A New Year, A Blue(tooth) Year.

This article presents the author's look at some consumer electronics and bluetooth technologies. It is wet in California, where I spent New Year's Eve before going on to cover the Consumer Electronics Show with Alex Pournelle, David Em, and Dan Spisak. There was more than enough cool stuff to see there without getting to many offerings at the Bluetooth pavilion, so I will be getting to that here. If it is wet in LA, it is cold here in Washington, D.C. fifteen degrees this morning. I like the cold myself, but I am from Yankee stock, so go figure. My current mobile suite still revolves around my Sony TR3A ultralight, which just fits into my camera bag's outside pocket. I have had it since the first SpaceShipOne launch last June, and I am still quite pleased with it. The power supply is light enough so that I do not mind taking it along, even though I can get three or four hours out of the battery. What really makes it work on the go though is the addition of a cellular wireless card, because a computer without Internet is a pitiful thing to see. This month I am running an AirCard 775 for EDGE networks using AT&T's network. Its got good coverage and good throughput, and I will talk specifics in a bit. I am also testing a RIM BlackBerry 7100t for my Cell/PDA combo and I have got to say that if you are going to have a smart phone, getting one with Bluetooth is the way to go.