If the kids are hogging your home computer to instant-message their friends, consider shelling out for a Zipit Wireless Messenger ($80). The handheld Zipit is designed for one function: IM communication. It comes ready to connect to home or public Wi-Fi networks, and it’s preconfigured to access popular IM services from AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Users can simultaneously access multiple IM accounts without incurring per-minute or per-message fees.
IM text appears on a 320 x 240 pixel grayscale screen. A nicely spaced QWERTY keyboard has additional buttons that call up lists of friends who are logged on, and insert emoticons into messages.
For $25, enable a new MyTunez feature that streams MP3 and WMA music files to the device from PCs that are connected to the same home wireless network.
Zipit is fortified with data encryption and a firewall, and it doesn’t access the Web. Users can’t stray into unknown chat rooms, get inappropriate spam or pop-up ads, or pick up computer viruses.
