Oct 21

Is Your Cell Phone Making You Sick?

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff, Phones In The News 1 Comment »

Have you been feeling under the weather recently? Maybe it’s your allergies, maybe its flu season, or maybe it is something in your pocket. A recent study out of Stanford has provided some unnerving details about the cleanliness of your cell phone.

The study suggests that used cellular phones or any cell phone being used for that matter can contain up to 18 times as many germs as the handle of a toilet. Further, it suggests that iPhones, iPads, certain types of Androids Blackberrys, and SmartPhones, or anything with a touch screen can be even worse. Up to 30% of the germs on a touchscreen can be transmitted to your fingers each time you touch. Proceeding to touch your mouth, face, or food can then allow these germs to enter your system. Continue reading »

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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

The iPad for Green Business

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

As we are all pretty much aware–if we dare admit it to ourselves–the Apple iPad is an overpriced toy that, while maintaining some practical purpose, has very little (if any) edge on, say…a laptop or Netbook. Perhaps future generations of the iPad–or when companies like Google, Android, Amazon, etc get their “pad” products out–will be a virtual must-own for many consumers. As the market changes, as does the technology, and once we see a major flux in the social necessity for a notebook-size-touch-screen device, we’ll likely see more nay-sayers like myself rushing out to own one.

Like I said, there are some practical applications for the iPad that often go overlooked, and–for the purpose of this discussion–we’re going to take a look at several uses that may increase productivity in the workplace while substantially decreasing your office’s carbon footprint (that is, of course, if you don’t count the endless quantity of iPads bound to show up in a landfill or lining the streets of a small Chinese village).

There already exists a program called WritePad, which is essentially a note-taking app similar to any computer software that you would get for free. This one will cost you about $9.99.

On the other hand, there’s SoundPaper, a much cooler application (in both practicality and title). SoundPaper (Now SoundNote) is a note-taking application, yes, but it also records audio for personal notes or recording meetings. Not only does this allow you to play back key moments you may have missed, but also allows you to tap a certain portion of your notes to jump right to the recorded audio concerning that topic. Pretty neat.

The key to a “green” office is using less and less throw-away materials. After all, even if you recycle, the carbon footprint is fairly significant. Rather than setting up messy fax machines and an interconnected IT department, a free iPad program called BoxNet or DropBox allows for easy file sharing and transfers across multiple computers and devices–all within a virtual cloud of information.

It’s common knowledge by now that printing virtually anything has become a thing of the past. In any office or home, the only elements that tend to be physically printed out are things that need to be printed out. Otherwise, it’s much faster and easier to use your computer or portable device for all of your reading and viewing pleasure. If you’re on the go, an app called Instapaper may be of use (if you find you’re printing articles and emails to read later). InstaPaper allows the user to bookmark virtually anything with text to read at a later date without the stress of having to remember who the e-mail was from, which website you visited, or why you found that latest Marmaduke strip so hilarious.

The iPad (or any e-reader) practically eliminates the need for printed works. Certainly, a few books or magazines lying around will do you no harm, and some people prefer the physical element of having pages to leaf through in this overwhelmingly technological existence. But if you’re on the go, carrying around reference materials can make you feel like you’re living in the Dark Ages.

The iPad has a plethora of fine applications and reading material to choose from depending on your interests or career. For example, if you need to keep up with The Wall Street Journal, it’s free. That’s right. Free–on the iPad. If you need computer text books, medical encyclopedias, catalogs, or tutorials to get you through your busy schedule as a Computer Engineering Fashion Marketing Doctor on the go, hey–there’s an app for that.

Apple wants the iPad to be your friend and personal assistant (for a price). The Control4 app–if your office or home is set up with Control4–will allow you to automate every electric element using the iPad. Forgot to turn off your work PC or the office lights? No worries, iPad‘s got you covered.

So there you have it. If you spent the money on one of these futuristic toys, you have every opportunity to make the best of it and use it to its fullest potential. And there’s no time to start like the present–because we all know that the clock is ticking on when Apple, Google, Android, or whoever, will render the piece of technology on which you just blew your entire savings obsolete. Anyone not liking their used apple ipad and ready to move on to a different device? The BlueDot will offer top dollar for your used devices.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Jul 12

Consumer Reports: Don’t Buy the iPhone 4G

By phonemanandy Cell Phone Reviews, Phones In The News No Comments »

Consumer Reports, one of the most influential product review magazines, has decided not to recommend Apple’s latest iPhone to consumers. The magazine giant, around since 1936, said the device has significant issues involving reception.

“When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone’s lower left side — an easy thing, especially for lefties — the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you’re in an area with a weak signal.”

Apple has acknowledged that this is a reoccurring problem with their new device. They chalked the problem up to faulty software, but Consumer Reports seems to doubt that. The side rail on the housing of the phone is designed to be an antenna. Placing your fingers on it can disrupt your signal. Realistically, where else are you supposed to put your fingers? Apple has announced a software update to be released in the coming weeks, but has yet to fess up to any hardware issues.

The magazine offered a potential quick fix to those who have already purchased the phone and are experiencing problems. “An affordable solution for suffering iPhone 4 users: Cover the antenna gap with a piece of duct tape or another thick, non-conductive material. It may not be pretty, but it works.” Somehow, I don’t think that will go over well with consumers who just shelled out top dollar for the latest, greatest technology.

The magazine did give the phone high marks for its display and the phone’s camera, calling it the best they’ve seen on any phone. It also offers high praises for the devices improved battery life over its predecessor and several of the new features including the front facing camera.

The magazine says they will not recommend the device until “a permanent—and free—fix for the antenna problem” is delivered by Apple, until that time, they recommend purchasing the older, 3G model. If this influential publication’s review isn’t a wake-up call for Apple, I would expect a lot of angry consumers.

Sources: ConsumerReports

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,