It seems as if I can't make it through a conversation with anyone lately without it being interrupted by someone's cell phone ringing.  It happens even at work.  Is every phone call THAT important that you have to answer it while your're talking with someone? To do my part, I wrote an article about cell phone etiquette several months back, but apparently no one read it, because it just seems to be getting worse and worse.  I've also noticed that cell phone use is moving more and more to the car which can be dangerous if you don't have a bluetooth headset or your car has built-in Bluetooth integration like my Audi A6.  Holding the phone up to your ear while driving = not a good idea.  In fact, many cities, including my hometown of Chicago, have outlawed the use of cell phones in the car unless you have a handsfree device.  With that in mind, I decided to perform an unscientific test while driving home from work in rush hour.  I would look at the driver and see if they had their hand up to one of their ears, implying that they were talking on the phone.  If I ...

For most people who aren't fortunate enough to work in the consumer electronics industry, it's not all that easy to get "hands-on" with the latest gadgets and games until they hit the store shelves.  Even then, the only people you get to talk to are the store representatives.  Enter DigitalLife. DigitalLife is a trade show specifically for consumers to come check out cool stuff, and hear directly from the companies who make the products!  The event is October 12-15 at the Javits Center in New York City, and it’s free to attend!  Click on the tickets page, then enter this code: INSIDER  I'll be there with bells on.  Well, bells and Slingboxes and digital cameras and cell phones and Xbox 360s and ...

Going out to the Sprint store tonight to pick up my new Tre0 700wx cell phone. It took me a lot of calling around, but I actually found someone that had two in stock (needed one for my wife too :-) There's a great review of the Treo 700wx on Treo Central. Love their site. Update:   Got my phone a few days ago and have been using it like made.  First impressions are that it's powerful and works great.  Having a hard time finding all of the options to make it work the way that I want.  I'm sure that I'll figure it out soon enough.  The picture at the right is the slingbox "slinging" my TV connection to my Treo 700wx cell phone.  I am actually watching and controlling my TV directly from my Treo 700wx.  Great way to catch up on the football games while walking in the park with the kids! While researching, I found some good pointers here from user "Malatesta" on SlingCommunity.com that talk about why this phone is better than the PPC-6700, the only other Sprint Windows Mobile phone at the moment. More soon...     

My current Treo 650 phone is falling apart. (see my previous blog entry and complaint). The 'p' button is continually depressed and stuck causing all sorts of problems, the camera now only takes pictures that are brown in color, and now when I access the mail program, the phone reboots itself! I've decided to buy the new Treo 700wx. Here's why: I want a Windows Mobile phone so that I can watch TV on my Mobile Phone. I love the touch screen on the Treo and can't imagine not having one. I'm on Sprint and don't want to change. This really limits me to the Treo 700 (and other Treos) and the Sprint PPC-6700 cell phone. Since I already own a Treo 650 and an extra battery, power cord, etc. I don't have to buy any new accessories with the Treo 700, saving me money. Lastly, I have never really liked the design of the PPC-6700. I don't like the idea of opening the phone and it just seems flimsy. My biggest problem is right now I CAN'T BUY ONE! I've called a ton of Sprint stores and no one has any in stock!  

Many new electronic devices are using LCD screens. If you break it, you might feel absolutely sick! Don't despair! Usually, you can take the unit apart and find a part number on the LCD. Simply Google or ebay the part number, and chances are you'll find a replacement for a good price. This is especially nice because many electronic device manufacturers buy their LCD's from other companies - and they charge more so that they can make a profit off the LCDs. In other words, you are buying straight from the original manufacturer of the LCD, so there is no price markup.

Real-time sports scores, fantasy sports management, scoring alerts, up to the minute information on everything sports, and lots more. It's a sports fanatics dream, and ESPN is bringing it to your fingertips through your cell phone. Well, not really your cell phone, unless you buy it first and subscribe to a new phone plan and service provider. Earlier this year, ESPN launched a new service called...

Over a year and a half ago in December 2004, the much anticipated Treo 650 smartphone arrived on the market. This first model was a CDMA version from Sprint, but several months later a GSM version and then a version from Verizon also became available. Since its release, the 650 has become the most popular smartphone (combination PDA / mobile phone) device on the market. Time has not stood still for...

Most modern cell phones have the option to set a customized ringer for each individual contact in your phonebook. Thanks to Caller ID, the phone can determine if the incoming call matches a contact in your list, and if so, play the appropriate ringtone. As long as you don't assign the ringtone to multiple contacts, you'll know exactly who's calling simply by the sound of the ringer.