I know a few people that text all the time. I seriously can’t have a five-minute conversation with them without getting interrupted by their stupid phone. Even watching them go about their daily lives, they have to stop whatever it is they’re doing, and shoot off another text. It’s made me wonder how textaholics manage when they first have children. Do they text less? Will they actually grow an extra appendage? The real answer is that they’ll find new and inventive ways to text while still paying the bare minimum amount of attention to their child. Behold the Texthook.
Pushing a stroller and texting probably isn’t easy (nor is it the most brilliant of ideas), so why not take some of the effort out by mounting your phone to said stroller? That is exactly what the Texthook is all about. It’s a simple device that will allow you to mount a variety of phones to the handle of your stroller. For just $26 you too can be oblivious to the world around you while pushing your child into potentially dangerous situations.
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of LG Chocolate Touch. All opinions are 100% mine.
Update: Well now you can win your very own LG Chocolate Touch! To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post about your very first phone. Or Tweet out a message containing the URL of this blog post as well as the hashtag #VX8575. Sadly this is US only. Full set of rules: here.
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By David Ponce
Verizon has recently made available the most recent incarnation of the LG Chocolate line of phones in the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 . Like the previous generations, the Chocolate Touch has an emphasis on music, though it’s an altogether pretty rounded out phone.
Out of the box, the device seems slim and light, though not of any dimensions we haven’t seen before. The screen is a bright 3 inches with WQVGA resolution and support for 262k colors. It comes 1GB of internal music memory, though it’s expandable up to 16GB through MicroSD cards. Rounding out the main specs, you have a 3.2MP digicam, 3.5mm audio jack and a “Patented Dolby Mobile music system”.
If you’ve never heard of Swype, it’s a company that’s looking to change the way we enter text into mobile devices. So far, you’ve had two options: T9 and iPhone-like qwerty keyboards. Three options, really, if you count Multitap, but who uses that anyway? All these methods involve tapping distinct buttons. Swype however has you moving your finger from one letter to the next, without ever lifting it. This makes for one-handed text input that’s supposed to feel natural and intuitive. The system essentially makes out what you’re trying to say from what looks like a bunch on unintelligible squibbles. Early reviews were positive and now the company has announced that the first Swype-enabled phone to hit the market will be the Omnia II, on Verizon, on December 2nd.
The above video shows a side by side comparison of Swype versus someone typing on the iPhone. Never mind that the iPhone user is obviously challenged and types slower than my grandmother would. What’s interesting is to see Swype in action, and keep in mind that it’s one-handed.
At what point did video arcades go from fun zombie killing and racing games, to simulators recreating mundane tasks like cooking and now text messaging?! That’s right, the Textminator (that’s what it’s really called) features a set of stainless steel phone-like keypads that allow 1 or 2 players to compete in a series of texting challenges including an arcade mode and racing the clock. It’s even got a built-in camera allowing egomaniacs to snap a photo of themselves for the high-score board. Now I know there are cellphone users out there who pride themselves on their texting speed, but why would anyone want to pay the $1 or $2 this elaborate setup will no doubt charge to prove their texting prowess when they can just do it on the cellphones they’re already paying for?!
It might be specifically designed for kids and the elderly, but the clean design and oversized keypad of the iNO CP09 mobile phone makes me want one for those times when I need to stay in touch, but don’t want a lot of bells and whistles. In addition to the easy to read buttons, the CP09 features a basic, though detailed, monochrome LCD display with an orange backlight, as well as an FM radio with a standard headphone jack on the bottom of the phone. And in the event of an emergency, there’s a dedicated ‘SOS’ button on the back which sounds an alarm and contacts a pre-programmed phone number when pressed.
Google is one of those companies that seems to always be working on something awesome. I’m a huge fan of Google Voice, as it really simplifies my life. Well if you’re one of the lucky people that have gotten into the beta, they have added yet a new feature. You can now have Google handle the voicemails from your personal cell phone number.
Despite the fact that I have a Google Voice number, people still call my actual cell phone number. This means that I have two different places to check my voicemail. Now Google can actually take control of your voicemail, and adding all of the same great features that you get on your Google Voice account. Things like custom greetings based on who’s calling and transcribed voicemails make it worth while. Now if I could just get a real Google Voice app on the iPhone (I’m looking at you Apple) it would be perfect.
Have you ever wished your phone was a little more environmentally friendly? I haven’t because I’m a thoughtless oaf, but for tech-savvy eco warriors who have, Samsung has launched the Blue Earth handset.
The touch screen eco-phone is made from material extracted from water bottles, and is free from nastiness like bromine-based flame retardants, PVC and phthalate esters. It also sports a built in solar panel to take advantage of what Samsung helpfully points out, is one of the most eco-friendly energy sources.
The Blue Earth ships with a “unique user interface designed to draw attention to preserving our fragile environment.” Less impressive than it sounds, this basically amounts to the option of switching to energy efficient settings for screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth at the touch of a button. For the environmentally conscious app-addict, there’s even a built in pedometer, which allows users to smugly calculate the number of trees they’ve saved from an untimely death by walking instead of driving.
Today Kempler & Strauss launched their W PhoneWatch which they claim is the world’s smallest full-function quad-band GSM cellphone watch, and given how small the market is at the moment, it’s not that difficult a claim to make. The W PhoneWatch features a 1.5-inch touchscreen interface that can be operated with your fingers, eliminating the need for a stylus, as well as an impressive set of features for a watch-sized phone including a digital camera (640×480 stills or 128×104 videos) and a microSD card slot.
The W PhoneWatch also has Bluetooth of course, allowing it to connect to existing BT devices, or to the included Kempler & Strauss Communicator headset. As for battery life, the watch and headset are rated for up to 150 minutes of talk time, 150 minutes of MP3 playback and up to 100 hours of standby. And it’s got a price tag of just $199, which appears to be unsubsidized.
Way back in January we told you that AT&T was rolling out a 3G femtocell for their customers. Of course it’s now September and we’ve hardly heard another word about it. I’ve been anxiously awaiting its release, as I get almost no signal in my house. I’d like to ditch my home phone, but with the unreliable service, I can’t justify it. Thankfully, it seems as though the mobile giant is finally rolling out these devices.
AT&T’s new 3G Micrcell is officially available to the general public, but only in Charlotte, NC. For those in the area, they can purchase the device for $150. There is no monthly fee, however, you will still use your minutes while making calls if you don’t already have landline or DSL service with AT&T. If you have neither and want unlimited calls, you can pay $20 a month (and get a $100 rebate on the hardware).
I’d like to say something about why you shouldn’t need one of these, but in all honesty, there are some places where it’s just not possible to get signal. I live in a rather large town, and I have full 3G signal everywhere except in the small valley where I live. Short of putting in a new tower in the valley itself (which wouldn’t affect enough people to justify the cost) I’ll never get better reception. I’d be ecstatic to get one of these and drop my monthly home phone bill. If you’re listening AT&T, lets go ahead and start rolling these out in Indiana ASAP.
Related Tags: accessories, Cellphones
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