PhoneDog.com - The latest about Lifestyle

ARTICLE: Offbeat News: Americans send 4.1 billion text messages daily

11/11/2009 3:25:00 PM

Yep, you read the title correctly - Americans send approximately 4.1 billion text messages on a daily basis.

That works out to 14 text messages per day by every mobile phone user in the United States (keep in mind that this number is an average - the texting teenager is probably sending far more messages than the bank executive). In the past six months alone, mobile users in the United States have sent over 740 billion text messages. With numbers like those, we're on the way to passing 2008's record of one trillion text messages sent.

I'm all for dissecting figures like this by using practical examples, so Yahoo! Tech writer Ben Patterson's math shocked me. Here's an excerpt:

"An SMS has a maximum capacity of 160 characters, so let's say (for the sake of example) that your average text message is about 80 characters long. And let's assume that your average novel contains about 100,000 words, and each word has about five letters. So ... assuming all that (and keeping in mind that my math is a little shaky), we here in the States are writing the equivalent of about 656,000 books—all via SMS—every 24 hours. At that rate, we could match the entire catalog of the entire New York Public Library system (which holds about 20.4 million books) in a little over a month."

Other facts from the CTIA study included:

The average cell phone bill in June 2009 was $49.57, up more than a buck from June 2008 (man, I wish my bill was that cheap).
The average length of a voice call was just 2.03 minutes, shorter than any other year since the CTIA started keeping records in 1988.
There are about 276,610,580 wireless subscribers in the U.S., up about 14 million from last year, and more than double the number in 2002.
The various wireless carriers that reported for the CTIA study raked in $151.2 billion in revenue from June 2009 to June 2008, doubling what they made in 2002.

There you have it. Text messaging up, voice usage declining (and these figures are just for the US). Is this something to be concerned about, or is it just the natural evolution of communication?

Via: Yahoo! Tech, AfterDawn

ARTICLE: Happy Halloween!

10/30/2009 12:33:00 PM

Thinking of dressing up as your favorite handset tomorrow? Please don’t let one of these epic costume fails happen to you:

Instead, why not show off your techno-wizardry, like the iPhone lovers below? But be warned: It’s not for the faint of heart. They used 42-inch LCD displays and car batteries between their legs (yikes!) to create their giant 85-lbs 3GS reproductions.

Congratulations on this serious piece of geekery, gentlemen. I bow to your tech fu.

2009 Best iPhone Costume ever (Click the link to see the video)

ARTICLE: How your cell can be used to put you under surveillance

10/29/2009 7:02:00 PM

Imagine this: You lose your phone in a taxi, a restaurant, a party or even just out in the street. Lucky you, some kind person calls the first friend in your addressbook, and soon you’ve got your phone back. It happens all the time. (It’s happened to me at least a few.) A nervewracking moment, followed by a happy ending — end of story, right?

But what if the phone-finder isn’t a kind stranger? What if the person is an opportunist out to take your money, steal your identity or even just satisfy some inner neurosis by spying on you. In today’s world, this isn’t too hard to believe. More importantly, it isn’t hard to do.

The WhyTelecom blog recently posted a video from WAVY-TV (Virginia) featuring a news report the station aired last year. It shows how frighteningly easy it is to turn a mobile phone into a surveillance tool. The guy in the video downloads software and spends just 10 minutes with the reporter’s handset. Now he’s got remote activation that lets him eavesdrop on calls as well as live conversations (using the built-in speakerphone function), observe text messages and track the owner’s location via GPS.

It didn’t surprise me that the tech is there to support this kind of illicit functionality, but seeing it in action sent shivers up my spine. Phone calls to the bank, keystrokes for various account numbers, directions for friends leading to your address (which, combined with GPS, lets people know when you’re not home) — all of this potentially laid bare to someone with dishonest intentions. The worst part? It can be done without you — the owner — having any idea that it’s going on.

What’s the takeaway here? Never, ever let your phone out of your sight.

To see the video, click here.

[via WhyTelecom]

ARTICLE: Phones for the disgustingly wealthy

10/25/2009 9:35:00 PM

We’re pretty sure none of these ridiculously priced handsets will be on your upcoming holiday lists, but what the heck? Let’s take a quick look at how the other half lives anyway.

As usual, whenever I look at the buying habits of rich people, I’m left with more questions than answers: Are these trinkets ostentatious? Absolutely. Expensive? Of course. But most “old money” biddies wouldn’t be caught dead with these, and Hollywood starlets tend to sport BlackBerries, iPhones and Pres. So then, who exactly is buying these things? Somebody must be, because phone manufacturers keep making them.

Motorola Aura Diamond Edition
I won’t lie: I’m one of the few that actually liked the aesthetics of the original Aura. Not that I had the ducats to blow on it, but it was sleek, modern-looking and only just bling-y enough to appeal to the crazy Daily Candy–lovin’ girl in me. But this special edition Aura is a bit too over-the-top, even for my tastes.

The handset is plated in gold, and features a solid 18-karat gold nav key as well as 30+ round-cut diamonds set in arcs above and below the circular screen. It’s available on October 26 at £3500 (or $5,700), that is, for trust fund babies who wouldn’t have to trade in their 401k’s for it.

via: Pocket Lint

The Mobiado Grand 350 Pioneer
Part of Mobiado’s Grand Line, this GSM handset was crafted in honor of NASA’s Pioneer 10 spacecraft, launched 37 years ago. Each unit will have a limited edition number engraved on it, as well as the Pioneer 10’s launch date (March 3, 1972).

It sports 24-karat gold-plated screws, sapphire crystal and stainless steel buttons, and a ruby infrared screen (not to mention HSDPA, Wifi, GPS, QVGA screen, 3.2 MP camera, and a 2.5mm jack, for people who care about such things). But just as in life, so it goes with phones — the real meat is in the backside: The battery cover is made out of materials from the actual Gibeon meteorite discovered in Namibia in 1836 — 90% iron and 8% nickel, plus bits of phosphorus and cobalt. The battery cover also features a variation on the original Pioneer 10 plaques, which offered info about the human race for any extraterrestrial beings that would’ve encountered the ship.

This is nerd gear elevated to an unbelievable extreme. While a price hasn’t been announced yet, there are only 37 being manufactured, so it won’t be cheap. (I guess if you have to ask you can’t afford it).

via: Mobile Crunch, Unwired View

Vertu Constellation Ayxta
People of means have form-factor preferences too. For those discriminating users who turn their noses up at candy bar-style phones, Vertu offers a clamshell flip model called the Constellation Ayxta. It offers a stainless steel frame with ceramic, leather, and lightweight aluminum detailing, as well as a sapphire crystal screen. It even has a set of exclusive ringtones recorded by Zero 7.

But when it comes to this 3G device, which has a 3MP camera with flash and an 8 GB microSD slot, specs and hardware aren’t really the point; service is. This hand-crafted, leather-trimmed handset offers built-in access to the company’s 24-hour-a-day concierge service. At the push of a single button, clients can bark orders at a customer service agent from anywhere in the world. The Vertu Select service is also on board, so users can call up exclusive “lifestyle information,” like trendy nightclubs and restaurants in any location on their itineraries.

And for that privilege, the price is just a measly $6,500—$10,000. Far less expensive than having a traveling man servant on board, so it’s actually rather frugal, no?

via: Luxist, T3

ARTICLE: Statistics show we’re all voracious cell phone users

9/23/2009 8:37:00 PM

I have a confession: I still have my old Samsung A670. (I also have an old Sammy A970 and a Motorola StarTac, as well as other phones and accessories. I’m thinking of starting an old cell tech museum in my apartment.)

The urge to purge clearly holds no sway in my home. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. According to iamgreen, cell phones are responsible for an enormous amount of waste and an eye-popping cumulative impact on the environment. To get the message across, it put together an infographic outlining a few crazy stats:

• 61 percent of the world’s 6.7 billion have cell phone subscriptions

• The average user gets rid of his or her phone within a year of getting it

• A typical phone uses the energy equivalent of 32 gallons of gas and emits 112kg of CO2 in a year of use

• 140 million cell phones wind up in landfills each year, leeching 80,000 pounds of lead into the earth (and disposing of $56 million worth of gold as well)

I can’t vouch for these statistics, but even if just one of them is true, it’s still a startling picture of today’s cellular lifestyle. As far as my own hoarding of phones is concerned, I would do better donating the ones that still function (if anyone’s willing to use them). At least they can spare someone a little expense, and save the resources required to manufacture and transport new ones. It may not be much, but at least it’s a start.

[via Yahoo! Tech]

For those interested, the full infographic follows.

ARTICLE: Top 10 phones ranked by radiation emission

9/17/2009 2:47:00 PM

It can get pretty confusing to know what’s good or bad for you. Whenever the scientific community starts to get behind one theory or another, naysayers always emerge that challenge the mainstream thinking. Fat is bad — wait, some kinds are good. Drink lots of water. Um, but doesn't it have fluoride and chlorine? Lead paint was once widely used, but it's since been linked to everything from Alzheimer’s to learning disabilities. In generations past, smoking was even encouraged by doctors as a pain reliever.

Now there seems to be debate about wireless devices and its impact on the human body. There are scientists on all sides researching whether cell phones emit radiation that causes cancer. While the jury may still out on that one, there are plenty of people who want to play it safe, just in case.

If you fall in that group, a recent report from the US Environmental Working Group (EWG) might interest you. In it, the organization identifies the top 10 phones that emit the most radiation, the majority of which tend to be smartphones.

To come up with the list, EWG measured the SAR (or Specific Absorption Rate of radiation from device to body) of several handsets. While none on the list exceed the international community’s acceptance limits for exposure to the head and trunk of the body (2W/Kg), bear in mind that there’s been some argument over whether this SAR is safe enough.

The 10 phones with the highest radiation rankings are:

Motorola MOTO VU204 - 1.55 W/kg
T-Mobile myTouch 3G - 1.55 W/kg
Kyocera Jax S1300 - 1.55 W/kg
Blackberry Curve 8330 - 1.54 W/kg
Motorola W385 - 1.54 W/kg
T-Mobile Shadow - 1.53 W/kg
Motorola C290 - 1.53 W/kg
Motorola i335 - 1.53 W/kg
Motorola MOTO VE240 - 1.52 W/kg
Blackberry Bold 9000 - 1.51 W/kg

The 10 lowest radiating devices are:

Samsung Impression (SGH-a877) - 0.35 W/kg
Motorola RAZR V8 - 0.36 W/kg
Samsung SGH-t229 - 0.38 W/kg
Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837) - 0.46 W/kg
Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627) - 0.47 W/kg
Samsung Gravity (SGH-t459) - 0.48 W/kg
T-Mobile Sidekick - 0.50 W/kg
LG Xenon (GR500) - 0.52 W/kg
Motorola Karma QA1 - 0.55 W/kg
Sanyo Katana II - 0.55 W/kg

BlackBerry’s popular Curve and Bold are on the upper echelon of radiation emissions, Samsung handsets seem to weigh in on the lower side, while Motorola is all over the scale. iPhone users (like myself) may notice that our handset of choice isn’t on either list. When EWG conducted its testing, the object of scrutiny was the 3G, whose maximum score of 1.19 W/kg placed it firmly in the middle.

Can earbuds help reduce exposure to the head? Again, this isn’t clear. Many scientists seem to think so, but some experts believe that, through induction, headphones can actually provide a link for radio frequencies to travel from the phone to the ear.

Wow. Contrary to what this researcher indicates, texting actually might be better than calling. Suddenly, SMS never seemed so attractive to me.

[The Ecologist via 9to5Mac]

P.S. Shout-out to dylabooty: Hope you catch this item, since it follows up your comments in the previous post nicely.

ARTICLE: iPhone app: ICEBeacon can save your bacon

9/10/2009 4:04:00 PM

Well, it seems like today is tragic scenario day. After writing up a post about a bloody, graphic video from Wales featuring the dangers of texting and driving, I get a lead on a new iPhone app for emergency situations.

If I had kids who wanted iPhones or iPod Touches, ICEBeacon would be the app that could convince me to get them. It’s an “in case of emergency” program that makes it simple to contact loved ones and provide vital information to first responders.

There’s a one-touch feature that sends four automated texts to predetermined contacts, and a profile page with name, picture ID, age, gender, blood type, allergy information, medical conditions and medications. Click-to-call links also include phone numbers for primary doctor, family contact and insurance provider.

Clearwave Mobile, the makers of ICEBeacon, have also submitted a GPS update for approval. This new feature will pinpoint the user’s location when the app gets activated and insert a link to the location in the four automated texts.

While there may be plenty of emergency applications in the App Store, this one’s tough to beat for ease-of-use. And let’s face it — if you’re in a car accident or other dire circumstance, “simple” is exactly what you want. But even if you never use it, you can feel good knowing that a portion of your purchase price will go to a worthwhile cause. Twenty-five cents of every $2.99 download is donated to the American Red Cross.

For users without iPhones, there’s also a BlackBerry version (for 8900, Storm and Bold), and a Palm version is currently in development. The service works in BlackBerry markets covering 60 countries, and iPhone markets spanning 81 countries. Premium service works on any phone on any network. For more information, hit up this link or click here to go to the iPhone App Store.

ARTICLE: App Review: RunKeeper Free/Pro for iPhone

9/1/2009 3:45:00 PM

UPDATED: See a few additional comments from RunKeeper's Jason Jacobs at the end of the review

So I started running a month or so ago. Mainly because I stopped working near my gym and needed to find another gym and wasn't sure which gym to join and all the while kept eating and drinking and eating some more and, well, looking for a gym and blogging about mobile tech doesn't really keep one fit, now does it? So one day I just put on my shoes and ran to an arbitrary spot and back and six or seven weeks later I'm somehow still at it.

Much of why I'm still at it is, I think, thanks to smartphone GPS fitness apps like RunKeeper. As I blogged about a few weeks ago, these sorts of apps are a godsend to folks who like to walk, run, or bike while listening to music and also tracking the time and distance of their activities - and, of course, while keeping their phone with them just in case it's needed.

While Apple and Nike's "Nike + iPod" system is probably the best known fitness tracker solution, several companies have tapped into the built-in GPS systems of modern smartphones to create fitness tracker apps that don't require additional hardware. FitnessKeeper Inc.'s RunKeeper is one such app for Apple's iPhone. I've been using both RunKeeper Free (Free) and RunKeeper Pro ($9.99) to track my runs for the past month, and while it has its flaws it's a nice option for iPhone owners who don't want to mess around with the additional hardware necessary to run Nike's system.

RunKeeper also offers a few nifty tricks that Nike + can't match, including the ability to track "non-stepping" activities like cycling and boating, and location data tracking, which powers RK's Google Maps integration. The latter is perhaps my favorite thing about the app, as it lets me track my route back on the computer, including speed and elevation plotted out over time. In other words, I can see just how slowly I climbed one hill or another on my run.

RunKeeper is pretty easy to use. Download and install it, fire it up, create a free account, wait for GPS to acquire a signal, and then tap the big "Start" button. Then you walk, run, bike, or otherwise move around, and when you're done you press "End." RK tracks your elapsed time and distance, shows you stats during and at the end of your activity, and also uploads your workout data to its servers. When you're not busy sweatin' it out, you can view your workout history - with maps - on your iPhone and on any flash-compatible Web browser.

There's more to it than that, of course. You can share your activities with the RK community via Facebook and twitter. You can use the Pro version to post geotagged photos and status updates along your routes (say, if you're on a bike tour) and share those photo-enhanced maps with your peeps. You can also use the pro version to speak audio stats to you as you workout and even program audio-guided interval workouts for specific training needs.

So great, lots of features. But does it work? Yeah, it does. Pretty well most of the time, in fact.

I started out with RK Free, which is basically RK Pro minus the audio voiceovers, custom workouts, photos/status updates, and playlist integration. And plus advertising. RK Free is a pretty good option for most folks, I'd think, unless you really want the Pro versions's softly encouraging female voice speaking splits to you every five minutes. Of course, now that I've got the Pro version I've come to really like those voiceovers, but that's how it goes, right? While RK Pro offers iPod playlist integration, which lets you launch a playlist when you hit RK's "Start Activity" button, you can also just use your RK Free with your iPod the old-fashioned way: by running the iPod in the background while RK Free runs on top of it.

So long as you've got decent GPS and network coverage where you're working out, both versions of Run Keeper do a nice job of tracking what they're supposed to track. My first couple of weeks running with RK resulted in alarmingly quick battery drains, and an email to the RK folks suggested that I might be in an area with weak 3G coverage and that I should disable 3G while using the app. I did, and it helped with battery life. More recently, AT&T upgraded cell tower coverage in my neck of the woods, and so I turned 3G back on while running. Wouldn't you know it, no more battery drain problems!

My runs have ranged from one to four and a half miles thus far. So far as I can tell, RK has tracked them accurately, though I did have one partially-mistracked run and another false start that - for whatever reasons - didn't get tracked at all. For a couple of days in a row, RK Pro would crash whenever I tried to enter its Preferences menu to integrate an iPod playlist, but my iPhone 3GS was having other issues around that time, as well. A clean system restore fixed all of the phone's problems, including the RK Pro issue.

My install of RK Pro is set to provide audio data every five minutes: Elapsed time, elapsed distance, and current pace. Current pace is useless - the RK folks tell me they're working on an improved algorithm for calculating pace, but for now it's pretty dicey at best. Sometimes my current pace is a sub-five minute mile, and others it's 13 minutes or more. My real pace is always somewhere in between, and I'll leave it at that. But the other data is nice - hearing my elapsed distance is a nice motivator, and just knowing that I've been out there for, say, 25 minutes lets me know when it's time to start heading for home - or if I should push myself to do another five or ten minutes on the road.

And like I said, the best part is checking the runkeeper.com website after a workout. The site shows weekly and monthly activity overviews as well as detailed data and maps for each workout. A much-needed feature currently in Beta is the ability to edit activity maps to correct erroneous GPS data. Right now you can change data points along a route to correct or extend a path, but you can't add data points or otherwise alter the elapsed time of an activity. So I can change a one-mile run to a four-mile run if the GPS tracking failed, but I can't also change the elapsed time of that run to reflect the corrected distance.

The guys behind Run Keeper are working hard on bug fixes and updates, and do a nice job of keeping their blog updated. So far they've had success in the Apple App Store Health and Fitness rankings, and it's deserved: RunKeeper is a nice app that combines useful fitness tracking and clever GPS data features with a homegrown feel (and I mean that in the best of ways). I can't vouch for RK's accuracy on the elite athlete level, but for the casual runner or enthusiast who owns an iPhone and wants a way to log his or her activity miles, both RunKeeper Free and RunKeeper Pro offer compelling solutions. Definitely recommended.

App Store Links: RunKeeper Free and RunKeeper Pro.

Update: Jason Jacobs, the man behind RunKeeper, dropped me a line just after this review was posted. A few comments of interest from him:

First, with current pace, we agree it can be choppy, especially at lower speeds. This should not affect the averages/totals at the end of your activity. We will soon be adding average pace during your activity, so you can see (and hear in RK Pro) what kind of pace you are keeping as you go. Second, the crashing you experienced had to do with a bug in RK Pro around iPod playlist integration. A delete/reinstall would resolve (as you noticed) and this has been fixed completely in the current build of RK Pro (1.6.0.12).

ARTICLE: Does an 8-year-old really need to have a texting gadget?

8/30/2009 11:41:00 AM

The New York Times recently ran an article called “They’re Old Enough to Text. Now What?” In it, author John Biggs outlines some age-appropriate gadgets, courtesy of HiTechMommy.com.

The story features a range of devices, from the Leapfrog Text and Learn, a toddler learning toy that looks like a cell phone, to actual mobile phones like the Sidekick LX for older kids. There are even texting services with products geared for young people. Kajeet.com offers the LG Rumor and other phones bundled with a plan package geared for grade schoolers. Pronto, an affordable text/email-only handheld for GetPeek.com, also comes with a texting plan aimed at pre-teens.

I found this kind of interesting — and a little confusing. If you believe the media, many parents can’t seem to pry their kids away from texting. Now there’s an article on how to get the young ones involved.

So I’m torn here. I obviously love mobile technology. (I wouldn’t have this job otherwise.) But if I had kids, would I want them to have texting handsets at such a young age? I’m not sure.

There are arguments that could be made for both sides: Handheld devices can enhance motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also allows parents to stay in touch with their kids at any time. But some researchers also think that the overuse of text-based communication can stunt other socialization skills, particularly in very young children. Some medical professionals even say repetitive eye strain or tendonitis can have long-term damaging effects on developing bodies.

The more I think about this, the more befuddling it gets. So I figured I’d tap the PD brain trust on this one, and appeal to you guys with one question: Do you think there’s such a thing as “too young for texting”?

[via The New York Times]

ARTICLE: 5,000: Thanks, everyone!

8/29/2009 1:40:00 PM

Thanks to everyone who follows, used to follow, and/or told someone else to follow. My only hope is that it's been worth it.

An appropriate celebration (i.e. show of thanks) will follow ;-D

ARTICLE: Mini-Review: Joby Gorillamobile Gadget Tripod

8/18/2009 7:20:00 PM

The idea behind the original Joby Gorillapod was simple, clever, and winning: Take a camera tripod, shrink it to handheld/tabletop size, and give it bendy legs that can wrap around bars and handles and other surfaces. The result was a popular little accessory that allowed point-and-shoot photographers to steady their pocket digicams and "mount" them on all sorts of weird surfaces like monkey bars and baby cribs in order to get shots that would have been shaky at best - and impossible to capture at worst - without Gorillapod.

Gorillapod was successful enough to spawn a few spin-offs, including the new Gorillamobile. The folks at Joby sent me a sample of the $29.99 Gorillamobile to take for a spin, and it's basically a Gorillapod with a few new interchangeable mounts that let you use the pod with a mobile phone or any other small, screw mount-less gadget. A lock clip system lets you swap between four included clip mounts: A standard camera tripod screw, a high-tech suction cup, and two "permanent" adhesive mounts.

I'm gonna level with you: I haven't tried the permanent adhesive mounts. Permanent scares me, and I don't have any gadgets that *really* need a clip mount stuck to them forever. I have tried the camera screw and suction cup mounts, though, and have been generally enamored - though slightly frustrated at times - of the whole setup. It's fun.

The deal with Gorillamobile is: 1) You have to make sure you're not overloading the thing with too heavy of a gadget, 2) You have to make sure you're not angling the tripod so far that the whole setup tips face-first under the weight of the gadget you've mounted, and 3) You have to learn how to use the suction cup properly. Oh yeah, there's a 4) The flexible legs seem to do better wrapped around semi-thick, round bars, than thinner or squarer ones, at least in my experience.

I tried using Gorillamobile with a few fancy cell phones as I would a regular camera tripod. The results were mixed until I started following those four guidelines I just mentioned. First off, the suction cup works via a tiny plastic lever. Before I read about that on Joby's website, I was trying to get the thing moist and pressure-suck it onto my phone, like one would with a normal, cheapo suction cup. The lever system works much better than a cheapo suction cup would, but you have to be careful not to accidentally disengage the lever when clipping the mount into the pod. I did that a few times. It could well just be that I'm clumsy, though.

Second of all, wrapping Gorillamobile's legs around thin bars - like those on the little lighting rig I have set up to shoot videos - does not work. The flexible legs need something of substance to grab onto. A look at the Gorillamobile site confirmed this for me: iPhones are happily Gorillamobiled around thick, foam-wrapped stroller and treadmill handles, not the thinner, bare-metal legs of a light stand. Point taken.

Third of all, Gorillamobile works great for holding a device and angling it so it's easy to use the device's screen and buttons. I mimiced Joby's website by wrapping my pod's legs around some handlebars and the thick wooden rods on our guest bed (see photo at top) and it worked great. That whole iPhone on a baby stroller thing? I could totally see the parents in my neighborhood gettin' down with Gorillamobile just like that. And if my car had a super-big handle on the glovebox? Total Gorillamobile action.

As it is, I keep running into Gorillamobile's limits, but I think that's just because I want to use the thing to turn my cameraphones into crazy, artsy, wild-angled image capturing machines. I actually tried filming my recent Samsung i8910HD unboxing video with the i8910HD mounted on the pod and then positioned above the subject matter from an overhead angle. Didn't work. The i8910HD is a beefy, heavy device, and the overhead angle was too much for Gorillamobile and its suction cup. And like I said, I didn't want to risk it with that permanent adhesive clip.

But I think if you use Gorillamobile as it's intended - as a mini tabletop tripod, wrapped around the cushy handles of your stroller, or curled about a nice, thick wooden dowel (bedpost?) - you'll find it a clever and sometimes quite useful little device. Thirty bucks is maybe a bit steep for something like this, but Joby isn't really competing with many other players in the space, so there's not much pressure on them to cheapen things up.

And the combo of camera screw mount and fancy suction cup gives Gorillamobile dual purposes in your life. Unless, like me, you only ever use your cameraphone and don't even own a digital camera (yeah, yeah, I have a fancy HD camcorder too, but that's different).

ARTICLE: buzzd survey: Drunk dialing/texting is rampant

8/14/2009 9:35:00 AM

buzzd — a location-based city guide and social network for mobile devices — wants to know how people use their handsets in the nightlife scene. So, it grilled 1,027 of its users about what's polite (or rude), drunk calling and how often they lose their phones.

According to the poll, the majority of respondents say that, when it comes to mobile etiquette in a night club or bar, there simply is none. Here are a few more bits from the survey:

60% admitted to drunk dialing
68% said they have drunk texted
33% said it's okay to use cellphones with impunity while in a club or bar
26% said that texting was okay, but mobile web browsing isn't
17% said that once a conversation with a hook-up has started, it's time to hang up
14% said that mobile phones should never be used in a club, unless it's an emergency
As for losing phones, 30% report that they have at least once after a night on the town (3% have lost their phones at least 5-10 times)

In a strange move, the company also probed the participants about their sex lives during the recession. (Well that study certainly took an interesting turn. I guess it's sort of related to the survey questions, though I'm not sure what this actually has to do with mobile phones. But whatever...) Of those polled, 21% reported increased activity and 14% admitted less, while the majority are having the same amount.

buzzd released these survey results to hype the new version of its BlackBerry app. The service allows users to get up-to-the-moment info on what's happening at any venue, rate events and connect with people in the area.

With Version 1.2, users who have been requesting the ability to their own venues finally get this feature, as well as a "search by category" function, ability to upload profile pics and other enhancements.

To get the app, point your BlackBerry here or search the AppWorld for "buzzd." (Click here to go to the mobile web version.)

ARTICLE: Is your household cell-only?

7/28/2009 6:40:00 PM

According to a recent survey, more Americans are ditching their landlines and going cell-only, due in part to the recession. In fact, households that relied on mobile phones have actually surpassed those with solely landlines.

In December 2008, more than 20 percent of households were wireless-only, while 17 percent used landlines alone. Another 15 percent said that, while they have both, the majority of their calling was performed on cell phones. These figures come from the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics.

The CDC started tracking these stats in 2003, when the agency started worrying that their phone surveys could be biased. Landline households and cell phone households tend to have certain generalized profiles, so focusing on one or the other could skew health data results. So they began looking at the numbers, and found some interesting stuff, among them:

Renters (as opposed to homeowners) are four times less likely to have a landline.
Wireless-only adults are more likely to engage in risky behavior, including:

   -Smoking
   -Binge drinking
   -Foregoing health insurance
   -Not wearing a seat belt

Should You Cut the Cord?
An article on Philly.com mentions Laura Cerda, a 41-year-old Sacramento woman who cut her landline only to reorder it a couple months later. Turns out, her mother (who watches Cerda's daughter) never turns on her cell. And Cerda's child doesn't answer hers either, preferring SMS.

"We have to text, and I can't really yell effectively through a text," says Cerda. (Okay, that's kind of funny. She's basically paying for the right to yell at her kid.)

For others, however, paying an extra monthly bill for a rarely used phone service is out of the question in these difficult economic times.

So how are phone companies responding? Check this out: Earlier this month, I ran across a blog post from BetaNews titled, "AT&T: Without a landline phone, you could die." Yowza. It's all about the need to have landlines for 911 emergency services. Call it a marketing scare tactic or what, but there's some truth to it.

At my parents' home, the landline is crucial — at least for now. 911 services can't find an address via cell phone yet (only triangulate a general vicinity), but they can pinpoint it via landline. So if Dad has an accident and can't talk, he can call 911 and they can find his address. For him (and for me), the peace of mind is worth the extra $60 per month fee.

The Nostalgia of Landlines
In my own home, it's a whole other story. I had no landline in my old apartment, and things went pretty smoothly, so I've been trying to convince my husband to box the hardline in our new place. The cost savings would be significant, and we rarely use all our minutes anyway. And since we're fairly young, I think the slightly less robust E911 services will be just fine.

But he's sticking to his guns. He likes the reliability of having a hardwired phone (even though the one we use is powered by electricity. So what will happen during the next outage? You guessed it — It becomes a paperweight. Our cell phones, however, will still work for as long as the battery has a charge).

Is it practicality, like he thinks, or is it more about being comfortable with a familiar (albeit, kind of old) technology? While I can understand the nostalgia — I have one of those old-fashioned telephone ringtones on my iPhone because I like how it reminds me of phone rings from my childhood — but I'd still be perfectly happy to get rid of our landline.

What about you? Do you live in a cell-only household? Have you had any issues with it? Or do you hang onto your landline phone? Seriously, please chime in, because your comments will probably help us figure out whether to keep ours or not.

[via BetaNews, Philly.com, CDC]

ARTICLE: Trash talk: Summon a robot to take out the garbage with a cell phone

7/21/2009 11:00:00 AM

Recently, I walked out my front door to notice that a neighbor's trash was still sitting on the curb — two days after pick-up. (Actually, I nearly tripped and landed on it. Yuck, right?) Apparently, they missed the truck, but didn't want to bring the garbage back into the house. So it was left there, waiting for some hungry dog (or clumsy neighbor girl) to break the bag, leaving remnants to blow around in the wind and litter the streets.

Someday, no doubt in some quasi-futuristic society, people won't have to worry about trash schedules or sorting recyclables. In fact, we'll be able to use remote devices or cell phones to summon robots that will handle these less-than-glamorous tasks, á la the Jetsons' Rosie or some sort of Wall-E like service bot.

It's inevitable — that, I know. But what I didn't know was that "someday" was upon us, and that the quasi-futuristic society would be the 8th century town of Peccioli. The town, located in the Tuscan countryside of Italy, is the testing site for new robotic technology called the DustCart.

The robot is part of a $3.9 million DustBot research program whose mission is to clean up the dirty business of urban hygiene.

DustCart robot can be called in with a mobile phone or go door-to-door, sorting trash into organic, recyclable, or waste products. Then it loads the garbage into its belly and transports it to a waste-management site.

The cute-as-a-button hardware design probably wasn't intended to put smiles on people's faces, but it certainly does the trick. And it's small and compact enough to make its way to areas that stymie normal garbage trucks.

Aside from collecting refuse material, the robot also measures air pollutants — like sulfur oxide, benzene, ozone, and nitrogen oxide — using on-board sensors. So it's both cute and brainy.

DustCart is still a prototype for now, since the current working model is slow and has trouble on crowded streets. Plus, in Peccioli, robots aren't legally allowed to wander about on their own without human guidance. (There's a town that actually has robot-leash laws? Wow, that's news to me.)

This is one of those I-can't-believe-no-one's-invented-this-yet technologies. And given its green cred, I sincerely hope it lierally hits the streets as soon as possible.

[Global Post via Inhabitat]

ARTICLE: July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month

7/13/2009 3:40:00 PM

So have you been politely talking on your cell phone this month? (We hope you are a courteous talker everyday, but with it being National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, our friend Joni Blecher of Lets Talk highlights some proper etiquette cell phone tips below.

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 Karen Leland's 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 means that almost everyone is walking around with a camera in their pocket. People are increasingly more sensitive to this fact, so use the photo feature with discretion.

If it's An Emergency, Take The Call: Occasionally, an emergency is going to arise at an inopportune cell phone time. No matter where you are, if you believe it may be an emergency, do take the call. What do you think?

Any etiquette tips you'd like to add? Leave us a comment.

ARTICLE: Phones from the future: Cool cell concepts

7/12/2009 12:30:00 PM

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it: Eye candy is good. That sentiment works in a variety of settings, and it's no less true here, in this future-forward look at some crazy cellular concepts, courtesy of WebUrbanist.

Whenever the site focuses its eye on tech, you know there are going to be some droolworthy gadgets involved. WebUrbanist is geared toward architecture and alternative art, so form factor is clearly a major component in its recent list of 15 Cool Cell Phone Concepts.

Some of them are quite cool, while others are just plain weird. But hot or bizarre, all of the ideas are intriguing. The following are some of the most noteworthy concepts. (Click here for the complete list.)

So which ones can't you wait to get your hands on?

From the coiled charging cord and rotary dial to the strangely familiar home appliance design, it seems like UK-based designer Vladimir Rachev couldn't decide between an old-fashioned landline phone or an iron. The only concern is whether putting that thing in your pocket would cause injury or not.

If I were a 10-year-old boy asked to design a cell phone, I imagine it would look something like the Blackberry Terminator 9900. (See it in action in the Parkoz Hardware Transformers Cell Phone vid, here.) The blogs all picked up this Tranformers concept a couple years ago, but fanboys who fell for this gimmick are still waiting.

Unique? Absolutely. Practical? Not even. Way too cool to actually use, Tirshathah Hunter's Conduit concept phone reminds me of an old-school erector set. It features calling, camera and PDA functionality (including stylus). Users can also adjust the pieces to support a roll-up screen.

Sleek and futuristic, the Morph line of concept phones, from Nokia, offers various versions for different tastes. (The cell phone/bangle bracelet definitely appeals to the girly girl in me.) The collection features self-cleaning surfaces, and integrated electronics and nanotechnology in a slim form factor.

Apparently, when it comes to cell phones, wrists are hot. Here's another that wraps around for the ultimate in portability. The snake-like BenQ-Siemens concept kind of reminds me of a 60s take on futuristic design. (Couldn't you imagine this device set off with go-go boots and a beehive?)

I have a seriously visceral reaction to the Glassy Glassy phone, by Mac Funamizu: Forget the future. I want it now. The graphics and numerals on the transparent screen don't show up until the phone is powered on. For something this cool, I'd even be willing to carry around the bottle of Windex required to keep this baby smudge-proof.

Someone's getting cheeky, eh? But the looks of the flask-shaped Cheers — which is seriously the name of this concept phone — isn't the only thing that's kind of boozy. The device runs on alcohol. Actually, it's an alcohol cell, which is reportedly more energy efficient than standard batteries. Sounds good, but even so, consumers would have to be tippling pretty hard to appreciate the gimmicky design.

Whether good or bad, all of these design ideas get points for creativity. I just wish current phone makers were willing to take more risks like these. There's no reason we couldn't have wearable bangle phones or a shape-shifting device right now. But sadly, it will probably be a long time before these kinds of innovative concepts actually hit the production line. In the mean time, at least we have plenty of creative concoctions to drool over.

[via WebUrbanist]

ARTICLE: Tmo’s Green Perks app debuts, offers discounts on green products

6/30/2009 8:30:00 AM

As much as I love my gadgets, I do feel guilt about their collective impact on the environment. From the amount of energy I use and the often non-recyclable materials that go into my fav devices, to all those batteries that will collect in landfills over the course of my tech-lovin' life, I realize that my gadget addiction affects more than just my own quality of life. But if I were on T-Mobile, at least my cell phone could help tip the scales back a bit.

The carrier just announced a new mobile app called Green Perks. The free application promotes eco-friendly products and services by delivering discounts directly to a Tmo phone. The electronic coupons — for partners like Method, Jamba Juice, Volcom, Roxy and Quiksilver — are then redeemed manually at the store.

Green Perks is the latest offering under the company's new Mobilize initiative, which is dedicated to making eco-friendly products and services available to consumers. The app is compatible with most Tmo handsets and can be downloaded here. (FYI: Requires a data plan for downloading the coupons.)

While the choices of brands is not exactly comprehensive yet, more green-oriented partners/participants will be added over time. So far, I think Green Perks is off to a great start for a number of reasons:

First, way to promote e-coupons instead of paper versions or print-outs!
Green products are often more expensive, so providing discounts will encourage consumers to make more environmentally conscious choices.
Even people who would use coupons often don't because they aren't on hand at the time of purchase. But mobile phones are always at hand, and the Green Perks app is easy to get and to use, which means these discounts can always be available. Hopefully, that will make sustainable products more attractive whenever consumers happen to be shopping.

This reminds me of a recent experience I had. A friend had emailed me a "Friends & Family" discount for a major retailer, but I kept forgetting to print it out and put it in my purse. Then one day, while I was at that store, I realized I could view the PDF on my phone. So I accessed the message and showed it to the cashier, who rung it up on her register. There was even a bar code perfectly visible on the image (though I don't know if that would've worked with her scanning gun. She keyed the code number in manually.)

It was so simple, even pleasant. I felt like a savvy shopper from the future, flashing my gadget for my $50 savings. (True, swiping my phone — á la RFID or bar code — would've been even cooler, but I got my discount regardless, so no complaints here.) No wonder retailers are making major efforts to figure out how to leverage mobile tech. There's a great potential here that's only beginning to be tapped.

As for Green Perks, it's nice to see a smart implementation of this concept, especially since it's getting used to benefit a greater good.

ARTICLE: Does iPhone really need fingerprint scanner security?

3/31/2009 2:35:00 PM

Digging into another Apple patent filing, Apple Insider discovered a reference to some really crazy biometric security stuff for the iPhone. The patent — which was filed back in September and only recently published — covers fingerprint authentication via a sensor lodged beneath the touchscreen, retinal identification (using the camera), voice recognition security and DNA sampling for access via genetic code matching.

Reading this, I was suddenly reminded of those hokey iPhone apps with fake fingerprint scanners that display messages like "Hotness Detected" or some other dumb thing. The idea is similar, except that these security features would actually work.

I used to look at those apps wistfully and think, "It would be neat if they really worked for authentication." But now? Meh. I'd rather have Flash on my phone, along with better battery life and real background processes.

So maybe the real news is not that Apple's considering hot, future-forward security; It's that the company still has some important, basic features to address, ones that the phone needs to remain competitive. Don't get me wrong — iPhone 3.0 is a huge step in the right direction, but many of the neat new features in there actually should've been available out of the box a long time ago. And there's still work to do, not for future phones, but for the current handsets we're all using now. Where's the patent addressing that?

I am still an Apple fan, of the diehard variety. But I'm also just as much a critic, thus fueling my love/hate relationship with this brand. And this news sure doesn't help. With so many new handsets on the horizon that are looking shiny and new, it's getting hard to stay loyal.

For now, I'll let AppleInsider ponder the 12th generation iPhone, and leave Engadget to investigate minor points, like why the patent filings include sketches of jailbroken apps (below). (What's that all about?). As for me, June is the furthest I'm looking into the iPhone future, when the hotly anticipated new handset will likely debut.

ARTICLE: iPhone/Blackberry App: SitOrSquat, now sponsored by Charmin (who else?)

3/26/2009 11:45:00 AM

Made famous for helping users easily locate clean bathrooms and other amenities, SitOrSquat (which is, by the way, possibly the best name for an app ever) now has a new sponsor, and it's none other than TP kingpin Charmin.

In addition to its involvement with the app, which works on both iPhones and Blackberries, the company is also launching a new global sponsorship of the "SitOrSquat" website. (Huh? There's a website dedicated to this?!) The service works off a Wiki for global bathroom info, and users are encouraged to add content and give feedback when they've used one of the toilets featured there.

"Our goal is to connect Charmin with innovative conversations and solutions as a brand that understands the importance of bringing the best bathroom experience to consumers, even when they're away from home," explained Jacques Hagopian, Brand Manager of Charmin, which is the first toilet paper to partner with a downloadable mobile app.

Innovative conversations about the bathroom experience? (I'm laughing so hard, I had to type that twice due to typos.) Man, that's a lot of serious talk about tinkling. Someone's literally got a case of potty mouth.

It gets even better: According to the press release, Charmin has been dedicated to giving consumers a great public bathroom experience for nearly a decade. It "Charminized" public restrooms at State Fairs in 2000, provided "Potty Palooza" mobile units from 2003 2005 and offered 20 free Charmin Restrooms in Times Square, making it one of the most popular destinations out there during the holiday season. (Uh, destination or pit stop? You decide.)

Since SitOrSquat launched, more than 1,600 users have downloaded the app, and the website has had over 500,000 unique visitors.

Well, this partnership's a no-brainer. In fact, I wonder why it took so long. SitOrSquat's been in the App Store since last October. I guess when it came time to either get off the pot or... well, you know, Charmin decided to sit and... (oh, forget it! I'm NOT going there.)

ARTICLE: Face detection for Android (and iPhone)

3/25/2009 2:45:00 PM

It may not be available for a little while, but don't be jealous, Android fans, when your iPhone buddy starts bragging about the inevitable face detection app headed to their phones in the next few months. Face.com just launched a face detection app for Facebook, and it's bound to be as troublesome and embarrassing as photo-tagging. We doird fans may come a little late to the game, but Android developers are hard at work to make your online stalking a simpler task. Just thought I should let you know.

ARTICLE: iPhone App: iPhorest, the app that gives back

3/24/2009 10:30:00 AM

Earth Day is a month away, but why wait to get your green on? iPhorest is a neat little diversion that lets users experience what it's like to plant and cultivate a virtual tree.

At $4.99, it's definitely not a cheapie program (by App Store standards, anyway), but for your money, you get the satisfaction of helping the environment: For every virtual tree that gets planted, The Conservation Fund will plant a live tree in the real world.

The graphics are pretty, and the accelerometer's put to interesting use (since you make digging motions with the phone to make a hole in the ground).

Once you get a seedling to plant, you can shake, shake, shake to invoke a storm to water it, which precedes the sun to warm it. Repeat to turn take the seedling from sapling to a mighty tree.

The share function for emailing tree pictures to friends does seem a little hokey to me. (My pals don't want to see pictures of my cat or my nephews, so why would they want to look at my fake tree?) But I like being able to ascend upward to see other iPhorest users plotted on the Earth. You can see where the app puts a dot when you first launch the program, so it's kind of neat in a "Hey, I can see my house from here" kind of way.

Normally, I'd say $5 bucks is way too much for this type of app, but its eco-friendly mission is worth the donation. In fact, I've given more to similar causes and gotten nothing in return, except good conscience points, so it's a nice gesture to provide a little game for the trouble.

The Conservation Fund, which is doing the real-life planting of native trees, is starting with the Gulf Coast in the U.S. to restore its wildlife habitats. It also pledges to work with the nation's top natural resource agencies for each iPhorest's long-term protection, so this is no fly-by-night help organization.

Rather than ask for a free review copy of the app, I bought and downloaded it from the App Store. (I tend to do that for ones I like, to support the little guy.) In this case, I'm glad to donate for a good cause run by a future-minded group.

So I've got mine. Get yours here.

ARTICLE: Pros and Cons: iPhone Kindle vs. Kindle II

3/16/2009 8:35:00 AM

As Phonedog reported last week, shortly after the launch of the Kindle II, Amazon also debuted the seemingly genius Kindle for iPhone app. Allowing iPhone users the convenience of Kindle's easy to download books for $9.99 to get the app and gain access to the store. Without the hardware investment (that runs almost $400 when its all said and done) for a Kindle II, that's a pretty good deal. I got to check them both out and compare the ease-of-use.

I don't even own an iPhone (although I do steal my fiance's often to play Scrabble and Monkey Ball), but when I see a screen like the Kindle, I still instinctively touch the screen to get started...the buttons on the Kindle II feel very old school for a second generation device. I am excited for the additional battery life (which is still a problem for the iPhone when you are connected and running apps) and other updates made by Amazon. The Kindle II was easy to set up and able to download quicker than the iPhone loads, but getting to the place where I wanted to was painful - tabbing over page by page or location by location is much easier on the iPhone.

The other drawback to the iPhone, of course, is it's size - for a book like Pillars of the Earth - it's a long one, meaning a LONG time to be reading such small print. And, yes - you do have the ability to enlarge the screen, but it's never going to be as big or comfortable as the Kindle II.

Regardless, whether you decide to splurge for the Kindle II or are content to read on your iPhone, it's a huge luxury to not have to lug around Pillars of the Earth in your bag. Your shoulder will thank you for reading the more portable package either way. One of the nice features is that when you register Kindle for iPhone, you have immediate access to your book list on your Kindle. So, if you want the best of both worlds, you can bookworm where ever you want and bookmark your spot to pick up where you left off no matter which device you have handy.

iPhone Kindle App Pros

Much less expensive
No need for another device
Integrates with your Amazon.com store and your Kindle account if you already have one
Way better than having to carry the book or run to the store everytime you need a new read

iPhone Kindle App Cons

Drain on battery life
Very small writing for reading for long periods of time
If you don't have wifi handy or a fast 3G network, downloading can take a while

ARTICLE: iPhone App: Bootleg ebooks with Wattpad

3/11/2009 9:40:00 AM

eBook-related news has been hot lately. First, there was the Amazon Kindle II's debut, then Amazon's Kindle for iPhone app, followed by Barnes & Noble's purchase of Fictionwise (which, if you have eReader or Stanza, is likely where you get most of your paid titles). Now here's another tidbit, this time about Wattpad, the content-sharing David among the corporate book-retailing Goliaths. It just unveiled a new iPhone app that gives access to free eBooks uploaded by Wattpad users.

Here's the scoop: Wattpad bills itself as more of a "YouTube-like community" that allows users to share digital books, like their own penned works, in multiple languages. But you know what happens when content is user-determined? You guessed it — titles, like some of the Harry Potter books, start showing up. (No wonder the media's already tagged it as pirate-lit.)

Apparently, there's less of that now, since Wattpad thinned out the inventory (though it didn't completely remove them. As of this writing, The Sorcerer's Stone was still in there). It also added Project Gutenberg, which provides great works of literature in the free public domain. (These classic offerings are way, way better than reading some of the melodramatic fantasies and bad poetry that normally propagate in these kinds of projects.)

But the key word in all this is FREE. Users don't pay a thing to upload/share or download eBooks. And now, Wattpad — which already works on over 1,000 Java-compatible phones, including Symbian, WinMo and BlackBerry devices — has gotten the Apple seal of approval, allowing it to spread to even more users. Like its titles, the ad-supported app costs nothing. (The banner shows up on various screens except for inside an actual eBook. That's good, otherwise it would've been really distracting while reading.)

I took a few minutes to check out Wattpad, and was surprised that it's actually a nice, little app with more offerings than just the latest lame ramblings by pimply-faced, fanfic hacks. Project Gutenberg certainly helps, but even some of the community-penned books aren't bad. Sure, there's an overabundance of vampire fiction, there's also some well-written tomes by some talented, yet undiscovered writers.

A few more thoughts on the app itself:

What's cool: The content and the app are free, the UI is nice and well-thought-out (though not quite as customizable as Stanza), the load time is quick, the app remembers where you left off on a page, there's a social input where you can rate/recommend titles, and users can set auto-scrolling at different speeds, which is pretty cool.

What's not: There are no images of book covers, no ability to annotate, and no access to acquire (or even buy) other titles that haven't been uploaded to the community yet.

Wattpad may have grown a fanbase through the distribution of free copyrighted material, but the sort of person who listens to underground bands or digs undiscovered artists might also like exploring the amateur novels here. And the Wattpad app makes that an easy and enjoyable experience.

ARTICLE: iPhone App: happier.com’s gratitude journal

3/6/2009 11:55:00 AM

Another gratitude journal? I guess someone thinks iPhone users could use a little more happiness in their lives.

This one's from happier.com, which helps users measure and track their gratitude to improve their level of happiness. Not to be confused with Happy Tapper's Gratitude Journal (in initial caps), happier.com's gratitude journal (in all lower case) takes a more scientific approach to charting and increasing happiness.

(Geez. Let's see if I can get through the rest of this post without writing "happiness" a million times...)

Experts have long pointed to the link between gratitude and ... um ... well-being. (Phew!) "The way humans are wired, when things go well, we tend to forget them. When things go badly we remember them," says Dr. Martin Seligman, the renowned expert and University of Pennsylvania professor who provided the intro that's included in the app. "The more you pay attention to things going well, by writing them down as in the gratitude journal, the more positive emotions you'll experience."

Users enter three positive events each day, to chart their happ... ahem ... emotional state over time. They answer a 24-question assessment to receive their score. That may seem like a lot, but the makers promise that the questions are simple and quick. (And perhaps that much info is required for better accuracy.) The app measures a user's current state, displays the six most recent scores and provides a journal space for recording milestones and achievements.

The UI is pretty straightforward and definitely not as cute as the other Gratitude Journal's. Then again, it definitely lends itself to a more empirical kind of data tracking, which seems to be the whole point of this app.

The exercises and assessments included here, as well as on the website are based on more than 20 years of scientific research on happiness. (Oh, shoot!)

gratitude journal is 99 cents and is currently available in the App Store.

VIDEO: Android app review - TippoBilloSplitamus

2/18/2009 3:55:00 PM

Of all the Android programs available for calculating tips and splitting bills, this one is the silliest. I also think it's the most practical, functional, and fun to use. It definitely has the best name: TippoBilloSplitamus. Say that five times fast. It's not difficult, but it's fun! This program will be in the *new* Android Market as well as the Apple App Store very soon. The cost is $2.00.