Items Tagged: Smartphones

The internet is losing its wires as people are going nuts for more and more handsets enabled with Wi-Fi. Currently Wi-Fi isn’t a very common feature on mobile phones, only being available on the more advanced handsets.
In an increasingly mobile world the introduction of Wi-Fi to mobile handsets is a noteworthy achievement. Mobile technology continues to evolve and do so quite extensively. Over the past decade mobile technology has been going through an amazingly radical phase. Mobile phones are getting equipped with:
•    Touch-screens
•    Cameras
•    Video cameras
•    Music players
•    Much more
One of the most significant of these is the addition of Wi-Fi. There are so many important changes that have been made in the performance, features and the design of handsets. The presence of Wi-Fi is increasing the value of these enabled handsets in the market.
Mobile phones work over the same popular wireless technology that is used for computers, video games, home networks and MP3 players. The Wi-Fi mobile handsets use radio waves in order to offer the high speed internet network, internet without wires. In addition to mobile phones the PDAs are also Wi-Fi enabled and are able to be connected to the internet anytime they’re within WLAN or Wi-Fi range.
PDA users are able to check out their important emails if they’re on the road. Wi-Fi allows for easy video and picture sharing. The Wi-Fi mobile phone has its own network. The Wi-Fi enabled phones allow for a high speed transfer of data. This can be from anywhere but it has to be within the range of a hotspot. The user can exchange data up to 300 foot away from a local WLAN.
The Wi-Fi networks allow for the costs of cables to be cut down through the setup of wireless LAN connections. LAN connections are the perfect outlet where there are places where someone can’t expand or install a network, like historical monuments, outdoor places and so forth.
There’s a difference between the connections of those of Wi-Fi and those of Bluetooth. Bluetooth is very short in range so it only works in small areas like rooms and there’s no data transfer beyond that specific area. Wi-Fi on the other hand can transfer data from a floor of an apartment building to another floor. Bluetooth transfer speeds are quite a bit slower at only 800 kbps while Wi-Fi transfer speeds will give you much faster speeds of up to 54 mbps. Internet without wires is becoming a real reality.

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T-Mobile has made the announcement that they’re going to be further expanding their exceptionally quick mobile broadband system. The expansion is going to make it available to more than eight-five million in the United States. It’s with this move that T-Mobile is going to be able to deliver the HSPA + speeds in one hundred of the main urban areas. The back-haul is expected to be in place before the end of the year.
The SPA + network services are currently available in almost fifty of the main urban areas throughout the country. Expanded coverage is expected to come to:
•    Washington D.C.
•    New York
•    Los Angeles
This is going to be an addition to sixteen of the current T-Mobile 3G devices. This includes over a dozen of their smartphones which are all going to be able to take advantage from the improved network speeds.
It was stated from the T-Mobile United States Chief Network Office that the HSPA + network is going to now be able to offer the 4G speeds to additional people, more so than any other wireless network in the country. The forceful swiftness of the HSPA + network rollout is something that means that the T-Mobile customers are going to be able to enjoy a much improved broadband experience in many more places and many more devices than they can today.
The expansion of the network is going to also offer a much wider accessibility to the web connect broadband service products of T-Mobile, in their retail locations and in all of their HSPA + areas which includes the:
•    Web connect rocket USP laptop stick (the very first HSPA + capable device from an United States wireless carrier)
•    Dell Inspirion Mini 10 along with the T-Mobile web connect (this is T-Mobiles first netbook)
These are exciting times for mobile consumers, especially the consumers of T-Mobile. With the rumors of them getting an iPhone and the increased speeds in general, it’s definitely a good time to be a T-Mobile customer.

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As the concerns are rising over cell phone radiation and the possible health risks of them the advocates of the cell phone safety are off urging the federal regulators to do more when it comes to protecting the users of cell phones and other wireless devices.
In a American Association for Cell Phone Safety letter to the FCC chairman it was wrote that even though the fame of cell phones has soared tremendously the federal communications and health are using standards that are very outdated when it comes to the evaluations of cell phones and their safety.
What the group asked of the FCC was for it to review their role when it comes to ensuring that the radiation that’s emitted from mobile phones are emitted at safe levels. Additionally they made the request that the FCC studies how they are informing the public about the impacts of cell phone radiation when it comes to human body tissue.
Of all of the hundreds of studies that have been done on cell phones and their safety there are no conclusive results from any of them. There was a multinational study which is called Interphone which was published back in May and stated that the heaviest of cell phone users could potentially be at the greatest risk for brain tumors. It also stated that there was more research that needs to be done. I’m not sure if such inconclusive results really merit the scare tactics that some groups want imposed.
This letter comes just weeks after the city of San Francisco became the very first United States jurisdiction to pass a cell phone ordinance on the amounts of radiation that cell phone unit on stores shelves emit. Representative Kucinich is planning on introducing legislation which would promote federal research when it comes to cell phones and safety and explore the possibilities of putting warning levels on cell phones on their radiation levels.
While I agree that the standards might be outdated I don’t see any cause for alarm of people until there is more conclusive evidence one way or the other. For now, wait and see.

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The Droid 2 is likely to be the first of cell phones to be launched with Froyo. The Droid Life team got a hold of a photo (pictured above) that looks like it’s a pre-release version of the Droid 2 and it’s running Froyo aka Android 2.2. Should the device arrive on schedule within the next month and have Froyo it’d be the very first of the Android handsets to launch with this latest Android platform version.
There’s been a fair share of leaks when it comes to the Droid 2 lately. One of the most recent of them was in the summer device catalog of Verizon. Even though neither of the two, the carrier (Verizon) or the manufacturer (Motorola) has announced the release of the phone, basically everything that you would or could want to know about the phone has managed to already find its way online.
You can look for the Droid 2 to have a:
•    1GHz processor
•    8 gigabyte memory card
•    5 megapixel camera
In regard s to pricing it’s most likely that this phone is going to have the seemingly popular price tag of $200. Hopefully the demands that have been created by their ad campaign will mean that both Motorola and Verizon are looking to and working hard to be sure that they’re able to meet the consumer demands.
After the expectations to have more than enough handsets for the launch the brand new Droid X finds itself already on backorder. The Droid Incredible has also been overwhelmed with shortages since it made its debut back in May.
Hopefully the lesson has been learned and there will be plenty of handsets available when it makes its official debut. I know that I’ll certainly be one of those people in line to get one; after all of the releases of Android phones this is easily the most anticipated.

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The Droid X seems to be a runaway success with reports coming in that it was completely sold out at a large amount of the Verizon stores. If you’re not as familiar a quick recap is in order. The Droid X is the newest in the high end Motorola smartphones which allows its user to create a wireless hotspot. This is comparable to the same access point that allows a patron to connect when they are in, for example, a Starbucks. The one exception is that it’s a private connection and it won’t be as fast as your typical hotspot due to the fact that it’s not DSL, T1 or cable, it’s a 3G connection.
What this phone does is completely raises up the bar when it comes to smartphones and feature integration. A prime example of this is when manufacturers began to include cameras built-in to the majority of cell phones on both the high and low end. The Droid X gets their 1GHz OMAP processor through Texas Instruments. Texas Instruments also supplies the silicon which allows the Droid X to have the Wi-Fi hotspot built-in. The reason that Motorola was able to get this feature into the Droid X is in large part due to the silicon.
There are some of the earlier reviews that to suggest that putting what is basically a completely serviceable Wi-Fi access point in a smartphone is something that can actually draw the battery down relatively quickly.
The problem is the same with any smartphone that is completely packed with features and all functions have the potential to taking a very big toll on the battery life. You want more features that are simply the trade-off that you have to be ready for. Moving forward as our smartphones get smarter it’s incumbent upon the silicon providers as well as the phone providers to work toward making the trade-off much less painful on the consumer.
With being the company nearest the end user Verizon has a challenge. The challenge is that the hot spot feature not simply be an extra that the owner of the smart phone gets for “free”, like a camera or video camera. The cost is $20 more per month for 2 gigabytes of data and is likely to be used mostly by professionals when they’re on the road. It is for that reason that expectations are going to be much higher for this type of feature than just a standard feature. You get this feature from the HTC EVO 4G from Sprint with no data restriction for $29 per month.
Indeed there’s so much potential. Through a smartphone which has the ability to provide mobile broadband connectivity for your laptop at anytime, no matter where you are is a feature that can be completely invaluable. The only nuance is of course you have to be in an area that there’s a Verizon 3G signal. This is a feature that’s going to get even more attractive as more and more networks are going to 4G and are able to provide the types of speeds that the users are currently used to in their home or their business.

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Windows Phone 7 is coming closer to coming to the market. Microsoft has been sending the OS for their brand of mobile phones into the carrier’s labs to get tested. They’ve additionally sent it to application developers for those phones and they are expected to hit the market before the holiday shopping season. One report states that the technical preview that was given of the Windows Phone 7 is about what Microsoft had promised earlier in the year.
After attempted creation of a unified mobile user experience with their own hardware ended in complete and total disaster Microsoft made the decision that with this mobile OS version to achieve their go through the getting tough with the software and hardware manufacturers. This has been done through making them adhere to a fundamental standards set for the new phone ecosystem. For instance, applications have to be sold only in the Microsoft Marketplace.
There are some additional hardware requirements as well. The phones have to have a bare minimum of:
•    256 megabytes of RAM
•    4 gigabytes of flash memory storage
•    Wi-Fi support
•   GPS and touch screen capacitive
Additionally, they must have an:
•    Accelerometer
•    Compass
•    Proximity sensor
•    Light sensor
Every single phone must have the same buttons in the same locations. This includes having a Bing button in order to encourage anyone that’s buying the phone to use their search engine, Bing, to find things.
With their attempts to emulate what RIM and Apple have done by the encapsulation of their new ecosystem in a silo Microsoft is hoping that they can also emulate their success within the mobile marketplace. It could be a shortsighted mission though. There are a lot of analysts that believe the reasons that the phones which are based on the Android OS by Google have actually surpassed the iPhone due to the fact that it’s an open ecosystem.
The analyst’s state that with the partially closed systems, like that of Apples, are going to have to open if they plan on staying competitive. If that proves to be true the Windows paradigm could be behind some steps in the market before it’s even out of the gate.
Additionally, regardless of how the Windows Phone 7 mobile actually turns out Microsoft is going to face some very serious and real challenges in the market:
•    They have to overcome the bumbler reputation due to the past with failures and products that have performed quite poorly
•    They are facing very formidable market leaders that have the ability to get things right the first time through (iPhone 4 not included in the getting things right department)
Microsoft’s reputation is that they need many reiterations of their products before they get it right. HP is the 800# gorilla in the room with their acquisition of the Palm platform. That’s likely to put them in as the wild card when it comes to the divvying up of the market share. It’s unclear whether or not Windows Phone 7 is actually going to save Microsoft’s mobile bacon but it should be interesting to find out.

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Texting while you’re driving isn’t just stupid it’s a mistake that’s equal opportunity. A survey states that almost 25% of both male and female drivers will send at least one text a week while driving. When it comes to men and women men will text more while they’re driving then women do. As a whole 36% of men that admit that they text and drive indicate that they’ll send at least seven texts or more every week, while 23% of women state that they text while driving habitually.
The dangers of texting and driving were clarified for any remaining doubters in the Understanding the Distracted Brain report that came out in March from the National Safety Council. What this report focused on was the dangers of using even hands-free phones and how those dangers are underestimated. Their texting while driving figure was at 14% of Americans which is a figure significantly lower than the most recent survey, either number is bad though.
So we all know the dangers of texting and driving but what about mobile maps?
No research efforts have managed to address an issue that’s a driving hazard which is seen more and more often, drivers that are consulting their cell phone maps while they’re driving.
Let’s be honest this isn’t usually simply a matter of typing an address and then looking directions up while people are jetting down the interstate at 75mph. what happens more often is that the driver is looking at a preloaded map on the phone and will then pick up the phone occasionally to glance at their GPS update and see how close they are to their next turn.
Yes it is true that GPS units speak the directions out loud and some have a display screen which is designed to be dashboard mounted and these are popular ones. There are a lot more people though those have smartphones that are enabled with GPS along with mapping applications that provide directions in real time. With smartphones getting more popular this is going to be more prevalent. The temptations are just too real when it comes to picking up the phone and glancing at the map during driving, or zoom in and out, the temptations are considerable.
I’m unsure if this is actually anymore or any less dangerous than consulting a printout or a paper map while driving but it is something that seems risky. So what do you think? There are more questions than answers but this is another area that should be looked into now that we’re entering the world with more and more smartphones and smarter smartphones at that.

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The one thing that proved that there is something that can happen and be exciting on a smaller display with a Sharp produced screen layer in 3D is the Nintendo 3DS. A Japanese cell carrier introduced the Hitachi Wooo last year which had used comparable 3D screen equipment as the 3DS. The technology was made by a company Master Image 3D which is a company out of Burbank, California. The added layer puts a cost of around $10 to $15 dollars for the maker but is able to be added over LCD and OLED screens and can be shut off if needed.
Don’t worry; you’re not going to need any of those annoying 3D glasses that the movie theater needs us to wear. The CEO of Master Image tells us that almost every one of the smartphone manufacturer’s major players is doing experiments with the 3D possibility for future handsets. He went on to say that as soon as next year we could start seeing 3D on an US mobile phone too.
Just one side of it is having the display in order to envisage the 3D content. The other question is what about being able to actually shoot 3D video and then process the outcome. It appears that this is something that’s being addressed as well. This is made apparent with a press release about an OMAP4 smartphone chipset from Texas Instruments. The press release touted the abilities of a system on a chip process of multiple camera images for the stereoscopic 3D recordings of 720p video on the mobile phone. Texas Instruments additionally promised there to be support for an additional front camera which would allow for touch-less gesture recognition. Additionally they hinted towards the technologies bringing a 3D interface to smartphones.
The combination of the Master Image overlay along with the dual core chipsets on a phones screen is possible soon due to the fact that both of these are technologies already in existence. Next year really looks to be a realistic timeframe for the first of a 3D smartphone to hit the United States market.
Notwithstanding of the fact that it’s currently nothing more than a simply wow factor while you’re playing some games like that on the Nintendo 3DS the 3D vision is no trick at all. The depth of field perception and stereoscopic are extremely vital, go no further than asking the trapeze artist. There are so many different features that have revolutionized their industry that started as nothing more than a gimmick. For now we’ll take the 3DHD and 3D UI for our smartphones, for now, just don’t ask us to pay more for it.

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The Droid X has a very strong focus on multimedia and that’s something that’s very much resonating with the consumers. It’s touting a:
•    Huge 4.3” display
•    8 megapixel camera
•    HDMI output
•    High definition video 720p
The one question is whether or not it’s possible for the phone to actually be a suitable replacement for a laptop, even for business.
For pretty much everyone the answer is going to be a huge NO WAY. If you happen to be someone that is bound to their desk and spend most of your day working on documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, the idea of actually using your smartphone as the primary business PC tool the question is more of a joke than anything else.
The mobile phone manufacturers tend to disagree though. The CEO of Motorola states that there’d be a 2GHz Android smartphone shipping before year’s end. To put that in contrast the fastest smartphone today only features a 1GHz processor. That even includes the Droid X, EVO 4G and the iPhone. The CEO, Jha, went on further to state that the laptop aka mobile computer would likely be replaced by the smartphone within just a few years.
There are obviously some pros and cons to a 2GHz smartphone processor chip.
The Pros:
•    More training and videoconferencing horsepower
•    Faster enterprise application access
The Cons:
•    Power hungry CPU which is likely to drain the smartphone battery even faster than the 1GHz processor of today
The Droid X as A Viable Replacement
So what about the Droid X? Could it actually cut the mustard as a laptop replacement? For someone that works in the field the answer could simply be a yes. There are some caveats to that though. The phone running Android 2.1 is going to have to have Android 2.2. This is the newest version of the Google Mobile OS. The upgrade is slated to come before the end of the summer.
Business Friendly Features
Android 2.2 is adding many features that are going to be business friendly. This is also going to include the enablement of network administrators to help secure data that’s sensitive through being able to remote wipe a user’s phone. There is calendar sync for exchange, enhanced security with lock screens which are PIN based, as well as the ability for an Android email application user to be able to search and auto complete company directory names.
Hardware Features
With regards to the hardware features the Droid X is going to likely be able to work as a laptop replacement, for at least some employees at least. The phone touts an impressive toolkit, including:
•    8 megapixel camera
•    720p video capture
Those two features especially would be very handy for the worker that spends the majority of their time out in the field. One prime example would be an insurance claims adjuster.
Online Forms
When it comes to filling out an online form the Droid X includes something called Swype. Swype is a data entry tool which allows the user to enter their text through sliding the finger across the onscreen keyboard. There’s a learning curve to it but it’s far superior to the single digit tapping. Additionally, the HDMI output port is a key for the business traveler that is frequently accessing PowerPoint presentations while on the road.
What’s it missing?
So what’s missing? The Droid X is something that could use a Pico projector built-in. An example of that would be like in the new Galaxy Beam from Samsung. What this does is projects a 50” presentation on a wall. This is something that is very convenient for product demonstrations as well as training sessions.
Any Other Smartphones
So are there any other smartphones? Not the EVO 4G as its battery life is pathetically short. In order to be effective the laptop replacing phone has to run at least one day before it dies. It’s impossible to recommend the iPhone 4, especially until Apple resolves its antenna glitches. Possibly the Galaxy Beam later on but Samsung hasn’t revealed any United States release dates.
The Droid X is the greatest and the latest in mobile phones on the market. Let’s be honest though, it’s going to be forgotten within months as there are faster and newer handsets with far more features hitting the market then and taking its place. One thing is for certain though, the Droid X points to the future where a smartphone actually replacing a laptop is a legitimate business reality.

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When it comes to Google’s calendar one of the best things about it is that there is no requirement for a desktop component. You can of course sync your Google calendar with Microsoft Outlook. Let’s face it though, not everyone is either going to need or want a program that’s simply going to manage their appointments.
Things are increasingly transitioning to people’s mobile phones and calendars are no different. People more and more are keeping their calendars on their mobiles phones just like they do their address book.
If you’re someone that already uses Outlook you’ve likely already done your configuration to sync it with your mobile phone. If you already haven’t you’re likely beginning to voyage away from the beast that is Microsoft, at least I am. Now you need to look no further than Google Sync which is a free service and it syncs your mobile phone with your Google calendar.
Why you’re at it why just the Google calendar? Why not include both your Gmail and Google contacts. The service will work with your Blackberry, Nokia S60 and iPhone devices. If you’re wondering about Android it’s Google’s OS so it of course already syncs with all the Google services. With the Palm Pre and Pixi those already sync with the Google services coming straight from the box.
Google will help you with every instruction that you need along with how to configure and use it so there’s no need to go through all the steps here. My point is simply how it’s a very good idea.
If you already make use of Google calendar, syncing should be a pretty obvious benefit. It’s going to get a copy straight to your phone and automatically keep both of your versions completely up to date. If you don’t already employ use of Google calendar sync is going to basically give you an online backup of your schedule. This is something that’s going to prove completely invaluable if you lose your phone, it gets stolen or the phone gets broken and so on.
There’s also something for utilizing a handy calendar which is easily reached from any mobile device that has web capability. The equivalent is for all of your contacts as well.

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Google has now released a new software tool which now makes it easy for people to be able to create an application for their Android smartphone. What the goal is, is allowing the consumer to be able to be a creator instead of solely a consumer within the mobile world. The only reason that this is able to be done is the fact that the architecture of Android is open.
The company, based out of Mountain View, California, stated that the free software, which is called the Google Application Inventor for Android, allows people that have little to no practical knowledge when it comes to programming to be able to drag and drop create. They do this with “blocks” of code which are shown to them as a graphical image which is representative of various capabilities of smartphones. It then combines them in a way which is similar to putting together something like Lego blocks.
For an example, there was one tester who made an application that told a list of their friends with a short text message where he was every fifteen minutes. He combined three blocks of code to put the program together:
•    The first block showed the phone location
•    The next showed a clock (set for intervals of fifteen minutes)
•    The third then linked a listing of his selected friends
Obviously these applications aren’t going to be the most slick and pristine but they’re the programs that can be made by ordinary people and can often be completed in merely a matter of minutes.
Google stated that they’ve had this system in the works for just about a year and they’ve been doing testing in schools which included students in sixth grade, girls in high school, nursing students and also university undergraduates that aren’t computer science majors.
Through the simplification of the development process, especially when it comes to younger people, the internet giant hopes that they can open the innovation doors for their Android mobile OS. It hopes that they will be able to get the upper hand when it comes to the application arms race. Their arch rival Apple, who manages the iPhone development tightly, has the current lead with over 225,000 applications in their online store.

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It’s very well known that one of the fastest growing markets is mobile internet but the really surprising thing is exactly the rate that it’s growing. A recent report has shown that within just five more years more users are going to be connecting to the internet through mobile devices than through their PC. The YouTube consumption rates on mobile devices are growing at considerable rates as:
•    Playbacks are up 160% for 2009 than they were in 2008
It’s an exciting thing that YouTube Mobile has now received in excess of 100 million video playbacks each and every day. This is just roughly the amount of playbacks that came daily on the YouTube website when they’d joined forces back in 2006 with Google.
The YouTube mobile device launch was back in 2007 and had about 1,000 available videos on the mobile website. This launched swiftly opened the possibilities of being able to access videos while they’re on the go. Their site and mobile browsers along with the hardware had its limitations and it prevented the true mobile experience from being able to keep pace with the desktop version of YouTube.
Predominantly, we know that people want to be able to get access to the most favorite videos while they’re on the go, no matter where that might be. It is for that reason that they released the updated site version for the mobile. 

The New Features
So you’re wondering what’s new about it, here it is:
•    It’s amazingly fast
•    The user interfaced gives much larger as well as elements that are touch-friendly which makes it much easier to access videos while on the go
Additionally, it incorporates the functionality as well as the features that people have come to expect from the main site, like the:
•    Search query suggestions
•    Playlist creation options
•    Ability to assign the likes or dislikes of videos straight from your device
As more and more improvement have been made to YouTube.com you’re now going to see them very soon onto the mobile site unlike native applications that aren’t updated near as frequently.
With the world quickly and continuing to go more and more mobile this is an amazing improvement for those users that want more a more dependable experience no matter where they are. Right now it’s an English only launch, however, in the upcoming months it will be rolled out in many more languages. You’ll be able to access the latest and the greatest mobile site from your Android browser or iPhone.

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There are a lot of users of the iPhone 4 that are making complaints about the upload speeds as they’ve finally slowed to a complete crawl which has prompted countless numbers of customers to make the speculations that AT&T could actually be capping the speeds of their network.
There are numerous forums online and they’ve been completely filling up with postings about slowing in the upload speeds going down to a nice 1mbps down to as completely low as just 100kbps. This is happening even more so, in regards to the slowing, in the major metropolitan areas including those cities as Boston, New York, Seattle and others.
The issue had begun this past Saturday according to the reading of the complaints. An AT&T spokesman had stated that the company is going to be explaining this situation soon. This is far from a denial or the typical banter that you’d expect to get from the company with the antenna issue that’s surfaced with the phone as well.
The delay might just be due to the fact that networks have been a really, really bad sore spot for those that rushed out to purchase the iPhone 4 and have complained about the dropped calls, the slow downloads and many other issues in the more urban cities.
Back in June the carrier had announced that their network was completely iPhone ready. This came after the extensive New York infrastructure upgrades and other improvements happening in San Francisco and so on. It seems that the announcement might have been a tad premature.
Before the release of the new iPhone 4 AT&T decided to stop offering their unlimited data plan in favor of instead charging their customers predicated instead on offering fixed data packaging. This is the way that they found they could largely reduce the network strain in the anticipation of the large influx of newer iPhone subscribers.
The networks problem is just the latest in the string of many issues for both Apple and AT&T. after they went through shortages on the iPhone 4 on just the day of their launch the early owners had complained about the major antenna defect which had caused their calls to be dropped when the hand covers the lower side of the mobile. There have actually been many lawsuits that have sprouted up and there are claims that Apple actually had committed fraud through concealment through misrepresentation and a defective design. What once looked so bright isn’t shining so brightly now.

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The use of non voice programs on their cell phone has developed significantly within the last year. This happens as more and more of us are using our phones as a video recorder and camera and for our email, internet and even so we can play games. This is all according to the study that comes out of the Pew Research Center. Specifically it was for their study on the Internet and American Life Project.
The cell phone and their owner have become a broad-spectrum and symbiotic relationship for chatting, texting, gaming, sharing photos and media hub which is an indispensable utility when it comes to work and a very fancy toy when it comes to us having some phone.
Compared to one year prior the Pew had said that cell phone owners are more likely now than before to use their mobiles for:
•    Taking pictures, up from 66% in 2009 to 76% currently
•    Sending and receiving text messages, up to 72% from 65%
•    Accessing the internet, 38% now up from 25% then
•    Playing games, 27% then up to 34% now
•    Sending or receiving emails 34% from 25%
•    Recording a video, skyrocketed from 19% to 34%
•    Playing music, from 21% to 33%
•    Sending or receiving instant messages, up 10% to 30%
Over half of the cell phone internet users will go online with their mobile phone at least daily, totaling 55%.
Mobile giving, or donating to a chosen charity by someone’s cell phone had finally reached critical mass after the earthquake in Haiti. This was when over 10s of millions of dollars were donated, via mobile phone, to various non-profit groups. Pew had stated that 11% of the people that were surveyed said that they had made a donation such as this using their cell phone within the last year.
Almost 60% of all Americans go online wireless through a laptop or a cell phone. Out of that 60%, 47% of those people will actually go online through both a laptop and a cell phone. 33% of those people will use only a laptop and 20% of those people will use a cell phone only.
Tertiary Devices and Internet Access
There are actually a very large and growing number of tertiary devices which are able to connect to the internet along with a small number of Americans that are using these to do just that right as you’re reading this now. Out of this there are 9% of adults that are using an MP3 player, E-Book reader, game console or a tablet computer in order to get online.
There are 42% of Americans that own a game console like either the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 and out of that there are 29% of those that use the game console for accessing the internet. Of the 46% of the Americans that own an MP3 player there are 16% of those people that use them to go online.
The fledging technology category of E-Book readers and tablets are being used widely for internet access. According to the Pew studies there are 4% of Americans that now own an E-Book reader of one type or another and 46% of that 4% state that they use that device in order to access the internet. 3% of those that were surveyed stated that they own a tablet computer and they use that for accessing the internet.
Mobile Data and Younger Users
It’s not very surprising at all that young adults, considered between the ages of 18-29, have the peak usage levels when it comes to mobile data applications. Those aged 30-49 are coming up really strong.
Among those cell phone owners that are aged 18-29:
•    95% of those send and/or receive text messages
•    93% of those use their mobile phones for taking pictures
•    81% of those will send photos and/or videos to others
•    65% of those will access the internet through their mobile device
•    64% of those will play music on their mobile phone
•    60% of those will use their mobile phones to record a video or play games
•    48% of those have accessed a social networking site through their mobile phone
•    40% of those have watched a video on their mobile phone
•    33% of those have either posted a video or photo online through their phone
•    21% of those have used a service for status updating, like that of Twitter from their mobile phone
•    20% of those have purchased something through their mobile phone
•    19% of those have made a donation to charity through text message
Pew had surveyed 2,252 adults through the dates of April 29th and May 30th. Their margins of error are 2% for the entire sample.

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Verizon just managed to grab the latest smartphone from Motorola. The new smartphone is called the Motorola Devour. The Devour is going to be the very first phones that will Verizon will be offering which features the Motoblur. Motoblur is the Android powered delivery system for content from Motorola. Through the Motoblur option the user will be able to have accessibility to many different types of customization and personalization options and features for the smartphone it’s on.

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There was a man who was a travelling equipment salesman. He purchased a smartphone, the Motorola Droid to be exact, to be able to keep up on things while he was on the road. He purchased this back in November and ever since then he’s been going through what we all feel sometimes, some buyer’s remorse.
So what was the cause of his buyer’s remorse? It was specifically the Droid X.
This man, Gene Paik, stated that he thought the next big thing was the Droid. After that he then saw that there was the Droid Incredible and then finally after that the Droid X. Now he knows that things are going to just continue to rollout. Six months down the line they’re just going to come out with something else and something better. He just feels like he just “doesn’t know anymore.”
The Droid X is an extremely powerful phone which has a large 4.3 inch screen as well as a 1GHz processor and the phone is going to be available starting next month with Verizon. The Droid X is just one in the latest lines of Smartphones and it definitely goes into the higher end of the smartphone line. The phone’s actually been touted as more of a super phone which is finally capable of taking market share of people that would otherwise purchase the Apple iPhone. The latest iPhone just went on sale.
The mounting parade of all of the Smartphones hitting the market is purely indicative of the massive innovation that’s happening with the market. This is one of the highest rated sectors of growth for the cell phone carriers and the manufacturers that are making the phones. Though like Gene it’s also a headache for a lot of the consumers that are left wondering exactly when they should take the smartphone plunge.
A user of Twitter tweeted that just when he had made the decision to go with the Incredible his carrier Verizon just came out with another amazing Droid phone. Now he’s officially torn.
Let’s be honest though, the upgrades in technology are far from anything new and we’ve seen it in the past with the advancements in PC technology. The smartphone market joined the fray and has been seeing the speedy advancements over the past few years. Though in just the past 9 months of those 3 years we’ve seen the frequency go up at an alarming pace with the high end of the smartphone market. This is even more the case with the ones that are running the Google Android operating system. Believe it or not the pace has been just about monthly.
Here’s a small breakdown of what we’ve been getting:
•    November gave us the Motorola Droid
•    The Nexus One followed that in January
•    After that we got the HTC Incredible in April
•    Both the Sprint EVO 4G and the MyTouch Slide 3G just now went on sale
Coming up after this is the release of another very powerful Android phone along with the Samsung Captivate which is going to hit the market within the coming months.
It’s something that can really get the consumers confused. I know that I get more and more questions every day from the consumer asking, “What should I do?” When it comes down to it though that’s simply just the way that the market is. At any one moment you just have to make the decision and just jump in.
For the consumers of cell phones it’s going to be a little more complicated than deciding on the next TV or even your next computer. For most subscribers they will have that option to sign up for the two year contract in order to get a subsidized phone and the penalties in place is what will deter almost all consumers from jumping over to the next phone.
Frankly that’s something that can hit really tough with the consumer, seeing that their purchase was upstaged within months of their purchase.
Palick talked about how it wouldn’t be so bad if it was every year or two but now things are coming out every 3-6 months of time. Palick said it perhaps the best when he stated that, “It’s nuts now!”
One of the regional VPs for Verizon simply stated tha the manufacturers and the cell phone carriers are simply just giving the consumer what they want the most, being more and more choices. It’s a continued effort to try to keep the pace with what the market is demanding and the smartphone market is one of the largest growing sectors of anything. It’s now more than ever that people want to have choice and you can be rest assured that it’s going to continue to be given.
The VP of Motorolas consumer experience marketing, Meliss Gardner might of hit it on the head when she talked about how smartphones are becoming more and more like the shoes and clothes. They are the trendy products that are and have to constantly evolve. There’s still an amazingly high rate of growth room in the smartphone marekt as women as well as some of the more older consumers are starting to upgrade. All of this means to just cotninue to expect more and more phones and at a very rapid pace.
Unfortunately for Gene Paik and the other consumers for him new phones are going to continue to come out all of the time. You’re going to continue to see more and more innovation which is going to lead to more and more smartphones hitting the market. It’s about the latest and it’s about the greatest so you have to be sure to keep up. That’s exactly what the market is going to provide.

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Verizon along with HTC have announced the release of a new Android phone which is labeled as the Droid Incredible. They are going to be making another announcement next week to talk about an official release date but all signs point to a release date next month, anticipated around July 19th.
The latest in the line of Android devices is available through Verizon and has an amazing topographic design which has been made possible through the amazing precision and craftsmanship of the manufacturer.
Additionally the new line of the Droid, the Incredible is running the latest in the HTC Sense technology along with:
•    Interactive widgets
•    Seven panel home screen
•    Flawless incorporation with the Exchange Active Sync
•    Flickr access
•    Android Market access
The one thing that makes the Incredible the most fascinating is the fact that’s loaded with a superfast Qualcomm 1 gigahertz Snapdragon process. This is a very first when it comes to the phones of Verizon. Additionally, this Droid also boasts an 8 megapixel camera. This one is also another first when it comes to the stable of smartphones out of Verizon.
One of the other excellent features that is expected from the Incredible is some mobile applications of Verizon’s themselves, including a Skype mobile along with an NFL mobile.
Some of the other key specifications and features of the Droid Incredible include:
•    Optical joystick
•    Dedicated keys for home
•    Menu
•    Back
•    Search functions
•    3.7” touch screen
Furthermore it has a:
•    Proximity sensor
•    Light sensor
•    Integrated GPS
•    Digital compass
•    3.5mm jack
The Droid Incredible really seems to be just that, incredible. Although it was available for preorder since April and was supposed to be released on the 29th but unfortunately it’s been pushed back. Hopefully the release date will be in July as I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

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As more and more people are going away from the more “traditional” cell phone and going to the smartphone it is a good idea to talk about smartphone security. There are a lot of worries, some based in fact and others in fiction, but the reality of it is, is that users are potential victims of viruses and malware issues that plague the PC user.
Some of the experts in the industry are saying that for now they’re just managing to stay ahead of the threats. The worrisome issue though is a little more than the malware and the viruses, which are of course problematic, it is actually a much simpler one, identity left if you lose or get your phone stolen.
With all of the smartphones, like the iPhone and others, just a few taps or clicks can:
• Get into a person’s email account(s)
• Checking account information
• Calendar
• Photos
• Facebook
• More
Basically they can have access to your entire personal and financial life.
The cybercriminal and the fraudsters are looking to steal data these days. The smartphone isn’t the same as the world of the PC where they can make your computer a salve and have it send their spam, etc… but it’s an excellent source of stealing personal informational data. Once it is stolen good intentions are the last thing on their minds.
There was an instance recently of an Apple employee leaving one of the next generation iPhone prototypes in a bar back in March. Thankfully the company was able to wipe the phone remotely that next morning. That wasn’t before the person that found it managed to go through the phone and found out who the owner was through looking at the Facebook page which was on the display of the phone.
In regards to the mobile virus and malware concerns there are legitimate ones but there really haven’t been any real threats reported on any sort of a scale to the consumers. This is the case even though the concerns have circled the industry for years. Albeit the smartphone generation does put a little more risk into the equation though.
When it comes to infection, it’s really actually a numbers game as the people want to go after devices in larger quantities. That’s why there is the likelihood of the PC staying the number one target for a long, long time as there are far more PCs than smartphones around.
The wireless carriers have done a good job of catching a lot of the threats, like spam SMS messages, before they ever reach the consumer. A lot of this has to do with the knowledge that wireless carriers have gotten from the PC experience.
Since both viruses and malware remain distant threats to the mobile phone/smartphone, the security companies are putting much more focus into preventing the old fashioned theft and loss. That’s the main concern of almost every smartphone/cell phone user. Read the rest of this entry »

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As we cell phone users look forward to the coming availability of 4G technology in their provider network let’s take a look back at the generations preceding it leading up to the modern cellular standards that we know of today. While the 1G was analog and didn’t even offer something that we couldn’t live without today, text messaging, today’s more advanced 3G and now 4G digital technology offers us features that years ago we wouldn’t have ever imagined.

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On the horizon there is a cell phone enabled neighborhood watch that’s coming for the digital age and utilization of the power that comes behind social networking and mobile social networking is what has been planned. Some in the United States have made the suggestion of creation of a CRG –Community Response Grid- in concurrence with other emergency services.

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As everyone knows, smart phones are truly amazing innovations offering a variety of rich and powerful user experiences supported by ubiquitous broadband, colorful screens, browsers and apps galore.  Let’s face it – these devices compete very effectively for our attention in every aspect of our modern lives – even when we’re driving creating for us and our loved one driving distractions.
Unfortunately, use of these devices while driving causes us to be distracted while driving.  This, in turn, causes us to have crashes – and lot’s of them!  According to NHTSA, distracted driving is worse than drunk driving and caused more than 1,000,000 crashes, 500,000 injuries, and 5,000 deaths last year.  All these crashes lead to property damages, law suits, and liability which in aggregate costs our economy approximately $40 billion per year.
And, as scary as those numbers might be – this is only the tip of the iceberg because smart phones currently represent only 15% of all mobile phones.  By 2014, smart phone penetration could be as high as 50% which is guaranteed to dramatically compound the level of distraction for motorists everywhere.
The good news of course is that most people understand that distracted driving is a problem that needs to be addressed.  Already, more than 30 states and provinces across the US and Canada have enacted various forms of legislation which ban, in one form or another, use of mobile phones while driving.  Furthermore, educational campaigns are beginning to appear designed to inform people about the significant dangers associated with usage of cell phones while driving.
Sadly though, as we all know from our own personal experiences, it is incredibly difficult to put down the phone when we’re driving.  You know you shouldn’t do it – but you just can’t help yourself.  Some experts suggest it’s an addiction – just like smoking or drinking.  At a minimum, it’s a complicated habit that is extremely difficult to break without active assistance from some type of tool or service designed to curb the addictive behavior (e.g. Nicorette).
So what are we supposed to do about the millions of people who are addicted to their mobile phones?  What is the equivalent of Nicorette for these people who simply can’t resist the temptation to text, email, browse or talk while driving 65 mph down the road?
The answer, according to an innovative company called ZoomSafer, is patented policy management software that automatically detects when you’re driving and applies custom policies to your mobile phone which, immune to your indifference, promotes safe, legal and responsible use of the device when you’re behind the wheel of your car.
Here’s how it all works: once downloaded to a mobile phone, ZoomSafer detects when you’re driving using one of several different context triggers — and automatically puts the phone into ‘safe drive mode’.  While ‘safe drive mode’ is active, ZoomSafer suppresses inbound text and email alerts, and locks the phone’s keypad and screen, eliminating the dangerous temptation to text or email while driving.  While in “safe mode” ZoomSafer will auto-reply on your behalf to inbound text and emails to let others know that you’re driving and that you’ll get back to them when you reach your destination safely.  Also, as the administrator, you can decide if you want to configure ZoomSafer so users can receive and make hands-free phones calls.
When everything is said and done, distracted driving is a complicated problem with no easy answers.  Undoubtedly, legislation, education and technology such as ZoomSafer will be critical components of a broad solution to prevent distracted driving.

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Whether you’re someone that is seeking to have fun with some games, manage your media or simply just find some innovative ways to get your life organized there are applications for it. Let the applications be your tools. Read the rest of this entry »

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For those people that are looking to find a great deal near home the complete and unexpected flood of options are more than just a little bit awe-inspiring. Websites that are publishing local deals are beginning to pop up everywhere. These come from anywhere from Groupon and the imitators to Foursquare and Twitter, to other super confined regional and local websites. Add to that the offers that you find in the mail and newspaper ads and there is a mass influx of information.

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New figures just released from the company comScore have shown that the Android has made an exceptionally large leap in terms of the United States market share of smartphones through the month of January. Most of this market share gain was for the most part at the expense of Windows Mobile.
The comScore market and media analysis firm’s figures that were just released for the United States mobile phone market were for the months of Oct 2009 to Jan 2010. The released results gave the Android figures that showed that it made huge bounds in the smartphone market share by the 2.8-7.1% jump that it made from the Oct 2009 to Jan 2010 time span. That’s a 4.3% net point change in comparison to the entire market and the share gain is over 150% comparative to the Oct share.
With the comment made earlier about the Androids growth being at the expense of the Windows Mobile platform from Microsoft, let’s put it into perspective. Over that same date range period of Oct 2009 to Jan 2010 the Windows Mobile lost 4% of the total market share. The previous share was 19.7% and that dropped to 15.7%.
The market share leader though, results from comScore, still remains the company from the Canadian RIM (Research in Motion) which saw that its shares of the popular Blackberry platform come from 41.3% to 43% pulling in a 1.7% net gain over its already massive market share. Apple is still the number two in market share with their iPhone. The iPhone took in 25.1% with a small net gain from the 24.8% they had in the previous Oct. The Android and Microsoft were the next two and the Palm was number five having a 2.1% net decline of 5.7% from its previous 7.8% share.
According to the figures from comScore the United States smartphone market came in on average of at right about 42.7 million people from Nov to Jan which was an 18% net increase from the Aug to Oct 2009 figures.
With the declines that came in for both the Palm and Windows Mobile devices their market share declines might come in with as much at fault with product cycles than just the popularity increase of the Android.
The current Windows Mobile 6.5 is long overdue for a refresh. Microsoft is finally bringing this refresh in for 2010 with the Windows Phone 7 Series. It’s important to note though that this series is not backward compatible so for any users that are really seeking out a new device they are likely to start to migrate to another platform.
In regards to the decline in the Palm market share that could possibly be attributed to the Palm users beginning to trade up from their older Palm Treo and Centro devices to newer smartphones.
The one thing to know for sure if the Palm and Windows Mobile users are starting to trade in for new mobile devices the one thing that we know for sure is they aren’t all staying with Palm OS or Windows Mobile smartphone platforms.

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The Motorola Backflip was unveiled during CES 2010 and remains an odd duck in many ways. For one, it’s the first Android phone for AT&T (though we highly doubt that it’ll crowd out any of the iPhone’s market share as far as AT&T phones go). Secondly, in spite of being an Android 1.5 phone, it’s more a Yahoo! phone than a Google phone. AT&T opted to integrate Yahoo’s search capabilities into the Backflip, which doesn’t handle local as well or voice searches at all. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Nexus One, the much anticipated Google Phone, is available to consumers in two ways: subsidized by a T-Mobile contract or unlocked. The latter route is much more expensive, but it gives you more apparent freedom regarding where you take your business. Unlocked smartphones have been available from retailers for years (for example, Cell-Phone-Plans.net sells a number of unlocked smartphones) but this is the first time the company itself has sold an unlocked phone directly to consumers. For many, this raises the question: “Do I really need an unlocked smartphone?”
Whether you’re considering an unlocked Google Nexus One or an unlocked BlackBerry or any other smartphone, the answer is the same: it depends.
Before you decided to shell out extra cash to get an unlocked cell phone, ask yourself these questions:
What does it mean when a phone is unlocked?
By nature, all GSM phones are compatible with any GSM network. However, cell phone providers will lock their phones so that they only work on their network. This prevents you from getting a subsidized handset from AT&T and then defecting to T-Mobile or vice versa. By unlocking your phone, you are free to use your phone on any network, provided you have a compatible SIM card.
Which network will I be taking my phone to?
So, what would you do with your newfound freedom from your overbearing cellular service provider? Consider this carefully because it might make or break your decision. For example, if you are fed up with AT&T and want to move to Verizon but you’d like to keep your fancy iPhone, think again. Verizon is on a CDMA network and simply won’t work with GSM phones such as the iPhone. Furthermore, there are several different bands within each network . That means phones like the Google Nexus One will work fine with the EDGE and voice networks over at T-Mobile and AT&T but you’ll only get 3G data speeds with T-Mobile.
Bottom-line: make sure your phone is compatible with the carrier you want to switch to before paying to unlock your phone or buying an unlocked phone.
Will you be traveling?

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Smartphones are much loved for their wide functionality and flashy glitz, but all those features take tons of energy, and before you know it, you’re smartphone’s out of juice. Unless you’re always within 10 feet of a power outlet, you’ll want to choose the smartphone with the best battery life – not just the one with the prettiest screen.

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Smartphones are rapidly growing in popularity, and the BlackBerry Curve 8310 is one of the most versatile on the market today.  It is the smallest BlackBerry yet, and it comes complete with a camera, voice-guided GPS, web browser and many other features that make this smartphone for busy professionals and casual users alike.

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