wireless

Speakerphone finally goes wireless

Our somewhat unhealthy obsession over wireless speakers notwithstanding, we now see that we totally overlooked a related technology in the workplace: the wireless speakerphone.

Even the best speakerphones seem to require people leaning over with their noses in the microphone to ensure that they're heard. (It can be quite undignified.) And when the boss speaks, a gaggle of minions invariably rush to place it in front of him--often dragging cords and knocking over cell phones and coffee mugs in the process.

That can all be a thing of the past with a new wireless speakerphone from Panasonic and Willcom, … Read more

A keyboard without the keys

If the iPhone ushers the phone industry into a new generation of touch-sensitive buttons, keyboards might be the next to follow the trend. A company called AMEW Digital (we've never heard of it either) is trying to get out in front of that curve with its TSK-VX7 wireless keyboard, which features a full set of touch keys in a compact frame. It's still too big to fit into your pocket at 11 inches by 4.3 inches and about half an inch thick, though it's certainly smaller than any standard keyboard. If you're really looking for … Read more

Another audio system cuts the cord

How quickly things change. Barely a couple of months ago we were whining about the dearth of wireless audio systems on the market; now it seems as if our cup runneth over.

The latest to join the fray is a new home theater system from Acoustic Research, a subset of Audiovox, which promises "CD performance" in its sound. The wireless setup includes five "voice-matched" satellite speakers that the company says uses a special channel so it won't conflict with the frequencies of phones, computers, microwaves and other household devices, according to Electronic House.

All this … Read more

V Cast TV launches in 20 cities

Sure, everyone knew this was coming but Verizon Wireless formally switched on its new V Cast TV network today in 20 markets. As we told you earlier this week, the lucky locales for the Media Flo-powered service are concentrated mostly in the Midwest and West with Jacksonville, Fla., and Norfolk/Richmond, Va., being the sole outposts on the East Coast. The full list includes Tucson, Ariz.; Palm Springs, Calif.; Denver/Boulder and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Chicago, Ill.; Wichita, Kan.; New Orleans, La.; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.; St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.; Omaha/Lincoln Neb.; Albuquerque/Santa Fe, N.M.; … Read more

V Cast Mobile TV on track for March 1 launch

Here at Crave, we've been patiently awaiting the launch of Verizon's Wireless V Cast Mobile TV. And after we reported last week that all signs were pointing to a March 1 launch, we now have official (in a roundabout sort of way) confirmation that the game is on for Thursday. A sharp-eyed Crave reader pointed us to the coverage map section of the Verizon Testman Web site where V Cast Mobile TV is noted as launching on March 1. (To see the map, pick your city and then click the "V Cast TV" box on the … Read more

Weekend Webware: Find Wi-fi hotspots with Hotspotr

I discovered Hotspotr at SF Beta this past week. It's a neat little service that mashes up Google maps with a local Wi-Fi hotspot finder. The real pull of the service is you can rate and comment on hotspots as you would with restaurant reviews on a review site like Yelp. It's the perfect service for the casual Wi-Fi traveler to benefit from road warriors who are willing to take the time to review a wireless access point.

The ratings aren't just things such as the overall quality of the wireless signal either; you also can rate … Read more

V Cast TV could launch March 1

The tech sites are buzzing with loads of Verizon Wireless dish today. First and foremost, it's now almost certain that Verizon's V Cast TV is aiming for a March 1 launch date. That's a bit sooner than we expected (Verizon originally said near the end of March) so it's very good news indeed. If you remember, V Cast so wowed us at CES that we chose it as our best in show pick for the cell phone category.

Though Verizon showed two V Cast TV phones at CES--the LG VX9400 and the Samsung SCH-U620 (aka the … Read more

Palm Treo 700wx finally lands at Verizon

Boy, are Palm Treo 700w owners going to be miffed. Today, Verizon Wireless and Palm announced the availability of the Palm Treo 700wx, which is almost identical to its predecessor except for one key difference: it ups the 700w's paltry 32MB of RAM to 64MB, clearing the way for snappier performance. Aside from the increased memory, there aren't any major differences or upgrades (ahem, Windows Mobile 6) from the Treo 700w or Sprint's version of the 700wx. The Windows Mobile 5 smart phone has push e-mail capabilities, EV-DO support, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and Bluetooth. The Palm … Read more

Wii battery packs and sensor bars: Neat things from Nyko

Nyko sent us its new Wireless Sensor Bar and a Charge Station for the Nintendo Wii, so I took it home for the weekend and gave it a spin. This is only a first look, but the results for both devices were very promising.

The Nyko Charge Station is an all-in-one battery dock for Wii controllers. It comes with two rechargeable battery packs, two rubberized covers, and a two-slot charging dock for the Wiimotes to sit in. The battery packs replace the AAs that normally charge the Wii remotes, and the covers have a small hole in them so the … Read more

Verizon PN-820 launches; first decent-looking clamshell smart phone

I like flip phones. I like smart phones. But I have yet to see a cell phone manufacturer successfully combine the two into a nice-looking package. Motorola came out with the i930, but there's no way I was going to carry that big honkin' phone around, and it was definitely catered toward the Nextel bunch. Then, HTC had a go at it with the Cingular 3125, but I don't know, I still find the design just ... weird. Now, Verizon Wireless has picked up the clamshell Pantech PN-820 (aka Verizon Wireless PN-820) smart phone, and it actually looks decent. … Read more