Tablet PC (www.gateway.com) is a slate with separate keyboard, plus docking station with DVD/CD-RW drive and 802.11b wireless LAN, all of which come in a bundle starting at $2,249. The super-sized 12.1″ XGA TFT active-matrix color display is a real plus.
You can buy the same tablet PC Gateway sells, without the extras, from its manufacturer, Motion Computing, where it’s called the Motion M1200 (www.motioncomputing.com; $2,099).
For wireless networking, try the Toshiba PCX 5000 (www.toshiba .com). It comes with an 802.11b access point and an integrated 4-port, 10/100Mbps router to connect your devices. Retail price starts at $299.
Belkin’s Wireless Network Access Point ($99.99). You’ll need wireless network cards for devices that aren’t already rigged for it.
If you’re looking for a cable/DSL wireless router to help you share a broadband connection, check out NetGear’s MR814 (www.netgear.com), one of the new dual 802.11b/802.11a models (with an $89.95 estimated street price).
BLACK ENTERPRISE found a product that combines a hardware biometric device with PIN security: ActivCard’s Trinity (www.activcard.com). Secure sign-on pricing is $50–$90 per user, depending on volume.
As with other types of LANs, a firewall, such as NetGear’s Model FM114P Cable/DSL Prosafe 802.11b Wireless Firewall with Print Server (www.netgear.com; $271), can help protect against intrusion.
SMC’s EZ Connect 2.4GHz, 11Mbps Wireless Ethernet Adapter (www.smc.com) converts any Ethernet device to wireless ($74.99).