Scosche has a product out that disables your cell phone while the wheels on your vehicle are spinning. It relies on a trigger adapter that connects to any car’s OBD-II port and detects when you’re in motion. Once the app is installed on the phone, the system activated and the trigger installed, anything but handsfree calling is disabled. No texting, emailing or watching YouTube videos while driving.
Now, you might say “What’s the point when you can just unplug the trigger?” And you’d have a point if this system was destined for you. But it’s destined for mostly young drivers and fleet drivers. See, if you remove the trigger, the application sends an email of a text to the administrator of the system. That can be a concerned dad or a responsible fleet manager. And just like that, letting the kids drive the car became a little safer for everyone.
Here’s the only problem: it doesn’t appear to work on iPhones! The website lists “All Android 2.1 and above, all BlackBerry 4.5 and above, all Windows Mobile 5 & 6, all Symbian S60 (3rd Edition) and select Brew and BREWMP systems.” And “RIM, HTC, Samsung, Sanyo, Motorola, Nokia, Pantech, LG, Palm, Sony Ericsson and more.” There’s no mention of Apple or iOS anywhere. Still, lots of people don’t own iPhones.
Before they became pocket computing machines, cellphones had but one job: to make calls. That’s arguably still the most useful feature, at least when you’re in an emergency situation. The SpareOne cellphone is seeking to be your backup phone. Simple as that. It’s not fancy, there’s no touchscreen and is as dumb as a bat. But it does run on a single AA battery which, guess what, is a lot easier to find than your particular mobile’s Li-whatever powerpack. If the power’s out, or you’re stuck in the woods, you’ll be glad you kept this around. It’ll let you talk for 10 hours on that one battery but more importantly… will standby for 15 years! It takes SIM cards, so the idea is to take your dead phone’s SIM card out and insert it in this one. And even if you don’t have a SIM around, you can still call 911 with it.
At $50, you can even keep a few around, just in case. Available in March.
There are a ton of apps that help you find your car once you’ve forgotten where you parked it. They all suffer from a fatal flaw: you have to tell them where you’ve parked as you leave your car. Let’s be honest here: after a while, you’ll also start forgetting to do this. So that’s why the Find My Car Smart app one-ups them all. Using Bluetooth 4.0, the application works with a paired-up USB adapter that shuts off as you turn your car’s ignition off. The program on your iPhone 4S notices this and makes a quick note of your GPS coordinates. If you later can’t recall your spot, launch the app and find out. Yes, you do need an iPhone 4S as that’s the only iDevice that uses Bluetooth 4.0, now known as Bluetooth Smart.
The app and related USB dongle and car charger are on the one place where people with good ideas can connect directly with the marketplace: Kickstarter. However, the funding goals have been more than reached and you can get yourself the entire kit for as little as $30. Shipping in January 2012.
MIAmobi makes a line of pouches in varying sizes whose purpose it is to cut off your mobile devices from any radio communications. It is made for those who are concerned about being tracked through GPS or even those who worry about RFID based identity theft. We’re not entirely sure how the pouches accomplish this, though there is talk of a “silver lining”. In any case, it appears that when you drop your device in a pouch, it’s instantly cut off from any signals and goes off the grid. And while you could turn your phone off, apparently you can still be tracked when you do this.
There appears to be no price information on their website, though the items are available for purchase. You have to contact them and inquire.
The limiting factor in a cellphone camera is often the lens. There’s really not much you can do at that size and if you want to somehow expand your horizons, you typically have to get into a fairly sophisticated solution that usually involves cases, rotating dials or other contraptions. But this $15 rubber band macro lens laughs in the face of all those other solutions. Snap it on, take your pics and put it back in your pocket. We can’t speak for the image quality, but the sample pictures look nice enough. And at that price, does it really matter? Sadly, it’s currently out of stock, though you can sign up to be notified once it’s available again.
It’s funny that AT&T was just recently voted lowest in consumer satisfaction in a Consumer Reports survey. Well, when it rains it pours because things are probably going to get even peachier now. Word is coming in that if you happen to fall in the top 5% of iPhone data users on an unlimited plan, your download speeds will whittle to a trickle (allegedly 2G speeds) until the next billing cycle. To be clear, if you’re on a non-unlimited plan, then you don’t have to worry about a thing, you still have the privilege of paying for going over your cap.
So how will you know if you’re using your phone too much? You’ll just get an sms like the one pictured. There’s no firm number to stay away from, just pray that you don’t become part of the 5%.
Score one for parents. Sprint has announced a new program called “Sprint Mobile Controls”, which lets parents of cellphone-toting kids get very granular control over just how they get to use their devices. While we agree that kids owning cellphones is kind of important for their social development, we also believe in effective parenting. With this program, here’s a few of the features you’ll have access to:
- Easy-to-read dashboard of phone usage, including voice and text messages broken down by time of day.
- Seeing who your son or daughter has been calling or texting recently – and how often.
- Quickly and easily setting phone use limits by time of day and day of week.
- Establishing an allowed list of phone numbers from which your child can receive a call or text.
- Seeing a list of your child’s contacts with an associated picture ranked by overall texting and calling activity.
- Allowing your child to override phone restrictions in case of an emergency.
- Setting Watchlist contacts: Receive alert notifications when your child communicates with a Watchlist contact.
Man, you’re going to have some happy kids on your hands if you sign up to this! But that doesn’t mean they won’t be a little safer…
There are a limited number of times you’re going to want to be taking a picture straight down, but if you do, you’ll soon realize it’s easier said than done. It usually requires the purchase of a specialized tripod if you want to do it right. It gets even more complicated if you’re planning on shooting with an iPhone. But with the Steady Stand 200 from ModaHaus, things change.
Designed from the outset for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, Androids, Blackberrys, smartphones and most compact cameras, the STEADY STAND provides an elevated platform support for overhead product photos ensuring pin sharp, totally square-on, precisely composed, perfectly exposed photos. The clear translucent side walls soften and diffuse incoming light helping eliminate harsh shadows and provide clean uncluttered reflections in shiny subjects such as jewelry. Takes the grind out of processing documents and receipts as well!
For $34, an affordable portable product photography station could easily be thrown into your backpack and carried to wherever the client needs it.
Well, this is about a recent Samsung commercial for the Galaxy S II, so if you can’t watch it, you’re kind of missing out. Quick description anyway: bunch of Apple customers lining up, as they do, for the next iPhone. Galaxy S II users spotted and hilarity ensues.
Favorite part? The girl that goes “Why don’t you get a 4G phone?…”
Related Tags: Cellphones, Safety
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By David Ponce
By David Ponce
