Turn It Up

Like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, the Motorola ROKR E8 is another classic rock act that’s getting in on the light show action with some flashy visuals and a range of music playback compatibility. Rock historians and techies alike will remember the Motorola line as the first mobile phone to feature Apple’s iTunes software — a big leap forward in 2005 but a fairly basic feature today. But this latest edition of the ROKR packs much more than just music. Its 2.0-megapixel camera features an 8x zoom that also captures video on 2 GB of memory (the E8 supports an additional 4 GB with a microSD memory card). The full HTML browser allows users to surf the Internet over a GPRS/EDGE network. And the Bluetooth-connected stereo headset lets users listen to music and make calls without pulling the phone out of their pocket.

But you are going to want to show this one off — its ModeShift interface swaps out the ROKR’s functionality at the push of a button, turning the device from a phone to a music player to a camera with only a touch. The interface has a tactile feel, giving a physical response when a virtual key is pressed. And its fastscroll navigation wheel lets you zip through songs, contacts, and images like you’re strumming a guitar. Something tells us they planned it that way. (price not available at press time; motorola.com)

Slider phones aren’t particularly new, but the Samsung SG H-i450 breaks new ground. The real innovation isn’t the bi-directional movement, but rather the design that incorporates a small speaker with a Bang & Olufsen amplifier so you can rock out. The Samsung can store 35 MB of content on its internal memory and more through its microSD card slot, though your music may be competing for bytes with the 2-megapixel camera and separate VGA video camera. A quad-band GSM phone, the i450 will work just about anywhere in the world — though we think it will get the best reception in karaoke bars. (price not available at press time; samsung.com)

Most people don’t like the sound of their own voice, but the Invisio Q7 headset lets you send out the same dulcet tones you pick up inside your own ear. The Q7 uses a patented Bone Conduction Microphone that eliminates ambient noise by detecting sound as it transmits through your noggin. And with six hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby included, you’ll get an earful. ($179.99; nextlink.to)

An Intelligent Design

What’s that? Oh, it’s just the sound of a dozen electronics manufacturers smacking themselves on the forehead. And it’s probably coming in loud and clear over the Evolve Wireless Sound System. Griffin, the Evolve’s manufacturer, has stolen a great idea from the “Why didn’t I think of that?” file. Here’s the gist — the Evolve is an iPod base station with rechargeable wireless speakers that can be placed anyplace within 150 feet of the device. Beaming through walls, floors, and ceilings, the signal is great, and the speakers recharge simply by being placed back on the unit — no plugs necessary. But here’s one: We love this idea. ($299; evolvespeakers.com)

Super Ego

An indecisive GPS unit can mean the difference between right and left. But most of these devices seem to come standard with their hearts in the wrong place. Otherwise, why would they also serve as multimedia players and Bluetooth speakerphones? The Ego Drive is no different in that respect, serving up photos and video while dishing out directions and traffic reports. But this gadget also has the ability to read text messages — a clever addon that will keep your eyes on the road, so long as your daughter doesn’t accidentally send you this little dispatch: OMG, PRW PITA BBL. ($799; egohandsfree.com)

The Thin Blue Line

Scottish designer Neil Poulton has been putting the shine on computer periphery for some time, but his LaCie Hard Disk might be the most striking — and not for its style. The hard drive comes in four different sizes (320, 500, or 750 GB and 1 TB), all featuring a fanless cooling system that makes for operation as smooth as its looks. So while the piano-black finish and blue LED give it that sleek Darth Vader look, the LaCie doesn’t sound a thing like the Dark Lord. ($119 and up; lacie.com)

Despite having 87 — count ’em, 87 — tools that can perform a total of 110 functions, the Wenger Giant Swiss Army Knife still can’t actually do it all. Sure it’s got screwdrivers, tweezers, pliers, saws, knives, rulers, a corkscrew, wire cutter, compass, golf club cleaner, fish scaler, cigar cutter, flashlight, laser pointer, nail file, toothpick, and awl. And, of course, it can cut, clip, tweeze, trim, screw, unscrew, tighten, loosen, clean, magnify, and attach to your key ring. So with all the above (and more), what can’t it do? Well, at 8.75 inches wide by 3.25 inches long, and weighing 2 pounds, 11 ounces, it most likely won’t fit in your pocket. But we are happy to say that with the inclusion of a church key, yes, it can also open a can. ($1,400; wengerna.com)

Last year, everyone was talking about Apple’s iPhone. But the Open Handset Alliance’s Android mobile phone platform could end up having an even greater effect on the industry because it revolves around open source software — code that may be freely enhanced or augmented by anyone.

According to Michael Tiemann, president of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), to be considered open source, software must be readable by humans and allow derivative works to be made from it without royalties, among other requirements. Open source software can be licensed — there are more than 60 such licenses, says Tiemann, and two of the most popular, the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license, account for about 90 percent of the open source world. But each license allows varying degrees of freedom. For example, the GPL does not necessarily allow access to the original source code, and the BSD allows users to make as many copies of the software as they please.

When it comes to gauging how open source software performs in comparison with proprietary software, Tiemann refers to a paper published by a Harvard University group that applies a complex form of mathematics known as game theory to the problem. This paper states that the more programmers you add to the development of software and the more modular the software is, the better it gets. Game theory predicts that open source software will be better than proprietary software, for a lower cost, but the free market is now determining how this will all shake out.