(Credit: eCost)

California recently joined a growing number of states that require drivers to use hands-free devices while driving. In other words, if you want to use your cell phone in the car, it better not be pressed against your ear. You’ve got two options for avoiding tickets: a …

(Credit: Solar Technology)

There was a time not long ago that solar chargers looked about as portable as the brick phones that came out when Duran Duran was touring the first time around–which kind of defeated the purpose, considering that these were meant to go with mobile phones and other …

Apple refreshed its MacBook and MacBook Pro product lines last week. I was hoping for more significant improvements, but the changes were minimal.

Apple's MacBook Pro

(Credit: Courtesy of Apple)

The updated models come with new Intel processors, larger hard disks, more main memory, and more graphics memory….

The new moniker “Atom” sets in marketing stone the Intel brand for small devices. I’ll skip the banalities about Atom silicon being crucial for Intel’s future and just pose a question: Can Intel spur innovation in ultrasmall devices the way it has in the PC and server industry? …

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It should have been obvious that the “Nabaztag” was having some emotional problems when it turned to graffiti, let alone self-defacement. The Wi-Fi rabbit had apparently grown quickly from its innocent beginnings into precocious adolescence, perhaps accelerated by instant fame.

Yet it’s not too late to set …

Editor’s note: Tell us what you look for in a cell phone–vote in any or all of the four polls below, and elaborate in the TalkBack section at the end of this story.

Choosing a cell phone has become a lot like buying a car.

#pollShell { width: 180px; border: …

Think of it as digital photography 2.0.

In the last decade, photography has been transformed by one revolution, the near-total replacement of analog film cameras by digital image sensors. Now researchers and companies are starting to stretch their wings by taking advantage of what a computer can do with …

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It’s probably safe to say that, even when Microsoft eventually ships its “Surface” touch-screen tabletop computer, it won’t be destined for the average household. In fact, if the “Interactive Media Wall” is any indication, it might be seen only in mansions for awhile. That’s …

(Credit: Karmaloop)

The original Adidas “Micropacer” was a bit ahead of its time when it came out in 1984. Back then, few could have predicted that running shoes would eventually be home to GPS devices, iPod transmitters, and their own MP3 players as they are in 2008.

But today the …

(Credit: Fareastgizmos)

Computer cooling technologies are serious business–and for good reason–but it still seemed a bit odd at first that one such device would be created as a limited edition. Yet that’s the distinction Asus has bestowed upon its “Triton 79 AMAzing” cooler. (The uppercase is correct, by …