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As I mentioned, I had no difficulty getting a signal during my trip. The MiFi hooks into the network of a local carrier, which in my case was Vodafone Spain. Of course, since you’re using a cellular network, your experience will vary by location. You should be fine in urban areas, but signals can peter out in rural areas, underground, or in the interiors of large buildings.

The promised battery life is 4 hours with a single charge and 40 hours of standby time. In practice, I was satisfied with the MiFi’s power, though I never quite received a full 4 hours. I was using the heck out of the thing, and I ended up charging it frequently. Fortunately, you can continue to use the MiFi while it’s charging, and the extra battery offered more juice in a pinch. Of course, to replace the battery you will need to terminate your connection and restart it.

Rates and coverage
The MiFi works in 39 countries and U.S. territories. That may seem like a comparatively small number, but it includes most European nations, China, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Japan. Check out XCom’s site for the full list. On the downside, promised speeds vary widely by location. You’re promised the aforementioned 7.2Mbps in most places, but in Russia, for example, the company says you’ll hit only 1.8Mbps. It all depends on the capabilities of the local carrier and whether you have access to a 3G HSPA/UMTS network.

It’s also unfortunate that you’ll need a different MiFi for each country on your itinerary. They’ll be labeled clearly, but carrying extra devices is never ideal. As it stands now, you could need up to six devices for a standard tour around Western Europe. And, even worse, each device will cost you.

As you might expect, using the MiFi won’t come cheap, particularly with the extra fees involved. The initial rental fee is $17.95 for each day of your loan period (it doesn’t matter whether you’ve used the MiFi each day or not). Any additional devices for other countries will then be an extra $9 per day. Fortunately, you get unlimited data use, but it would be nice if XCom adjusted the fee depending on your promised connection speed.

You’ll also pay $29.95 for shipping, but you’ll get a return label in the box. The shipping fee is waived if your trip is longer than seven days. Insurance is $3.95 per day, but I’d recommend it since replacing a lost MiFi can cost $800. There’s also a pricey $3-per-day fee for the extra battery (a flat rate would be more agreeable) and you’ll be subject to additional fees if you’re late in returning the device or if you cancel early.

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70 horsepower
Performance tech in the ForTwo is similarly limited, except for one important optional upgrade. The tiny engine is average, tech-wise. No turbo or direct injection, which may be a blessing as these technologies might not make sense on an engine this small. At 1 liters, and with only three cylinders, the engine makes 70 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque. But at around 2,000 pounds, this engine delivers enough power to get the car moving quickly, and lets it maintain freeway speeds of 70 mph.

Appropriately sized for the small ForTwo, the engine brings in fuel economy numbers of 33 mpg city and 41 mpg highway. In freeway testing, the instant fuel meter averaged around 40 mpg. During CNET’s time focusing primarily on city driving, it turned in only 26 mpg. Put that low figure down to typical car reviewer driving, mashing the gas pedal at every start.

Holding the ForTwo back is its most technically advanced piece of performance tech, the transmission. Similar to versions of the Lancer Evo and Volkswagen GTI, the ForTwo’s five-speed transmission uses an automated clutch. But unlike those cars’ dual-clutch systems, the ForTwo only gets a single clutch, so gear changes take a horribly long time.

This gearbox has evoked much criticism of the ForTwo, and will make first-time drivers of the car think it almost undriveable. Accelerate from a stop, and the car picks up speed until the first gear change, when power drops drastically. And again, from second to third, another long power drop. It is unnerving until you get used to it.

And the transmission’s manual mode does not cure the problem; telling the car to upshift delivers the same, slow gear change. After some time with the car, however, you can adjust to it, timing the shifts and throttle control to smooth over the dips. The addition of a tachometer, which the ForTwo lacks, would really help drivers time the shifts. The transmission is one area of the car that Smart could definitely stand to improve.

As much of the car is designed to save money and space, it does not come with power steering, which becomes immediately noticeable on trying to crank the wheel around from a stop or at slow speeds. It takes effort, even with the car’s tiny tires. But this issue can be fixed with the optional electric power steering unit, a feature that Smart should really make standard.

One aspect of the ForTwo that probably can’t be helped is the awful ride quality. Its small wheels and short wheelbase lead to plenty of jouncing around, the car getting lifted back and forth by any bumps in the road. The suspension tech in front is fairly modern, if average, with Macpherson struts, but the rear uses a solid bar, a DeDion axle that keeps the rear wheels from completely independent travel.

The brakes are also troublesome, as they don’t feel like there is any power assist at all. Drivers of the ForTwo must anticipate braking situations much more than in other cars, as it takes a lot of effort to stop the car.

Although the ForTwo can easily keep up with freeway speeds, it can feel a little scary. Wind and grooves in the pavement pull the car around more than they would a heavier vehicle, and the ForTwo is not particularly aerodynamic. Although the car can feel tippy in cornering, its stabilizer bars keep it surprisingly balanced. And its short length allows for easy traffic maneuvering, jumping into gaps too small for other cars.

In sum
If it weren’t for its options, the 2011 Smart ForTwo would have been a complete failure for cabin tech. But the available navigation system, iPod support, and iPhone app all bolster it. The surround-sound audio system is a surprise feature that also contributes to its cabin tech score.

As to performance tech, the engine is only average, and the suspension is very rough. But the transmission, despite its slow shifts, pushes the tech envelope, and the electric power-steering unit also gives it a boost.

The ForTwo’s real win is design. Some people might find it ugly, but it is certainly a unique car. And the two-seater practicality is really amazing, giving occupants plenty of headroom along with usable cargo space–more so than in a typical roadster.

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Blob, that amorphous, paint-absorbing champion of the oppressed, has taken the fight for freedom to the DS. De Blob 2 shares its name with the new console game starring the titular hero, but the DS version is a unique side-scrolling platformer that offers wholly different gameplay while maintaining the funky, feel-good spirit of the console games. Although De Blob 2 lacks challenge, strong level design puts the focus squarely on fun, making this an enjoyable game that’s particularly well suited for younger players.

6301041NonePoles let Blob slingshot around in style.

De Blob 2 for the DS tells a different story from the console game of the same name. A mad scientist named Dr. Von Blot has been conducting experiments at his secret research facility. His work has been fruitless until Blob stumbles on his lair and inadvertently provides the doctor with the material he needs to turn himself into a nasty ink mutant called Blot. Accompanied by a spunky robot named Pinky, Blob pursues Blot to rescue a kidnapped friend and protect the citizens of Chroma City from this new threat. It’s a simple tale, told through a series of amusing animated sequences between levels and some funny text exchanges (“Prof has never been without his industrial strength moustache straightener for this long!”) that pop up during gameplay.

As Blob, you roll and leap your way through levels, rescuing Graydians, collecting musical notes, and fighting Inky forces. The controls are responsive, and Blob’s ability to easily wall-jump his way to higher areas makes exploring the levels fun. Traversing levels is kept entertaining by a variety of elements that let you get around in different ways, like panels on the rear wall against which you can jump, poles that let you slingshot Blob in any direction, hovering pads that send you rocketing up, and air drafts that whisk you speedily around. These elements come together to create levels that are easy enough for most younger players to handle, but varied enough to stay entertaining for older players despite a general lack of challenge.

Of course, it’s not all happily bouncing around for Blob. There are dangers to contend with that come in the form of hazards like spinning blades and the ubiquitous forces of the evil INKT Corporation. Blob has two useful techniques for crushing the evil Inkies that get in his way. When he’s in the air and near an enemy, a targeting reticle automatically appears over the foe, and pressing the jump button again sends him hurtling toward it. His other offensive move is a stomp, which brings Blob straight down and is great for smashing armored Inkies, crates, and other sturdy objects. There’s a good variety to the enemies you encounter throughout the levels; in addition to standard Inkies, there are grenadiers who hide behind blockades and toss explosive ink canisters your way, elite Inkies whose color you need to match to defeat them, and others.

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By Susan Cocking, Miami Herald

In Print: Sunday, February 27, 2011

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The heart of winter in South Florida may be the best season to explore the three national parks that surround the region: Everglades, Biscayne and the Big Cypress National Preserve.

Cool breezes, the absence of insects and lack of rainfall make hiking and biking comfortable. Yet there’s still enough water around to enjoy canoeing and kayaking in many areas. These expansive wilderness areas invite visitors to become adventurers — to paddle secluded mangrove creeks, follow trails used by bears and panthers, gaze at gators up close, and marvel at a cornucopia of birds that make winter homes here.

For first-time visitors not sure how to get around or what to look for, all three parks offer ranger-guided adventures, many of them free. One of the most popular is a 15-mile bike ride under the full moon at Shark Valley, the northernmost entrance to Everglades National Park. On a recent evening, 20 cyclists joined park ranger Eric Riordan on a three-hour ride along the park’s roadway used for cyclists, walkers and a tram. At 5 p.m., dusk was settling in. To avoid disturbing wildlife, the bikers carried no lights, only glow sticks worn on their backs to prevent collisions.

“I love what happens in national parks at night. It’s all different,” Riordan told the group. “This is all about using the senses.”

The first half of the ride followed a canal to a 50-foot observation tower. Along the way, cyclists encountered dozens of roosting birds: sleek black cormorants, snowy egrets, tricolored herons. Alligators seen in the canal and along the banks in daytime were nowhere in sight, burrowed in the muck for warmth, Riordan said.

A report that hundreds of roseate spoonbills were nesting near the park’s signature observation tower made some cyclists eager to pick up the pace. Along the way, the group made a few stops — to examine a gator hole next to a culvert pipe (the gator was absent) and to snap photos of great blue herons in mating plumage. In the silence, the wind through the sawgrass sounded like the ocean. By the time the group reached the 50-foot spiraling tower, the sky was dark. Though the full moon had not risen yet, hundreds of fluffy white shapes were visible in the nearby trees. Not spoonbills, it turned out, but wood storks.

As bicyclists began the return ride, the moon still refused to rise, but riders could make out the path from the distant glow of the Miami metropolis. Still, they were a bit disconcerted to pedal along in the murk, hoping no creatures would dart out. Following the glow sticks, they arrived at the park entrance with no mishaps.

After most of the riders had packed their bikes into cars and started home, the moon appeared. And the Everglades began to sing. Squawking herons, rustling sawgrass and cormorants burping like little kids formed a nocturnal chorus both dissonant and harmonic, just like the Everglades itself.

.if you go

South Florida parks

Through March, numerous ranger-led activities are offered at Everglades and Biscayne national parks and the Big Cypress National Preserve; reservations may be required. Fees range from none to about $35. Here’s a sampling:

Everglades: Shark Valley is off U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail) about 19 miles west of Krome Avenue in Miami. Tours leave from Royal Palm Visitors Center, near the entrance, and Flamingo (about 30 miles from the main park entrance). Information: www.nps.gov/ever or (305) 242-7700. Tours at Flamingo: canoeing, bird walks, discovery walks. Royal Palm Visitors Center: bike hikes, hammock and trail walks, Nike missile site tours. Shark Valley: cycling, full-moon bike rides, tree island ramble.

Biscayne: Biscayne National Park’s Convoy Point Visitor Center, 9700 SW 328th St., Homestead. (Only one entrance by land.) Information: www.nps.gov/bisc or (305) 230-1144. Tours: guided canoe trips at Black Point, Jones Lagoon all-day canoe adventure.

Big Cypress: Big Cypress National Preserve’s Oasis Visitor Center, 52105 Tamiami Trail E, Ochopee, about midway between Miami and Naples. The Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center is at 33000 Tamiami Trail E, Ochopee. Information: www.nps.gov/bicy or (239) 695-1201. Tours: swamp walks, canoe trips, hikes, off-road vehicle tours, bike ride and an evening boardwalk stroll.

[Last modified: Feb 26, 2011 03:30 AM]

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Weird news stories, bizarre news, strange but stories. You’ve come to the right place: Bizarre Florida, where weird is the norm. Exploding pythons. Armless, one-legged drivers. Yep. We certainly have unusual news stories. Offbeat news. Strange, interesting stories. Weird, unusual, true news stories. Get the picture? Have a story suggestion?

E-mail Bizarre Florida: bizarre@tampabay.com

   For Calvin Lee Devol Jr., it was a trifecta, PalmBeachPost.com reports. First, a wildlife officer found a dead gator in his truck. Then the officer checked the serial number on the rifle that killed the gator, and learned it had been stolen in Lakeland.

   Then the officer checked the truck serial number. It had been stolen from Indian River County (and an insurer already had paid out $30,743).

   But Devol had explanations. The gator was given to him by a co-worker. He bought the rifle from a guy named “Bo” for $50. And he paid a “blue eyed Cuban” at a Miami car parts outfit $10,000 for the pickup. He’ll get a chance to repeat his explanations to a judge.

   A former president of the Gainesville chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been arrested for drunken driving, Gainesville.com reports.

   Debra Oberlin, 48, registered a 0.234 and 0.239 on breath alcohol tests, almost triple the 0.08 at which impairment is assumed.

   Oberlin was the president of the MADD chapter, which closed in 1996 because of lack of funds, for three years.

Even though Jabra is known for its Bluetooth products like the Jabra Stone 2 and the Jabra Clipper, the company also makes a few PC products too. One such item is the Jabra Speak 410, a speakerphone that can be used for conference calls or just as a portable speaker for music. It has an attractive and compact design with simple controls, and can be used with a variety of VoIP clients. The Speak 410 is rather expensive at $159 retail, but you can get it for a little cheaper if you shop around online.

The Jabra Speak 410 has an appealing round disclike shape, with the large speaker grille taking center stage. The controls are housed on the rims of the device–the mute button is at the top, the volume controls are on either side, and the Talk and End keys are at the bottom. The buttons are touch-sensitive, and only require a light touch for activation. Underneath the speaker is a smaller disc that acts as a stand. It also provides a groove area for you to wrap the USB cord. Behind the speaker is a 3.5mm headset jack, in case you want to listen to headphones instead.

The Speak 410 works relatively simply. All you have to do is plug in the speaker to your computer. As of its launch, the speaker supports Windows XP through Windows 2000, and Macintosh OS 9 through the current version. Your computer should recognize the hardware immediately, but if not, Jabra does include a driver software CD.

We plugged it into our office computer, and our PC recognized it immediately. When it’s powered on, the Speak 410 will display a tiny white LED at the bottom. When you adjust the speaker volume, 12 similar white LEDs will light up, indicating the speaker’s volume level–all 12 light up if it’s at maximum volume. When you press the mute button, the LEDs turn red.

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After a now-customary period of rumors, leaks, and anecdotal evidence, Apple’s new generation of MacBook Pro laptops has arrived. And though these new models may look the same as the ones they replace, the changes under the hood are some of the most far-reaching in the history of the MacBook Pro brand.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro moves from Intel’s original Core i-series CPUs to the latest second-generation chips, formerly code-named Sandy Bridge. Not only that, you can forget about seeing an Intel Core i5 CPU in your 15-inch (or 17-inch) MacBook Pro–these use high-end quad-core Core i7 chips now. Our step-up $2,199 review unit had a 2.2GHz quad-core i7, with 4GB of RAM and a huge 750GB hard drive (at only 5,400rpm, however).

The biggest surprise is the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s graphics processor. Instead of the Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics card previously found in these systems, the GPUs now come from Nvidia’s longtime rival AMD. The base 15-inch model has an AMD Radeon HD 6490M, and our review unit had an even faster 6750M. With Intel’s improved integrated graphics in the 13-inch models, that means that Nvidia has been completely ousted from the MacBook Pro line.

The iconic unibody aluminum construction remains, as does the large glass multitouch trackpad. Most of the ports and connections also remain the same, with one very notable new addition. Where the Mini DisplayPort connection used to be, now an identically sized port is marked with a lightning-bolt icon. That’s for Thunderbolt, Intel’s new high-speed powered-port technology for data transfer and displays. The Thunderbolt tech is envisioned as a sort of future unified successor to USB, FireWire, and DisplayPort, allowing peripherals to carry data and video at 10Gbps (in the video above, we may have had a slip of the tongue and said Mbps, but we meant Gbps).

For now, at least, that promise is hypothetical. We have very little idea of exactly when Thunderbolt-compatible peripherals will be available (although Apple says the first ones should show up in the spring of 2011), how much they’ll cost, or if Apple will be adding the technology to future displays or iOS devices. For now, it’s a wait-and-see gamble on a future technology.

The lowest-cost 15-inch MacBook Pro is still $1,799, following the usual Apple trajectory of keeping the price steady but adding faster, more powerful components. While we’re still waiting for oft-requested extras such as HDMI, Blu-ray, and 3G, the speed and power of these new quad-core Core i7 CPUs is extremely impressive, and leaves even other recent MacBook Pros in the dust.

By now, the shape and size of the MacBook Pro should be very familiar. Even more recent Apple designs, such as the second-generation MacBook Air, are basically just variations on it. The core building block remains the same: a solid block of aluminum, which is carved down into a shell with support struts. This unibody chassis has the benefit of being thin (for a 15-inch laptop), but strong and flex-free at the same time.

The touch philosophy that informs the iPad/iPhone line of devices can be said to have its roots in the large multitouch clickpad-style trackpad that’s been a staple of the MacBook Pro for years. Of the multitouch gestures, our favorite is sweeping up or down with four fingers to show or hide all your active windows. Once you get used to that, going back to a regular touch pad is difficult. A few new gestures are apparently coming to the next version of OS X, but you won’t see those until this summer.

Several Windows laptops have added larger clickpads over the past year or so, with similar multitouch gestures, but we can easily say that none can yet compete with the MacBook Pro’s implementation.

The 1,440×900-pixel display is still a higher resolution than many 15-inch laptops (many of which are 1,366×768 pixels), and two screen upgrades are available: a 1,680×1,050-pixel-resolution version for an extra $100, or a 1,680×1,050-pixel-resolution “antiglare” version for $150. That’s a lot more flexibility than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which still doesn’t have a glare-free or higher-resolution screen option (even though the current 13-inch MacBook Air has a stock 1,440×900-pixel resolution).

The big story in the ports and connections category is the new port based on Intel’s Thunderbolt high-speed I/O technology. If it looks a lot like the Mini DisplayPort connection on previous MacBook Pros, that’s because it is the same, except for the tiny lightning bolt logo next to it. It still functions as a DisplayPort output, and, in fact, you’ll be able to daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices or displays to that single port.

While there aren’t any Thunderbolt peripherals available yet, we did get to see a demo of a prototype RAID product when we met with Apple, and the performance passing multiple uncompressed HD video streams was impressive. Thunderbolt is technically capable of 10Gbps bidirectional transfer, and if Intel and Apple have their way, it may replace many other kinds of ports and connections in the future.

Also notable on the new MacBook Pro is a 720p Webcam, which works with the new Mac version of FaceTime, the same video-conferencing application found on the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch. With a solid Wi-Fi signal, jumping into full-screen mode was clear and mostly stutter-free. There’s also an onscreen button for changing the video window from portrait mode to horizontal, and video calls can be made between MacBooks and iPhones as well. You can read more about FaceTime for Mac in this hands-on. It’s also worth noting that the SD card slot is now SDXC-compatible, meaning it will work with higher-capacity SD cards.

But while Thunderbolt and FaceTime are interesting extras, the real muscle behind the new MacBook Pro is the quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU and AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU. In our CNET Labs benchmark tests, it absolutely clobbers the competition, including last year’s 15-inch MacBook Pro, which had a first-gen Intel Core i7, and other high-end midsize laptops, such as a Core i7 Alienware M15x.

To be sure, once more systems with these new Intel processors hit the streets, the competitive gap will close up significantly, but for now, this is the fastest laptop we’ve tested.

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Basic tools include a calendar, an alarm clock, notes, a to-do list, a calculator, a tip calculator, a world clock, a converter, and a timer. There’s also a stopwatch, an RSS reader, and voice commands.

Text and multimedia messaging are the typical conduits of written communication, but Web mail is also an option. A Social Buzz app connects you to your Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace accounts. You’ll also want a data plan to use this app and others, or charges will mount quickly.

T-Mobile’s Web2Go browser attends to your Internet needs as best it can, with a customizable, widget-based home page that quickly routes you to the weather, headline news, sports scores, and so on. It’s no high-powered browser and it’s not meant to be, but it will work in a pinch for visiting sites. In our opinion the widgets work best, or the Google search bar for launching queries. It took about 8 seconds for CNET’s Web-optimized site to load over 3G and about 12 seconds to load over EDGE (that’s with very sketchily rendered photos in both cases).

Cameras don’t always make an appearance on straightforward cell phones like this, but we’re very glad to see that the T259 has one. The 2-megapixel lens isn’t going to wow anyone with its grainy and dull photos, but the pictures could be worse and the subjects were discernible. The same goes for the quality of the camcorder, especially since 320×240 pixels is the highest of two resolutions.

At least the numerous camera and video settings help boost image quality. There are five shooting modes, four photo resolutions (from 320×240 pixels to 1,600×1,200 pixels), five white-balance settings, five color effects, night mode, a self-timer, and other various options. Camcorder settings are similar, with the exception of the low resolution and the option to limit the video to about 30 seconds for sending as a multimedia message. There’s 80MB of internal memory for all that multimedia, and there’s that card slot for 32GB expandable memory.

There is one other multimedia option on the T259: the bare-bones MP3 player that can crank out tunes you’ve installed on your microSD card or stored on the phone. Controls include play, pause, back, and forth. The player displays album art when available. You can rate tracks and add them to a playlist on the fly, plus play the song through a Bluetooth stereo headset. That may be necessary if you don’t have a Micro-USB adaptor for your headphones. As we mentioned above, you have only the shared jack to use.

Games, wallpaper, ringtones, and other items of customization are available via the T-Mobile Mall, which you can find in the Menu options.

Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS) Samsung T259 in San Francisco using T-Mobile’s network. Call quality was impressive on both ends of the line. Voices sounded consistently natural and comfortably loud, perhaps a tad muffled on our end. The call clarity was likewise clear, without any background noise, feedback, or digital distortion during both indoor and outdoor calls. One caller described the T259 as “one of the best-sounding cell phones” he’s heard, and mentioned it was clear enough to be a landline. We did experience two dropped calls in low-coverage zones, however, with the error being on our end both times.

Speakerphone was also loud and clear. There were the typical tininess and hollow character you can expect from having a rear-facing speaker spill out into an open area, but we could easily carry on long conversations over the T259′s speakerphone.

Samsung T259 call quality sample
Listen now:

The T259 has a rated battery life of 4.5 hours of talk time and 12.5 days of standby time. It has a digital SAR of 0.53 watts per kilogram, according to FCC radiation tests.

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