I think most everyone has a love/hate relationship with business cards.  They represent a quick and easy way to trade contact information, to make a good impression and to show off your style and taste.  They also are small and easy to lose, a pain to organize and convert to electronic contacts, and take up a surprising amount of space. The obvious answer is a simple method of scanning and automatically recognizing the information in the cards, and a number of companies have made hardware/software solutions.  I recently had the opportunity to try out one solution, the CardScan 800c.

Inside of the deceptively large box you’ll find a folder with the software, packaged cards for cleaning and calibrating the device, some advertising materials, a generously long USB cable, and the scanner.  The scanner itself is small enough to pack anywhere a paperback would fit or to fit on even the most cluttered desk.  It’s styled to look good on your desk; the CardScan has no buttons or switches to ruin the smooth lines, just a triangle-shaped blue light to show it’s on and to indicate where to insert cards.

Read our full review of the Cardscan Executive 800c...

If you have an Apple iPod, and who doesn’t these days, you will eventually want to improve it’s functionality by adding an accessory.  As the leading portable digital audio player on the market, there are an incredible number of accessories available for the Apple iPod and JBL is one of the leading companies in the iPod speaker and general consumer audio market.  Let’s take a look at a few of the products available from JBL.

Read our complete review of all three JBL speakers

Paper scanners are great peripherals for the modern computer.  They let us bring papers, documents, and photos from the real, physical world into the virtual, digital one.  However they are usually big, bulky devices that require a lot of space or, in the case of most portable models, time to set up.  And the typical scanner still needs a computer or notebook to operate.  So what if you could have a portable scanner that did not need a computer, could be easily carried anywhere, and can make a scan of any document, photo, magazine, or book.  Well now you can with the Planon DocuPen RC800.

The RC800 is a full color, 24-bit scanner in a compact, lightweight form that provides a convenient way to scan full page documents on-the-go.  With the included 128 MB memory card, the RC800 can store many pages into memory with each page only taking a few seconds to scan.  Using the on-board controls, you can select B&W/Color/24-Bit Color and 100 / 400 dpi resolution. 

Read our full review of the Planon DocuPen Portable Color Scanner

The Kensington SX300R is one of a host of products now on the market designed to help music lovers take tunes from their iPods into their homes. What sets the SX300R apart is its sleek, stylishly simple, one-piece design with a flat panel speaker on one side and a universal iPod dock on the other. The SX300R’s sound, while not as full-bodied as some, nevertheless has a feeling of quality perfectly suited for a smaller space, and performs better than expected given that the speaker itself is only three quarters of an inch wide.

In keeping with iPod’s updated black look, the new SX300R comes in a black plastic shell, as opposed to Kensington’s previous SX200, which was white. The SX300R is compatible with all iPods with 30-pin dock connectors, including iPod nano, and can be connected to non-docking iPods such as iPod shuffle, as well as, other MP3 players with an accessory adapter or a 3.5mm headphone cable (not included). The unit including base is 16 by 7.25 inches high, and at only 4 inches deep, it’s an easy fit for a desktop or even a window sill.

Read our full review of Kensington’s SX 3000R Speakers with FM Radio for iPod...

With everyone making MP3 players, including most of the companies that manufacture the flash memory players depend on, it is not surprising that Kingston has finally produced their own MP3/MP4 portable player.  Kingston is one of the world leading manufacturers of RAM and Flash memory and their new K-PEX 100 (Kingston Personal Entertainment Experience) is a solid entry into the 1GB/2GB Media Player market.

Read our full review of the Kingston K-PEX 100 Personal Media Player

The Samsung BlackJack is simply the best Windows Mobile Smartphone I have ever used.

The Backjack sold by Cingular Wireless now the new at&t brings UMTS/HSDPA to the table...basically DSL/Broadband speeds to you and me. What I have found is that I really don’t use my laptop as much since the BackJack has live push mail, large display, and a QWERTY keyboard. I tossed in a 2 Gig MicroSD Card and sync up my music and TV shows from my Media Center so I can take them with me. Even the 2MP camera gets some use and with all this heavy lifting the BlackJack maintains its sleek super model-esque profile.

What really makes the unit shine is the thoughtful list of applications Samsung and Cingular Wireless now the new at&t included with the BackJack. They didn’t opt for the regular Microsoft Mobile Smartphone app load, they went much further and included a slew of productive tools that really rounds out the phone with just about everything you could ever need.

--Bill Landon

It’s been quite a while since we did the last Vaja case review. The last one from a few years ago detailed some cases for the very popular, yet now near forgotten, iPAQ 3800 series.

Back then, we were doing a lot of case reviews, and the Vaja offering was definitely at the top of the heap. Excellent fit and finish, great usability, never bulky, and always classy.

The new lines do not deviate at all from this standard of quality.

Recently they sent me four new cases, as well as the new clip mechanism to check out. I received two cases for the iPod video and two for the iPod Mini.

Click to read our full review of the Vaja iPod cases...

In today’s work environment it has become increasingly necessary to bring work typically done at the office out into the field. More and more technology has been brought to the fields of construction, surveying, manufacturing, telecom, etc. This brings an interesting issue to light; how do you work in an unfriendly and potentially harsh environment while not burning through laptops and PDA’s weekly? There are a couple of industrial grade ruggedized laptops available, however they approach close to $4000 fully equipped and may simply be overkill and too bulky to be practical.

Enter the ruggedized PDA. They are small, lightweight and efficient compared their laptop cousins, not to mention they have a longer battery life and are cute as a bug’s ear. We have looked at a rugged PDA in the past from TDS (Tripod Data Systems) Recon 400. That device proved to be a formidable challenger to the elements and stood up well to the abuse we threw at it. TDS has brought out their follow up to the Recon 400 in the form of the new Recon X-Series.

Read our full review of the TDS Recon X-Series Rugged PDA

After reviewing a large number of earphones, my ears were looking forward to a rest until I heard about a small company that specialized in making earphones for professional musicians and engineers.  The comments I heard were so good, that I had to check them out.  The high-end, custom Ultimate Ear products are used by an impressive list of the top musicians and engineers in the music industry.  The super.fi 5 Pro is the latest consumer model from Ultimate Ears and they have done an amazing job of bringing their high-end technology to the consumer market at a reasonable price.  The super.fi 5 Pro is stylish, easy to use, comfortable, and sounds amazing.  Simply select the appropriate size ear tip, install the tip, insert the earphone into the ear canal, and wrap the flexible ear loop over your ears.  Now you are ready to listen to your music the way it was meant to be heard.  The design of the earphone is comfortable and very secure, so I never felt like the earphone was going to fall out even during excessive head motion.

Read the full review of the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 Pro

From phonograph cartridges to wireless audio systems, from audio mixers to microphones, Shure has been in the audio business for over 80 years.  As one of the top audio equipment companies, Shure products are used by audio professionals all over the world.  Shure Personal Audio now brings their expertise to the mobile earphone market.  With a range of products from boom and inline mobile phone headsets to music/mobile hybrid models to the impressive “E” series earphones, Shure has an earphone to fit your needs.  The “E” series has been very popular with many well-known musicians and audio engineers.

All Shure earphones are sound isolating earphones.  Each comes with a fit kit that contains three pairs (small, medium, large) of flex sleeves which are firm rubber, three pairs (small, medium, large) of soft flex sleeves which are soft rubber, one pair of disposable foam sleeve, and one pair of triple flange sleeve which have multiple, flexible layers of rubber.  Each style of sleeve or ear cushion is designed to give a different feeling of comfort and secure fit for different size ear canals.  In order to get the best performance from a Shure earphone, proper fit is essential.

Read our full review of the Shure i4c, E4g, and E5c Headphones

In a world full of iPods, CD Players, handheld video games, MP3 players, Portable Media Players, music / video capable Mobile Phones, and a wide range of other audio mobile technologies, there is one thing that always amazes me.  No matter how much you pay for that product, $30 or $800, you will find included with the instruction manual and AC Adapter, a pair of earphones that probably cost the manufacturer $5 or less.

While the quality of the sound output will vary depending on the source material and the device used to play it, the most critical part of the listening experience is where the audio comes out to your ears.  The earphone, headphone, or speaker is also where the listener has the greatest level of choice when it comes to deciding on the quality of the audio reproduction.  So if you are interested in getting more than $5 of quality from your $300 iPod, then you should consider upgrading your “stock” earphones.

In this series of reviews, I will be taking a look at a few mid to high range earphones and headphones from some of the most popular and respected headphone manufacturers.  With a focus on mobile use, all of the models reviewed are small, compact, and portable.

Read our full review of the Audio-Technica ATH-ES5, ATH-EC7 GM, and ATH-EW9 Headphones...

In a world full of iPods, CD Players, handheld video games, MP3 players, Portable Media Players, music / video capable Mobile Phones, and a wide range of other mobile audio technologies, there is one thing that always amazes me.  No matter how much you pay for that product, $30 or $800, you will find included with the instruction manual and AC Adapter, a pair of earphones that probably cost the manufacturer $5 or less.

While the quality of the sound output will vary depending on the source material and the device used to play it, the most critical part of the listening experience is where the audio comes out to your ears.  The earphone, headphone, or speaker is also where the listener has the greatest level of choice when it comes to deciding on the quality of the audio reproduction.  So if you are interested in getting more than $5 of quality from your $300 iPod, then you should consider upgrading your “stock” earphones.

In this series of reviews, I will be taking a look at a few mid to high range earphones and headphones from some of the most popular and respected headphone manufacturers.  With a focus on mobile use, all of the models reviewed are small, compact, and portable.

Read our full review of the Sennheiser MX500, PX200, and PXC250 Headphones

So you have an Apple iPod and if you spent $299 or $399 for it, you are most likely very protective of it. Many people go to extremes to keep it shiny and scratch free. So what if you want to take it with you while jogging, fishing, boating, or even just outdoors on a humid or rainy day? The chance of exposing the precious iPod to moisture and harsh conditions is enough to get most people to leave it at home. While there are many cases and protective gear that can prevent scratches and minor bumps, moisture and hard bumps are very different things.

Now Otterbox comes to the rescue. Otterbox makes a wide range of waterproof, protective cases for different devices and needs. There are Otterboxes for all model iPods, but let’s take a look at the Otterbox for iPod Video.

Read our full review of the Otterbox for iPod Video

If you have an Apple iPod, and who doesn’t these days, you will eventually want to improve it’s functionality by adding an accessory.  As the leading portable digital audio player on the market, there are an incredible number of accessories available for the Apple iPod and Griffin Technology is one of the leading companies in the iPod accessory market.  This article will take a look at a few of the products available from Griffin.

Read our full review of the Griffin Technology iPod Accessories: RoadTrip, AirClick, iTrip for iPod nano, PowerBlock, EarThumps

We see a lot of Bluetooth headsets come our way for review here at PDAToday. Most are not very sexy and with the proliferation of these types of headsets recently they can tend to be a ho-hum accessory that gets ignored by the larger gadget websites who focus on trendy MP3 players and the like. We gladly pick up the slack to cover even daily use consumer electronics because when you spend that hard earned money it’s nice to know what’s of value and what’s not; besides who likes to sit in the return line at (insert favorite shopping place) all day.

In this review we will look at the Bluetake BT400 G5, their new flagship offering Bluetooth headset. Bluetake has managed to package a headset that borders on exciting and creative in the world of boring Bluetooth headsets. The BT400 G5 Bluetooth headset is stylish and is finished in a very nice tactile rubber coating surrounded with a snazzy plastic shell. They have opted to go with a marine theme to this line of products...mmm fish. The front is adorned by rubber ridges that disguise the two front buttons to create a scaled look. Weighing in at a scant minnow like 20 grams its light on the ear and features a moldable turntable ear hook. Bluetake uses a hard molded ear bud that rests in your ear canal. If you have abnormally small or large ear canals this may pose a potential problem. I found the unit to fit comfortably and to be easily adjustable. Volume was never a problem.

Read our full review of the Bluetake BT500 G5 Bluetooth Headset...