CellFeatures

6 Sexy Stylish Cellphone Cases

2009-06-20T20:00:21Z

Cellphone cases don't have to be the standard black or brown leather affair. In fact, I want my case to reflect a personality, as well as provide protection. Also, I prefer using a "pouch" that I can carry in my handbag. I checked out my favorite website for all things handmade, Etsy.com and found some seriously cute cases.

Padded Gadget Cases> by DoriDesigns, $25.00.

This padded case is a terrific bag for your ipod, cell phone, Blackberry, digital camera, GPS or any other small gadget you may have. Measures about 4.75 x 6.5 inches. There are MANY designs.

Vinyl Handmade Cases at tenthstreet , $10.00.

Great pouch you can just hook on and go! Holds phones, ipods, money, wallets, makeup, coins, cards, and more! It's the perfect "going out" pouch. Measures 3.5x5 inches.

iPod Case by Pippichick, $19.99.

This iPod Pouch makes the perfect little home for your iPod, iPod Touch, mp3 player, phone (the new 3G iPhone fits perfectly) or other similarly sized gadget. The lining is a soft pink anti-pill fleece so your device won't get scratched. There is a tall pocket on the front for your earbuds, an ID, or some cash (not included). An elastic tab with split ring and swivel hook allows you to attach your case to your purse or belt loop, as well as a flap with velcro closure to keep your device from getting away. This cozy measures approximately 3.5x5 inches.

Gadget Cozy by Cucio, $14.50.

Gadget holder is padded and comes with a wrist strap (which is removable). It holds small compact digital cameras, cell phones, digital voice recorders and more comfortably. There is an open card style slip pocket inside for SD cards, cash, I.D. and more. Measures 4-1/2x3-1/2 inches (expandable by 1/2 inch more when open).

How to use Audacity to make your own free ringtones

2009-06-01T10:39:55Z

Audacity is a free, open source software used for recording and editing music. It is available for download from Sourceforge and is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. One of the many things you can do with it is alter music that you already have on your computer so that they can be used as Ringtones.

Making the ringtones involve simply shortening the songs to about 30 seconds (30 kilobytes), saving it, and uploading it to your phone.

Download Audacity and LAME mp3 Encoder (necessary to save the file in the mp3 format).

Unzip and install Audacity.

Unzip the LAME encoder and make note of where you saved the folder (I put it in the Audacity folder under a "Lame" subfolder).

Open Audacity and choose File >> Open and select the song you want to use as a ringtone.

Edit the song by deleting sections of the mp3 you DON'T want. Do this by holding down the left mouse button and dragging to highlight the area you DON'T want. Hit delete on the keyboard.

Keep doing this until your clip is about 30 seconds long.

Go to File >> Export as mp3 to save your ringtone. ** Note you can also use the "Export as WAV" if your phone uses that file format.

The first time you do this you will be prompted for the location of lame_enc.dll which is in the LAME folder you saved earlier. Once you point to it, choose the folder where you want your ringtone saved (I have a "Phone" folder under "My Documents" where I save all ringtones, themes and phone program files).

Once you have made the ringtone, then you just need to transfer it to your cellphone, using either Windows Mobile Device Center or bluetooth file transfer for example. How to select the song as a ringtone depends on your phone model. On the ATT Tilt, it's a matter of going to the song and holding the stylus down on it until a menu pops up. You will see a "Set as Ringtone" option.

eWallet saves the day

2009-05-09T14:00:01Z

Yesterday, for some odd reason, when I tried to connect my phone (ATT Tilt) to the wifi network at my boyfriend's house, it asked for the internet password. Bummer, because this is a 16 digit alpha-numeric code and I had no idea where (or if) I had written it down. I made a few lame attempts at trying to find it in a notebook somewhere, before I decided to check the
eWallet.

eWallet is one of the few mobile applications that I have purchased (it also comes with a desktop component that you can sync with your phone). It stores passwords or any other kind of information like website logins, credit card numbers and banking information. Buying eWallet was money well spent ($29.95) (it's available for Smartphones, PocketPCs, Windows Mobile, Blackberry & the iPhone).

Lucky for me, I had in fact saved my wireless access code to eWallet. A little cut and paste and all was right with the World once again.

A few more ways in which I use eWallet:
* Every time I go to the bank, I use it to look up my account numbers (this has been a time saver).
* I put registration numbers in it for programs that I buy for my computer & my mobile.
* Website & forum log in information - they say you should have a different username and password for everything - this is how I keep track of them all.
* Travel info, like drivers license number, passport number, and frequent flier information.
* Library card number ( I use the library website a lot and I always have to input this number - no registration which is weird).
* Computer information like model number, tech support phone number & the aforementioned wireless access codes.

An in-depth review can be found at ClintonFitch.com

How My Mom Would Use a Smartphone

2009-04-24T10:24:41Z

My mom's current phone is a hand me down Motorola Razr which actually finally bit the dust. She (my mom) is 50+ years old (no actual ages can be given here) and she started her own mortgage broking business about a year ago. She runs this by herself and she has run through a few cellphones but none of them Smartphones - which she could definitely use.

The crux of her business is that her clients can reach her at any time - outside the normal business hours of a bank, and that she does all their paperwork for them, especially since she has over 30 years experience doing this! Her contact information for her clients is still being written down in a planner - oh the horror!! This planner/ diary she changes every year, and so you can imagine that her phone numbers are all over the place! Her phone would primarily be used for contacts management as she meets potential clients everywhere she goes and they call her all the time. A Smartphone is great because she can back this information up on her laptop - don't get me started on how little she uses the computer.

The notes feature would also be great as she can quickly input information she needs. GPS - I would probably download Windows Live Mobile for her to easily use this to find the places she needs to go. She meets clients at their homes and frequently goes on home inspections - and she is directionally challenged - something she passed on to her daughter.

She also uses mortgage calculators a lot so I can see her reaching for a Smartphone to quickly run the numbers when she is out and about - and I've seen her quickly compute the rate of a 30 year loan at 6.5% a year for a $200,000 house in 30 seconds flat straight from her head - imagine how quickly she could do it with a calculator handy! There's the CalcNexus Loan Calculator for the iPhone and mortgage calculators for the Blackberry and Win Mo phones.

5 Windows Mobile Tweaks for SmartPhone and PocketPC Newbies

2009-04-22T10:26:51Z

If you're new to Windows Mobile Smartphones (and PocketPC's) then here are a few tweaks to get you started taking advantage of the many features that your phone has to offer.

1. Calendar. By default, only the next appointment from your calendar is displayed on the Windows Mobile Today Screen. To change the setting so that upcoming appointments are displayed:

Click Start >> Settings >> Personal >> Today.
Click on Items (at the bottom of the screen).
Select Calendar.
Click Options (on the right of the screen).
Check Display upcoming entries instead of Next Appointment.
Click OK and you're good to go.

Better yet, download TodayAgenda which has more options.

2. Word Completion. If you use a word from the "Word Completion popup" box, by default there is a space added after the word. To some (myself included), this feature is a bit annoying. To remove the automatic addition of a space after using a suggested word (or to remove this feature altogether):

Go to Start >> Settings >> Personal >> Input.
Click on the Word Completion tab (at the bottom).
Uncheck Add space after word to get rid of the space added when you use the suggested word.
Uncheck Suggest words when entering text or uncheck Suggest words when entering text to stop the popups.

3. Change the Soft Keys. Soft keys are hardware buttons on phones that will bring up a display of menus or launch a program when you press it. The left and right soft keys on the ATT Tilt for example, default to the Calendar for the left one, and the Phone Book on the right. These programs can be changed with a little help from a 3rd party program called Softkey Manager.

After it has been installed, open it up and simply select the programs you would like the Soft keys on your phone to open. On my phone, I have also downloaded and used the program NueNoBar2 to remove the tray at the bottom which displays the name of the soft keys. This gives me more room on the Today Screen, but the soft keys will still launch the applications.

4. Increase the Start Menu Functionality. The regular Windows Mobile Start Menu only shows recently opened items, and a "Programs" folder. You them have to open the folder of the program that you want and click on the file to open it. It doesn't have to be like this. QuickMenuworks like a dream to by providing access to all programs via expandable sub menus, plus show a list of currently open programs at the top of the menu,AND will make the "X" button actually close any open programs. I've already discussed it in more detail here.

5. SMS Sent Message Notification. Seeing the "text message sent" popup can be changed using Schaps Advanced Configuration. This program can be used to change MANY of the settings on your Windows Mobile phone (PocketPC), including the disabling the SMS sent notification bubble. ** You also need to have Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 for this program to work).

Open the Advanced Configuration program (assuming you have already downloaded and installed it).
Click on the Messaging tab.
Click SMS sent notification and choose Disabled at the bottom.
Click Done.
Follow the instructions and allow the Soft Reset (which will happen automatically).

10 Essential BlackBerry Applications for Web Workers

2009-04-21T19:30:02Z

Here are a few applications that will help Blackberry users who work on the web to step away from the computer more and still be able to keep up with their workload.

Google Mobile Apps. You'll have faster search and easy access to Maps, Gmail, News, and more from Google. Free.
e-Office provides support & editing capabilities for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and more, plus it comes with an unlimited, subscription free online storage where you can store Office files and access them on your BlackBerry. $29.95.
RDM+ allows remote access to your computer so you manage files and folders, edit documents and more. $19.99.
PaderSyncFTP for when you need to upload and download files. Free.
PocketMac allows you to easily sync your Blackberry to your Mac. Free.
YouMail lets you see visual voicemail on your phone, browser or e-mail and even get text transcriptions. Free.
PocketDay. This puts Missed Calls, Text Messages, Unread Email, Today's appointments current Tasks, Memos (pro version), Stock Quotes, Weather, World Times (professional version) and RSS News Feeds all on the Today Screen. $19.99 (Personal Edition).
Opera Mini. Enhances the web browsing experience.
JiveTalk allows you to IM simultaneously on AIM, MSN/Windows Live, Yahoo, MySpace, GoogleTalk, ICQ®, & Jabber. easier. It works across all major IM platforms and more. It supports file transfers and chat transcripts. $19.99 and $29.99.
TwitterBerry because all web workers are on Twitter .... right?!

Road Trippin With an iPhone

2009-04-20T18:13:06Z

Over at Mashable.com, I saw a post on how to 11 Essential iPhone Apps for a Road Trip. Quite a few of the apps mentioned do the same thing, but it's always great to have choices.

MapsBuddy provides quick shortcuts for finding useful places such as gas stations, restaurants and even post offices.
SimulTravel GPS locates hotels near your locatio and provides detailed information on each hotel.
Urbanspoon helps you find great restaurants based on your cravings and shows separates them by distance.
Yelp is the iPhone app companion to Yelp.com. It will detect your current location and give you reviews of hotels, restaurants, and even gas stations nearby.
Where To?. Another great app for finding places of interest .

Road Trip lets you to track mileage, fuel prices, graph out trip expenses, and even export the data.
The Weather Channel provides you with weather conditions for your exact location, as well as radar maps and long-term forecasts.
WifiTrack helps determine the strength of WiFi hotspots and helps you find the ones that are free.
Road Trip Fun provides simple explanations for dozens of classic road games like I Spy and Where's the Alphabet?
Flashlight turns your phone into a flashlight.
Tweetie so you can Twitter, plus it integrates with TwitPic so you can send your friends and family pictures of you on the road. It also has a location feature for nearby tweeters if you're in the mood for an impromptu tweetup.

Also check out our 10 Tips to get your cellphone ready for travel.

Recommended Freeware: MSS Converter

2009-04-20T10:22:08Z

MSS Converter makes conversions between currencies (with the ability to automatic update rates), lengths, areas, volumes, masses, speeds, temperatures, pressures, times, angles, energies and powers, radiations, forces, angular speeds, computer bits & bytes, viscosities, light, magnetism and torques - if you can think of something that this program doesn't convert - you're good!

The software is super easy to use. The screen only has icons and at first I was like - how do they expect me to know what's what - but if you look at the bottom of the screen, you'll see the "Units" button (bottom right), which you can select for quick access to the conversion choices.

With the "Menu -> Options" (left soft key), you can setup which units to show or hide for each conversion category. I also like how you can update currency conversions (manually or automatically). I've used this program to convert grams and ounces, figure out currency conversions (Jamaican to US dollars and Euros) and more.

Download from FreewarePocketPC.net. The software supports VGA and QVGA resolutions, with portrait, landscape or square screens and Pocket PC running Windows Mobile 5+.

Screenshot: Diamond Clone

2009-04-19T20:21:03Z

Phone: ATT Tilt
Theme: Black Leather wallpaper (download link) (originally from BlackLeather WeatherPanel Theme), HTC Home with the Diamond Clock from PPC Geeks and Black Gloss Icons.
Programs: TodayAgenda for calendar & tasks display. pRSS reader to show updates from my favorite websites.

Notes: Use HTC Home Customizer to change the theme for the HTC Home plugin. I have it showing only 4 tabs Home, contacts, programs launcher and profiles (not using weather and music). To remove the bottom tray (which usually says Calendar on the left & Contacts on the right), I used nueNoBar2.

Programs shown in the Launcher (2nd picture) are:

ComManager.

eWallet ($29.95). Love it! It has already saved me a lot of grief and is one of the few programs I've happily paid for.

Vexed. I'm totally addicted to this game.

SharpMT for mobile blogging.

MyCalculator.

PocketScreen to take screen captures.

XnView - a simple image editor.

PHM Registry Editor.

Schaps Advanced Configuration Tool.

How an Event Planner Uses Her Mobile Phone to Save the Day

2009-04-15T13:50:08Z

Marley Majcher from ThePartyGoddess.com has a business degree from Georgetown University, went to cooking school in France and travels all over the world seeking inspiration for her L.A. based catering and event planning company, The Party Goddess! Clients include Britney Spears, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Pierce Brosnan, Katherine Heigl and Snoop Dogg as well as notable events like the opening of the Hollywood Bowl and Critics' Choice Awards. Marley has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, and
on Fox, CBS, NBC, HGTV, MTV, E!, plus a host of other media outlets.

Here's how she uses her mobile phone to get things done in her business.

Event planning is a nutty business to say the least. You've got to be prepared for whatever might come up and then a ton of issues you can't even anticipate. At an event site my phone comes in very handy for texting with staff when we can't get a signal to make a call (kind of how you would use a walkie talkie), to "Tweet" and update what's going on for our Twitter followers and then for basic internet access like checking the weather, sunrise and sunset times and of course tide charts if we're trying to decide how far down the beach we'll be able to set chairs up without an issue. Now that I think about it, I don't think I'd ever be able to live without my phone!

Check Marley out at ThePartyGoddess.com, her blog and the newly launched
HowToBeAPartyGoddess.com for budding event planners.

3 Excellent FREE Weather Programs for Your PocketPC

2009-04-13T14:49:08Z

There is no need to pay for a weather applications for your mobile phone because there are some excellent free solutions out there.

1. Weather To Go

If you're like me and you just want a simple program that displays on the Today screen, and that you can wake up and glance at in the mornings, then Weather To Go is for you. It's a simple plugin that lets you display up to 3 cities, and a tap on the day will reveal more detailed information. Compatible with Windows Mobile (5, 6, 6.1) PocketPC.

2. Weather Watcher Mobile

If you would like a weather program that launches when you touch an icon, then look no further than Weather Watcher Mobile. This excellent and surprisingly FREE program will display weather conditions as reported by The Weather Channel for more than 77,000 cities worldwide. There are tabs that can display the current weather, hourly and daily forecasts, details, maps and severe weather alerts (this is a US only feature). The program also opens on the tab that you were last viewing, which is handy if you only want to see daily forecasts for example. Compatible with Windows Mobile Pocket PC & Smartphones.

3. WeatherPanel

This is like the granddaddy of (free) weather apps. The default theme is as simple as Weather to Go, which just displays a 5 day forecast. But WP is capable of displaying a lot more using different themes and layouts. There is a vibrant community maintaining this application, as the developer has long since left the building. One thing to watch out for - each theme and icons can take up quite a bit of space on your mobile. Some amazing screenshots that show the versatility of this program can be found at PPCGeeks. The theme in the 2nd picture above is BlackLeather.

Can You Count the Number of Times You Use Your iPhone Throughout the Day

2009-04-11T23:40:35Z

Deborah Yao of the Associated Press set out to test the popular iPhone catch phrase, "There's an app for everything" by using only free apps, over the course of an entire day, using BargainBin, which tells you what apps are free and which ones are on sale. Published on MercuryNews.com, she says:

At 7:30 a.m., my alarm clock app, goodNite Lite, wakes me with a gentle chord.
As I trundle to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I tap the Public Radio app to listen to "Morning Edition" on National Public Radio through my local station.
For breakfast, I check the Betty Crocker Mobile Cookbook app, which can suggest recipes based on ingredients you have on hand.
I choose something to wear to work with a flick of my finger, thanks to Stylish Girl. That app stores images of my clothes, and I can mix and match them to create outfits to save and share.
The Weather Channel app says it's 42 degrees, but expected to warm up in a few hours.
Leaving the house, I turn on StepTrak Lite, a free pedometer app. It tells me that I take 1,453 steps to my office over a span of 10 minutes and 17 seconds. (For people who drive, there are apps that give traffic updates.)

Check out MercuryNews.com to read the rest.

If you don't have an iPhone, no need to get jealous. Over at FuzeMobility.com, they make a great point that we Windows Mobile users have it just as good (and dare I say better) with free apps galore AND the choice of about a gazillion phones.

7 Ways and 8 Programs on My Mobile Phone That Help Get Me Through the Day

2009-04-11T10:29:41Z

I entered a contest over at PalmAddicts about how I use my phone, and it was published yesterday, so I thought I would share with you and expand on it here.

Wake Up. I use the phone alarm to get me up every morning - no need for a separate clock radio for this.
Weather. I glance at my screen to check out the weather to see how I should dress for the day. I usually have either Weather to Go (Tonaya) or WeatherPanel on my Today Screen (like this).
Appointments. The next few appointments are usually displayed on the Today Screen. I use Pocket Informant which I bought - but I know I'm not using this to it's fullest capabilities.
RSS. I'm currently using pRSS Reader to check on updates of my favorite sites - thankfully the new version integrates with Google Reader.
Grocery Shopping. During the day, I continually add to my weekly grocery list which is a simple Word file.
Blogging. I blog from my phone using a combination of SharpMT.
Instant Messaging. I use Fring up to connect to Skype, Twitter & Windows Live all at once.

I also use all the usual suspects, such as contacts, check emails & text messaging.

Screenshot: Black Mesh

2009-04-10T10:19:27Z

Phone: ATT Tilt
Theme: Black Mesh (download link)
Programs: Weather Panel, Phone Alarm Lite (by PocketMax), Pocket Informant (Today Screen calendar plugin).

Notes: The Weather Panel theme and icons are Ultimata (QVGA) (using Ultimata 3 setup) and the skin for Phone Alarm is AllRock 4. The Black Mesh theme was originally from the PPCGeeks forum but I modified it to show white lettering instead of blue).

5 Ways Event Planners Use Mobile Phones to Keep Up

2009-04-10T05:07:12Z

Event planners have to stay on top of a lot of things at once. Can you imagine being responsible for planning a wedding one week, organizing a company's presence at a trade show the next and planning a swanky party for a hot celebrity the week after that?! Sounds like fun, but a lot of stress at the same time. Below are a list of ways that a mobile phone can make the life o an event planner a little easier.

1. Use a Travel Assistant program like Trip Chill Mobile Travel Assistant reviewed at MakeUseOf.com.

Real-time mobile alerts for delays, cancellations, gate changes, inbound aircraft alerts, and more
Itinerary monitoring and repair before and during your trip
Alerts your friends and colleagues about your travel status
Ability to book car and hotel from your phone
Alternate flight recommendations

The first comment on MakeUseOf summed up how useful this program can be:

Last night on my return leg from Newark to Denver I received a text message seconds after my plane touched down reminding me where I parked my car. It may sound simple but if you travel enough you know that this can be a life saver. Hopefully they'll tie this feature into my GPS. Not that its hard now. As I was walking into the airport to catch my plane to Newark four days ago I received a text asking me where I parked. Attention to detail means everything.

2. Calendar Sync. It's important that all calendars are accessible at all times.

3. Group Text Mesaging. A real lifesaver when you need to contact multiple people in a group about changes - or when you want to make sure that your boss also stays on top of what you're doing. Try Swaggle, a FREE service where you just send one text message to Swaggle and it will be sent to everyone in your group. When someone responds, that goes to everyone in the group, as well. GroupSMS is a free program you can download to a Windows Mobile phone - very easy to use (I have this set up myself).

3. Save Contacts to Different Categories. Use the name of the client as a category and add necessary contacts. Will also help to group florists, bands, DJ's and more together.

4. Group Voice Messaging. Sign-up for free Pinger account.

Just call your local Pinger number or 858-2-PINGER, say the names of the people you want to message and talk. You can message one or all your friends in 20 countries with one call. People you send a message to get a text instead of a ring. They press a button or two to listen. Then they can reply or forward by hitting a single button so it's fast and easy to message back and forth.

PhoneVite is a similar service that lets you send free voicemail to a group of people and follow-up on their replies. Simply record your message/invitation (from Phone or PC ) and Phonevite will instantly deliver it to phone numbers of your contacts - which you can enter manually or from your address book. All recipients have and option to reply without being charged.

5. Notes. Use the Notes app on your phone to tTake notes while you're on a call so that you don't forget important details.

[Photo Credit: Pink Sherbert Photography on Flickr]