You've blocked off an afternoon to show homes, but after visiting the first listing, the home shopper decides that she prefers a home with a pool. You suddenly need a new roster of homes to show. Your MLS can be accessed through the Internet, but how do you do that on the road? You could lug a laptop everywhere or, alternately, lay out several hundred dollars for a Blackberry or Treo. 

For many people, the Pocket Surfer (http://www.pocketsurfer.net) offers a reasonable alternative for Internet-searches when you're on the road. Unlike a PDA, the Pocket Surfer only accesses the Internet, with an LCD screen that faithfully reproduces Web pages. It even comes with a mouse, making it a scaled-down version of the computer you use in your office. 

The Pocket Surfer essentially turns a Bluetooth-capable cell phone into a modem. (Bluetooth is a wireless-connection system.) The Pocket Surfer has a standard keyboard arrangement similar to a notebook computer (called a Qwerty Thumb Keyboard after the first six letter keys in the top left corner), 640-pixel wide display, pages that download in seven seconds or less and a lithium ion rechargeable battery. 

Internet access through the Pocket Surfer costs $9.95 per month, available only through Datawind's Wireless Internet Service. Since the connection relies on your existing cell phone to act as a modem, you could also incur additional airtime charges from your cell phone provider for the minutes used to connect to the Internet. 

If you know how to use most Internet browsers, it won't take long to master Pocket Surfer. It comes with most regularly used Internet features such as number lock, "Enter" key, favorites bar, home page, and standard navigation buttons such as "back" and "forward." 

Pocket Surfer specifications