Oct 06

Cell Phone Etiquette – A Guide

By Chris Samaras Uncategorized No Comments »

Turn of your cell phone

We all know at least a handful of people who think they are the only person using  their phone when the whole world stands around them. So many people do not show common courtesy and basic etiquette when using their cell phones. Wouldn’t it be great if more people showed a little respect when using their phones when other people are around them? Everyone and their mom has a cell phone anymore. The average age of a person receiving their first phone is only 8 years old. The problem is there is no class to teach people how to use their phones properly.

Here are some things to avoid while using your cell phone:

1. Overbearing ringtones - We all know at least one person who has a ringtone that makes your ears bleed. That sound that just makes you want to jump off a bridge. The ringtone that makes the most annoying sounds in the world almost enjoyable. Their should be a law around the use of annoying ringtones. Some are straight up offensive, others are straight up annoying. Why do people feel the need to play an entire song when someone calls them? Isn’t that what Mp3 players are for?

2. Answering your phone during in a movie – I am not sure if this happens anywhere except my local theatres, but it seems like almost every time I am in a theatre lately – there is “that guy” who answers their phone in the middle of a movie. I mean come on! Did you not notice the hundreds of other people around? If you are one of these people you should be banned from using your phone entirely!

3. Yelling at your phone – Maybe some people just do not realize that they are screaming into their phone while talking to the person on the other end. Microphones have improved greatly since the original Motorola DynaTac phone. Noise cancellation technology has really come a long way. If you are a screamer who is reading this – please consider the people around you when screaming at your device.The other person can hear when talking at a normal voice. Just because you can not hear them does not mean they can not hear you. Otherwise – call them back.

4. Paying more attention to your phone than your friends – Ok, so I am guilty as charged here but I am working hard on kicking my bad habit. This is one that a lot of us can relate to, especially if you are rocking a blackberry smartphone or other similar device. They do not call Blackberry’s, Crackberry’s for any ol’ reason. They somehow manage to come out of your pocket even when you try so hard to keep them put away. I have to say – there is nothing more annoying than when the person I am hanging out with is on their phone the entire time I am with them. I want to take their phone and throw it out a window. The first part of realizing you have a problem – is acknowledging your addiction. I have started my path to recovery – have you?

5. Driving while txting – It is said that at any given moment in time at least 3% of drivers on the road are txting while driving. Kind of scary when you think about it. This is another guilty as charged – rule I break more often than not. It is another – habit / addiction of my Blackberry that I am working at overcoming. There is nothing scarier than being in a car with someone txting with both hands and using their knee to steer their car. As more people move towards a smartphone I am sure the percentage of people txting while driving will only increase. Hopefully, at some point in the near future cars will drive on their own. Until then – please consider the other peoples lives you are putting in danger while txting behind the wheel.

I am sure we can all name many others things to avoid when using your cell phone, and I am sure I will have another guide to follow. Please consider these 5 things to avoid next time any of these 5 circumstances arise. We can all make the world a better place by spreading the word about cell phone etiquette and applying the rules mentioned above.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Sep 24

Step Toward a Green Cell Phone

By phonemanandy Phones In The News No Comments »

Now that we’ve come stumbling blindly into the 21st Century, flailing our arms, and screaming at the top of our lungs to be satisfied and pampered until we can melt into a state of irreversible serenity, mobile devices and cell phones have surpassed luxury items and become a necessity to properly function within a harsh and judgmental society. But as this metamorphosis occurs, another movement pushes through: the Green movement. And while it’s no secret that cell phones, mobile devices, and computers are not “green,” many seem to turn a blind eye to the increased level of plastics and metals and choose in favor of productivity.

Well that’s fine. A society needs to be productive to advance, and nothing screams productivity like having access to global communication and networking at the touch of a handy button.

First of all, there are the materials. From plastics to the rare, powdery precious metal tantalum (mined primarily in Central Africa, where it’s become implicated in local exploitation and violence and is now known as a conflict material), cell phone materials present a variety of environmental and even human rights issues. Kinda like “blood diamonds,” but in higher demand.

Then there’s energy use. Smartphones are especially notorious energy hogs, with most models rarely getting more than a day of usage without some pretty drastic energy-saving strategies. It’s not just the obvious charging that takes up electricity and energy that increases a carbon footprint, but the cell usage and data transfer when multiplied millions and millions of times can drastically increase energy output.

All of this electricity consumption adds up to greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, this all depends on how often you use your device, but with great apps comes great responsibility–and telling an iPhone user how often and to what extent he can use his Applications is like trying to take guns and Bibles away from rednecks.

Aware that cell phones have an eco image problem, nearly all cell phone manufacturers, U.S. wireless carriers and office supply or electronics vendors now offer recycling programs (both in-store and mail-in) where they’ll take back your used phone for free and recycle the materials as much as possible.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides links to many vendor-sponsored programs.

Keeping your used cell phones out of landfills is one important way to green your cell phone use. But green is the color of money, too. You can make money by selling your used cell phone for reuse, either directly to a friend or charity, or through a verified Trade-In program.

An even greener (and generally cheaper) option is to buy a used cell phone rather than a new one. If you don’t absolutely need all the latest features, you can probably get a good price on a model in good condition that’s a year or less old.

This summer, the UK wireless carrier O2 presented its first eco ratings of popular mobile phones. This effort proved controversial because Apple (maker of the iPhone) and Research in Motion (maker of the world’s most popular smartphone, the BlackBerry) declined to participate.

However, RIM says it will participate next year. And some are questioning why several smartphones made it onto O2′s eco-friendly phone list.

Back in the U.S., it may soon get easier to tell which cell phones are really green. UL Environment Inc. (part of Underwriters Laboratories) is designing its initial sustainability standards for cell phones. The draft standards are due out in late 2010.

While we wait to discover new ways to increase the quality of our mobile devices while decreasing our carbon footprint, keep a few things in mind: When using your cell phone, keep in mind that texting is your most energy-efficient (and thus eco-friendly) communication option. Or if possible, call from an old-fashioned land line instead — that uses far less power to transmit calls.

Sources: CNN

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Sep 23

Mini Cell Phone Towers and the Future of Mobile Apps

By phonemanandy Phones In The News No Comments »

A strange thing happened on the way to a Technology Review keynote the other day. Four like-minded panelists unveiled their favorite gadgets; and before you jump to any conclusions, it was neither the iPad nor the super-awesome new iPod Touch (which I prefer to call the iPad Mini).

No–as it turns out each one of the panelists exhibited varying portable base stations used to boost wireless signals.

It’s no surprise that we’re aggravating ourselves toward a mentality of instant gratification and southern-style “demanding” of “satisfaction,” however, how many of us would go the extra step to further clutter our already massively cluttered landscape and rooftop scenes with more towers and machinery? All of us? That’s correct.

Wi-Fi and signal strength can be very unforgiving and frustrating for anyone who is used to enjoying rapid-paced internet and phone service in their equally rapid-paced Starbuck’s-fueled lives. One moment we’re enjoying the unprecedented speed of a mobile application for…well…let’s say…the iPod Touch, or any cell phone. The next minute you’re lost in an unrelenting sea of No Service. Sure, you could stand outside of a coffee shop, desperately pacing back and forth trying to pick up their signal, or you could introduce yourself to the Future.

Actually, we’re already there…and we might be able to un-clutter our landscapes and rooftops at the same time. Qualcomm’s senior vice president unveiled a portable femtocell base station that generates a signal over a 10 meter radius–and it’s about the size of a TV remote.

Imagine these bad boys simply planted around the city, or office, hidden in plants or trees, scattered about public parks, and now imagine them to have almost limitless signal strength and reach for miles and miles. OK, now you’re dreaming too big…for now.

The corporate head honchos expect to see a gigantic spike in cell phone use over the next five years. Alice White, a vice president at Bell Labs, expects that 40% of phones will be smart phones simultaneously running any number of apps, and if something is not done to prepare for that kind of usage, consumers will be tearing out their hair–so to speak.

The wheels are in motion to begin planting these portable cell phone towers in key areas. If no power source is nearby, the devices can be rigged to run on solar power. Mmm…green.

If all goes according to plan, we will inevitably see a huge increase in the ability to view, create, and share large multimedia files with ease and peace of mind. According to a CEO at Sprint, “Wireless has been the fastest adopted technology in history. There are more cell phones in use today than TVs, PCs and cars combined.”

Femtocells are designed to fill in “coverage holes” that often occur in homes and small businesses, Jonathan Segel, executive director of Alcatel-Lucent’s CTO Group, noted during his EmTech presentation Wednesday about mobile apps. In addition, he pointed out that cities have begun to turn to “metro cells” (which provide a range of several kilometers…okay now you can start dreaming big again) to offload data traffic in densely populated areas.

The trend over time is for mobile phone cells to continue to shrink while providing better service to wireless users. “Because your phone isn’t having to shout [to reach a cell tower], your battery life is better,” according to Rupert Baines, vice president of marketing for picoChip, a maker of chips used in femtocells. “If the signal doesn’t have to go too far you’ll get better quality, you’re covering less people with each base station and each person is getting more capacity.” PicoChip recently introduced a new processor designed to boost even small portable base station signals so they can be used in a variety of public spaces, including shopping malls and airports.

Sources: Scientific American | e! Science News

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Sep 09

Recycle Your Used Cell Phones for Cash

By phonemanandy Cell Phone How To's, Interesting Phone Stuff No Comments »

During these rough economic times, many are searching for a quick way to earn some easy cash–but a large percentage of people have no idea just how valuable that used cell phone sitting in their drawer, collecting dust, can really be.  If you have a used phone collecting dust some where (like most people do) check out our Used Cell Phones for Cash at TheBlueDot.net.

Most people do not realize their used cell phone may be worth a significant amount of money.

According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in 2007, approximately 130  used phones ended up in landfills in the US. Only 14 million Americans recycled their used cell phones. Today, donating or recycling cell phones, PDAs, chargers, and batteries has never been easier.

By bringing awareness to the matter, we can make a huge difference. Right now the number of people properly disposing their cellular devices is right around 10%. If more people knew how simple it were to trade-in their device the affects on the environment could be substantial.

Sources: EPA.gov

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Jul 29

iPhone 3G is the Most Recycled Phone

By phonemanandy Interesting Phone Stuff, Phones In The News No Comments »

This month, it was officially noted that the single most Recycled Phone of all time has been Apple’s iPhone 3G. It seems that while consumers weren’t eager to trade in their 3G iPhones for the updated 3GS, they acted in unison in opting for the next significant update: the iPhone 4G.

That’s not to say that there is a dwindling demand for the 3G–far from it. In fact, many people who decided against the Apple iPhone to begin with are now becoming new users by purchasing a refurbished iPhone 3G. Surely, when the next upgrade is released, the same fate will fall upon the iPhone 4G, but for now demand is still significant for both models.

The BlueDot now offers a used cell phone trade-in program where you can sell used cell phones.

Several price-watch companies such as The BlueDot are urging those looking to recycle their old used iPhone to search for the best–and most realistic price. Know that your phone is still in high demand, and if it is in tip-top condition, could fetch a pretty penny.

If you have a used iPhone that you’re looking to trade in for cash, visit our Home Page to get a price quote!

Sources: TopNews UK | ITProPortal

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Jul 26

We buy your used cell phones for cash

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff 1 Comment »

Looking to buy a new phone? Eligible for a new contract? Hate the phone you just purchased? Looking to switch service providers? If you answered yes to any of these questions – The BlueDot is here to help. The BlueDot now will buy used cell phones and other consumer electronics. In comparison to others paying cash for phones we are paying double or more in some cases. If you find a better price elsewhere online we will most likely meet the price or even beat it. We want your used cell phones!

If you used phone does not have any trade-in value we will recycle the phone for you free of charge.

Let your friends and family know about us. Do not let your used phone gather dust in your drawer. The longer you wait the less your phone will be worth over time.

Fill out a trade in form for your used cell phone here – http://www.thebluedot.net/tradein

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Previous Entries Next Entries


Copyright © 2007-2010 TheBlueDot, LLC and BlueDot.
All Rights Reserved. BlueDot and the BlueDot logo are registered trademarks of TheBlueDot, LLC,