Att go phone

Getting It Together

If you're like most connected professionals, there's a lot of traffic among your desktop, notebook, pda, and cell phone as you update contacts, make appointments, add bookmarks, and check e-mail. You'll find a timesaving alternative at Zkey.com (wap: http://zkey.com/wap), an Internet-based platform for personal information management and information sharing. The multidevice Zkey application works with pdas running Windows ce, wap phones, and wireless Palms, as well as two-way pagers. Alongside standard offerings (a calendar, a to-do list, an address book, and e-mail), you'll also find news, Web searching, yellow pages, weather, mapping, horoscopes, and stock quotes, in addition to 30mb of storage online with Zdrive. As a registered member, you get a Zkey (user id) and can store personal or business information and preferences, which you can make available to the public or a specific user group. When your information changes, all Zkey users who list you as a contact will receive an update. You can also use your preloaded traveling preferences to buy a window seat in first class with a vegetarian meal. Businesses can use Zkey accounts to arrange meetings or to submit and approve employee expense account requests, without the usual round of phone calls or red tape.

Before leaving the office, store all your important documents on My Docs Online (www.mydocsonline.com; wap: www.mydocsonline.com/wap.wml). Then, when you're on the road, access the site from your phone to forward any file as an e-mail attachment. Also useful is UReach.com (wap: http://wap.ureach.com), which notifies you when you have an incoming fax and lets you forward it to any nearby fax machine.

Once you're organized, you'll probably want to branch out from more standard portals like Yahoo! or go2 for a little variety. But with so many choices, the question becomes where to go. You'll find answers–and lots of them–at Cellmania.com's Mfinder (http://mfinder.cellmania.com; wap: www.cellmania.com). This terrific resource categorizes wireless sites in a smart, Yahoo!-like directory and reviews the sites, giving each a rating and a detailed description. When you see a site that looks interesting, press the Bookmark It tab. Next time you access Mfinder from your phone, the link will be waiting for you.

Google (www.google.com; same for wap) offers a novel if not quite perfect wireless version of its popular search tool. Enter your query on your phone and Google returns a list of links to standard Web sites. Click on one and Google does an on-the-fly html-to-wml (Wireless Markup Language) conversion. The results are mixed. Pages are often oddly formatted, and you'll have to do a lot of scrolling, but the service can be a lifesaver. Google also recently announced Google Number Search (gns), which will let you search for any phrase by just pressing one number key per letter. For instance, searching on PC Magazine would be 72062429463.

Eat, Drink, Shop, and Be Merry

After hours, let your phone go to work for you checking restaurant reviews from world-renowned Zagat (www.zagat.com; wap: http://wap.zagat.com). In addition to a sophisticated search tool that lets you home in on restaurants by price, rating, and cuisine all over the country, the site also does something nifty. Found a restaurant you like? Select the link and you can instantly make reservations.

Although bartenders are a fount of mixology wisdom, they can't know every drink. But with Webtender.com (www.webtender.com; wap: http://wap.webtender.com) and Bar33.com (http://wap.wapaw.com/dir/r4662.wml), you may never have to settle for your second choice again. Both sites provide searchable databases of drink recipes with everything from the appropriate glass to the right garnish. If you're not into the bar scene, or you'd rather check out a good band, find out about concerts around the world using mp3.com's wap portal (www.mp3.com; wap: http://wap.mp3.com).

Following an evening on the town, you may find yourself in need of a morning remedy for your aching head, but what do they call aspirin in Moscow? MedicinePlanet.com (www.medicineplanet.com) is just a click away for Oracle Mobile and Ericsson users, with all the information you need to get you to the drugstore and out with the best cure for your aching head.

Feeling a little lost? WhereEverYouGo (www.weyg.com; same address for wap) is always there. Just tell this site where you are and it will tell you what shops and services are nearby. Once you're at the store, you can find out whether you're getting the best prices with eCompare (www.ecompare.com; wap: www.ecomparewireless.com). And if the best price is at your local e-tailer, use mySimon (www.mysimon.com; wap: http://nowires.mysimon.com) to find whatever you're searching for at thousands of stores online.

Just getting from here to there when you're traveling can be a hassle. Cabwap .com is a database of local taxi companies and their phone numbers for 31 countries, from Australia to Zambia. And just because you're on the go, don't let birthdays and special occasions slip through the cracks. Wapcardz.com (wap: www.wapcardz.com/ a.php3) offers 18 categories of greeting cards for mobile and PC platforms.

Wireless Tracks

These wireless offerings are still just a sampling of what's to come. New technologies will boost bandwidth dramatically; new services will let you do more, do it better, and do it on the move. Several cellular phone manufacturers already have phones in the works that will have us downloading mp3s, viewing digital images, and paying bills, all while standing in line at Starbucks.

You can track new developments at two sites that do an excellent job of watching the wireless world. AnywhereYouGo.com (www.anywhereyougo.com; wap: http://ayg.com) is aimed at developers but features helpful tutorials and comprehensive news coverage for the layman. Wapland (www.wapland.com; no wap site) provides news, too, as well as site reviews and information on new hardware. Both sites offer bulletins you can receive via e-mail, so you can stay up to date in a field that's literally boundless. Last but not least, Wap.com includes the usual round of wireless news and information, along with comprehensive FAQs and site reviews.

If you've been using your wireless phone to chat with friends and confirm appointments, you're missing half the fun. Most mobile phones these days have wap (Wireless Application Protocol)-enabled microbrowsers that let you surf the wireless Web–a growing collection of sites beamed directly to your phone. With their small displays and slow speeds, wireless devices can't replicate the full Internet experience. But what you do get is not too shabby. As a follow-up to our August review of the early players in the mobile Web space, we found a host of new sites. Note that wherever possible, we include the wap address as well as the standard url.

Products Reviewed

Adobe GoLive 5.0 www.adobe.com

bFax Pro 5.0 with bPrint 2.0 www.bsquare.com

Canon CanoScan D660U www.ccsi.canon.com

Commotion DV 3.1 www.puffindesigns.com

Communicate! i2000 www.01com.com

DVDit! www.dvdit.com

DVD Toolbox www.vitecmm.com

EasyRecovery 5.0 www.ontrack.com

ForecastX Wizard 4.0 www.johngalt.com

Impression www.minervasys.com

Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 7 www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia

PalmPrint 2.6 www.stevenscreek.com

Pioneer DVR-S201 DVD-R Drive www.pioneerusa.com

SOHOware CableFree NetBlaster www.sohoware.com

Sony Clié Handheld www.sony.com/handheld

Sprint PCS Voice Command www.spintpcs.com

SpruceUp www.spruce-tech.com

Umax Astra 6450 www.umax.com

Pipeline Hot Links

bCentral www.bcentral.com

Cybiko Inc. www.cybiko.com

eBiznotes www.ebiznotes.com

EncrypTix Inc. www.encryptix.com

Good Technology www.good.com

IBM www.ibm.com

Immersion Corp. www.immersion.com

Impressa Inc. www.impressa.com

InternetCash Corp. www.internetcash.com

Lernout & Hauspie www.lhsl.com

LightSurf Technologies Inc. www.lightsurf.com

Lycos Inc. www.lycos.com

Microsoft Corp. www.microsoft.com

Model E Corp. www.modele.com

Mon-e.com Inc. www.mon-e.com

Motorola Inc. www.motorola.com

MyComputer.com Inc. www.mycomputer.com

Netscape Netbusiness netbusiness.netscape.com

Nokia Display Products Inc. www.nokia.com

RSA Security Inc. www.rsasecurity.com

Scout Electromedia www .scoutelectromedia.com

Transmeta Corp. www.transmeta.com

Web Hosting: Finding a Hassle-Free Host AT&T Small Business Hosting Service www.ipservices.att.com/sbh/

bCentral www.bcentral.com

ConcentricHost www.concentric.com

DellHost www.dellhost.com

IBM Global Small Business www.ibm.com/smallbusiness

Interland www.interland.com

Verio www.verio.com

Web2010 www.web2010.com

Hot Links What follows are free Perl and C++ CGI scripts, a more specific link to some of IBM's many offerings, and an example of Web hosting gone bad, as well as some other useful sites and tools for helping you find the right Web host.