AT&T's ARMZ: An Emergency Cellular Tower in a SuitcaseAT&T Just started selling the ARMZ, a cellular tower that fits into a suitcase. It's meant to fill the air with cellular signals in the case of a disaster where existing towers cease to work or, well, exist. There are fixed location and vehicle mounted ARMZ kits, but the fly away set up is the most interesting because of its portable nature—Even if by "portable" we mean well over 100 pounds and powered by generator. The kit has a dish for satellite uplink, 2 radios that support up to 28 callers and an antenna. And the ARMZ, which stands for AT&T Remote Mobility Zone, runs off a generator. Sat uplink occurs in under 30 minutes, and the system has a range of half a mile, claims AT&T. ARMZ costs between $15,000 and $45,000, depending on the configuration, plus a service plan of $2700 a month. Not that you'd be able to get one to patch in during a camping trip, even if you had the cash—The setup
Meet Samsung Messager, a candybar make your texting life a little easier thanks to a QWERTY keyboard that slides out to the side. The Messager follow LG with its Rumor and Scoop. The 1xRTT data and 1.3-megapixel sensor aren't going to bake any noodles, but at $199 with no contract whatsoever, there's not a lot of room for bellyaching, especially when you throw in A2DP and a microSD slot.
