 |
March 16, 2004 |
|
|
|
| |
Cell phones are always a hot topic for CNET readers, especially this week,
as Sony Ericsson and Motorola rolled out their latest multimedia handsets.
Also high on the hot list: Microsoft Office, broadband, MP3 players, and
portable DVD. |
|
 |
|
|
|
Cell
phones
Week in, week out, cell phones are hot topics for CNET readers. For
example, two of this week's most popular stories were about line shows,
where handset vendors unveil their latest models. Motorola just introduced
its latest phones at the Miami Music Multimedia Summit in Florida. Why
there? These handsets are all about multimedia. They include MotoMixer (for
mixing your own ring tones), built-in cameras, and one degree or another of
MP3 audio and MPEG-4 video playback; two models even have speakers. Then,
there was the
Sony Ericsson line show. Four of the five new phones announced there
have integrated cameras, including the first 1.3-megapixel lens on a
handset. The phones also include MP3 ring tones, FM radios,
high-resolution color displays, and swivel screens. Oh, yeah--they all
place calls just fine. Finally, a bunch of you were searching for
information about the Kyocera
Slider SE47, a slick little phone targeted at the youth market with an
MTV tie-in. Shopping for yourselves or for the kids? |
|
 |
|
|
|
Microsoft Office
Another hardy perennial: anything having to do with Microsoft piques your
interest. This week's hot Microsoft news included this story, about a
giveaway program that could violate government ethics rules. Apparently,
Gates & Co. routinely send out free copies of Office to big customers. But
when they started sending them to government offices, ethics officers at
the Department of Interior and the Department of Defense said to wait just
a minute; such giveaways constitute unauthorized gifts and must be
returned. Meanwhile, delays in shipping
the next version of Windows (code-named Longhorn) also mean delays in the
next version of Office, which, according to our traffic logs, has many of
you quite concerned. |
|
 |
|
|
|
Bandwidth
The Bandwidth
Meter is one of CNET's most popular features. This week, for some
reason, it was more popular than ever. If you want to know how your
connection to the Web stacks up against other connections, this tool runs a
quick check, then compares your hookup to dial-up, DSL, and cable. It's
popular because it's handy--and perhaps, because it offers a bit of
keeping-up-with-the-Joneses. But what was it about this week that made you
all sit up and take notice of the tool? Was it the announcement that
AT&T was going to offer bandwidth-intensive Voice over IP phone service?
Whatever the reason, the move to broadband continues apace: broadband
connections are
starting to overtake dial-up in some U.S. cities, and AOL announced yet another drop in dial-up subscribers, losing 2.2 million customers in 2003. |
|
 |
|
|
|
MP3s and more
Digital music continues to be one of the most fertile product areas on all
of CNET. Just in the past week, we posted reviews of the Creative
Rhomba and the Cirago
WeWa Marvel WMP-310+. Among the most popular stories were reviews of
the iRiver
iGP-100 and the Archos Gmini
120, a
feature comparing five iPod competitors (20GB players that offer
something that Apple doesn't), and a column from our MP3 Insider Eliot Van
Buskirk asking the musical question: Is a microdrive
MP3 player right for you? Then there was the news story
about how Apple just sold its 50 millionth tune online. And finally, did
you see the story
about the new Starbucks music service? Drop in, pick out some tunes you'd
like burned to CD, and (for about 99 cents per song) you'll get a customized mix
disc by the time you've finished your latte. |
|
 |
|
|
|
Portable
DVD
What, you can't leave the TV at home? Maybe it's the advent of spring
break. Maybe it's the promise of summer vacation. Whatever it is, CNET
readers were searching for reviews
of portable DVD players this week. If you were one of them, please
note: We have a batch of reviews of new players on the way. While you're
waiting for those, why don't you go grab a nice book? |
|
|
|
