July 5, 1999
Web posted at: 2:12 p.m. EDT (1812 GMT)

By Correspondent Greg Lefevre

(CNN) -- I'm writing and sending this while on the beach at a local surf spot known as "RV's." A light northwest swell, breaking 2 to 3 feet, smooth jazz on the radio, and a cool little gizmo keeps me up with the torrent of e-mail gushing into my office right now.

The gizmo is not the latest short twin skeg surfboard. It's this little PocketMail PMA.

PMA. I just made that up. Personal Mail Assistant. Easy. And very cool.

Made by Sharp and JVC, the PocketMail gizmo is about the size and look of an electronic organizer. Easy, small, nearly weightless and 100-percent accurate. This is a surefire take-on-vacation item that your analog significant other will not complain about.

For several years I've dragged around laptops just to keep in touch. Nothing seemed convenient. This is cool. It flips open lengthwise to reveal a keyboard on the bottom and screen on top. Press "Compose" and type. When you're done, press "Done." Easy.

Now the too-easy part.

On any phone, dial PocketMail's 800 number. It's printed on the bottom of the gizmo. Flip open the acoustic modem on the back and hold it to the phone. The gizmo and PocketMail squawk to each other like aging roosters, then a dual tone confirms message sent ... and incoming e-mail received.

I've used it with cell phones, cordless, pay, pbx, and in noisy halls and quiet rooms.

The unit also has note-taking features, alarms, calendars, contact lists, all the usual stuff. I consider that a bonus. It also has a very effective backlight. I don't know how long the batteries last. The two AA cells I put in the Sharp TM-20 last winter are still going strong.

It won't to Web sites (a blessing) and has a rudimentary spam filter. Both units cost about $100 (the Sharp is $149 with a $50 rebate and the JVC is $99, both by mail). Worth it.

You can also teach it to skim your e-mail from your other e-mail addresses and feed them to your PocketMail. When I'm on the road I use it to keep my AOL mailbox from filling too fast. No mean feat.

Simple. No sweat. Easy. Just what you need on vacation.

This is intense

Sit down and really feel the thunder, the explosions, the bass riffs of that video game. The Intensor is a chair with subwoofers and speakers that pound you with the ultra bass sensations that take you into the next dimension of experience.

When Quake's guns blast, you KNOW it!

This is the most fun money you can spend for game hardware. The Intensor is a purple and black clamshell looking seat and back that wires to an amplifier then to your PC, Mac or CD player.

I tried it with driving games, flying games and shoot-ems. What a rush. The deep sound sensations thumping and bumping, vibrating truly takes you INTO the game you're playing. When you miss the turn in Electronic Arts Nascar game, you really know it!

The Intensor list price is about $250, but there are deals out there. The seat can be mounted on a pedestal like an office chair, but I found it a lot more fun to just put the Intensor on the floor. Go crazy and darken the room, wear sound-tight earphones and turn up the Intensor.

A similar product is goes by ThunderSeat. But be careful, you can add accessories up to a THOUSAND DOLLARS. Now that's intense!

Surf on ...

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