PhoneTalk

It has often been noted that a cell phone is the one item that someone will return home to retrieve instead of spending a day without it. Why it’s so important to have a smartphone all day long varies as seen in the results of a joint survey of over 2,000 US users conducted by Yahoo! Mobile and Razorfish. There are loads of stats that came out of the survey, but here are some of the more interesting points:

Mobile phone scapegoat: The study found 52% of consumers use their mobile device to escape awkward situations. Women are more likely to use their phone as an excuse than men.

No need to stop & ask for directions: Overall men (59%) are using their web-enabled mobile devices most frequently for navigational purposes.

Are you ready for some football?: Men were almost twice as likely to say that checking their mobile for sports news causes arguments with their significant other (29%) compared to women (17%).

The gender divide: Men are more likely to use their mobile device as a functional, all- in-one tool; whereas women are more likely to use it as an extension of the traditional phone, to update and connect with friends across their social networks on the go.

Mobile shopping is a man’s world: Online purchases on smartphones are more popular with men (70% under 35 years) than with women (64% under 35 years).

Let’s face it cell phones are an important part of our lives and as many surveys remind us it’s one of the few things we’ll return home to retrieve if we forgot it. Let’s remember to be aware of our environment and what we’re doing before taking a call in public. Check out the video below to see just one reason why cell phone etiquitte is important.

It's that time of the year, when we first start to feel the temperature outside cooling a few degrees and students of all ages get ready to head back to school. Many students will have a cell phone with them either on campus or after class. (Note: Please check with your child's school about its cell phone policy) With that in mind, we've rounded up a slue of apps below that can help students with everything from getting a good deal on books to keeping track of homework assignments.


1. Find the best deal on books

Getting books for class can be a daunting task, not to mention an expensive endeavor. Enter Campus Books a one stop shop for buying, renting, and even selling college text books. This app will search local bookstores, online stores, and nearby libraries for the book you need. There's no need to type in book titles anymore either, just point the phone's camera at a book's barcode and the app does the rest.

Compatible OS: Android, iPhone
Cost: Free
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on your phone or corresponding app store on your computer.

2. An encyclopedia in your pocket

All solid papers begin with thorough research. Where better to start gathering that information than the Encyclopedia? Now, there's no need to dig through heavy volumes to find what you want. You can carry it in your pocket with the mobile version of the concise Britannica Encyclopedia 2011. It includes over 25,000 fact-checked articles on a variety of topics that can be navigated using a browser-like interface. Since the data resides on the phone, you'll never need a data connection to look something up. Want to learn something new? Simply open the app, shake the phone, and see what appears.

Compatible OS: Android, iPhone, BlackBerry
Cost: $19.95
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on your phone or corresponding app store on your computer.

3. Keep on track

Going to school means a busy schedule that's likely always changing. Whether its remembering to do a homework assignment or bringing an extra book to class, having a friendly little reminder can only help keep everything on track. That's the idea behind BugMe. It's essentially a virtual sticky note, but the key is that you can add alarms to the note so it won't get lost in the shuffle of all the other apps on your phone. The Pro version of the app offers more features such as adding notes to photos or sharing notes with friends.

Compatible OS: Android, BlackBerry (even OS 7), iPhone, and iPad
Cost: Free to $2.99
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on your phone or corresponding app store on your computer.

4. Money manager
(Read more)

According to the EPA, "an estimated 58 million cell phones are no longer being used but are still in storage. If these phones were reused or recycled, enough energy would be saved to power 10,690 homes for a year." That's a lot of energy. This week you can do your part to help since it's EPA’s Plug-In To eCycling National Cell Phone Recycling Week. Just because your cell phone doesn't have service anymore, that doesn't mean it's useless. Here's a list of things you can do with your old cell phone to make it useful again from Earth 911.com. Plus you can always trade-in your old cell phones at LetsTalk and apply the value of those cell phones towards the purchase of a new model.

So, do you plan to recycle your cell phone? We want to know, participate in our poll on the side of this blog.

We all know that teens and tweens like to text. LG wanted to learn more about just how much this demographic knew about texting. So the company did some research and they learned some interesting facts such as 22% of teens have received an inappropriate picture via multimedia messaging. To help educate teens and tweens on appropriate texting behavior LG started "Give it a Ponder," complete with commercials featuring Inside the Actors Studio's James Lipton. You can see one of the videos below and get more information on the program GiveItAPonder.com.

July was Cell Phone Courtesy month and we asked readers "In which of the following places, if any, do you feel it is generally acceptable to speak on your cell phone?" The most interesting result was 19 percent of those surveyed think it's acceptable to talk in a bathroom. That was the second highest rating, with the supermarket being the top answer. Also of note is that less and less people think it's acceptable to use a cell phone at a restaurant (5 percent) or while in a car with other passengers also in the car (12%). However, the fact that people do not think it's acceptable to talk on the phone in a movie or theater hasn't changed much. In previous LetsTalk surveys on cell phone etiquette, talking on a phone in the movies or in a theater is at the bottom of the list of acceptable places. Does this mean those funny trailers about using a phone or talking loudly during a movie are working? Maybe.

Here’s a recap of the survey results:

In the supermarket 29%

In the bathroom 19%

On public transportation 18%

While having a conversation with someone who is texting 15%

In the car with other passengers also in the car 12%

In a restaurant 5%

At the movies or in a theater 1%

That’s this month’s results; please participate in the new poll about using social media sites on your cell phone, posted on the right.

We've all encountered some people with absolutely no cell phone etiquette. In fact, LetsTalk.com has been doing surveys on the topic since 2000. According to this Huffington Post article, Jacqueline Whitmore, author of "Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work" and President of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, Inc., officially founded National Cell Phone Courtesy Month in 2002. Since then, cell phones have become even more a part of everyday life. People seem to be getting better about their cell phone usage or at least views have changed a bit about what is acceptable according to these cumulative results.

At any rate, now seems like a good time to remind people of some simple etiquette rules to keep in mind when using a cell phone. Remember, you may not be aware of your surroundings when you take a call, but depending on your behavior other people will be aware of you.

When in doubt, mute

Many establishments ask customers to refrain from using cell phones, but no one wants to actually miss a call. Most cell phones have a vibrate feature, set it to that if you're afraid of missing a call and then take or return the call in an appropriate setting.

Choose Ringtones You Won't Regret

Personalized ringtones have become a certifiable hit. Your kids may love your Fred Flinstone “YabbaDabbaDoo!” ringtone, but it might not be a hit in the board room.

Talk, Don't Yell

For some unknown reason, most of us speak louder when we dial. Stop the urge to act like a primitive Neanderthal and scream into your cell phone.

When in Earshot Keep it Short

People around you don't really want to be privy to your personal conversations.

Don't Text and Drive

Talking on a cell phone while driving isn't just dangerous, it's actually illegal in many states.

Excuse Yourself Before Taking the Call

The call may be important to you, but realize you're also important to the person in front or next to you.

Say Please Before They Say Cheese

The proliferation of camera phones (Read more)

We've all witnessed the poor etiquette people sometimes use when they talk on cell phones in public places. We even have an etiquette survey about what seems to be "acceptable" talking behavior these days. But what about the people who still talk loudly and often in public places? We asked bloggers around the Internet to tell us what they think should be done about that and if there's technology available that can help. Our final post comes from Joshua Howe. To read more from Joshua, check out Maine VRC.

Since the widespread adoption of cell phones, there have been those who use them appropriately and those who do not.

Most people would agree that it is rude to talk loudly on a cell phone in a public place, especially about personal issues such as bodily functions, relationships/ sex etc. However, if people actually acted consistent with their answers we'd rarely have to deal with the details of strangers' lives while we're trying to get a cup of coffee. Many of use would believe that our call is that exception and are likely unaware of how loud we're actually being.

The semi-serious Society for Hand Held Hushing (aka SHHH) has created cards which you can give out to the worst offenders. Some cards are more gentle than others:

Whether it's signs at the movie theater or in a waiting room, people tutting, reminder cards, there are always going to be people who ignore this. England just got its first truly "quiet" train carriage. According to the Daily Mail, train cars in which passengers voluntarily comply with a restriction on cell phones and MP3 players had been tried, but did not work. It is a train car where a film on the car prevents cell phone reception, allowing riders to enjoy a ride free of cell phone abusers. That is, unless they're walking through saying "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Where did you go?"

For the majority of places which we go, voluntary compliance is the best we can hope for. Cheer the musicians who strongly encourage it, give out cards (Read more)

We've all witnessed the poor etiquette people sometimes use when they talk on cell phones in public places. We even have an etiquette survey about what seems to be "acceptable" talking behavior these days. But what about the people who still talk loudly and often in public places? We asked bloggers around the Internet to tell us what they think should be done about that and if there's technology available that can help. Our first post comes from Cody Jackson. To read more from Cody, check out his Common Sense V2.0 blog.

As noted, many people don't like cell phone talkers. For several reasons, people tend to talk louder when using cell phones than when using regular phones. Banning cell phones is the most extreme way of solving the problem. As I see it, there are a couple of ways to remedy the situation.

One way is with technology. The microphones in mobile phones are sometimes not the best quality, leading people to talk louder (consciously or unconsciously) in order to make themselves heard. However, one of the features that landline phones have and few, if any, cell phones have is the user can hear himself in the receiver. This helps control his volume because he can be sure his voice is being received.

Another way is with regulations. The most drastic measure is banning phones from certain areas. The problem with that is that people will always smuggle phones in, especially as they get smaller and smaller. To counteract this, I suspect many places will start searching people as they enter, which will just upset a lot of people. Some movie theaters do this already to stop camcorders from filming the movie.

However, regulations can simply add heavy fines to mobile phone violators, such as people who drive while using them. Again, this won't discourage many people, who will simply put up a fight when confronted; speeding is illegal yet people do it all the time.

An alternative to adding regulations is to simply ease regulations, i.e. have the FCC relax the ban on radio jammers. Originally created to ensure vital services (police, fire, medical, etc.) are able to send and receive radio transmissions, these regulations make it illegal for most people to own and use cell phone (Read more)

In this installment of Questions and Answers, we discuss how to handle a work cell phone and a product that can ease transitioning from one provider to another. Got a question you want answered? Submit your question here. Got something to add to the answers below? Leave a comment.

If you get a cell phone from your work, should you keep a personal cell phone as well? - Missy

In short, the answer is yes, definitely still get a personal cell phone. The reason is simple, since your employer has provided the cell phone for you everything you do (pictures, text messages, e-mail) on that cell phone is the property of your employer. Try to think of the work cell phone as you would think about your work computer. What would you do on your work computer? Probably not many of the activities you do on your home computer. Additionally, some employers restrict certain cell phone features such as a camera and accessing personal e-mail, so you might need to get your own cell phone anyway. Finally, when you go on vacation from work do you really want to be tied to your work cell phone where anyone from work can reach you? How much will you enjoy that vacation?

I have a Sprint Rumor, but I recently switched to AT&T. Can I use the rumor with AT&T? Do I have to get an unlock code?-dn

Unfortunately, you will not be able to use your Rumor with AT&T service. Sprint and AT&T use different networks: Sprint uses CDMA and AT&T uses GSM. This means the Rumor will not be compatible with AT&T service. You'll need to get a new AT&T cell phone or GSM-enabled cell phone to use with your AT&T service. However, if you'd like to save your contacts and other information (pictures, etc) on the Rumor and port it over to the new AT&T cell phone you can with the Universal DataPilot Kit. That should make the cell phone transition a lot easier for you.

We asked Bloggers around the Internet about their thoughts on social networking sites for cell phones. We wanted to know what it would take to make them as popular on cell phones as they seem to be on the Internet. Our first post comes from Steve Litchfield. To read more from Steve, check out his blog:

This is indeed a big issue. In fact, it's just about the Holy Grail of mobile communications. Our lives, on both desktop and mobile, are so fragmented. What's needed is a way of integrating (in approximate order of importance)in a sensible way.:

• Contacts
• Chat
• Media
• Blog feeds
• Presence (and Calendar)

But, like Facebook, it needs to reach a certain critical mass before it'll take off properly.

In fact, it's tempting to quote the mobile sites of sites like Facebook (m.facebook.com) as the most popular mobile social network. But these are hosted by a web browser, have limited (or no) syncing to phone native Contacts and Calendar, and have no concept of presence (i.e. where in the world you are).

Think of what's needed (the five points above). Then think of who is the biggest Internet and mobile company in the world. Google. And then remind yourself that Google bought a little Finnish company called Jaiku last year. Jaiku was an S60-native (OK, so not every phone in the world runs S60, but it's a heck of a good start) social network client, pulling together contacts, chat, feeds and presence (in every sense). But it was a tiny company crying out for big boy attention.

And then Google bought it.

Not quite job done though, since Google have either been planning Jaiku v2 or using the expertise from the Jaiku engineers to further their mobile plans using other Google applications. And, despite Google's inexplicable six month's gestation of their acquisition, Jaiku remains by far the closest thing in the mobile world to the aforementioned 'Holy Grail'.

So we have a killer (but fairly small) mobile social app, plus the largest Internet company in the world - what else is needed? Heard of Open Social? It's Google's next generation attempt to solve the silly fragmented situation in the online world. We're talking one login, one set of contacts, one set of feeds, and so on.

I believe that we're within six months of all this coming together - I predict both S60 and Java clients released by Google for general download and for inclusion in phone firmware builds. The solution name? Google Friends? Maybe. It will encompass all of Jaiku's current functionality, while being easier to use, Open Social-compatible, linking in and from every other major social source using RSS technology AND it will be backed by the 800lb gorilla in the Internet room, backed with the might of Google.