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...

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

This nifty little rechargeable, cordless, Bluetooth mouse is a great accessory for laptop users that have to have a mouse.  The mouse has a right, left, and scroll button.  It is pretty basic, but not without its benefits. The mouse features up to a 10 meter range and offers 800pdi resolution. The rechargeable AAA batteries are of the 700mA Ni-MH variety.

Pricing: It is priced competitively with other mice of similar functionality.

Pros: This thing is small.  It comes with a carry bag for the mouse and its accessories.  It is super easy to hook up.  Aside from setting up Bluetooth software, there is no other software, no messy drivers and the like.  It comes with two AAA rechargeable Ni-MH batteries so you don’t have to fuss with swapping them out all the time.  This mouse uses a cable to charge its self through USB and will function as a cored mouse while in charging mode. The mouse does have a power off switch to improve battery life for those times during long storage.

Read our full review of the Bluetake BT500+ Bluetooth Rechargeable Super Mini Mouse

We do not normally review “gaming” accessories, but once in a while a product comes to our attention that is both cool and something we think our readers would be interested in.  Head tracking devices have been around for a long time, but they have traditionally been big, difficult to wear, and poor in performance.  The idea of head tracking for flight simulation, racing, and first-person shooting games has been tried many times, but usually with less-than-fun results.

NaturalPoint has been making head tracking accessories for a few years and has now released the new TrackIR 4 Pro.  The main unit is small, light, and sits on top of your monitor or clamps onto the lid of a notebook computer.  Simply place the unit above your screen, plug in the USB cable, and install the software.

Read our full review of the TrackIR 4 Pro Optical Head Tracker

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...

Web Cams are great for teleconferencing, taking a quick photo or video, and adding video to your Instant Messaging.  However, if you work mostly on a notebook computer, most web cams are too big and bulky to travel with easily.  So how can a notebook user have all the features of a modern web cam without all the weight and size?

The Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro is a small, light-weight web cam that can clip on the screen lid of most notebook computer and deliver a high-quality video and audio experience.  The QuickCam features:

1.3 Megapixel sensor with wide field of view
RightLight Technology for low light compensation
Built-In Microphone
RightSound Technology for Echo Cancellation
Mounting Clip for notebook lid
Carrying case and headphone included
Logitech Video Effects software
Multi-person intelligent face tracking
Software enhanced photos up to 4 Megapixels

Read our full review of the Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro

Most notebook computers have a CD-ROM drive or even a DVD-ROM drive.  But if you have a sub-notebook or Tablet PC that has no optical drive or you want to upgrade the optical drive capabilities of your notebook, there are a range of choices on the market.  However, most choices are designed for use with a desktop computer and are therefore large, heavy, and require a big power supply.  So what does a mobile user do when they want to have the capabilities of a DVD burner without adding a large amount of size and weight to their travel bag?

The Targus Rewriteable DVD Slim Drive is a portable, light-weight drive that is perfect for mobile professionals who need to add a DVD burner to their notebook computer without adding a large, bulky drive and power supply to their bag.  The drive features:

Read our full review of the Targus Rewriteable DVD +/- RW Slim External Drive

Our globe traveling senior technology editor Harvey Lee has been using an OQO for over a year now and about 6 months ago switched to the newer OQO model 01+.  We recently posted his review of the OQO model 01+ Ultra Mobile Computer but did not go into great detail on the available accessories.  Harvey has had a chance now to spend some time with the current line accessories for the OQO. The items we are looking at today are the Boxwave Screen Protector, Belt Clip Case, Stronghold Metal case, Battery Charging Adapter, VGA Adapter, Battery (Double Capacity).

Read The OQO Optional Accessories Review

With the wide array of mobile device that can play MP3 music and / or video, the one thing that almost every one of them lacks is good sound output. From MP3 / MP4 players to PDAs and mobile phones, most devices have a tiny mono speaker at best. Even many notebook computers have a very basic pair of small speakers that are incapable of producing quality, high-fidelity sound. All of these devices are design to use a pair of stereo headphones for listening to music or watching videos, but what if you want to enjoy quality sound without being tied to a set of headphones?

The Boomtube H2O1 from Think Outside, creators of the Stowaway Keyboard, is a portable speaker system designed to be easily stored and transported, but still able to deliver a quality, audio experience. Whether in your home, office, hotel room, boat, or any location, you can have great sound from your mobile device.

Read our full review of the Think Outside Boomtube H2O1 Portable Speakers with bass tube

If you are a notebook user, one day you will run out of hard disk space. For those who need to easily add more hard disk space to their computer or simply want to be able to transport large amounts of data from one machine to another, external hard drives have been available for a long time. Based on SCSI, Parallel, USB, or FireWire, they provide an external case for a standard hard drive with connectors for the interface and power. The latest offering from Targus is the 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Drive.

Based on a 1.8” hard drive inside a fully enclosed plastic case, the Pocket Drive is connected to any compatible device through the USB plug. Supporting USB 2.0, the Pocket Drive contains a 1.8” hard disk drive with 40GB (unformatted) with 512 bytes sector size and 4 data heads. The drive has a 2MB buffer and a 4,200 RPM speed. The USB Plug is stored within the case and “flips out” for connection to a USB port. A USB Extension Cable is included with the Pocket Drive Two LEDs indicates power and drive activity. The Pocket Drive is 3.4"x3.0"x0.6", weights 1.66 ounces, and is smaller than any 2.5” Hard Disk Drive in an external case.

Click to read our full review of the Targus 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Drive

The most exciting area of computing has always been micro technology. Making what is large today into smaller, more usable forms has driven many advances in the computer industry. In the last fifteen years, computers have moved from the desktop to the laptop and notebook computers have become the computer of choice for most people. However, as small as they have become, notebook computers are still not small enough for many specialized uses and users. I have always been fascinated by handheld sized computers. Not necessarily the handhelds that reduce the functionality of a computer to a basic subset, but handhelds that have the full capability of the current, full-sized versions. I still own, and occasionally use, an IBM PC110 and Toshiba Libretto 70. For those who do not know, the IBM PC110 was the world’s smallest 486 computer (the size of a paperback book) and the Toshiba Libretto was the smallest Pentium 1 computer (the size of a VHS video cassette). Both were complete computers with color screens, keyboards, mouse pointer, docking stations, etc. running full versions of Windows. Now a revolutionary handheld, from San Francisco-based OQO, brings the current level of computing power into the world’s smallest Windows XP computer.

Read our complete review of the OQO model 01+ Ultra Mobile Computer

Bluetooth devices are quite common on many platforms now and Bluetooth keyboards have become a popular option for many computer users.  This year saw the launch of many new Bluetooth options for the mobile user and keyboards were a natural choice.

With the popularity of Bluetooth accessories, it was only natural for Think Outside, the creators of the original foldable keyboard for Palm, to create a Bluetooth model.  The Stowaway Universal Bluetooth Keyboard is a stylish, easy to use keyboard for almost any Bluetooth compatible mobile platform.

Read the full Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard review...

How many times have you popped a DVD into your laptop or desktop computer, relaxed on your couch, and enjoyed a great movie without having to deal with the controls on your software DVD player?  Unless you have a Media Center PC, the answer is never.  Since most computers do not have specialized controls for the DVD player, you have to constantly reach for your keyboard or mouse to pause, fast-forward, rewind, etc.  Now with the iWAND 3-in-1 PC DVD Media Remote Control, you can watch DVDs on your computer the same way you would watch them on your home entertainment system.

Until a couple of weeks ago when I received their Battery Free mouse to review, I hadn’t heard of A4 Tech. Since then I’ve taken the time to look at their website and see the wide variety of products they offer. They seem to specialize in input devices – keyboards and mice, mainly – but they offer such widely divergent items as cameras, headsets, and cases. Many of their products look quite interesting, and their prices (A4 Tech stands for A4ordable Technologies, it seems) are very nice.

Based on what I’ve seen of their products, it may be worth your time to take a look at what they have to offer.