January 18, 2006, 6:45 PM PST
Blinged-out Bluetooth headsets
Posted by: Nicole Lee

Despite their ubiquitous presence these days, Bluetooth headsets still have the unintended side effect of making one look just a little dorky when wearing them. Some manufacturers have gone the route of making them smaller, such as Motorola with the H5 Miniblue and Nokia with the BH-800, in order to make them less noticeable. Others, however, have gone the opposite route, making them more noticeable than ever, with color covers and jewel-encrusted models. The Jabra BT-160, as reported at CES, comes with 33 interchangeable patterns, which are pretty eye-catching. But the Bluetooth headset that outblings them all is this bejeweled Pama P7008 Bluetooth headset, which is covered in pink and clear diamante crystals. Clearly aimed toward women, the Pama P7008 is an over-the-ear style headset with 5 hours of talk time and 200 hours of standby time. It's available only in the United Kingdom now for £47.95. The rest of us fashion victims will have to resort to the Bling Ring kit for a similarly shiny Bluetooth headset. Or maybe just settle with our existing headsets and embrace our inner dorkdom.

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January 18, 2006, 4:41 PM PST
For sale: your calling records
Posted by: Kent German

I'm always a bit skeptical when I see a news headline screaming that nefarious types can now invade your privacy through your cell phone. So when Katie Couric started babbling about that very thing on NBC's Today Show this morning, I paid attention only halfheartedly at first. But this time around, it seems Ms. Couric wasn't just being paranoid.

Your calling records are the target this time, as the Federal Communications Commission is investigating several Web sites that are offering cell phone numbers and their calling records for as little as $110. Provided you have a credit card and a cell phone number, you can find out who has called that cell phone and who it has called. It appears the Web sites are gathering the information by calling carriers and posing as regulators, customers, or employees--a practice called pretexting. Typically, all the jerks need is the four digits of a subscriber's social security number, which are easily obtainable from other Web sites for a few more dollars.

Although suspicious spouses may think this is a good way to catch a partner suspected of philandering, it's ringing alarm bells all the way to Capitol Hill. And rightfully so, as whom you call is your business and no one else's. In response, three senators introduced a bill today that would make it illegal to pose as someone else when calling a carrier or for an employee to see consumer data. Carriers have also taken steps of their own. Last Friday, Cingular slapped a restraining order against Locatecell.com, a Web site that clearly states that it sells phone records. Of course, all this legal wrangling will take some time to accomplish something, but you can take action in the meantime. First, call your carrier and ask them to protect your account with a PIN number instead of a social security number. And second, visit sites such as Locatecell.com and give them a piece of your mind.

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January 18, 2006, 4:03 PM PST
Thirty days to find a new CrackBerry?
Posted by: Molly Wood

NTP, the company suing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion now says, "Hey, we're reasonable guys here. Sure, we want to shut down all BlackBerry sales and service in the States over alleged patent infringement, but we're willing to give folks 30 days to suck it up and get a new phone!" Oh, well, golly, thanks!

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January 18, 2006, 3:59 PM PST
The sun is bad, says software
Posted by: Molly Wood

A bioscience start-up is offering software that measures wrinkles and sun damage to your skin and will soon be able to predict your likelihood of developing skin cancer. Uh, great? Technology is cool, except when it's going to scare the doody out of you and make you quit lying out poolside, Paris Hilton style.

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January 18, 2006, 3:55 PM PST
Jealous wannabes attack million-dollar Web site
Posted by: Molly Wood

What's the next best thing to coming up with a great way to make a million bucks on the Web? Mugging the guy who did. Criminals have launched a denial-of-service attack on the Million Dollar Homepage and are demanding a ransom to make them stop. Man. The Internet is a really turning into a bad neighborhood.

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January 18, 2006, 11:58 AM PST
Seagate turns notebook hard drives on end
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Yesterday, Seagate Technology began shipping the world's first 160GB notebook hard drive based on perpendicular recording technology. The 2.5-inch Momentus 5400.3 is a 5,400rpm hard disk drive, though it can operate at 4,200rpm to save power and extend battery life. Instead of laying data bits flat (longitudinal recording), perpendicular recording technology stands data bits on end, which means you can pack more data onto a single disk and decrease seek times, as more data can pass under the drive head in the same amount of time. Seagate is currently shipping the Ultra ATA 100Mbps version to the OEM channel but plans to release a version with the 1.5Gbps SATA interface later this year.

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January 18, 2006, 10:54 AM PST
Cingular 2125 officially announced
Posted by: Bonnie Cha

Although it's been on Cingular's site for several weeks now, the carrier officially announced the Cingular 2125 (a.k.a. the HTC Faraday) today. The 2125 is Cingular's first company-branded B2B device, and it offers connectivity, productivity, and mobility in one sleek package. Like the Audiovox SMT5600, the Cingular 2125 sports a candy bar shape and is ultraportable at just 4.5 by 1.8 by 0.7 inches and 3.7 ounces. The smart phone runs Windows Mobile 5; in addition to the new Microsoft Office Mobile suite, it can sync with Microsoft Exchange Server so that you receive corporate e-mail right on your device. It supports GoodLink, Cingular Xpress Mail, and Hotmail. Without a QWERTY keyboard, though, its effectiveness as an e-mailing machine leaves us wondering. Globe-trotting execs will be pleased to know that the 2125 is a quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) phone, so you can take it with you overseas; plus, there's EDGE support. Other goodies include Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, 64MB of SDRAM, 64MB of flash ROM, and Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. The Cingular 2125 is available now for $299.99, but you should be able to get it cheaper with service. We're expecting to get one in soon, so check back for a full review.

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January 18, 2006, 10:11 AM PST
Small car wars redux
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

I wrote earlier about the introduction of the Nissan Versa and the Toyota Yaris as an indication of a serious fight for the subcompact segment. At Detroit, I saw more fuel for the fire in the shape of the Honda Fit. Carmakers have obviously seen a need for renewed focus on this area, whether it's due to higher gas prices, bad economic times, or possibly a large late-teens/early-20s population segment. These are all well-made cars that get good mileage and cost not much more than $10,000, which addresses all of the above issues. The best new American car-offering competition is the Dodge Caliber, which comes in with more horsepower and a slightly higher price, although it's still less than $15,000. Of existing cars, the Ford Focus also competes well in the segment, but I would like to see some of the options and variations on the models that are offered in Europe and Japan show up in the United States.

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January 18, 2006, 9:23 AM PST
Despite the good press, Intel has a tough quarter
Posted by: Dan Ackerman

Chip maker Intel has been riding high recently, with the release of the first Intel-based Apple computers and the praise heaped upon its new Core Duo chip, including a CNET Best of CES nod.

But Intel's stock dropped late Tuesday after a disappointing earnings report highlighted weak fourth-quarter performance for 2005. Soft sales for desktop computers in general were blamed, as was a gain in market share by rival AMD. The New York Times reports that Intel's "revenue fell $200 million short of the low end of the company's own forecast, issued less than a month ago."

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