Nearly 200,000 people a day are buying Android phones. If you are one of them, here is a useful roundup of Android apps from Lifehacker. If you start by installing AppBrain’s Fast Web Install you can download and install multiple apps from the online list at the same time.
If you travel with a Blackberry, iPhone or other web-enabled phone, many airports and airlines are now accepting electronic boarding passes in lieu of paper ones. In addition to the green benefit of not using paper, the digital boarding passes are convenient for those traveling with just a phone and without access to a printer. If your airline and airport offer it, you should see the option on the screen when you check in online. To learn more, read this overview from the TSA.
You can create a custom iPhone ringtone from most iTunes songs by purchasing the song for 99 cents, downloading it, choosing your start and end points using the iTunes software, then buying your custom ringtone from iTunes for another 99 cents. For details on this iTunes feature, read Dave Taylor. Chris Pirillo however, has a different method that bypasses paying iTunes and lets you create a ringtone from any song in your iTunes library for free.
Mobile blogging (or moblogging) is blogging directly from a cellphone. For example, Flickr provides a unique email address that will simultaneously add photos to your Flickr stream and your personal blog. Blogs from ten major providers are supported, including WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, Movable Type and Live Journal. Simply snap a photo (or record a video) with your cellphone’s camera, and send it to your special Flickr email to publish it on your blog.
Ever need a question answered when you are away from your computer, and only have a cell phone? ChaCha is a free mobile search service that responds to queries asked via telephone or send as a text message (SMS). To ask a question, either call 1-800-2ChaCha or text your question to 242242 (C-H-A-C-H-A on your keyboard). A live person (called a guide) will research your question, and answer via text message.
“What are you doing?” Twitter is a micro-blogging social networking site that asks that one question, and gives you 140 characters to broadcast an answer to all your friends, family and co-workers. Intrigued by the possibilities? Here are a few guides to get you started: MasterNewMedia’s Twitter – A Beginner’s Guide , Caroline Middlebrook’s Big Juicy Twitter Guide, and Rafe Needlemen’s Newbie’s Guide to Twitter.
Disappointed with photos you’ve snapped with your cell phone? Here are three pointers for improving them. Use the entire frame, don’t just focus on the center. Adjust the brightness level if the image on your display seems too dark or too light. Place your subjects off-center for a more interesting layout. For more tips, read CNET’s Capture Great Shots with your Phone .
Google Maps Mobile has just announced a free download for your cell phone that will display real- time traffic in thirty metropolitan cities. To learn more, visit the site from your home computer. To download the free mobile phone application, visit the site from the web browser of your cell phone.
Most cell phones can be used as portable modems, allowing you to access the Internet from your laptop. You will need a connection kit (usually a data cable and software such as those sold by Gomadic ), ISP login details, and a data plan to pay for your usage. Although most cell carriers only offer 56Kbps, Verizon has broadband speeds ranging from 144Kbps to a possible 2MB per second. Contact your cell carrier for details.
Google SMS (Short Message Service) gives short answers to text queries from your mobile phone. Just send your search as a text message and get retail locations, phone book listings, or dictionary definitions in response. For example texting “Starbucks 92014″ to 46-645 (GOOGL on most phones) returns two locations of the ubiquitous coffee house within the 92014 zip code. Text “d ubiquitous” for a dictionary definition of “ubiquitous.” For more details, read Google SMS.
