One of the major reasons why I chose to become a freelance writer in the first place was that it afforded me the freedom of location. I can travel almost anywhere and continue to run my business remotely via the Internet. However, I’m not always next to a power outlet. What is a traveling techie to do?

While we were wandering through the hallowed halls of the Consumer Electronics Show, we found ourselves paying a visit to the people at Sanho Corporation. That’s the company behind the HyperMac brand of external MacBook batteries, but they’ve got some even more portable variants available now too! Let’s have a look at their little brothers and sisters.

Introducing the HyperMac Family

Whereas you can get your hands on the HyperMac External MacBook Battery and Car Charger to keep your Apple laptop topped up on the go, what are you supposed to do with your iPhone, iPod, and other portable electronics. Fret not. HyperMac has just introduced the HyperMac Nano, HyperMac Micro, and HyperMac Mini.

These take on fundamentally the same concept as accessories like the Mophie Juice Pack and the Proporta Mobile Device Charger. In a nutshell, you get an external battery that you can take with you, charging your USB-powered devices as needed.

The core market is the iPod and the iPhone, but there’s no reason why you can’t use it with a BlackBerry, Nokia smartphone, Samsung MP3 player, or any number of other portable devices. You will notice that the entire line is available in nine different colors, corresponding to the iPod nano rainbow from Apple. These include pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and silver.

HyperMac Nano with Built-in Charging Cable

To put things in perspective, the internal battery for the iPhone 3GS is rated at 1219mAh, meaning that the HyperMac Nano has enough to charge your iPhone about one and a half times. The Mophie Juice Pack Air, by comparison, is only 1200mAh.

The other major advantage that the HyperMac Nano has is that it is the world’s only (to date) iPhone/iPod battery with a built-in charging cable. There is no need to bring an extra cable with you.

When you remove the cap, you’ll see that there is a short cable connector housed within that plugs back into the HyperMac Nano itself. Unplug this and plug it into your iPod or iPhone and it will automatically start charging your mobile device.

Interestingly, the cap can be attached magnetically to the end of the HyperMac Nano. You’re less likely to lose the cap, as a result, but bear in mind that the magnet isn’t exactly the strongest thing in the world.

I do appreciate the full aluminum housing, though, which adds a huge dash of class over its plastic competitors. With its mobile size and reasonable $39.95 MSRP, the HyperMac Nano is a winner in my books.

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Half of the fun of owning a cell phone is looking for all the fun accessories that you can buy to go with it. We ran down some of the coolest cell phone accessories back in Spring of this year. It’s time again that we take another whirlwind tour to see what else is hot and new for the Fall of 2009.

Some cell phone accessories are meant to be fashionable. Some are meant to be functional. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find a nice balance of a little bit of both in the products that we’ve selected for this guide.

Luxa2 H1-Touch Aluminum Mobile Holder

Even though the primary purpose of our mobile phones is their ability to be used in a mobile context, many of us have also abandoned our landline telephones in favor of a cell phone-only existence. Even if you haven’t, there’s a good chance that you spend many hours at a desk at school, at work, or at home.

Rather than suffocating your poor BlackBerry in your pocket or letting your iPhone get all scratched up on the surface of the desk, you may want to bling it up with the Luxa2 H1-Touch. This desktop stand lets you display your phone loud and proud.

The Luxa2 brand is an offshoot from Thermaltake, a company that you may know better for computer cases. Well, they’re really starting to branch out into consumer accessories and luxury items. The Luxa2 H1-Touch is one of the first offerings and it’s quite the looker.

While you could certainly use a vertical configuration as shown here, the H1-Touch also allows for rotation to a horizontal configuration. This way, if you want to watch a movie on your iPhone, you can.

To add to the bling factor, Luxa2 has integrated a pair of Swarovski crystals into the base. They say that this has “re-enchanted its beauty.” Thankfully, the build quality and utility back up this bling. The H1-Touch retails for $49.99.

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It used to be that if you wanted to get any serious PC gaming done that you needed to have a desktop computer. Later on, it became more viable to consider a gaming laptop instead, but these used to break the bank compared to desktops with equivalent specs and features. Well, the gap between the gaming desktop and the gaming notebook is shrinking faster than ever, both in terms of horsepower and price.

Today, we take a look at a gaming notebook that will satisfy the starving student budget while offering enough power to handle most current games without a hitch. The Asus G51Vx is a 15.6-inch laptop that comes equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M dedicated graphics and it’s quite the looker too.

Budget Price. Budget Packaging. Good Specs.

It wasn’t that long ago that you had to spend upwards of $3,000 (or more) to get your hands on a good gaming notebook. The Asus G51Vx won’t compete with some of the utterly insane machines you’d find through Alienware and the like, but at right around the $1,000 price point, it offers an incredible value.

Interestingly, while Asus put the Eee PC 1005HA Seashell Netbook into a rather attractive and glossy box, the same cannot be said about the G51Vx. It came in a plain and unmarked brown cardboard box. I guess you have to cut costs where they matter the least, right?

The Asus G51Vx comes in a few different configurations, including options for quad-core processors. With the G51Vx-RX05 that serves as the subject of this review, you get the following:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
• 15.6″ widescreen display with 1920 x 1080 resolution
• Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 (2.0GHz)
• 4GB of DDR2 RAM
• 320GB hard drive (7200rpm)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M GPU (1GB)
• 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• 4 USB ports, FireWire, HDMI, VGA, ExpressCard, eSATA, card reader
• SuperMulti DVD optical drive
• Illuminated keyboard with full numeric keypad

The RX05 currently carries a retail price of $1049, making it one of the most affordable options with a powerful graphics card, HDMI-out, eSATA port, and more features that you would otherwise only expect to find in a more expensive unit.

Looking Inside the Box

There wasn’t anything in terms of surprises when I cracked open the plain brown cardboard box of this laptop. The box itself, as mentioned, was remarkably nondescript and the same can be said about the contents.

Aside from the G51Vx notebook itself, you get a standard (six-cell?) battery, the power supply and wall adapter cable, and a trio of installation discs. The three included discs are the recovery DVD for Windows Vista, the G60 notebook series driver and utility disc, and CyberLink Power2Go all media disc burning software.

Not a Laptop for Soccer Moms

When you go shopping for an affordable notebook option from companies like Toshiba and Dell, you usually end up with a machine that doesn’t have much in the personality department. You may get a splash of color here or there, but it’s unlikely you’d get anything that looks particularly fancy. The Asus G51Vx is quite different in this respect. The design styling is not unlike what you would expect from the Dell XPS line or a more expensive Alienware gaming notebook. Asus did some work to make the computer more aesthetically appealing to the gaming market.

The base is your regular matte black and it’s mostly matte black on the inside too, but the top cover will help garner some street cred for you when you take it out at LAN parties and the like. The glossy white cover looks great and it features an interesting design in the center as well. Not only that, but you get three bars of light that illuminate in a cool purple: two on the sides and one in the middle.

The G51Vx will never be confused for an ultra-portable. Tipping the scales at over seven pounds and measuring 14.6 x 10.3 x 1.6 inches, it’s clearly not the smallest of the bunch, but this is par for the course when it comes to most gaming notebooks. At least it’s not as massive as those 17-inch or 19-inch behemoths, right?

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For better or for worse, Sony Ericsson isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind for me when I think about smartphones. That’s not to say that the company doesn’t make quality handsets; it’s just that I’m more familiar with the Walkman line of music phones and the Cyber-shot line of camera phones. Well, they’ve got a hot smartphone too and it is known as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1.

When the XPERIA first hit the market, you could have expected to pay about $1,000 for it. That’s quite the premium for a smartphone, but the price has thankfully come down substantially since then. In fact, you can find the XPERIA online for about $500 these days and, if you’re willing to sign a contract, some carriers will sell it to you for $200 to $300 with a service agreement.

How does Sony Ericsson’s major smartphone entry compare against its Nokia, iPhone, and BlackBerry competitors? Let’s find out.

Checking Out the Features

On paper, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 brings a heck of a lot to the table, boasting a high resolution camera, touchscreen display, QWERTY keyboard, and a unique user interface. It really sounds like it has everything you’d want in a phone.

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, tri-band HSDPA
• 3.0-inch 800×480 TFT resistive touchscreen
• Slide-out full QWERTY keyboard
• Optical trackpad
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM
• microSD memory card expansion slot
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• 3.15 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and 30fps VGA video
• Qualcomm MSM 7200 528MHz processor
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, PDF Viewer)
• Up to 833 hours standby, up to 10 hours talk time

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1, which is actually sourced out to HTC of Taiwan, is available in Solid Black (as shown) and Steel Silver.

What Accessories Are Included?

As if the spec sheet and feature set weren’t enough to whet your whistle with interest, it’s also nice to see that Sony Ericsson didn’t skimp out too much on the free bundled accessories.

Inside the cleverly designed box, you’ll find three distinct compartments to house the various elements. A padded portion is dedicated to showcasing the phone itself. In one of the bigger boxes inside, you get a USB cable, wall charger adapter (which uses the USB cable), an extra stylus, earphones, ear tips for the earphones, and a headphone extension cable that contains the remote and microphone for handsfree voice calls.

In a separate box, you get an installation CD and all sorts of supporting documentation. Strangely, you don’t get a single unified instruction manual; it’s broken down into several smaller booklets.

There are still a few missing elements here that you’ll need to buy yourself, however. If you plan on watching any movies, listening to any music, or snapping more than a handful of high resolution pictures, you’ll want to invest in a large microSD memory card. To protect it from bumps and bruises, a protective case of some kind might be useful too.

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It seems that netbooks are the hottest things since sliced bread. At the same time, you might remember my article a while back that explained why netbooks are already obsolete. In the interest of fairness and balance, I thought it would only be fitting to give the flip side of that argument, discussing the reasons why a netbook should be an integral part of your digital lifestyle.

Do you own a netbook yet? If not, maybe you should consider it.

The Advantages of a Netbook Over a Notebook

Going back to my earlier article about why netbooks are already obsolete, one of the reasons that I provide is that netbooks are not as cost-effective as they could be. For the price of a suitable netbook, you’d be getting pretty close to buying a budget-minded notebook. While there are certainly exceptions, I think it’s fair to say that most notebooks are going to be more powerful than just about any netbook. This rationale overlooks one very crucial selling point for netbooks: they’re much more portable.

Sure, you could spend $500 on a cheap laptop and while it may not be the sexiest computer on the block, it’ll be able to handle most of the basic tasks that you throw at it. However, more likely than not, this $500 notebook is going to be a 15-incher. That’s a fair bit bigger (and heavier) than a netbook.

In order to get into a new 11- or 12-inch notebook PC, you can expect to spend a fair bit more than $500.

Further still, you don’t necessarily need to spend $400 or $500 on a netbook. It doesn’t take much shopping around to find a deal on a refurbished Acer Aspire One, for example. These cheaper netbooks can handle basic Internet tasks without a hitch and they come in at a pinch over $200. I doubt you can find a new laptop for $200, refurbished or not, 15-inch or not.

Have Netbook, Will Travel (And Be Entertained)

Alright, you probably won’t be able to slot that netbook into your back pocket (it’s also unlikely that you have a rear end as attractive as the model above), but I think we’d all agree that netbooks are a fair bit more portable than their larger laptop cousins.

Both in terms of physical size and in terms of weight, netbooks can be better travel companions than regular laptops. Popping the Eee PC or HP Mini-Note into your backpack at school is probably easier than trying to shoehorn a larger Dell Inspiron or Compaq Presario in there.

The same can be said about when you go on vacation. Wouldn’t you rather have a little netbook in your carry-on rather than a bulky notebook?

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Aliens vs Predator

Some of you may be more inclined to decapitate your enemies at close range rather than pick up a plastic instrument and play along with the Beatles. If that happens to be the case, you’ll definitely want to turn your attention to the new Aliens vs. Predator game coming from Rebellion Developments and Sega.

It’s not that this game is remarkably unique in its approach, but that doesn’t mean that it should be ignored. This most recent take on the Aliens vs. Predator franchise pits you in a first-person shooter arena and you’re outfitted with all sorts of interesting toys, weapons, and functions. Here’s a quick video explaining a few of the features.

I only got to see the Predator side of the equation, but I understand that you’ll be able to control the Alien race as well. From the Predator’s perspective, you have the ability to use cloak, leap with stealth from one vantage point to another, and destroy both Marines and Aliens with an extreme level of gore.

Do you remember the head-and-spine ripping fatality by Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat? Well, the Predator does that too, except he tears them off with his signature wrist blades. This game literally oozes with awesome. Look for Aliens vs. Predator in Q1 2010 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC.

Introducing the Sony PSP Go

As you may recall, I predicated the Sony would have a new PSP for us at E3 and, sure enough, they delivered. This isn’t a true successor to the existing PSP, like some people had guessed, but the new Sony PSP Go represents at least a half-step forward.

For the PSP Go, Sony got rid of the regular UMD drive, replacing it with 16GB of internal NAND flash memory. In this way, all the games that you’ll be playing on the PSP Go will be digitally delivered via the PlayStation Network. The screen size is a little smaller and the controls have been relocated to a slide-out portion. There is still just one analog stick.

Overall, the PSP Go is smaller and slimmer than any PSP that preceded it. The physical size and form factor are nearly identical to the Sony Mylo Communicator, if you remember that failed product from a couple years back. With better PSN integration and a gaming focus, the Sony PSP Go ($249) could be just what the doctor ordered. Look for it this October.

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A short while ago, we discussed some of the Twitter clients for the desktop and how they expand upon the functionality of the popular microblogging and social networking platform. What about when you are away from your computer? Did you know that there are plenty of Twitter clients designed for mobile phones as well?

It’s easy enough to send out a tweet when you are seated in your home office, but it may be even more important (and interesting) if you tweet while on the go. You can live-tweet a local event, for example, getting your followers to follow you around as you attend a conference, concert, or convention. Which mobile client reigns supreme? Let’s have a look at a few options.

Twitter Mobile and Text Messages

One of the features added to Twitter very early on was the ability to send out a tweet from your mobile phone as a text message. Each region has its own access number and you essentially send an SMS to this number and it will update your Twitter account. If you don’t have a data plan on your phone, this is really the only mobile option for you. The text messages aren’t free, but Twitter doesn’t charge you anything directly.

Unfortunately for Canadians, we’re not able to receive Twitter tweets. In this way, SMS tweeting is largely a one-way street for Canadians. However, this policy has recently been relaxed by some carriers. Even if you are able to receive tweets, that could result in far too many text messages flooding your phone. If you follow hundreds of people (like I do), this can be more pain than what it’s worth.

If you don’t have the opportunity to install a proper Twitter client on your phone, you can still access the mobile version of Twitter on m.twitter.com. This is a very barebones approach, not unlike the regular website, but it’s stripped down even further. You can read replies, but not direct messages. There is also no integrated support for URL shortening, retweets, or TwitPics.

Pros: No installation needed, convenient
Cons: Absolutely no bells or whistles, very basic
Verdict: A simple solution for emergency tweeting

Windows Mobile Gets ceTwit

Since there are more competitors in the market today, Windows Mobile isn’t quite as popular as it used to be. Let’s face it. Windows Mobile isn’t the prettiest smartphone operating system out there and while it may be functional, it’s not particularly user-friendly. If you are rocking a Windows Mobile smartphone, though, you still have tweeting options.

One of the better Twitter clients for Windows Mobile is ceTwit and it also happens to be completely free. You get all of the basic abilities of a Twitter client, including access to replies and direct messages. There is also an auto-refresh feature, so you don’t have to refresh manually when you boot up ceTwit either.

Unlike the mobile Twitter site, you get to view user avatars in ceTwit as well. The different types of tweets are also color-coded, not unlike Twhirl. Other features include retweeting, copy-and-paste, ping.fm support, and access to TwitPic. Just about everything a Windows Mobile user would need can be found with ceTwit.

Pros: Full support for retweets, TwitPics, and avatars
Cons: Clunky Windows Mobile interface
Verdict: The best Twitter client for WM users

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What good are your gadgets if they are constantly holed up inside your home? You need to get outside and do a little traveling, but you need the appropriate bag to get the job done. Getting through airport security can be quite the hassle, so why not ease the process with the ScanFast Checkpoint Friendly Backpack from Mobile Edge.

The ScanFast Backpack continues on the recent trend toward laptop bags that adhere to the TSA regulations, allowing you to keep your notebook in your backpack or briefcase as it passes through the X-ray scanner. This adds a lot to the convenience factor, but you also want a bag that is functional outside of the airport setting too. Let’s see how this one from Mobile Edge stacks up.

Scanning Quickly Through the Features

This first thing that hit me about the ScanFast Checkpoint-Friendly Laptop Backpack was that it’s no small bag. It measures 19″ x 14″ x 7″. If you’re looking for something cute and compact, this is not going to be the backpack for you. That’s because it can accommodate up to 17-inch widescreen notebooks. If you’re rocking a smaller subnotebook and want something smaller, you may be better off considering a different solution.

In terms of main features, this bag is made from durable 1680D Ballistic Nylon, helping to repel damage from the elements while keeping the style factor in check along the way. There is a mild “shiny” texture to this bag, but it’s not at all gawdy. As previously mentioned, this bag also meets the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines for carry-on luggage.

Stashing All Your Gizmos and Gear

Even though this is largely marketed as a laptop bag, the ScanFast Checkpoint Friendly Backpack from Mobile Edge also supplies you with plenty of pockets and interior space for the rest of your gizmos and gear as well.

Pictured above is the lower-front pocket. This is a good place for most of your smaller items, as there are slots dedicated to holding your pens and then there are pouches to hold stuff like notepads and portable hard drives. These compartments are open-ended and not zippered off though, so you probably want to avoid putting extra small items here. Going from top to bottom, you’ll find no fewer than separate compartments, not including the compartment dedicated to holding your laptop.

The upper-front pocket is very minimalist, not containing any specialized slots or zippered sections to hold smaller items. This might be a good place to stash some basic personal toiletries or your sunglass case, as it is quickly accessible. You’ll also notice that the entirety of bag is black, taking the safer route when it comes to fashion.

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To my knowledge, this is the first mass market accessory kit dedicated to the netbook realm. Let’s see how this bundle stacks up.

What’s Included with the Targus Netbook Accessory Kit?

If you’re expecting a lot from the Targus Netbook Accessory Kit, you’re probably going to walk away a bit disappointed. You have to understand that this is a basic accessory kit, addressing some of the basic and common needs that netbook users may desire. That means if you’re not already swimming in netbooks accessories, you might actually find this package quite useful.

Inside the standard-looking retail box, you’ll find three items. First there is a soft zippered sleeve that you can use to protect your netbook from damage. Then, contained inside a long and narrow white box are the two other items which include a four-port USB hub and an incredibly small laptop mouse. Let’s have a look at these one at a time.

Getting Connected with the 4-Port USB Hub

A lot of the netbooks out there are lacking in the USB port department, leaving you looking for a spot to plug in that flash drive, external hard drive, computer mouse, or USB humping dog (as the case may be). You may want to have an extra port or two available if you need it just in case the need arises. Cellphones and MP3 players seem to come to mind.

As you’d expect, the 4-Port USB Hub comes with four USB ports. Three of these ports are located on the main side, but there is one additional port at one of the ends. This can be a great place for accessories that tend to take up too much space, blocking other ports.

All of this is wrapped in a simple yet stylish blue, silver, and black motif and it’s about the same size as a (very) large lighter. You know, without the flame. This makes it every easy to carry around with you, just like the netbook itself.

The USB cable that connects back to your netbook is only about two inches long and it stows away into the body of the hub when not in use. This is great for portability, because it means that you don’t have to deal with any messy cables. The short length is acceptable, I suppose, since you should have ample access to a USB port on your netbook. There’s no need for a long cable, especially since it’ll just take up space and weight you down.

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Just as the cell phone world is constantly innovating and reinventing itself, the same thing can be said about all of those accessories that accompany our mobile phones. In continuing with our digital lifestyles, it’s not enough just to have the coolest cell phone on the block; you need to have the right accessories to boot. Whether you’re rocking an Apple iPhone 3G, a BlackBerry Bold, a Samsung Omnia, or any number of other cool new handsets, there are innumerable peripherals for you to consider.

Instead of looking at the latest assortment of cell phone cases, random anime-inspired charms, and those weird signal-boosting stickers that you can buy from eBay, we’re going to take a look at some cell phone accessories that might actually be useful. Yes, those exist too.

YUBZ Talk Mobile Bluetooth Headset

When most people think of Bluetooth headsets, they imagine those tiny things that you plug into your ear. Most Bluetooth headsets are popular among Wall Street executives, because they can keep their hands free while talking to you on the phone. They’re also very popular in states like California where it is illegal to talk on a handheld phone while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. That’s conventional thinking. Of course the YUBZ Talk series of headsets (and I use the term “headset” loosely) from YUBZ is anything but conventional.

As you may recall, we paid a visit to the YUBZ CES 2009 Show Suite during our time at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. The YUBZ Talk, available in both Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth variants, is a reaction to the emerging trend toward smaller and more portable headsets. It’s a reaction to our push toward being faster and more efficient in everything that we do. That’s why the slogan for YUBZ is “Why You Busy?” Why are you so busy? Do you not have time for a regular conversation with an old college buddy anymore?

Unlike other headsets that clip onto your ear, the YUBZ Talk takes on the form of an old landline telephone, not unlike the one that you may have used at your grandma’s house. There’s no rotary dialer, unlike granny’s phone, but the retro factor is definitely there. Did I mention it was radiation free as well?

The YUBZ Talk headset (perhaps “handset” is more appropriate) shown here is dressed up in a plain black case, but the Talk series is also available in a range of vibrant colors and even artist-inspired designs as well.

Pairing the YUBZ Talk Bluetooth headset with a compatible phone is as straightforward as you’d expect. You set up the YUBZ Talk to be discoverable, enter the default passcode, and you’re good to go. You can also set the headset to ring or not ring, depending on how far away you are from your actual phone. It was quite the unique experience using my mobile phone as if it were a traditional landline.

The wired version of the YUBZ Talk headset sells for $44.95 US and is available with a variety of connectors for different phones. The Bluetooth version shown here isn’t available on the YUBZ website yet, but expect to pay a premium over the wired alternative.

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