Crave

The idea is instead of the traditional paper boarding passes, passengers will use their mobile phones or PDAs to board an airplane.

American Airlines tried out this new method for the first time on Thursday with passengers leaving on domestic flights from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Mobile boarding pass.

(Credit: cellphonedigest.net)

Starting Monday, mobile boarding passes will also be offered as an option for passengers departing on domestic flights from Los Angeles International and John Wayne Orange County airports.

This is how it works: when buying the ticket online, passengers must provide an active e-mail address to which their boarding pass will be sent, in the form of a 2D bar code.

Upon arriving at the airport, the passenger can open the e-mail on their Internet-enabled mobile device to have the bar code scanned at the Transportation Security Administration's checkpoints and at the airline's gates.

Passengers can also use the same method for check-in luggage at American Airlines' self-service machines, ticket counters, or curbside check-in facilities.

During the introduction of this new feature, there are a few minor restrictions. Passengers can list only one person in their reservation and must be traveling on American or American Eagle nonstop or a trip that doesn't involve changing planes, to a domestic destination.

The destination, however, can be anywhere within the 50 United States, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

This is just the beginning, if the tryout proves successful with the TSA, American Airlines will extend this new mobile boarding method to other U.S. airports.

Personally, I hope this will happen with all the airlines. It makes a lot of sense, especially when most cell phones are able to connect to the Internet these days.

(Credit: Crave UK)

No, you haven't travelled back in time: this is a PDA. It might not do futuristic things like make phone calls, send text messages or take pictures, but if you're not bothered by those fancy features then this might be right up your street. It's called the Socket SoMo 650-M and costs around $670--which we think is ridiculous.

Aimed at the service industry, this rugged Windows Mobile 5 PDA looks retro, but it's extremely sturdy and boasts a large touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an Intel processor running at 624MHz, and an SD and CF slot with the option to add barcode scanners for when you fancy scanning all the tins in your cupboard.

OK, it's not exactly designed for the average consumer, but don't let that fool you. PDAs like the Dell Axim, for example, aren't being made and it's increasingly difficult to get your hands on a non-phone PDA, which is why the Somo 650 is a good choice if you're looking for a simple digital organizer.

Because it runs on Windows Mobile, you can sync all your emails and calendar notes from Outlook and install various third party apps, including VoIP apps that will let you make calls over Wi-Fi, if you're feeling modern. If you're up for some old-school action and have lots of cash to burn, you might want to give it a go.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: eReader)

I love e-books. For years I've read them on whatever PDA or smartphone I happened to be carrying at the time. (Currently it's a Palm Centro.)

Sure, the screens are small, but you get used to that pretty quickly. For me, nothing beats the convenience of having a good book in your pocket (or clipped to your belt) everywhere you go.

eReader, one of the oldest e-booksellers, was recently acquired by another e-book veteran, Fictionwise. To celebrate, the company just dropped the prices on over 8,000 titles: Every book over $10 has been discounted up to 20 percent.

That's great news, as I think part of the resistance to e-books in general has been their pricing. Surely a book that has zero printing, distribution, and shipping costs should sell for less than its dead-tree counterpart, no?

Anyway, the required eReader software is available for Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices, as well as for Windows and Mac PCs. While you're at it, sign up for the free eReader newsletter to get an additional 10 percent off each purchase.

P.S. I don't care what Steve Jobs thinks about the masses: I read, and I would love to be able to read books on my iPhone or iPod touch. Betcha lots of other folks would, too.

(Credit: Palm)

Remember when the introduction of a new Palm PDA generated the same hype and hubbub as new iPods do today? Alas, those days are over, which may explain why Palm looks to be clearing out the inventory--maybe for good. From now until November 26, you can get a Palm TX for $199 (a $100 savings) or a Tungsten E2 for $149 (a $50 break).

You also get some freebies out of the deal: a hard case with the E2 and a wireless keyboard with the TX. The latter model (pictured) is without question the best PDA Palm ever produced, offering a slim design, a huge screen, built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and the super-easy Palm OS. Shipping is free with both models.

Shameless plug alert. If you do decide to take the PDA plunge, I know a great book that can really help you get the most out of it: How to Do Everything with Your Palm Powered Device, 6th Edition. Aw, but don't take my word for it; see what this reader said, and this one.

(Credit: LG)

Everyone seems to be jumping into touchscreens after the huge success of the iPhone, as seen in the HTC Touch and Nokia's Series60 touchscreen version. And now it seems that LG's in on it too.

The picture here shows a concept design of the LG Touch, a mobile phone and PDA with an equally cool docking station. Like the Prada phone from the same company, this concept handset has no noticeable protrusions, which makes it look like a small monolith. It has a secondary LCD along its top edge that displays essential information like new message alerts. The docking station not only lets you sync and charge, but also displays a virtual keyboard for data entry.

For some reason, this concept device has green lights running around the handset. Even the wires on the headset is not spared from the neon invasion. It's as if Kryptonite has been pumped into the handset for power--Superman should steer clear and go for a Samsung instead. All in all, it's a very pretty concept, though we don't see anything really useful or groundbreaking about the ideas. As Apple has clearly shown, anyone can make something look good, but interface design is the killer app.

(Source: Crave Asia)

The 9502 has the most features in the series but is also the largest

(Credit: Crave Asia)

i-Mate is not the most famous of brands when we talk about handhelds, but the Dubai-based company created quite a buzz a few months back when it introduced the Ultimate series of PDA-phones. A name like that needs to be backed up, which i-Mate did with some impressive specs for its announced 8150 and 6150 devices.

Fast-forward to today, however, and we have yet to see those smartphones on the market. And we all know that a few months in this industry is a lifetime--specs and features can get old fast. But i-Mate has introduced two more in the series with feature lists that still manage to wow, the 9502 and 8502 smartphones with QWERTY keyboards, that are now destined for distribution.

The form factor of these two devices may not be for everyone, but power users must certainly give it a second look. Besides more common features like HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS, these two also come with HSUPA for fast uploads over the cellular network. Like the 8150 before them, they also come with a video-out connector for doing presentations too.

Given the company's track record, let's just hope we don't have to wait too long for these devices to be released. Read more about them in our full feature here.

(Source: Crave Asia)

BlackBerry users are getting a little more love these days. It hasn't been long since Opera Mini 4 Beta became compatible with the BlackBerry platform. Now The Gizmo Project, a free, all-in-one IM and VoIP client mash-up originally built for the desktop, has opened its doors to BlackBerrys too.

Here's what's in it for Gizmo Project Mobile Beta users--IMing other Gizmo, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and Google Talk users from your phone, plus free calls to fellow Gizmos.... Read more

Most mobile users like their converted videos like they like their phones: light, fast, and easy to get.

MediaCell Video Converter is a sweet app that achieves the former and shines with the latter. The program's ease at converting from a range of file types to your specific cell phone or PDA helped the program become the single most downloaded video product at CNET Download.com.

Check out MediaCell Video Converter in the video below, and don't forget to watch other informative First Look videos on a slew of users' favorite apps.

A collaboration between military R&D and industrial designers is bringing state-of-the-art PDA technology to Joe Snuffy out on the battlefield.

The Soldier Flex PDA (SFPDA) introduced by Inhand Electronics features flexible display technology with input from industrial design firm Artisent, display technology firm E-Ink and the U.S. Army Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University.

(Credit: Inhand Electronics)

The PDA offers InHand's PXA270-based Fingertip4 CPU board, along with Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth and keypad interfaces all in a "ruggedized" glass-free package that weighs less than a pound. Best of all, the unique low-power characteristics of electronic paper displays and InHand's patented BatterySmart system keep power consumption at well below a single watt. Battery life runs about six hours, according to the Maryland company.

The device opens up the realm of possibilities for distributing critical battlefield-networked information to infantry combat soldiers on long duration missions, explains Henry Girolamo, SFPDA program manager at the Army's Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center.

That, and having a PDA around should make pulling guard duty a lot more entertaining.