Oct 16

Solar Powered Cell Phones

By Chase Buckner In The News, Interesting 5 Comments »

2966132For the first time in my life, I find myself jealous of African technology. Stuff published an article about how solar powered cell phones in Africa are greatly benefiting the country’s people who have very limited access to traditional power sources. The article does a great job of illustrating how local farmers and independent businessmen are benefiting from the solar technology, but what I want to know is: why the hell don’t we have it in America?

Apparently in Uganda, 92 percent of the country’s 32 million plus population do not have access to an electrical power grid, so, obviously, they have an enormous need for a product like solar powered cell phones. But what about us? I mean, we’re trying to go green here, right? Hey Nokia – I would like a solar powered cell phone too.

According to the article, Samsung makes a model called the Solar Guru, which features an FM radio, MP3 ring tones, embedded games, and a torch light that sells for 60 US dollars. How is this not in the hands of Leonardo DiCaprio on the cover of US Weekly? And getting off topic a bit, if a solar paneled cell phone is so cheap, why is it so expensive to solar panel the roof of your house?

The Samsung Guru

The Samsung Guru

I suppose that even though I don’t have access to one yet, it’s nice to know that companies are at least trying to develop more globally conscious products. Sony Ericson and Nokia are developing phones that use lower energy consumption, recycled materials, smaller packaging, and electronic user manuals. Until these products hit our market, though, don’t forget that the best way to go green with you cell phone is to purchase a refurbished cell phone!

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Sep 29

Blackberry 9700 Bold “Onyx” Review

By Chase Buckner Reviews 1 Comment »

BlackBerryOnyxTMoThe loudest buzz in the Blackberry community is all about the soon to be released Blackberry 9700 Bold, also being called the Onyx. The much-anticipated model is expected to be released before the end of the year. Originally, the device was thought to be an AT&T exclusive, but Al Sacco of CIO.com has recently released information from, according to him, the PR department of T-Mobile USA, which states that the Onyx will definitely be released on T-Mobile in the near future. T-Mobile is reported to have said:

“The BlackBerry ‘Onyx’ sports a premium experience and design with a high-gloss black finish and leather grain detail on the back. Boasting features such as high-speed 3G Web browsing, Wi-Fi calling, visual voicemail and support for corporate and personal e-mail options, the ‘Onyx’ will satisfy all your on-the-go needs. Also the phone comes preloaded with mobile applications from BlackBerry App World, including Amazon MP3 store for quick and easy music downloads and TeleNav GPS Navigator for turn-by-turn directions.”
Other rumored details of the device that have been posted on Crackberry.com include Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE , UMTS/HSDPA, 480×360 resolution display (Bold 9000 has a 480 x 320; 9700 display should be the same or very similar to the screen on the Curve 8900), Wi-Fi a,b,g, OS 5.0, QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel AF camera, and Bluetooth. The Onyx is also said to support WIFI calling, which is great for people who have come to use applications like Skype and Google Voice.

What seems to have Blackberry addicts most excited is that the 9700 Bold will be released with the new “Track Pad” instead of the traditional scroll ball. The track pad from the Curve 8520 has been getting great reviews, so enthusiasts can rest assured that they will not have to revert back the trackball. The new Bold is believed to have 256MB of application memory and the battery is expected to last much longer than the Blackberry 9000.

blackberry-onyx-back-bold-2Undoubtedly, Blackberry Onyx will look great and perform it’s ass off but what has me concerned is the Bold’s faux leather back. I am all about taking risks and switching things up a bit, but what exactly are they going for here? I suppose the faux black leather looks alright in an “I’m in my grandmother’s SAAB” kind of way, but I saw a picture of a prototype with a brown faux leather, and the image that immediately came to mind was 80’s porn star. Hopefully, you’ll be able to opt out of the leather option entirely.

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Sep 28

Getting Paid to Hang Up

By Chase Buckner In The News 1 Comment »

Paid to hang up your cell phoneWould you hang up your cell phone in the car for a dollar? If so, drive to Boston where Jeff Larson is paying people who are driving and talking on their mobile phones a dollar to hang up. Jeff is the president of Safe Roads Alliance, a nonprofit group in Boston. His group has been trying to raise awareness about the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving through this roadside campaign that has been named “Bucks for Hang Ups.”

Larson has been standing on the side of the road near the Columbia Road exit off Interstate 93 South for about a week with a sign that reads: “Please, please, please, hang up and drive.” The back of his sign reads: “I’ll give you $1 if you hang up that call.’’ And he will. Larson has given away over a hundred dollars in a week, and he is prepared to give away four hundred more. Unfortunately for Larson, most people respond to him as they would to a homeless person panhandling for change. Even though he dresses in a suit and tie, Larson has been getting the finger all week. He says that people have actually been turning down the money.

Although no one likes being pestered at a red light, Larson’s cause is just. In addition to giving out a dollar for hang ups, he is handing out flyers that to inform drivers that they are four times more likely to get into a car accident if they are talking or texting while driving. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis reports that 636,000 crashes and 2,600 deaths a year are related to cell phone usage. Larson commented that, “People just don’t drive well,” and I’d have to agree. There are already plenty of distractions for drivers like food, make up, and iPods. With BlueTooth earpieces being so cheap these days, it seems ridiculous to have to add cell phones to the list.

Larson plans on taking his campaign to Washington this week where US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be holding a summit on distracted driving. If you’ll be driving in the area, look for the guy in the suit trying to give away money. Wendy’s still has a dollar menu, right?

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Sep 23

Bluetooth Cell Phone Etiquette

By Chase Buckner Reviews 1 Comment »

Yes, cordless electronics are great. No one wants to get off the couch to change the channel or have to constantly duck and dodge a web of curly cord while they’re on their house phone. And, yes, being able to talk on your cell phone in your car without a cord dangling from your ear is great, but where in the hell did people get the idea that wearing a Bluetooth headset at all times is a cool thing to do?

Is this awesome?

Is this awesome?

I consider myself a peaceful, logical, and generally accepting individual but when I see someone, obviously not talking to anyone, walking by with a hunk of blinking plastic hanging out of their ear, I am overcome with the urge to just smack the the thing off their face like a golf ball off a tee.

I mean, I understand that Bluetooth technology is great and that it’s very helpful to have use of both hands at all times, but how hard is it to keep the stupid looking thing in your pocket until you’re actually on the phone? It seems that people now feel that wearing a Bluetooth headset in your ear at all times has somehow become fashionable, but what I don’t understand is – according to whom? When asked about why giant fake diamond earring are cool, gelled up bros at the Jersey Shore can reference T.O. or the kids on Growing Up Gotti. And orange teenyboppers with sunglasses covering half of their faces have Lindsey Lohan and Nicole Ritchie to glorify as they regurgitate their cesar salads before fifth period. But who is the celebrity sporting their Bluetooth 24/7 that these people are imitating?

If famous people aren’t wearing Bluetooths, why do I feel like going grocery shopping is like being stuck in some Star Trek

Nice

Nice

convention? The devices aren’t expensive, so it can’t be a status symbol thing. Are there really that many doctors and drug dealers in my neighborhood who absolutely cannot miss a call?

There are now companies making “designer” Bluetooths for women that are supposed to look like big earrings. Great. Now there will be even more people standing behind me in the bank who I think are talking to me but are, instead, just on their invisible cellphone.

Well hello! Oh, you're not talking to me.

Well hello! Oh, you're not talking to me.

I admit, I have a Bluetooth, but I feel like an ass even using the thing in my car where it belongs. I think we need to come to a common understanding that hanging an electronic from your face is something that should be done as little possible in front of as few people as possible. America, trust me on this one.

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Sep 22

Ford Motors Says, "Text and Drive!"

By Chase Buckner In The News, Interesting 1 Comment »

Do not txt on your phone and drive! Ford Motors has become the first automotive manufacturer to support the anti-texting ban that has been introduced by U.S. Sen.  Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Common sense would tell you that it’s not safe to text and drive, but Ford is saying, “Actually, it is – or it will  be.”

Ford is currently developing an improvement to their already popular Sync electronics package, which will convert voice into text  message. Ford reports that approximately 70 percent of the vehicles that they currently sell include the $395 Sync option. Based on  personal experience, Sync actually works very well. While driving your car, Sync enables you to deliver voice commands such as: “Call  (person’s name from your phonebook),” and your car will automatically dial the number and play the audio of the call through the  car’s speakers. With the text addition to Sync, the user will be able to narrate a text message to the system, and the system will convert  the narration into a text message and then send to whatever number or contact that the user wishes.

As the proposed ban on texting gains support, 25 percent of U.S. highway aid will be withheld from any state that does not comply if the ban is passes, it is nice to know that companies like Ford are working to incorporate systems like Sync in order to provide users the opportunity to use features, like texting, that have become a modern day necessity. The Sync system seems to be beneficial to non-texters as well as with Sync, more sets of eyes will be kept on the road where they belong.

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Sep 21

Your Mobile Phone Can Help You Save Your City

By Chase Buckner In The News 1 Comment »

CitySourced-Logo

The political action group FreedomSpeaks.com has recently launched a company called CitySourced, whose goal is to give the average citizen the ability to improve their city. CitySourced will soon release a pretty cool application for Blackberries, the iPhone, and Palms. The app will allow smartphone users to report any problems that they encounter in their city such as potholes, graffiti, fallen trees, etc., instantly. Via the app, any notification sent from a citizen will go straight to the city department responsible for fixing the issue.  GPS will even tell the department exactly where the problem was reported.

The program was demonstrated at the TechCrunch 50 conference in San Francisco earlier this month, and the city of San Jose, California has already purchased the program. Palm has also invested in the program, and they plan on marketing the app in conjunction with their phones in the near future. The app should be available for Blackberrys and the iPhone by the end of November.

Pete Constant, a member of the San Jose City Council who participated in CitySourced’s demonstration said that, “Currently, people typically wait until they get home to report a problem and may not do it for a few days, he said. The tool should also save city workers some of the time they now spend looking for problems.”

Once the program is in place in your city and you encounter a problem, filing a report will be quite simple. You need only to take a picture of the problem, open the application, choose a report type from a menu, type a few words in the report box, and hit send. There will also be a way for you to rate the severity of the problem so that the city will be able to prioritize responses.

The app seems like a great idea as long as the city is quick to respond by fixing the reported issues. Undoubtedly, conscientious citizens of major cities across the US are eager to participate in the improvement of their city, given the convenient opportunity. For more, visit the complete article from The New York Times.

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Sep 20

What does Google Voice do for Your Cell Phone?

By Chase Buckner In The News, Interesting 1 Comment »

voice-main-videoGoogle Voice is a new service from Google that is speculated to have an enormous impact in the lives of tech savvy people across the globe (even though it is only available for American users at the moment.) The service is centered around the idea that people are trying to get a hold of you not the phone that you pick up, meaning that when someone calls your Google Voice number, you can have it programmed so that up to six different phones ring simultaneously. People no longer have to figure out whether or not you are at home, at the office, near your cell phone, or at your vacation house. You can program your contacts so that they ring at only some of your six possible phones so that if your boss calls, only your work phone will ring. But if your son calls, all six phones will ring.

So what does it mean for your cell phone? Well, to really take advantage of Google Voice with your cell phone, you need a cell phone that has WIFI. The best part of Google Voice is that it’s totally FREE, but it is an Internet program so you need WIFI in order to get around being charged by your cell phone carrier. Once connected to the Internet via your cell, you can use Google Voice to call any cell phone or landline in the U.S. for free! You can also send and receive texts for free as well. In a nutshell, Google Voice is your new secretary who receives all of your calls/text messages and then forwards them to wherever you have instructed. Here is a list of some other features that make Google Voice appealing for the cell phone user:

Voicemail – Your Google Voice number comes with a cutting edge voice mail service. When someone starts leaving a voicemail, you can press a button on your cell and listen in on the message they are leaving. If you decide the call is important, you can answer it while they are leaving the message. Another great feature is that Google Voice’s voicemail program will transcribe the voicemails that are left into text and then send you the text via email and text message.

Call Recording – When someone calls you, you can press 4 at any time during the call, and Google Voice will start recording the call. When you press 4 again, the recording will stop, and the recorded segment of the call will then be forwarded to your in box. So when you are driving and can’t get to a pen and paper, just hit 4 and record whatever information you need.

Conference Calls – If you are having a conversation and someone else calls, you can add them to your call, and up to three more callers, creating a conference call.

Cheap International Rates – When using Google Voice to call overseas, you will receive much cheaper international rates than what your current service provider will charge. Calling a landline in London, for example, costs two cents per minute with Google Voice, where as it would cost $1.29 with AT&T or Verizon if you don’t have an international calling plan.

Spam Blocker – You can tag numbers as spam so any time the number calls again, it is automatically forwarded to a spam folder.

For more about Google Voice, visit their home page.

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Sep 20

Top 10 Cell Phones in Terms of Radiation

By Chase Buckner In The News, Interesting 1 Comment »

Cell Phone Radiation RiskAlthough the debate as to whether or not mobile phones are dangerous to users is still heated, the undeniable fact remains that all cell phones emit some level of radiation. There are standards in place, however, which are set by the Federal Communications Commission, by which all cell phone companies must abide. Currently, the standard requires that all cell phones must emit 1.6 W/kg or lower.

The government watchdog group, the Environmental Working Group, has completed an extensive study on cell phone radiation, and their vice president of research feels that people who have used a cell phone for more than ten years have an increased risk for brain and mouth tumors. France, Germany, and Israel are concerned by cell phone radiation to the point that they have issued mobile phone usage limits, especially for children.

CTIA, the wireless industry lobbying association, strongly disagrees and claims that years of scientific study show that cell phones pose no serious risk to the user. The American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration all agree that it is perfectly safe to regularly use a mobile device. It is comforting to receive guarantees from such credible associations as these, however, as a consumer, it is always nice to have all the facts and statistics on hand. That being said, below is a list of the ten best and worst mobile phones in regards to the amount of radiation they emit.

The Top 10 Mobile Phones that Emit the Least Radiation (Watts per Kilogram):

  1. Samsung Impression SGH-a877           0.35
  2. Motorola Razr V8                                     0.36
  3. Samsung Impression SGH-t229            0.38
  4. Samsung Rugby SGH-a837                     0.46
  5. Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627              0.47
  6. Samsung Gravity SGH-t459                    0.49
  7. T-Mobile Sidekick                                      0.50
  8. LG Xenon GR500                                      0.52
  9. Motorola Karma QA1                                0.55

10.  Sanyo Katana II                                               0.55

Top 10 Mobile Phones that Emit the Most Radiation (Watts per Kilogram)

  1. Motorola Moto VU204                         1.55
  2. T-Mobile MyTouch 3G                         1.55
  3. Kyocera Jax S1300                                1.55
  4. BlackBerry Curve 8330                        1.54
  5. Motorola W385                                     1.54
  6. T-Mobile Shadow                                  1.53
  7. Motorola C290                                       1.53
  8. Motorola i335                                         1.53
  9. Motorola Moto VE240                         1.52

10. BlackBerry Bold 9000                                1.51

It is important to reiterate that all phones on this list are under the 1.6 w/kg limit that the Federal Communications Commission has set as the maximum. The Federal Communications Commission feels that all phones on this list are perfectly safe for the consumer. But if after reading this article, you feel as though you may want to exchange your current phone for something at emits a little less radiation, there is some good news – many phones on the lower side of the radiation spectrum are currently being sold after being refurbished for a fraction of their original cost. This means that, buy purchasing a refurbished cell phone, it may not cost you much to decrease the amount of radiation to which you expose yourself. To find complete list of more than 1,000 phones that were tested for this study, click here.

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