Cell Phones

In today’s day and age we find ourselves overloaded with information, and yet we’ve become information junkies: we want it and we want it NOW. Personally, I need immediate access to e-mail and voice mail, the time, stock quotes, and weather. My cell phone provides the information of the first three; for the stock quotes and the five-day forecast I have to login to my phone’s browser, or text Google for the information.

Alltel to the rescue. The forward-thinking company has seen the light and will forever change the way we receive information on our cellphones. It’s called Celltop; go to www.mycelltop.com and check this out, because you’ll be impressed. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and drag the slider to set your background color. You can do this on the Celltop too; it’s a nice touch of personalization for your cell phone. Read more

Cingular Wireless, part of the new AT&T, will soon offer a service that allows wireless phone users to easily make a “live” video share call. The service allows users to send a live, one-way video to a recipient during a standard voice call. Beginning with a normal phone call, customers can hit one button to add a one way video stream, allowing them to share their world with friends and family. The service also allows customers to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call. Read more

The enV was designed to represent the ultimate convergence of advanced wireless capabilities and the latest developments in mobile entertainment. This handset is a complete multimedia experience, offering music, video, data and all the latest mobile handset innovations, including a beautiful large internal color screen, integrated QWERTY keypad and dual stereo sound. Read more

The enV is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera to snap photos and shoot videos while you are on the go. Simple operation is possible thanks to an autofocus feature combined with a built in flash. Music lovers can take their music experience to the next level by utilizing Bluetooth Stereo capability.

Just announced at MacWorld, the Apple iPhone combines three products — a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and an Internet communications device with email, web browsing, maps, and searching. Enjoy music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, and movies on a 3.5-inch widescreen display. iPhone also lets you sync your content from the iTunes library on your PC or Mac.

To make a call, just point your finger at a name or number in your address book, call log or favorites. The iPone also automatically syncs all your contacts from a PC, Mac, or Internet service. And it lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want. Read more

Alltel has a service that allows customers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their mobile phones for a monthly subscription of $3.99. The Axcess Mobilcast service is the first wireless phone/podcast service of its kind available in the United States.

Axcess Mobilcast offers podcast episodes and radio shows from NPR and CNN, as well as thousands of independent podcasts from all over the world. The programs are short in duration and cover a wide range of subjects including comedy, music, sports and politics. Read more

Available exclusively through Verizon Wireless, Chocolate is the ultimate mobile phone, loaded with hot features, such as V CAST, V CAST Music, and tools like VZ Navigator, all packaged within a smooth slider design.

V CAST Music customers can browse, preview, download and play high-quality digital music from their phones over Verizon Wireless’ broadband network or in the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music online store. With more than 1.3 million songs to choose from, Verizon Wireless customers can download the songs they love most, accessing their music collection anywhere they go. Read more

Just in time for back to school, Sprint has enhanced its child-locating service, Sprint Family Locator, making it available to more families and simplifying the registration process. Sprint also offers a phone with built-in parental controls and a new Web access management feature to help parents limit their children's access to only the phone services they deem appropriate.

Sprint Family Locator is an inexpensive ($9.99 a month) way for families on the go stay in constant touch. Mom, Dad or a trusted caregiver can locate loved ones without disturbing their activities, receive notification when a child enters or leaves a designated area, and quickly/easily send text messages to one or more family members. This service uses GPS technology to determine the location of authorized mobile handsets, which it then displays on an interactive map. Sprint Family Locator also provides the user with text-message communication and account management options. These features are accessible from both a registered mobile handset and the secure Sprint Family Locator web site. Read more

Who can forget the big ‘80s cell phones? Larger than the hairstyles in the ‘80s, they were clunky, hard to charge, and difficult to carry around. Smaller became better. These days, the smaller the phone, the more popular it becomes. Fortunately, even with the downsizing, the technology is not downsized as well. In fact, they contain more tools and gadgets than ever. Enter Virgin Mobile’s Switch_Back handset by Kyocera Wireless, exclusive for Virgin.  Read more

Alltel Wireless has a new and exclusive feature called “My Circle” that gives customers the ability to choose who they call for free – any number on any network. This ground breaking plan gives consumers the ability to choose the numbers that matter most and get unlimited free incoming and outgoing calls to those numbers any time of the day – regardless of phone company or wireless service provider. What really makes this wireless plan a great gift giving option is that customers can also change those numbers online anytime or as many times as they’d like for free! To find out more about "My Circle", visit your local Alltel store or go to www.alltel.com

Thinner is better, right? Every time a new cell phone comes out, it seems to be smaller than before. Samsung just announced its latest model, the t509, which is marketed as the smallest bar phone available in the United States. (A bar phone is simply that—no flips, no pop-ups, just an available keypad.)

The t509 is only 9.8mm thick, leaving it small enough to be slipped into a tiny purse or pocket without taking up any space at all. At just 2.5 ounces, the t509 is just as lightweight as it looks. It features a 1.9-inch color display screen, a VGA camera with 4x digital zoom, a video recorder, and video playback for M4Ps or 3GPs. The camera also features brightness adjustment, effects and frames, and a self-timer. Bluetooth wireless connectivity is supported, and the t509 is USB ready. Read more