PhoneTalk

June is Safe Driving Month and there are still a few days left. We’re giving away the next generation of the Motorola Roadster 2 Handsfree In-Car Speakerphone to help drivers keep their hands on the wheel while driving. The universal (works with most Bluetooth phones) accessory lets you stream music and calls through the built-in speakerphone or the car stereo. In addition to many of the features found in the previous version, this model will also work with the new Motorola Car Finder app that automatically marks where the car has been parked and then can provide walking or driving directions to help you return to the car.

In honor of Safe Driving Month we’re giving you a chance to win a Motorola Roadster 2. All you need to enter is follow LetsTalk on Twitter and retweet: Win a MOTOROLA ROADSTER 2 Bluetooth! #MOTOLT

Note: Only one entry per person per day through Twitter. The giveaway has just begun and ends Sunday, June 30th at 11:59pm Pacific Time. So, be sure to spread the word on Twitter.

Dads do so much for us and often help us find solutions to our problems. Why not return the favor this Father's Day with one of these accessories for his phone? Whether your Dad loves to listen to music, spends tons of time in the great outdoors, or just loves gadgets we’ve got him covered. One of these accessories will help him get the most out of his cell phone.

Give Dad more juice

With cell phones performing more and more functions these days it’s not surprising that some have a problem staying charged all day. Is your Dad’s cell phone always running out of power at the most inopportune times? Consider getting him the Energizer Portable Charger. This pocket-friendly charger can be used with any cell phone that has a mini-USB or micro-USB (that’s what’s on most smartphones) port.

A phone case that’s as rugged as Dad

Are you more likely to find your Dad outdoors hiking, rafting, or biking? Help him keep his cell phone protected with the Grace Digital Audio Eco Extreme Rugged Case. Just about any smartphone (even iPhones and iPods) will fit comfortably in the case. Plus if the phone has a 3.5mm headset jack (most phones do) they can even listen to their favorite playlist through the case’s speaker. Since this rugged case is also waterproof it will standup to just about any outdoor activity your dad loves.

Glasses for Dads who love gadgets

There are tons of Bluetooth headsets available, but how many of them are also a pair of sunglasses? That’s the idea behind the Qi-Wear Stereo Bluetooth Sunglasses. Equipped with a built-in Bluetooth headset and dual microphones for ambient noise cancellation, these sunglasses let Dad take calls on his cell phone and listen to music when he wears them. Plus they have an Ultra-Dura anti-scratch coating that will help keep the lenses from getting scratched. These sunglasses will do more than just keep the sun out of your Dad’s eyes.

Give Dad the gift of music

Does your Dad love to use his cell phone as an MP3 player? If so, help him set his music free with the QuikCell Sphere Portable Wireless Speaker. This compact speaker plugs right into the 3.5mm headset jack on his phone so he can hear the music on his phone wherever he wants. So whether he’s in the office or in a hotel traveling for business he’ll be able to listen to the music on his phone without a headset.

This mount will help keep Dad’s hands on the wheel and not on the phone (Read more)

Last month, we gave away three Beats by Dre audio products. To enter the contest, you had to visit LetsTalk’s Facebook page, select the “Win A Prize” tab and fill out the entry form.

The Giveaway is now closed and the winners have been selected. So join us in congratulating the winners:

• Jared Vitala won a beatbox
• Reginald Nazaire received Solo HD Headphones
• Kathy Goldberg won iBeats

LetsTalk's latest giveaway will be music to your ears. What can you win? One runner up will receive Solo High Performance Headphones and the grand prize winner will get a beatbox High Definition Audio System. All you have to do to enter the Giveaway is visit LetsTalk’s Facebook page and click this link to enter. While you’re there, don’t forget to “Like” the company’s Facebook page. We should note that you only need to enter once to win and selecting/deselecting "Like" on Facebook will not increase your chances of winning.

The giveaway starts today and goes through March 29, 2011. Becoming a fan of LetsTalk’s Facebook page will help keep you informed about the latest cell phone news, let you know when the most popular phones are available, and more. As a special bonus if LetsTalk makes it to 85,000 fans by March 29th there will be a mystery Beats by DR DRE prize. So, be sure to spread the word.

Ever wish the music on your cell phone could be a bit louder without needing to attach it to a Bluetooth speaker? Check out Boost from iFrogz. The idea is simple: launch the music app on a smartphone, press play, and then place the phone on the Boost device and suddenly the music playing on the phone is a lot louder. Boost uses Near Field Audio technology to amplify the sound coming from the phone. Music actually sounds better since you don’t need to increase the volume, which can distort the audio quality, to make it louder. Boost will be available this spring for $39.99.

Looking for a new Verizon cell phone, but aren't really interested in getting one that requires a data plan? We can help. We've compiled a list of all Verizon cell phones currently available that don't require a data plan.

If you want a phone that can make calls, take pictures, play music, and send texts check out the models listed below. If you want to send texts, you'll need to include that option when you select a plan. Verizon offers messaging in many of the company's Talk and Text plans. You'll find many of these phones are good starter models for tweens and teens. In particular, the LG Cosmos Touch is a touchscreen phone that has lots of functionality and expandable memory. This makes it an ideal choice for people who want to do more with a cell phone, but aren't quite ready for a smartphone.

• Casio G'zOne Ravine
• Casio G'zOne Ravine 2
• LG Cosmos 2
• LG Cosmos Touch
• LG Octane
• LG Revere
• Pantech Hotshot
• Pantech Jest 2
• Samsung Convoy
• Samsung Gusto
• Samsung Intensity II

In this edition, we cover Google Music, the new Casio G'Zone Ravine 2 for Verizon, and Sprint's new data plans. In the test drive, we take a closer look at the DROID Razr by Motorola.

At a press conference today, Google took the wraps off its music offering. The product called Google Music is available for U.S. residents to start using today. Essentially, the service is part cloud storage, part music store, and part music discovery.

Let’s start with the cloud part. You can upload up to 20,000 songs free to your own Google Music Locker using the Google Music Manager. There’s no fee to do this and the idea behind doing this is so that you can access your music on any device. Once you have a song in the cloud, you can select songs by artist, playlist, or album to be played on an Android device without an Internet connection.

Google’s music store can be found in the Android Market. There will a free song featured daily. First free song is David Bowie’s Sound and Vision. To celebrate the launch of the service there are a few more free songs available (most of the songs are from live performances) from Shakira, Rolling Stones, Busta Rhymes, ColdPlay, Pearl Jam, and Dave Matthews Band. The store can be accessed online or from any smartphone running Android 2.2 OS or later.

Once you purchase a song you can share it with your friends, even the ones who don’t use Google+ - those people get an e-mail, so they can play the song once. If they like it they can buy it. That’s part of the discovery. Of course, Google will suggest music recommendations as well – another way to discover new music.

Along with Google, T-Mobile announced that it would be offering its customers with Android 2.2 (or later) smartphones and tablets exclusive free Google Music from artists such as Maroon 5, Drake, and others. The company will introduce new free tracks weekly through the end of the year in the Android Music Store. Customers should look for the T-Mobile’s Free Tracks Section. Plus, T-Mobile customers who purchase songs from Google Music using their Android smartphone or tablet can have the cost of the music added to their bill – no need to setup a PayPal account or enter credit card info.

In this week's edition, we cover the new Nokia Windows Phone models, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, and does a test drive of the Voice Talk feature on the Samsung Galaxy Epic Touch 4G. Finally, details on how to enter the Halloween Scavenger Hunt. Click here for a chance to win.

Cloud storage is becoming more and more popular these days. In case you don’t know, “cloud” storage is a way to have access to all your data (pictures, music, files, videos, etc) from virtually any device with an Internet connection. SugarSync is all about cloud storage with a version of its app for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, and more. Today, the company has announced a few noteworthy additions to its BlackBerry app.

The additions include the option of adding a PIN code to access the app for added security, the ability to sync items stored on the BlackBerry’s microSD card to the SugarSync cloud, and a direct folder sync so that you can make changes to a file when not connected to the cloud and easily update those changes when back online. Interested in trying out the app? The company offers a free 5GB version of the app and for those who need more storage there’s a 30GB plan for $4.99 a month or $50 a year. You can download the app at the SugarSync site or from the BlackBerry app world on your phone.

The popular music application, Slacker Radio, for smartphones just got better. The company announced a new version of the service called Slacker Radio Premium with a $9.99 monthly subscription fee. Besides offering an ad-free experience (a feature that is expected when paying for the app), it also has a lot more functionality including on-demand access to the music you want.

The on-demand feature is exactly what is sounds like: you can search, play, and even replay specific songs or entire albums. You can also see complete song lyrics, see the next artist, album, or song, and keep all "Favorite" songs in one spot. The most interesting feature that we look forward to trying out is the ability to playback stations, playlists, and albums while offline (Note: This feature is only available for the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry and Android smartphones. If this sounds good to you, Slacker Radio is offering a free trial of Slacker Premium Radio on Facebook for a limited time.