After a week of intense testing of Apple’s new synchronization service MobileMe, Walt Mossberg says he currently can’t recommend it. It’s a great idea, but, as of now, it has too many systemic flaws to keep its promises.
Xobni is a new, free plug-in module for Outlook that has some flaws, but Walt Mossberg finds that it turns the email experience from one that was organized by messages and dates into one that is organized by people and relationships.
Google’s new Chrome Web browser will make using the Internet faster and less frustrating, but this first version is rough around the edges and lacks some features, says Walt Mossberg in the first hands-on review.
In the exciting new category of modern hand-held computers — devices that fit in your pocket but are used more like a laptop than a traditional phone — there has so far been only one serious option. But that will all change on Oct. 22, when T-Mobile and Google bring out the G1, the first hand-held computer that’s in the same class as Apple’s iPhone.
Wi-Fi wireless Internet connectivity has become nearly ubiquitous. Whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or even on some commercial airliners, you can get online with a Wi-Fi-equipped laptop, smart phone or portable game machine. Now, Wi-Fi is making its way into your car.
Walt reviews the hotly anticipated BlackBerry Storm, the first BlackBerry model without a physical keyboard. Typing and navigation require tapping on glass, just as users do on the iPhone. Verizon will be selling the Storm for $250 with a two-year contract, though a $50 mail-in rebate can bring the price down close to the $199 that Apple charges for the base model of the iPhone.
Digital-picture frames have started to take off as a way for people to show off their stashes of digital photos in rotating slide shows. A growing number of frames even connect to wireless home networks so they can easily be refreshed with photos stored online and on PCs.
If you got a new computer over the holidays, you’re probably focused right now on enjoying all its cool features, or savoring how much faster it is than the old warhorse it replaced. The last thing you want to dwell upon is the chore of backing up your data. Still, backing up your files is important.
Walt reviews Foxmarks, a tool for synchronizing your bookmarks automatically among all your computers, Windows or Mac, and across all the main brands of Web browsers.
Internet Explorer 8 is more stable than its predecessor and packed with valuable new features, but it still can’t match its browser rivals in speed and performance.
Apple’s latest version of MobileMe, a service that synchronizes email, contacts and calendars among Mac and Windows computers, is faster and more reliable.
Edited by Walt and written by Katie Boehret, this is a guide to gadgets, web services and other consumer technologies.
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.