PhoneTalk

Motorola car kits at CES make obeying handsfree laws easy

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, January 15, 2010 (permalink)

There are tons of states and counties that have passed hands-free driving laws, which means don't talk on a cell phone while driving. If you don't want to wear a headset, Motorola has two portable options that make driving and talking a truly hands-free experience. Check out the video below to see what the Motorola T215 and the Motorola T325 offer.

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Motorola shows off new navigation devices at CES

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, January 15, 2010 (permalink)

Motorola showed off two new navigation devices complete with Google search at CES. The two new series are the Motonav TN500 and the Motonav TN700. Watch the video below to see the difference between the two models.

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Parrot AR.Drone puts control in your cell phone

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, January 14, 2010 (permalink)

This Parrot AR.Drone (AR stands for Augmented Reality) was definitely one of the more fun cell phone applications demonstrated at CES. Basically it's a Drone that is controlled by an iPhone or an iPod Touch. The AR.Drone flies overhead and you see what it's doing on the screen of your device. The Drone has about 15 minutes of battery life, which my small sampling of folks that use remote control operated devices says isn't terrible. There will be more games in the future and since it has WiFi you'll also be able to play with other users. While the initial software is available for the Apple platform it will also be available for other smartphone OS platforms in the future. If you want to create an app for the AR.Drone via open source development visit ardrone.org. Watch the video below to see it in action.

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iMate: One smartphone that you can't break

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 (permalink)

If you are really hard on cell phones, you might consider one that's basically indestructible, the i-mate. While not the most attractive smartphone I've seen, it's probably the most durable. This GSM unlocked cell phone runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and will run you about $700. That is a lot, but it does come with a lifetime warranty. If you can destroy it, they'll replace it. The i-mate can really stand up to the elements. So much so I saw a video of it being run over by a car and it still worked. At the show, the cell phone was immersed in a bowl of water and worked just fine. Don't believe us? Check out the picture below.

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Blue Buds Bluetooth headphones ideal for the sports

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 (permalink)

Bluetooth headphones come in all shapes and sizes, but until recently the only ones that seemed ideal for use with a workout were the Motorola MotoRokr S9. However, Jay Bird has a line of sporty stereo Bluetooth headphones that might be right up your alley. The company showed off a Sportsband, which looks an awful lot like a headband and Blue Buds, which will be available in April. The Blue Buds have a dual mic design one for voice and one for noise cancellation, so audio quality shouldn't be an issue. The Bluetooth headphones have Memory Wire that conform to the shape of your ear so you shouldn't have a problem going for long funs.

Blue Buds:

Sportsband:

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ZoomSafer: Can this cell phone app make you a safer driver?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, January 08, 2010 (permalink)

Although there are handsfree laws in place in many states and counties, it can still be hard for some drivers not to give into the temptation to pick up the cell phone when it rings or maybe even read an incoming text at a stop sign. That's the idea behind the ZoomSafer application. You won't have to be tempted anymore because once it's installed on your cell phone and you start driving a car it gets activated and will send incoming calls either to the phone's speaker, a paired Bluetooth headset or in-car Bluetooth device, or a car kit if that's what's installed in your car. If you get a text message while driving, the application will automatically send a standard reply that essentially says "You're driving and can't respond right now." A nice touch so texters don't feel neglected when they don't get an immediate response. Additionally, you can create some personalization of how you treat incoming calls while driving and send all calls to voicemail, some, or none at all depending on your preferences.

There are quite a few features involved and it's not available for every cell phone yet, but you can click this link to see if your smartphone is supported. If it is, you can go ahead and download the software from the site it costs $2.99 a month or you can get an annual subscription for $25. We'll be trying out the app in the coming weeks to see how well it works, so check back to see the results.

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Yurbuds: Is this the missing link to headset comfort?

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Friday, January 08, 2010 (permalink)

Finding the perfect headset for me has been a challenge so I'm always on the lookout for a solution. Alas, I might have actually found one from a company that debuted their product at CES. The company is called Yurtopia and the product is Yurbuds. The claim is that they can offer the perfect fit earbuds by adding a fitted gel to them that's determined by taking a picture of your ear and a quarter. You can see what we mean by watching the video below. Yurbuds with Yurphones cost about $30, while just the Yurbuds cost about $20.

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Sprint's Overdrive offers fast connectivity on the go

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Thursday, January 07, 2010 (permalink)

Last night Sprint unveiled the Overdrive, a 3G/4G mobile hotspot that will be available on January 10th and will cost $99 after a $50 rebate (that's before the cost of monthly service). Of course a two-year agreement is required or you'll need to be eligible for an upgrade. The beauty of this device is that you can connect up to 5 WiFi enabled devices simultaneously and you can all start surfing the web or sending/receiving e-mail. If you're in a market where 4G is available the connectivity speed will be 10x faster than a 3G network and that's fast. If you want to know how fast, at the event last night live video from a cooking demonstration given by Mario Batali was streaming on a big screen using the Overdrive. It was impressive. Also on hand was comedian Frank Caliendo, who besides being ridiculously funny was talking fast. As fast as what's available via the Overdrive? Hard to say.

Frank Caliendo in action

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AT&T finally gets Android and more

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, January 06, 2010 (permalink)

Today, AT&T announced that it will be adding Google's Android smartphones to its line-up. Among those mentioned were a Dell Mini 3 (this will be the first Dell smartphone to launch in the United States), a Motorola model running Blur, and a model from HTC. AT&T said it would be introducing 5 models this year. Additionally, the company said it would be offering two Palm Web OS smartphones in the first half of the year.

Speaking of smartphones let's not forget that it's applications that seem to interest users and just about every smartphone OS has its own app store. To help support that AT&T will be loading the corresponding app store on each smartphone making it easier to download apps.

We'll have more information on the cell phones mentioned at the AT&T press conference in our on-going CES coverage. In the meantime, below is the Dell Mini 3.

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BlackBerry Presenter lets you leave the notebook behind

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter
Wednesday, January 06, 2010 (permalink)

For all those people who have to give PowerPoint presentations here's a handy new accessory for your BlackBerry that gives you one more reason to leave the computer at the office. The BlackBerry Presenter is a small device that plugs into a projector or monitor that allows you to use your BlackBerry as a remote to navigate through a presentation. The Presenter is also Bluetooth enabled so those presenters who like to roam around a room while giving a presentation still can.

The new BlackBerry accessory supports NTSC and PAL video formats and S-Video and VGA Video Cables. The Presenter uses micro-USB for its power connection so if you have a newer BlackBerry you can use the same charger that comes with your smartphone. The bad news is that it won't work with the BlackBerry Curve 8300 Series or BlackBerry Pearl Flip Series. But if you have a compatible BlackBerry it will need to be running v4.6. The Presenter is expected to cost $199 when it becomes available.

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