To go with my new laptop, I decided it was time to upgrade my monitor (the laptop has a 13-inch screen; great for portability, not so good for working on all day, every day). I wanted something that wasn’t too expensive (i.e. less than $200), had HDMI inputs to get a very sharp picture, and at least 20 inches wide.

After some Internet shopping, I decided that the Acer H233H had the best combination of price and features. So earlier this week I headed to my local Best Buy and picked one up for the exceptional price of $179.

I’ve been using it most of this week, and have been very happy with it so far. Some of the features include full HD 1080p resolution, 40,000:1 contrast ratio and a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. All that means that the picture is extremely sharp and vivid. It also has DVI and HDMI interfaces, making it compatible with most modern desktops and laptops.

I had no problems setting the monitor on the base, even without looking at the directions. It worked immediately, and hasn’t caused a moment’s worth of trouble. The colors look true, and the glossy black frame helps the screen pop. My sole complaint is that the base doesn’t raise the monitor up higher. It sits fairly low on the base, and I had to put it on a small platform to get it to a comfortable eye level for me.

That’s a small nit to pick, though. On the whole, I’m quite happy with the Acer. It’s been easy on my eyes, and that’s what I need in a monitor.

I recently reviewed my new laptop, the Dell Studio XPS. I gave it a strong thumbs-up, but I may have spoken too soon. Soon after arriving, the laptop started acting up; bluescreen crashes became regular occurrences, then it started freezing at random times.

I contacted Dell support for help. To the company’s credit, tech support was for the most part knowledgeable and fast. We ultimately determined that there was corruption in the Windows Vista operating system, and a complete hard-drive wipe and re-install was necessary. Not fun at all, but worth a try.

Those are things I can do myself, so I did them, including re-installing a host of drivers I knew very little about (drivers are tiny programs that tell your hardware how to interact with your operating system). That seemed to cure the problem, but alas, it was only a tease; after another day or two, the problems (crashes, freezes) came right back. Grrrr.

I wasn’t about to go through another re-install. I told Dell to ship me out another unit, one with a properly-installed operating system. I got the new computer this afternoon, and have been installing programs like Microsoft Office yet again and using it all afternoon and evening. So far, so good; it looks like (knock on plastic) this one might be a keeper (of course, I’m undoubtedly jinxing myself by even saying it.)

My lessons learned from this: computers can be fragile things. Back up your data often (and hit “Save” often). Just because you spend a lot on a gadget, it doesn’t mean it will work out of the box (although you should be able to trust that). And Dell’s tech support, at least in my case, was very good.

I know others have had poor experiences with Dell support, but mine has been just the opposite. Yeah, I wish they’d built the computer right the first time, but they worked hard to solve the problem, and were unfailingly polite. That doesn’t often happen with computer-related tech support these days.

Anyway, I’m now happy with my Dell purchase. I hope to have another positive report in the near future.

Fishing has come a long way since Andy took Opie out to their favorite Mayberry fishing spot. It now involves boats with 25 rods placed along the edges of the craft, and so many electronics that the boat cockpit sometimes resembles an airplane cockpit.

The primary gadget on these boats is usually a GPS, that serves as a navigational tool, weather reporting station as well as fish-finder. One of the newest examples of these is the Garmin GPSMap 530 Marine GPS Receiver. To begin with, it’s a Garmin, the most respected GPS manufacturer in the industry.

The GPSMap 530 features a 5″ high-resolution color display, and weather through XM WX Satellite Weather; this provides access to highly-reliable NEXRAD radar. According to Garmin, the GPSMap 530 database also features such valuable information as boat ramps, marinas, campgrounds, depth contours, mile markers, hazards and area roads.

I was on a friend’s boat in the Chesapeake Bay recently and found out first-hand how valuable these GPS units can be. We used the GPS to find the deeper channels in the water, for better fishing, and to find out-of-the-way spots. They’re so useful that it’s hard to imagine going fishing without one.

Have you seen Star Trek yet? The answer from me would be a big YES. In fact, I’ve seen it twice. Let me give it a one-sentence review for those of you considering it? It’s awesome, it’s fantastic, it’s incredible. Go see it — now (how’s that for a bite-sized review?).

One of the things that’s always distinguished Star Trek, since the William Shatner original series days, is the gadgets. The futuristic feel is significantly enhanced by the phasers, tricorders, scanners, etc. And given the renewed popularity that the movie has brought, it’s natural that those gadgets would be reproduced and for sale. Over the next week or so, I’ll be giving you a taste of some of the best gadgets.

We’ll start with an original series Communicator. This one features sound effects and clips from the series, and a pop-open design. The company says these are a limited edition item (unfortunately, it also says they’re currently out of stock. Since that’s likely due to the interest generated by the movie, be patient for a little bit and they’ll be available again.)

Check back soon for more Star Trek gadgets. And go see the movie!

Remember when Palm was relevant? They had some of the first PDAs on the market; more recently (although still several years ago) they came up with the Treo PDA, one of the best on the market. At one time, it was the hot company in mobile devices.

Those days are long gone as Palm has slid into irrelevance of late, and the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and other smartphones have taken over.

Palm hopes to change all that with the ‘Pre’, which is set to be unveiled to the world on June 6. The Pre will carry a price tag of $199.99 with a two-year agreement with Sprint, its sole wireless carrier in the U.S. (side note: that’s after a $100 mail-in rebate. I don’t know about you, but I hate mail-in rebates. So you’ll be shelling out about $300 initially for the device.)

The Pre will be sold at a number of stores, including Sprint, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com. The Pre will run on the new Palm webOS mobile platform, about which little is currently known.

Some specs: it has a 3.1-inch multitouch screen with 320×480 resolution, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard; the phone weighs in at a svelte 4.8 ounces.  The Pre will also have some version of an app store, similar to those offered by Apple, Android and the most recent entry, BlackBerry. It has a touch screen that is getting rave reviews as well — a number of reviewers have compared it favorably to my beloved iPhone, and some like it more (blasphemy!)

I don’t have a Pre, but early reviews are glowing. It looks like Palm may be getting back into the gadget game in a big way, and provide a device that competes on the porch with the other Big Dogs. Welcome back, Palm!

This falls under the category of “strange but true.” Have you ever been listening to your iPod, Zune or other MP3 player with earbuds (like the Philips ones shown at left), and gotten a shock? Gizmodo points to an Apple document that shows it’s possible.

The issue is static electricity. In low humidity, windy or other conditions, it’s possible for static buildup to occur on the device, and discharge itself through your earbuds and into your ear. It’s similar to what happens when you rub your hand on a balloon.

Apple says it’s a “small, quick” shock, which doesn’t sound like anything too serious. Still, you don’t normally expect to get a shock when listening to your tunes. It doesn’t appear that there is any lasting damage to your device (or your ear).

Apple recommends things like using a humidifier in your home to add moisture to the air and reduce the risk of this shock. Another way to deal with it is to touch an unpainted metal pole before putting your earbuds in (just don’t do it with your tongue).

The really crucial question in all of this: would the shock be worse if you were listening to heavy metal music?

I reported in March that BlackBerry gadgeteers would soon have their own iPhone-like App Store. I’m happy to report that it was a short wait, as App World is officially open for business.

First, note that there are some limitations to using App World. The one that will concern the greatest number of BlackBerry owners is that App World is open only to those with 4.2 or higher software and BlackBerries with trackballs or touchscreens. As Walt Mossberg said in his review of App World,  that will leave millions of BlackBerry owners with trackwheels out in the cold. Why the oversight, RIM (makers of the BlackBerry)?

The other thing to notice is that you’ll need a PayPal account to pay for your applications. That may be something not everyone is ready or willing to do. I’ve used PayPal for years and found it to be easy and secure, but others have had bad PayPal experiences or just prefer not to leave sensitive information with a Website.

I don’t have a BlackBerry so I can’t review apps personally, but various Internet reviews state that there are plenty of apps available, and most seem to work well. They are, on the whole, a bit pricier than iPhone apps, with the lowest price point being $2.99 (there are free ones, however).

Although this may seem to be a negative review, that’s not really the case. Just being able to have applications available on your BlackBerry is great, and will add a lot of value to your phone. We’re in the applications-on-phones era, and there’s no going back.

Once you’ve got the World’s Greatest Gadget, a.k.a. the iPhone, you’ll want to protect it from scratches, scrapes and other abuse.

A great way to do that is with the ZAGG InvisibleShield. The shield is basically a heavy-duty piece of precision-cut plastic that adheres to the phone. The shield comes in half- and full-body versions; the half version is for the face of the iPhone.

Applying the shield is somewhat tricky; you need to get it really wet so you can slide it around easily into place. After positioning it correctly, you can use the included squeegee device to push the bubbles out that will undoubtedly still be left under the surface. Even after that, there will likely still be some small bubbles. In my case, they dissolved after four or five days, leaving me with a smooth surface.

My shield has been on my iPhone for about six months now, and it works flawlessly. One of my concerns is that it would de-sensitize the touchscreen, making it harder to do things like swipe, pinch and so on. Although it might have made it a bit less sensitive, it hasn’t hampered my use of the phone at all. And it’s a small price to pay for the protection it gives my phone. It has resisted everything — there are no marks of any kind on my phone. That peace of mind is nice to have.

One hidden advantage of the shield is that is makes the phone tackier and easier to grip. The iPhone is very smooth, and can be slippery. The plastic covering provided by the shield gives a better grip, making it less likely that you’ll drop the phone.

In all, I have no complaints about my ZAGG shield. If you value your iPhone the way I do mine, you’ll think seriously about getting one. (And there are InvisibleShields available for many models of phone as well.)

Continuing on my journey through gadgets to go with my new Dell XPS laptop, we come next to a USB hub. Why a USB hub? Simple: my laptop has just one USB port on it, and I plug many things into it. For example, my keyboard and mouse, flash drive, digital camera, etc. In other words, I need interfaces!

The one I chose was the Gigaware 4-port USB hub. It appears you can only pick these up at Radio Shack. Fortunately, there’s one nearby.

USB hubs aren’t exciting, but often necessary. One reason I chose this model was that I wanted all my ports on one side. When you go USB hub shopping, you’ll see many models with ports on multiple sides (i.e. front and back.) For space considerations, having them all on one side worked better for me.

Using the Gigaware hub was absolutely simple. I just plugged it into my lone USB port, and plugged in my peripherals. Windows Vista recognized it instantly and installed the drivers, without my having to install them myself (which isn’t hard, but is another step that increases the hassle factor.) Everything worked without a hitch, and I have had no problems with the hub whatsoever. That’s what I like in a gadget; simple to install, works flawlessly, and I don’t have to think about it again.

Works for me!

Following my recent misadventures with the Rocketfish keyboard/mouse wireless combo, I decided to go with a Microsoft solution to replace it. At my local Office Depot I found a Microsoft wireless combo set that was about the same price: the Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 (version 3).

It consists, like the Rocketfish setup, of a keyboard, mouse and USB dongle. Unlike Rocketfish, it’s a wireless trio rather than Bluetooth. There’s not really any functional difference in how they work, for most uses.

The keyboard on this set is ergonomically designed — at least that’s what it says on the box. The keys have a curve, which you can see in the picture. It’s taken me a bit of time to get used to, and I can’t say I’ve noticed any big improvement in comfort. It is comfortable, however.

There are plenty of keys for special purposes, like zoom keys, volume keys and so on. There are also a number of programmable keys that you can set up for individual functions. I like the keyboard very much.

The mouse is taking some getting used to. It may be hard to tell from the picture, but the mouse is big and heavy. It’s taken me some time to acclimate to the size and feel of it. It has the standard two buttons and wheel, plus several thin buttons on the left side that are also programmable.

One very cool thing about the mouse is a small compartment on the bottom into which the USB key fits. It’s a small thing, but it makes the dongle easy to transport and not lose. I move around a lot in my house with my laptops, and having the space for the key is very handy, and a thoughtful touch.

I’ve been using the combo for about three days now, and have no connection problems to report. This is big, since I was constantly losing the connection with the Rocketfish set.

The Laser Desktop 6000 set is definitely pricey, but I think it’s worth the money, given my needs for efficient computing.