A Portable Baseball-Game Scorecard

What the world needs is a great wireless baseball scorecard. As luck would have it, there actually is one on the market.

The people at Ambient Devices have created a device that lets you see Major League Baseball line scores in real time, as they happen. And, it's all accomplished without the use of your computer or an Internet connection.

Baseball ScoreCast is the size of a thin paperback book, and receives game scores and league standings via Ambient's proprietary InfoCast wireless system. It's been explained to me as a "bit-trickling network actually using pager technology." Ambient claims that ScoreCast can receive a good signal in more than 90% of U.S. households.

The red and gray plastic box can be placed on your desk or mounted on a wall. It runs on four AA batteries, which are said to last an entire baseball season.

For the record, my test unit came with only one AA battery installed, and the device worked perfectly, but I think using the recommended four batteries would afford you maximum battery life.

So the electronic scorecard allows you to follow any major league baseball game -- from preseason to the World Series -- in real time. In addition, you can also follow division standings and even check the schedule for upcoming games. There are a few buttons on top of the device that allow you to toggle between divisions, teams and schedules or standings.

After the championships, ScoreCast maintains the season's final standings and as soon as pre-season game schedules are announced, it will automatically provide data for the new season. ScoreCast also provides accurate network-based timekeeping for year-round use.

Everywhere I've tried ScoreCast in the greater New York City area, it's worked flawlessly. I've compared how quickly it updates scores by watching games in real time and seeing how fast ScoreCast responds. It's actually pretty quick.

The only feature I'd like to see included in an "improved" ScoreCast might be a backlight for the screen. At night, I'd love to be able to press a button and see scores from late West Coast games without having to turn on a desk lamp. I know that might cut down on ultimate battery life, but it would sure be neat for my purposes.

I believe ScoreCast to be the perfect device for baseball fans that can't always watch or listen to a game, whether they're at work in a super-quiet office (like TheStreet.com) or a bedroom.

The best feature is the wireless network. There are no monthly charges for "downloading scores" to your ScoreCard device. The original device selling price covers all future wireless network charges.

And that price is $124.99. ScoreCast is available from Hammacher Schlemmer or the Ambient Devices Web site.

That's not all Ambient makes. There's also a similar device for NFL football freaks (I can't wait) -- weather forecasting devices including an umbrella that gives you your local forecast -- and the Market Maven (for real-time stock quotes) as well as the Ambient Orb (which changes colors depending on current market trends).

It also makes the digital weather and information readout panels for super LG refrigerators -- and something called the Energy Joule, which supposedly will help you save money by displaying the current price of energy and level of consumption in your home. The data is updated continuously from your energy company. You just plug into an outlet.