Netbooks could be going the way of the rotary phone: We've seen very few new models in the past several months, and that's not surprising. After all, the Apple iPad and some Android tablets are much more elegant solutions for most of the tasks you'd do on a netbook, and thin-and-light laptops such as Ultrabooks are squeezing netbooks from the other end.

iExit Interstate Exit Guide helps take the guesswork out of road trip pit stops, by identifying what restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and other services are available at each exit by name. Make a selection, and the smart-phone application gives the option of turn-by-turn directions or calling ahead to a business with one touch.

The HTC Evo 4G LTE should be a fine phone, once it actually reaches consumers and the network technology to support it is up and running. That's my take on this new Sprint phone after using a press sample for a few days.

Earlier this week, during Internet Week in New York, we reported on LG's new Google TVs, which will be available this month. I also had a chance to try the TVs briefly, to see how well they performed and what the Google TV platform added to LG's already robust Smart TV Internet service.

In our most recent telecom survey, seven out of 10 respondents with a triple-play service bundle didn't even try to bargain their bills down. But of those who did, more than 90 percent got some accommodation from their provider. We've been reporting for years that haggling with your telecom company can pay off—and now, one of our staffers can also testify that it does.

Social Security's new online benefits statement is a useful new resource for anyone doing financial planning or future financial projections. And, as I learned when I signed up to view mine, the statements provide some interesting new information.

Sony announced today two 16-megapixel, SLR-like advanced cameras—the Sony a37 and NEX-F3—that offer more automated features than usual. Some of these features are trickling up from point-and-shoots, such as Smile Shutter, which fires off a shot when the camera recognizes a smile, and Superior Auto, which selects an appropriate scene mode according to subject and lighting; others are custom-made for advanced modes.

If you head to Wikipedia and spot an advertisement, be warned: It probably means your computer's been infected with malware. The non-profit site is ad-free and funded by donors, so no ad you may spot there is legitimate.

Stream TV Networks announced today that it has struck a deal with a manufacturing company that will result in 3D-capable displays that don't require any 3D glasses.

Although the Google TV platform—which uses the Android operating system and Google's Chrome browser—hasn't met with much success, LG will try to change that situation with a new G2 series of 3D LCD TVs that will be available later this month. The company is showing the TVs now at the Internet Week conference in New York.

Verizon is now compelling new subscribers to its DSL Internet service to also take landline voice service. Yet that phone service, like comparable services from AT&T, Frontier, and others, received only middling satisfaction scores in our newly released survey* of subscribers' home telecom services, including Ratings of phone, Internet, and TV services.

The Nokia Lumia 900, one of the first Windows phones to run on both of AT&T's high-speed networks (the 4G LTE as well as HSPA+ 4G networks), is the best Windows phone he's seen so far, said Consumer Reports senior editor Mike Gikas after trying out a review sample of the phone.

The Waze app packs a lot of information in at an enticing price—free. It combines turn-by-turn navigation, traffic delay information (with causes and backup lengths), locations of radar traps, and the ability for users to socialize their location, mood, and on-the-road observations with other Wazeophiles. But that's the problem.

If you're a Dish subscriber who finds using the service's 30-second commercial-skip feature just a bit too taxing, your tired fingers are about to get some relief: The company has just added an automatic ad-skipping capability called Auto Hop to its kangaroo-themed Hopper multi-room DVR platform.

Yesterday's agreement between Myspace and the FTC settled charges that the social network misled consumers by sharing their personal information with advertisers.