The omnipresent phone: TerraStar Genus smart/satellite handset

When I think of satellite phones, I always think of the movie "Jurrasic Park 3." Those scenes involving a yellow satellite phone -- on the plane that eventually crashed, of the protagonists sifting through a mound of dino-crap and looking for the same satellite phone -- somehow convinced me that having a satellite phone means having a constant access to a dependable means of communication. (Although, it could also mean potential bad luck for whoever is holding the phone.)


TerraStar Genus smart/satellite phone

Now come media reports that a relatively unknown tech company has convinced a major U.S. mobile service provider to sell its satellite phone that moonlights as a smartphone (or is it a smartphone doing part-time work as a satellite phone?).

Symantec releases Norton Antivirus 2011 and Norton Internet Security 2011

Symatec says that up to 65 percent of Internet users worldwide fall victim to cybercrime. For Filipino users, however, the rate is much worse at 87 percent. So, the next time you and your family and friends surf the Internet, it won't hurt if you'd keep in mind that you could be just a click away from becoming a cybercrime victim.

The Norton AntiVirus 2011 comes with an antispyware tool.

It's a good thing that computer security technology providers are working tirelessly to develop tools and applications designed to protect us and our computers from these cybercriminals and their shenanigans.

NWZ-B152F (B Series): Gadgets on my wish list, part 4.

What costs less than Php2,500 and offers up to 18 hours of music playback?

The NWZ-B152F: A portable MP3 player to die for?

The NWZ-B152F, despite its unwieldy name, is one highly mobile MP3 (and WMA) player from Sony's Walkman series of portable music players. It comes with 2GB of built-in storage, which is enough to hold up to more than 30 hours of music files.

iPod Touch 4G: Gadgets on my wish list, part 3

People say the iPad is just a blownup iPod Touch. For me, however, I think the iPod Touch is an iPad at just about the right size. I have never been a big fan of the iPod, and I have always been a Walkman guy. In fact, my first portable music player was a Sony, way back when listening to music on the go meant being mobile with a Sony Walkman.

The iPod Touch 4G: at the top of my gadget wish list.

From the very first time I saw the iPod Touch, however, I have always dreamed of owning one someday. But because I had a Samsung MP3 player and a Philips portable media player then, I could not bring myself to blowing some 10K pesos for a new MP3 and video player. Even though it's a media player dubbed by the popular media as one of the coolest.

Samsung Galaxy Tab: Gadgets on my wish list, part 2

As each day passes, more and more of my friends and family are giving in to their desire for an iPad, Apple's wildly popular tablet computer. This despite the fact that the iPad has still yet to be launched (officially) in the Philippines. As of today, those hundreds of iPads you see being bandied about by their owners around the metropolis -- they're all gray-market iPads.

Can hardly wait until Samsung's Galaxy Pad rocks my world.

I never would turn down an opportunity to buy myself an iPad, too. But I just cannot bring myself to spend a considerable part of my annual income on something that almost everyone I know says is the coolest thing to own. I never appreciate being told by almost everybody else what is cool and what is not.

I'd rather be the judge for myself of what is cool and what should be avoided at all cost. That is why, I am waiting for Samsung's Galaxy Tab to reach these local shores.

Gadgets on my wish list

Christmas is barely a couple of months away, and this early, people are getting ready with their lists -- of the people (family, friends, and coworkers) they would give gifts to and of the goodies they would buy for them. This happens every year.

And on these islands, the effects seem more pronounced than they are overseas. Somehow, whenever the "Ber" months come, people transform into clones of Santa Claus and his helpers, combined. Manufacturers and sellers, meanwhile, are crossing their fingers too. After all, the holiday season accounts for a large portion of their annual sales.

Asus Eee PC 1015PE: Still sexy, still hot netbooks are

Asus,  the generally acknowledged creator of the superportable-computer category, recently introduced the Eee PC 1015PE, a midrange 10.1-inch netbook. Part of the Seashell product line, the thin and light 1015PE combines aesthetics with mobility, making it one of the slightly better looking portable computers in the market today.

The Eee PC 1015PE in its usual black incarnation.

Compared with some of its siblings, the 1015PE is thicker and a couple or so rungs lower in the aesthetics ladder, putting it near the level occupied by most other netbooks in the market.

Coming with a year of free Asus WebStorage (up to 500GB) online data storage service, the Asus netbook offers some respite from storage-related headaches -- for users who would overshoot the unit's built-in 250GB hard drive.

Acer Aspire One D260: One more reason for sticking with netbooks

The wife and I were looking for a portable and reasonably powerful computing platform that she could bring with her back to the U.S. Of course, wiser counsel would have told us she could save some money by buying her next notebook there. But, she said, she wanted to be able to communicate with us, her family in Manila, right from the very moment she would enter the airport premises.

My wife's first choice, the purple D260. Tough luck, the store was out of stock.

She also wanted the following: it should be portable and light enough to bring wherever her job as a social worker would take her, but powerful enough to perform the usual computing tasks she does with her desktop PC.