PhoneTalk

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)

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)

Looking for a messaging phone that's both stylish and practical? Check out the latest offering from Boost Mobile, the Sanyo Innuendo by Kyocera. At first glance, the cell phone looks like a basic model sporting a streamlined designed: there are no raised buttons on the face of the phone. You'll find there's more to this phone when you flip it open to reveal a full tactile QWERTY keyboard that makes sending messages and emails (access web-based accounts like Gmail, MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL) a breeze. It also sports a 3.2-megapixel camera that can record video, music player, GPS, and can accept up to a 32GB microSD card. You can get the phone with Boost Mobile's $50 Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan, that includes unlimited talk, text, Web, and email. If you make six-on-time payments the monthly bill will shrink by $5 each month (when paid on time) until the bill gets as low as $35 a month.

Today, Verizon added to new cell phones to its line-up of Android phones: the military-grade G'Zone Commando and the follow-up to the popular DROID Incredible, the DROID Incredible 2 by HTC. In short, the Casio G'Zone Commando is a rugged Android 2.2 smartphone with multiple G’zGEAR modes to make the most of outdoor operation (Earth Compass, Walking Counter, Adventure Training, Trip Memory, Tides, Thermometer, Sun/Moon, and Star Gazer). It also sports many of the features we've come to expect in an Android phone including a 5-megapixel camera with LED light, stereo Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity with the ability to share the 3G data connection with up to five WiFi-enabled devices, and even includes high-security encryption for corporate e-mail.

If you liked the DROID Incredible by HTC you'll appreciate the updates found in the new DROID Incredible 2 by HTC. For starters, this cell phone is a bit wider since it has a 4-inch display and a bit faster with its 1GHz processor running the Android 2.2 OS out-of-the-box. Also, of note is the phone's 8-megapixel camera with the ability to record videos in 720p HD and its support of Adobe Flash Player so it will have a more fluid web-based video experience. Although this cell phone won't be a 4G LTE model, you can still share the smartphone's data connection with up to five other WiFi-enabled devices via the Mobile HotSpot feature.

Both cell phones will be available later this week.

Verizon's first 4G LTE cell phone arrives this week. The Thunderbolt by HTC was first announced at CES. There's a lot to like about the Android 2.2 smartphone with HTC Sense starting with its speedy 4G LTE service (where available), which offers download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area. The cell phone sports a spacious 4.3-inch display for watching movies, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera that can record 720p HD videos and a 1.3-megapixel front facing video camera for video chats, a speedy 1GHz processor, and 8GB of onboard memory as well as a 32GB microSD card. If you like watching movies on a cell phone, you'll really appreciate how easy it is to do with the cell phone's built-in kickstand.

The Thunderbolt by HTC is available now for pre-order by clicking this link. As for the plan, you'll need to get at least a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan (starts at $39.99 a month) and a 4G LTE data package ($29.99 a month). If you want to use the Thunderbolt by HTC as a mobile HotSpot - sharing the data connection with up to eight other WiFi-enabled devices - it will cost an extra $20 a month. Here's a bonus: The mobile HotSpot Broadband Connect feature will be included free for two months. So you can give it a try at no extra charge.

Click this link to learn more about Verizon's 4G LTE service.

The latest version of the popular location-based check-in application foursquare has a new version available for iPhone and Android users dubbed foursquare 3.0. The latest update to the app focuses on three main enhancements Discovery, Encouragement, and Loyalty. First, Discovery comes in the form of a new tab called "Explore." Don't know where to go, but have an idea of what you want? Choose the Explore tab, put in a fairly vague topic such as "nightlife" and see the suggestions. When it comes to encouragement, foursquare is up'ing the check-in ante with an improved Leaderboard. Finally, improved loyalty options will be available in the coming weeks. Read: You don't have to be mayor to get a special.

We just downloaded the free Android update and are excited to test out the new features. An update for BlackBerry cell phones is coming this week as well, though it won't have all the 3.0 enhancements. As always, foursquare is a free application, however, you may want to pay attention to battery life on your phone when its running since it can effect battery life depending on your settings. To help conserve battery life use the cell phone towers triangulation GPS method instead of the actual GPS in your phone to check-in. In the meantime, if you want to know more about the Foursquare updates read the company's blog post.

Want a cell phone that you can use on the slopes or at the beach? That's the idea behind Verizon's latest rugged cell phone, the Casio G’zOne Ravine. In addition to its rugged design, the Ravine comes with quite a few outdoor-centric apps installed such as a Walking Counter, Astro Calendar for following the cycles of the moon, Thermometer, Tides to help follow what's happening with the current, Earth Compass, and more. Also on board are push-to-talk functionality, 3.2-megapixel camera, VZ Navigator, voice recorder, and of course a multitude of messaging options.

We've seen glimpses of the new BlackBerry OS for a few months now and finally, today BlackBerry unveiled the BlackBerry Torch. The latest BlackBerry for AT&T will run RIM's new OS 6 and sports a design that we haven't seen from BlackBerry yet. The Torch will have a spacious 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen (that's just a smidge smaller than the one found on the BlackBerry Storm that slides up to reveal a full tactile QWERTY keyboard, much like the design of the Palm Pre. The cell phone has a sleeker looking design than the Storm, but measures just about as thick. It also has a 624Mhz processor (not as fast as the one found on the HTC EVO 4G, but still plenty fast), WiFi (support for 802.11n - more secure WiFi), 4GB of memory on board and will also come with a 4GB microSD card. Additionally, the cell phone has a 5-megapixel camera with flash and 2x digital zoom and the ability to record video. Did we mention it's also a world phone so you can use it in other spots around the globe.

The real story here is what the new OS 6 has to offer:

Universal Search: You can simply type on the home screen to find something. Universal search will scan folders, apps, Internet, email, and more.

Improved Web Browsing: The web experience is more like the one you find on your computer at home. The user experience is much improved over the web experience on current BlackBerry smartphones. It even offers tabbed browsing so you can have multiple web pages open simultaneously.

Social Media: In the new OS, all your social media feeds appear in one place via RSS feeds. When you type an update you can send it to a single social media account (Twitter, Facebook, etc), or to all your social media accounts.

Multimedia: There's now an integrated YouTube app. There's geotagging for photos so the cell phone will automatically add the location of where the photo was taken. Finally, the WiFi music sync lets you tag music not on the device for future syncing.

Finally, at the press conference it was announced that the BlackBerry Torch will be available with AT&T service on August 12th for $199 with a new contract.

Last month, Verizon announced the Motorola DROID X. The new Android phone sports a 4.3-inch display, the ability to record video in 720p HD and a microHDMI port, features found on Sprint's HTC EVO 4G. However, it has a few more features that differentiate it from the the EVO 4G. For staters, while the cell phone comes with Google's Android 2.1 OS it will receive an over-the-air update to Android 2.2 in the coming months. It also has 8GB of on-board memory and comes with a 16GB microSD card. What are you going to do with all that storage space? Probably a lot since it also has the BlockBuster movie rental/purchase app on it, a 8-megapixel camera, and of course a music player. To see the Motorola DROID X up close watch the video below and to learn more about it read our expert review of the latest Motorola Android phone by clicking this link.

The Pantech Pursuit for AT&T is a quick messaging cell phone that makes it easy to send messages and even stay up to date on social media accounts. It also has a few other extra features including multiple menu screens, a slide-out tactile QWERTY keyboard, 2-megapixel camera, and driving directions via AT&T Navigator. What's different about it is the cell phone's size - it's not too big, or too small, but is it just right? Watch the video below to decide for yourself.

The Garminfone has been a long time coming and now that it's finally here, is it the ultimate GPS cell phone? Well, you tell us by leaving a comment below. One of the pluses of the Garminfone is that you don't need a connection to find your way around. It also runs the Android 2.1 OS. To see more of the what the cell phone has to offer check out this video by LetsTalk's Pat Connor.