In The Know
Phones for synching with Mac: iPhone not only game in town
by Joni Blecher
Friday, September 05, 2008 (permalink)
Ever wonder which cell phones are good for synching with the Mac? It's a question that I hear more and more frequently these days. There's a great article from PC Magazine on just that topic. When people ask me that question, I often refer them to Sony Ericsson cell phones, it's one of the few that have been compatible with Macs early on in the phone company's history. But there are others on the list that some users might not consider initially such as the BlackBerry with a little extra software help, and even the Motorola Krzr. If this PC Magazine article doesn't have enough options, check out Apple's list of cell phones compatible with iSync.
| Tags: | In The Know | Sony Ericsson | Blackberry | Windows Mobile |
| Palm | Symbian | Smart phones |
Phone Smarts
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about personalizing the latest Sidekick at sidekickshells.com. This isn't just some sticker you can put on the Sidekick to set it apart, you actually get a whole new shell. Not being particularly artistic, I asked my friend who does stencils if he had anything that might be a good fit and sure enough he did. I used one of his stencil images to create the shell shown below. If you like the image you can see it here. About a week later I got the new shell in the mail. Besides the fun I had creating it and the anticipation of finally receiving it, I submitted the design to the Sidekick shell community for others to vote on it. If you've got the new Sidekick, you gotta give this a try.
| Tags: | Phone Smarts | Sidekick | T-Mobile | Accessories |
Phone Smarts
5 Tips for saving on phones and plans for back to school
by Joni Blecher
Friday, August 29, 2008 (permalink)
It’s that time of year when the summer heat begins to wane and kids of all ages get ready to go back to school. Deciding to get your child a cell phone doesn’t just stop with picking the cell phone, the plan is equally as important. Of course, we're here to help you navigate through the decision making process with the tips below. Not sure which cell phone to get? Check out our Back to School Guide, for picks for all ages.
1. Not ready to spend a lot of money on a new cell phone for your child? Treat yourself instead. If you think your child is ready for a cell phone, but aren’t quite ready to give them a brand new cell phone; if yours is in good working condition consider giving them your existing cell phone and get a new one for yourself. You can probably even get a new model at a discounted price if you’re willing to extend your contract with your existing carrier.
2. Keep it in the family. In many situations, a primary reason to give a child cell phone is to stay in touch with them. Consider getting a family plan where everyone in the family shares the same plan and minutes and unlimited calling to each other.
3. Out-of-state kids, don’t have to mean more out-of-pocket phone expenses. Depending on when you first signed up for cell phone service with your carrier it may or may not include roaming. This is a good time to review your cell phone plan to see if where your child is going to school is part of your included coverage area and vice-versa for your child’s plan. If not, adjust the plan accordingly to include the appropriate coverage areas for your family so you’re not hit with additional roaming fees in your monthly plan.
4. To include text messaging or not to include text messaging? Absolutely get a text messaging plan, and an unlimited plan if possible. Kids text. It’s a fact. To send one-off text and picture messages can add up quickly. Additionally, many cell phones have instant messenger (IM) services built-in. Each message sent over IM from a cell phone is billed as an individual message. Do you want to pay 10 cents for every LOL sent? (Read more)
| Tags: | Phone Smarts | Text messaging | Parents | Cell phone plans |
Phone Smarts
Mobile apps making the most of going back to school
by Guest Blogger
Thursday, August 28, 2008 (permalink)
It's that time of year, where summer comes to a close and the kids head back to school. We asked Bloggers around the Internet for their thoughts on how a cell phone might help with back to school and types of services that could make the back to school transition a little easier for students. Our final post comes from David Cassel. To read more from him, check out his blog at Tech.Blorge.
The economy's in trouble, and college has gotten expensive, so the most obvious piece of advice is simply watching your cell phone bill. In China, Unicom even offered 56,000 college students $200 apiece — $50 for each college year — after a May 12 earthquake in Sichuan collapsed several schools across the province. And in the U.S. there have been rumors of a mysterious company that would pay your cell phone bill — or most of it — by running a phone network that was supported by cell phone ads. But in February, one service had failed to materialize after 14 months (and an unfortunate SEC investigation). Maybe the lesson learned is simply that there's no such thing as a free lunch.
But there are lots of free services for students with cell phones. Google has a whole suite of mobile applications on a cell phone-ready page at M.Google.com. They're now even able to deliver search results based on Google's approximation of your location, with the matches displayed on Google maps. (And of course they're touting their mobile support for YouTube videos.) Google Talk works on the iPhone (as well all the major cell phone brands, including Nokia, Sony, Motorola, and Samsung), and they store transcripts of your chats in your Gmail account, letting you access them later via the web. The service even lets you make free long distance PC-to-PC phone calls. And don't forget their Google Scholar (Read more)
| Tags: | Phone Smarts | Text messaging | Cell phone plans | Smart phones |
Phone Smarts
How a cell phone can help students get better acquainted with college
by Guest Blogger
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 (permalink)
It's that time of year, where summer comes to a close and the kids head back to school. We asked Bloggers around the Internet for their thoughts on how a cell phone might help with back to school and types of services that could make the back to school transition a little easier for students. Our first post comes from Vikram Deo. To read more from him, check out his Not Another Mobile Phone Blog.
Mobile phone services can be really helpful for students so that they are familiar with their classes and their mates out there. Students can connect with their would-be friends in the new school using the mobile social network. School or college community on the mobile phone social network would help students in connecting with like minded guys and girls so that they get along well when their sessions actually begin.
Lot of students go to schools and colleges located in places with which they are not familiar, for them mobile maps, locations based services would be of greatest help. Having the location of the restaurants, popular hang-out joints, police stations, hospitals on their mobile phone will help students to easily access these services. Popular weekend spots in that area can also be one of the services. Also locations map of the school/college campus on their mobile phone can be an added advantage for students.
Other value added services can be, students getting tips on subjects they have chosen on their mobile phones. Student can send the relevant data (subject list) to the service provider and in-turn they get tips on how to study these subjects and also links to useful resources, this can make studying a really fun thing to do.| Tags: | Phone Smarts | GPS |
In The Know
This week's deal comes from LetsTalk.com's Merchandising Manager, Aaron Horowitz.
What is it? The Verizon Wireless Blitz™, which launched this week, is Verizon's latest step toward true customer satisfaction. The Blitz™ is a compact, text-centric device, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It's perfect for big texters and those who want a PDA style device without the expensive business data plan. This cell phone makes it a breeze to blog, web browse, or send messages with a touch of the My Messaging key. The Blitz™ has a bright, high-resolution screen, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and is both V-CAST™ and VZNavigator™ capable. It also supports Stereo Bluetooth® so you can listen to your favorite music or have a conversation hands-free.
How much?Get the Verizon Wireless Blitz™ free out-the-door with the purchase of any Verizon Wireless two-year service plan.
Why is it such a good deal? The Blitz™ is the latest, stylish, text-centric device on the market. It's absolutely FREE out-the-door. Plus, it comes with a free 1GB Kingston MicroSD card.
| Tags: | In The Know | Verizon Wireless | Text messaging | Bluetooth |
| Deal of the Week |
Phone Smarts
3 Ideas on how to use a cell phone to make the most of heading back to school
by Guest Blogger
Monday, August 25, 2008 (permalink)
It's that time of year, where summer comes to a close and the kids head back to school. We asked Bloggers around the Internet for their thoughts on how a cell phone might help with back to school and types of services that could make the back to school transition a little easier for students. Our first post comes from Devin Moore. To read more from him, check out his DevinMoore.com notes blog.
1. Easy access to my entire schedule, advisor numbers, etc. on one page. I want to get to one thing on my phone and be able to leave it there to have access to the things I need the most, especially where my next class is and reminders for that next class so I don't miss it playing Frisbee on the green.
2. School class maps. At a big college, it is confusing to be fiddling with a map to where all the classes and rooms are to get turn by turn directions inside the buildings would be sweet.
3. Local search for the college specific functions. I should be able to get access to what's going on, on-campus, for tonight. Without knowing this in advance, the social prospects for new students are greatly reduced because they'd have to go to the building to see the flyers for the event. To post all that in one place and make it available on a mobile makes the events accessible to everyone at any time.
Kids younger than college probably aren't allowed to have their phone in class, but a homework tracker for their classes would be great. I was always having trouble keeping track of which assignments were due when, and that could all be online now.
| Tags: | Phone Smarts | Text messaging | GPS |
Phone Smarts
NFL Games: So many ways to follow from your Sprint phone
by Joni Blecher
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 (permalink)
Loyal football followers are probably already watching Monday night pre-season games on the big screen. However, Sprint users have the opportunity to be a little bit more connected to the latest NFL updates this season with the company's NFL Mobile Live application. Basically, this application lets users listen to the live radio broadcasts of every NFL game throughout the 2008 regular season. Users can also watch all eight of the Thursday Night Football telecasts carried by NFL Network live beginning on November 6th. Additionally, users can follow their NFL.Fantasy teams and even have their favorite team's latest information and quick links to live broadcasts for that team on game days to appear first on the log-on screen.
What's the best part about this application? It's included as part of Sprint's Everything Plans or part of the $15 a month Data Pack service, so there's no special subscription fee. Interested? Check out nfl.com/mobile or sprint.com/nfl for more information.
| Tags: | Phone Smarts | Sports | Sprint | Cell phone plans |
Phone Smarts
If you're interested in getting a smartphone, but have been intimidated by the idea of one, check out the Palm Centro. It's got all the power of a smartphone with an operating system that's intuitive and easy to use out-of-the-box. To show you what I mean, watch the video below to get a better idea.
| Tags: | Phone Smarts | Music | Palm | Camera |
| Smart phones | Business Use |
In The Know
This week's deal comes from LetsTalk.com's Merchandising Manager, Michael Cera.
What is it?The BlackBerry Curve 8330 from Sprint is the smallest, lightest QWERTY BlackBerry to date. It features the very popular trackball navigation for easier use. This Curve also support BlackBerry Media Player and Stereo Bluetooth headset capabilities so you can listen to music from your BlackBerry through your home stereo. The 2-megapixel camera has a 5x zoom and flash that will take crisp and clear images. There is also a microSD expansion slot capable of expanding up to 8GB for storage of music, video, games, and many more applications. With the Curve, you can spell check your e-mails, get directions with TeleNav Maps, and even travel in over 125 countries with global voice and data roaming. The ultimate smartphone and technology package are all in one device with the BlackBerry Curve.
How much?The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is available for free after a $100 mail-in rebate from Sprint with a new two-year Sprint Everything or Simply Everything service plan.
Why is it such a good deal? BlackBerry's reputation and the technology embedded in this device are only a fraction of what you get with the Curve.
| Tags: | In The Know | Music | Sprint | Blackberry |
| Deal of the Week |
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