They're baaa-aack. Satellite phones -- once the size and weight of cinderblock -- are making a comeback. With the look and feel of a more conventional mobile phone, the Iridium 9555 operates virtually anywhere in the world. Launched in October, it is 30 percent smaller than its predecessor, the 9505A handset. It also has a brighter, larger screen (200 characters ), and it is ergonomically comfortable. The 9555 has a mini-USB data port, an internally retractable antenna, an integrated speakerphone, and an intuitive UI. Overall, the Iridium 9555 has been engineered to withstand and perform well in the world's most rugged and remote environments, and benefits from total global coverage including the poles. The price of a Iridium Phone is about $800 and can be rented for about $30 per week.

LiteOn IT, a well-know maker of optical storage solutions for PCs, announced the release of their first consumer electronics product Skyla's Memoir Scanning Digital Photo Frame. The Memoir is a 8-inch frame/scanner that scans prints of up to 4 by 6 inches in size and store the digitized images in its 1 gigabyte of internal memory. Images are scanned at resolutions of up to 600 dpi for playback on the frame’s 800×600 pixel screen. This device isn’t just for photos, it also play back digital video as well as MP3 audio files, Motion JPEG, MPEG1, and MPEG4 files. The Memoir is geared with a 5-in-1 memory card reader for digital camera cards and two USB ports that enable you to back up scanned photos to a PC or other USB-based device. (I always prefer to review my digital photos from a PC.) It also features a calendar, and a alarm clock with picture slideshows. Overall, you can operate this Memoir with ease. This device will be available for $220 in late December, just in time to display all of those holiday photos.

Last month Motorola announced the release of Aura as their latest luxury mobile phone on the 4th of Dec. The design of the Aura is based on the Motorola class v70 and v80 handset and a Rolex-like manufacturing process. Aura has a 16 million color, fully-circular LCD display, a 62 Carat lens crafted out of sapphire for scratch resistance, a stainless steel exterior with etched designs, a Swiss-manufactured bearing for the swivel, 700+ individual components, PVD coating (similar to high-end watches), and an all aluminum keypad. In terms of tech specifics, the Aura has the same ole stuff- Quad-band GSM/EDGE (No 3G), 2-megapixel camera, MPEG-4 video playback, MP3 and WMA decoding, Stereo Bluetooth, 2GB of internal storage, and an 810mAh battery. The total price for this stuff is at $1999. This watch looks slick, sexy and expensive. If you have upper-end taste and a top tier salary, the Aura might be your choice for X-mas.

If you are looking for a way to transfer data from one PC to another, check out the Tornado. Once connected to each PC, the Tornado automatically displays the entire contents of each PC. This enables the user to quickly drag-n-drop their files and file folders from one machine to the other. When it is working, the LED indicator flashes while transferring Operating at USB 2.0 speeds, this device moves the files 600% faster than standard flash memory-based storage media. The backup data speed is up to 25Mb/Sec. The Tornado is a pocket-sized tool that weights only 4.8 oz. It has retractable cables that extend to four feet. This device is compatible with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, and Vista What I like about the Tornado is that the built-in application did required any installed software. Research and personal experience tells me that it is the easiest way to migrate your data to a new computer. One more thing, Tornado has a 1 year warranty

If you are in a disaster area, it helps to have a portable radio like the Eton FR300 radio. This radio is highly rated in user reviews and by professional reviewers. It can be powered from four sources, including its own internal crank-driven generator. That means it can provide an indispensable lifeline during an emergency. The Eton FR300 radio covers the standard radio broadcast bands and all NOAA weather channels. Extra features include a built-in LED flashlight, flashing warning/location light and cell phone charger. However, the Eton crank radio lacks Public Alert certification or even SAME technology (which lets you fine-tune which alerts that you should receive). Therefore, it's not a great choice as a primary weather alert radio. The FR300 is also sold under the Grundig and American Red Cross brands. When the local power grid fails, you will stay connected. The radio also has a rechargeable battery pack and a stereo headphone jack. If you are heading toward a climate risk area, Eton FR300 is a good choice for a crank-up radio. In a future article, we will review the best weather alert radio.

If you are a XM radio fanatic, check out the Pioneer’s XMP3 model. It is the first radio that allows listeners to record up to five channels of XM radio simultaneously, and store up to 100 hours of programming. This portable handheld XM satellite radio/MP3/WMA player, lets you play back up to 8GB of your favorite MP3s and WMAs. The home accessories included: * cradle, * power adapter, * audio cable * internal memory for storage of up to 100 hours of XM programming, including individual songs and blocks of XM programming. For better audio reception, you need to use the XMP3's antenna placement option with its signal strength indicator. You can view the program guide on the screen by using the touch wheel. A great user enhancement! With the Pioneer XMp3 radio, your music never stops.

It has been eight years since an upgrade to the Unified Serial Bus (USB) specification -- but was it worth the wait? This new update of the USB will deliver greater power efficiency and the ability to recharge a wider variety of gadgets. Here's what you can expect: * Data transfers ten times faster than USB 2.0 and six times faster than FireWire 800 * A new interrupt driven protocol that optimizes power management * Power output bumps up to 900 milliamps from 100 milliamps -- meaning it allows more devices to be charged faster * Works with devices running the older USB 2.0 This superspeed rate of USB 3.0 makes data transfer more pervasive across devices than ever before. As a consumer, you should expect everything from keyboards, mouse, PDAs, printers, digital cameras, personal media players -- pretty much the entire spectrum of consumer electronics that can be connected to a host PC to be upgraded to this new standard. Don't expect USB 3.0 devices to show up until the end of 2009 or early 2010. However, you can get a glimpse into future devices sporting SuperSpeed USB as early as the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January 2009 -- and don't forget MEVIO will be covering ...

If a web newbie needs a webcam that is specifically designed for their notebook, check out the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks. It has a spring-loaded clip that clamps to most laptop screens. I found the integrated microphone to be quite good. The microphone performed well in terms of not picking up every sounds. Like the Quickcam Pro 9000, it includes an autofocus Carl Zeiss glass lens for very good image quality and a 2-megapixel image sensor that's capable of capturing video at resolutions of up to 960 x 720. The Webcam has a face-tracking feature that keeps your face in the center of the image. This QuickCam Pro did an adequate job in picking up lights. The installation was quite simple. I had a minor problem of securing Webcam to a laptop. I built my own camera clamp that worked better than theirs. Just like QuickCam Pro 9000, it is not optimized for use with Macs. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Now that Google Voice and Video chat is out. To the newbie, it is important to get a good Web Cam for their desktop PC. Based on my research and experience, the Logitech’s QuickCam Pro 9000 produces the best image quality of any webcam. It has the Carl Zeiss glass Tessar optical system that produces clearer images than other webcams. This Webcam is capable of capturing video at up to 1600 x 1200 and 30 frames per second for crisp, smooth transmissions. The bundled software package includes a variety of filters and video effects. The QuickCam Pro 9000 is Windows only; like most Vista-compatible Logitech webcams. Have not tested it with some late-model Mac computers. Rumors has it that none of the advanced features will work. I have seen the price of this unit range between $75- $100. The price sounds slightly steep. Overall, this unit produces the best video quality and more than justifies its higher price. I give it 4.0 out of 5 Stars

Google announced that it has added voice and video to its Gmail chat service. Google webmail differs from Yahoo's and Microsoft's product with its integrated instant messaging services. With video and audio chat built-in into Gmail together with regular text chat, it transforms Google's webmail platform into a central point of communications where users don't have to open various windows and applications simulataneously. Gmail video chat is almost universal, working with most browsers on both PCs and Macs. Gmail's new video and audio calling feature definitely sets Google's webmail service apart from the competition. Now a one-stop communications hub, Gmail will certainly become ever more popular among both email and avid chat users. While other upcoming (or delayed) features such as SMS Chat in Gmail will again raise the bar against competition, Google's Android-based mobile phones could also help increase Gmail's popularity.