country in 2008. This is exciting stuff, but experts say that WiMax may not deliver on its performance promises during its first year or so it's available. Unlike 3G networks, WiMax wasn't initially designed with mobility in mind, so it may take time to iron out some kinks.

News: Linux on a Treo

By year's end, you can expect to see Treos running a version of the Palm OS that's based on Linux. As if we Treo users aren't already multitasking enough, Linux will give us the ability to make voice calls and surf the Web or receive e-mail at the same time.

News: Free Text Messaging

A new widget lets you send free text messages to cell phones. With CallWave Free Text Messaging (a free beta), you view a list of contacts and select the recipient of your text message. Any replies to the message are sent to your cell phone. CallWave subscribers get access to their text messages in a searchable archive, accessible from a personal Web page.

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Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it. However, I regret that I'm unable to respond to tech-support questions, due to the volume of e-mail I receive.

Contributing Editor James A. Martin offers tools, tips, and product recommendations to help you make the most of computing on the go. Martin is also author of the Traveler 2.0 blog. Sign up to have the Mobile Computing Newsletter e-mailed to you each week.