PhoneTalk

Sprint offers a chance to chat with Survivor Samoa's Russell Hantz

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Monday, February 08, 2010 (permalink)

I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see the return of last season's Survivor Russell Hantz (who was also Sprint's Player of the Season) on the new season Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Sprint is offering a way for fans to submit questions to Russell during an online chat on Tuesday, Feb 9th. The live online chat with Russell Hantz at http://community.sprint.com/ will start at 1 p.m. ET/12 Noon CT. If you have questions for Hantz, just register at Sprint's online community and submit questions prior to the schedule chat or during. I, for one, want to know how he knew to look for the idols and if he plans on doing it again. What would you ask?

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Verizon's latest accessory offers 1,000 songs on a microSD card

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, February 03, 2010 (permalink)

Ever have trouble getting music onto a BlackBerry? Consider the latest accessory to help you do the job from SanDisk. It's called slotRadio+. Essentially it's a microSD card loaded with a 1,000 songs from top artists of the past few decades. In addition to the 1,000 songs included on the microSD card there's also 4GB of free memory space that can be used to store other media including photos, videos and even more music. slotRadio+ costs $49.99, which might seem pretty expensive. However, a basic 4GB card will cost about $10 and purchasing 1,000 new songs can be pretty spendy (downloading all those songs would easily exceed the card's price tag). The music accessory isn't available for all cell phones. In fact, it's only available for these Verizon BlackBerry models: BlackBerry Curve 8530, BlackBerry Pearl 8130, BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230, BlackBerry Storm/Storm2, BlackBerry Tour 9630, and BlackBerry® 8830 World Edition.

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New York cab drivers face stiff penalties for violating cell phone driving laws

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 (permalink)

If you've been in a New York cab over the past 5 years, you've probably seen your driver using a cell phone. Maybe you mind, maybe you don't, but the crack down for cab drivers violating New York cell phone driving laws is starting to happen. According to this NY1 article it's time for cab drivers to hang up the cell phone while driving. This includes using a wired or Bluetooth headset. They can still use a cell phone if the car is parked. So what happens to cab drivers if they get caught using a cell phone while driving? They face a $200 fine. If they get caught three times within a 15 month period, their taxi license will be revoked.

What do you think of the crack down on New York cab drivers? Let us know. Have any taxi cab stories you want to share? Let us know by posting a comment below.

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T-Mobile to replace some BlackBerry trackballs

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Monday, February 01, 2010 (permalink)

If you've had trouble with the trackball on the BlackBerry Pearl 8100/8120 or the BlackBerry Curve 8320 you could be in luck. According to this article on Electronista, T-Mobile will replace the faulty trackballs free of charge. You'll have to wait until February 15th when the program starts to make the change. The BlackBerry in question does need to be purchased from T-Mobile in order to comply with the program.

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Apple iPad: Video overview

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, January 29, 2010 (permalink)

Here's Apple's video introducing the iPad. What do you think? Is the Apple iPad going on your must-have list? If it is do you want one with AT&T service?

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Middle school boys use more cell phone tech

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, January 29, 2010 (permalink)

The results of a study of how 1,000 middle school students use their cell phones conducted by the UAB Department of Sociology and Social Work show that boys tend to do more with their cell phones than girls. According to the study both boys and girls text and talk on a cell phone. However, boys tend to use more of a cell phone's features such as playing games, listening to music, and sharing photos. Overall, about 60 to 70 percent of middle school kids have cell phones these days. It's an interesting study on usage behavior, but it does seem that kids do text a lot so parents should get an unlimited texting plan for their kids. What do you think of the study? is this how the middle school kids you know use their cell phones? Let us know.

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Palm Pixi Plus video overview

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, January 28, 2010 (permalink)

At CES this year Palm announced the next two models available with the company's new WebOS: the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus both available for Verizon Wireless. We offer a quick overview of the Palm Pixi Plus in the video below and go over some of the new features.

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Apple iPad: Demystified

by Guest Blogger
Thursday, January 28, 2010 (permalink)

This post comes from Rob Tyrell of LetsTalk.com

So far, we definitely know what the iPad isn’t. It isn’t a phone, a netbook, or a camera. So what market does it seek to tap into? The most concise explanation seems to be that it’s a big iPod Touch. Apple wants to market the device primarily as an entertainment system. It’s an e-reader (although the battery life is not as good as the Kindle), movie and music player, and a web browser. It will also be compatible with all the apps already available on the Apple app store. Most reviews are saying it won’t replace netbooks because it doesn’t have USB ports or expandable storage, making it less powerful as a work device. Most likely it will be most popular as a portable movie player and web browser for hanging out on the couch and for entertainment while traveling. No doubt it will be popular, but the geeky blogosphere doesn’t seem particularly excited about it now that they’ve seen its capabilities.

Standard apps that come pre-loaded on the device include a mobile Safari web browser, an e-book reader app called iBooks, a calendar app, two-pane email app, contacts, notes, Google Maps, media player, photo viewer, iTunes store, and App Store to download third-party applications and games.

Basic iPad Specifications

The device has a 9.7-inch display, weighs 1.5 pounds, and is half-an-inch thick. It is powered by a new chip made by Apple itself, a 1GHz A4, and will come with 16GB to 64GB of storage. It supports WiFi, has an accelerometer, compass, and built-in speaker and microphone, just like the iPhone. The screen is a full capacitive multi-touch screen. Battery life is supposed to be 10 hours. In addition to WiFi, it will have a 3G option from AT&T that will be available with two data plans: $14.99 a month for 250MB of data or $29.99 for unlimited data. All the 3G iPads, however, will be unlocked, meaning they can be used on other carriers as well. Here’s a list of the basic specs:

• 1GHz Apple A4 processor (custom)
• 0.5-inch thick
• 1.5 pounds
• 9.7-inch Capacitive touch screen (1024×768)
• 16GB to 64GB of SSD storage
• 3G available but not in all iPads
• 3G iPads are unlocked, have GSM micro SIMs
• Accelerometer, Compass
• 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1
• Runs iPhone apps
• Hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics
• Dock with a hard keyboard available
• Full specs can be found by visiting Apple.com.

3D Coverage Options

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Palm Pre Plus video overview

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 (permalink)

At CES this year Palm announced the next two models available with the company's new WebOS: the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus both available for Verizon Wireless. We offer a quick overview of the Palm Pre Plus in the video below and go over some of the new features.

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LG Lotus Elite: Is this the ultimate pocket friendly cell phone?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 (permalink)

The latest model in the LG Lotus line of cell phones for Sprint, the LG Lotus Elite keeps the same small form factor but adds a ton of functionality: namely an external touchscreen for easy navigation without ever having to open the cell phone. See how it works in this video demo taken at CES.

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