5 Gizmos Nixed by Cellphones

Hold off if you can on TVs, iPhones, and laptops: Wirecutter

(NEWSER) - Good things come to those who wait, and technology is no exception. At the Wirecutter , Brian Lam lists a few hot items not to buy yet, or you'll be kicking yourself later.

• TVs and home theater equipment. The reviews for the latest TVs will be available around mid-year, and Samsung's new plasma offering won't be around until next month.
• iPhones. Hold off about five or six months, and you'll be the first to get the next generation.

3-D TVs, wristwatch cellphone are among the excellent gadgets

(NEWSER) - The 2009 Consumer Electronics Show is full of “incredible technology,” Larry Magid writes for CNET. Problem is, it’s all “in search of a practical purpose,” making this year the “year of the gimmick.” Magid runs down a few wowee gadgets of dubious usefulness.

• Casio EX-FS10 camera: Shoots 30 frames a second and superimposes the video on another picture, doing "by itself what used to require post processing." But will anyone use the feature?

Picture-perfect phone closes the shutter on camera phone rivals

(NEWSER) - Adding a camera to a phone isn't exactly a novel concept, but the Motozine ZN5 breaks the mold by making it a proper digital camera instead of a feeble afterthought, David Pogue writes in the New York Times. For quality, he raves, "the ZN5’s photos trump anything offered by any carrier in the United States." More»

48 tiny videos yield intimate close-ups from around the world

(NEWSER) - Featuring 48 judge-selected short movies, each of them shot using a camera phone, Japan's Pocket Film Festival marks the dawning of a new era in amateur film making. Without special effects or fancy camera-work, the pocket-flicks, like winners "Thumb Girl" and "Walkers," are all close-up and intimate (albeit grainy) windows to the ordinary, the Associated Press reports. More»

Houston pilot program said to add security, save paper

(NEWSER) - Passengers flying Continental out of Houston today will be able to use their cellphone or PDA in lieu of a boarding pass as part of a three-month pilot program, USA Today reports. After checking in, an encrypted barcode is sent to passengers’ mobile handsets, which is scanned by a TSA screener at boarding. A successful test could lead to national expansion. More»