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Evaluates several mobile and electronic products. Features of the 7300 cell phone from Sanyo; Key strength of the Vaio Z1 laptop from Sony Corp.; Audio quality of the Zire 72 handheld from PalmOne Inc.

The article evaluates electronic products. Sprint has a whole line of Sanyo phones which are basically the same unit with different feature levels. The most expensive of them is the SPC-5500 (VM4500), with its built in 310k still and video camera, while the 7300 is designed for an active lifestyle. The unit is rugged, but comfortable and easy to flip open Kirk-communicator-style. The display is not transflective, which would have been a nice touch considering its take me anywhere style . The speakerphone works nicely, and quickly becomes indispensable. The Sony Vaio Z1, suggested retail price: $ 2,299.99, packs a lot into a lightweight laptop. Thin and sleek, with a signature curve along the sides that looks like it is just there for coolness but also protect the ports and strengthens the magnesium case. The full featured Z1 features a 1.7 GHz Centrino processor, 512 megabytes of minimum memory, and a 60 gigabytes hard drive. The real strengths of this laptop are its ergonomics. The Zire 72 has a 1.2 megapixel camera and MP3 player. Though it does not have Wi-Fi, it does have Bluetooth. It does not have a cradle. One has to start a Hot Sync from either the Palm's desktop or by pressing the star by its writing area.

The article evaluates electronic products. Sprint has a whole line of Sanyo phones which are basically the same unit with different feature levels. The most expensive of them is the SPC-5500 (VM4500), with its built in 310k still and video camera, while the 7300 is designed for an active lifestyle. The unit is rugged, but comfortable and easy to flip open Kirk-communicator-style. The display is not transflective, which would have been a nice touch considering its take me anywhere style. The speakerphone works nicely, and quickly becomes indispensable. The Sony Vaio Z1, suggested retail price: $ 2,299.99, packs a lot into a lightweight laptop. Thin and sleek, with a signature curve along the sides that looks like it's just there for coolness but also protect the ports and strengthens the magnesium case. The full featured Z1 features a 1.7 GHz Centrino processor, 512 megabytes of minimum memory, and a 60 gigabytes hard drive. The real strengths of this laptop are its ergonomics. The Zire 72 has a 1.2 megapixel camera and MP3 player. Though it does not have Wi-Fi, it does have Bluetooth. It does not have a cradle. One has to start a Hot Sync from either the Palm's desktop or by pressing the star by its writing area.

This article evaluates several electronic devices such as cellular telephones and computers. The Sanyo 7300 is rugged, but comfortable and easy to flip open Kirk-communicator-style. The display isn't transflective, but it's bright enough to get by. The Sony Vaio Z1 packs a lot into a lightweight laptop. Thin and sleek, with a signature curve along the sides that looks like it's just there for coolness but also protect the ports and strengthens the magnesium case. The Sony X505 has a carbon fiber and nickel case, weighs 1.7 pounds and 38 inches thick, it is the only Sony not to have a memory stick port. The new Zire 72 cellular phone has a camera and MP3 player and has several flaws. Though the Zire 72 does not have Wi-Fi, it does have Bluetooth.

This section evaluates several models of cellular phones and laptops. Sprint has a whole line of Sanyo phones which are basically the same unit with different feature levels. The most expensive of them is the SPC-5500, with its built in 310k still/video camera. Meanwhile, the 7300 is designed for an active lifestyle. That means it is drop tested to the standard 4 ft. on concrete that so many of my devices wind up suffering sooner or later. It does not have a camera and is a bit bulkier than others in the line, but it was comfortable to carry on an external clip. The only problem is that there are a lot of buttons on the outside which at first tended to be pressed when taking it out of the holster. The unit is rugged, but comfortable and easy to flip open Kirk-communicator-style. The speakerphone works nicely, and quickly becomes indispensable. Sprint requires all their phone manufacturers to use a standard 2.5 mm earpiece jack which makes things a lot easier for users. The Sony Vaio Z1 packs a lot into a lightweight laptop. Thin and sleek, with a signature curve along the sides that protect the ports and strengthens the magnesium case. The full featured Z1 features a 1.7 GHz Centrino processor, 512 MB of memory, and a 60 GB hard drive. The real strengths of this laptop are its ergonomics. Ironically, desktop systems keyboards are slowed down by the long travel people expect from them. While the Z1 has a full sized key layout, the key travel is only 2mm. The display, driven by a ATI Mobility Radeon chipset should make anyone happy, even the occasional gamer. If you do want the full sized keyboard but do not care about having an optical drive built in, you might want to try Sony X505. It is reasonably priced considering its carbon fiber/nickel case, 1.7 pound weight. It is the only Sony not to have a memory stick port, though they put one on the mouse that comes with it.

This article reviews various electronic devices such as cellular telephones and portable computers, including two books on computers. The Sanyo SPC-5500 cellular telephone has two-way short messaging service, e-mail and voicemail messaging and although a bit bulky, it can be carried comfortably on an external clip. The Sony Vaio Z1 is a laptop that features a 1.7 gigahertz Centrino processor, 512 megabytes of memory, and a 60 gigabyte hard drive. The Zire 72 pocket computer has a 1.2 Megapixel camera and MP3 player. Cory Doctorow's book Eastern Standard Time and Bruce Sterling's book The Zenith Angle are both about technological innovation and mobile computing figures prominently in both stories.

Evaluates several wireless communication devices. Features of the Talking Head videophone; Durability of the Panasonic ToughBook T1 computer notebook; Design of the Treo cellular telephone.