Millions of UK residents own Smartphones.  Some have gone to great lengths to get their smartphones, including using helpful programmes such as mobile phone recycling to gain a little extra cash after a new phone purchase.  Mobile phone recycling is certainly a green opportunity and the money is an added benefit.

A new smartphone might make it easier for jotter users over talkers.  Some individuals have a second mobile device such as an iPad or tablet in order to jot notes and take control of other situations.  Samsung has announced that they will offer a new device that may ensure that a user has everything they need in one device.

On Sunday in the US, the company announced a phone tablet hybrid.  It will have a 5.3-inch screen with stylus and touch screen.  It will be called the Galaxy Note in the US and be around $300 and a little less in pounds when it reaches the UK.  So far, the device is only available from AT&T, a US company, although other Samsung phones are found with UK providers.  This may mean the Note will be released in the UK if it has a good reception in the USA.  Samsung has stated they wanted a phone that would be small enough to hold up to the ear, but also one that would have the roominess of a tablet.

There have been many like it proposed, but no company has succeeded in launching a phone/tablet combination that can match the iPad experience as a tablet.

Cell phones have become controversial in recent months because they provide users with the ability to instantly capture still photos and videos as well as communicate rapidly in real time. Using data access and services such as Twitter and Facebook, cell phone users can broadcast messages to hundreds or even thousands of people at once, something that was not possible with traditional voice-only telephones. This unique ability of cell phones to ‘stir up a crowd’ has caused government authorities in some areas of the world to shut down cell phone networks during protests or other large public events.

Chicago will host the NATO and G-8 summits this coming May, and already, the issue of electronic communications is becoming a hot button topic for both city officials and those who plan to attend the events in order to stage protests. A Chicago city councilman has already begun discussing possible police action during the events; he wishes to prohibit the police authorities from interfering with cell phone networks. This position is in favor of free speech rights for protestors.

On the other hand, it may also lead to violence if protests get out of hand and disintegrate into riots. In such a case, cutting electronic communications could be a good move, one that protects public safety. Governments in both Egypt and the United States have used the tactic to silence protestors. It remains to be seen if such actions will become commonplace in this country or if the councilman’s views will prevail and cell phone networks will remain free from interference even during times of unrest.

People use their cell phones in very different ways, with some relying primarily on voice features while others make use of their phones to stay connected to the Internet.  Few would have predicted years ago, however, that cell phones could actually be a powerful tool to help reduce infant mortality rates in the United States.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has a high infant mortality rate for an industrialized nation.  Some health centers are beginning to use the text messaging features on cell phones to try to bring that down.  A free cell phone health service for pregnant mothers and new mothers is available from text4baby, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health outcomes for young children.

The service allows patients to text the word BABY or BEBE to 511411 to sign up.  This will set up their phone to receive text messages on a weekly basis.  The content of messages is designed to match the stage of pregnancy or infancy involved, so that women receive appropriate information about such issues as prenatal care, postpartum depression, infant nutritional needs, and immunizations, among others.

Pregnant women or new mothers who have little access to health insurance may have few sources of information about issues that can arise during pregnancy or the first year of a baby’s life.  Thanks to this program, however, anyone with a cell phone will be able to get vital information that can improve health outcomes for both mother and child.

Most cell phone users have no desire to receive telemarketing phone calls. Not only are the calls a waste of most people’s time, they also eat up valuable minutes that cell users pay for if they’re not on an unlimited plan. Thankfully, telemarketing companies do not have access to everyone’s cell phone number; this alone is a powerful reason why cell users are not nearly as pestered by sales calls, as are those on landlines.

Nor is this situation likely to change, although an email hoax making the rounds is causing some cell phone users to get worried. Contrary to the contents of the email message, all cell phone numbers are indeed not being disclosed to companies in the telemarketing business. Consumers should also be aware that it is against the law for telemarketers to use automated equipment to dial cell phone numbers; such calls must be placed by hand, which increases the cost to the sales company discourages them from reaching out to cell users.

But, a Salesperson Called Me!

Obviously this can still happen, even if you keep your cell phone number quite close to the vest. People receiving such calls often wonder how the telemarketer got their number. One likely scenario is known as ‘sequence dialing’. Quite simply, the company dials up all numbers that follow a certain sequence. Using a certain area code and cell phone prefix, they will proceed to dial 0000, 0001, 0002, and so on as the final four digits. This is legal as long as human beings, not machines, are making the calls.

Students at a high school in one of Chicago’s large suburbs are in a great deal of trouble this week because of allegations that they have used their cell phones to help operate an illegal drug ring.  Authorities confiscated several student cell phones and relied on them for an evidence trail to identify others who might have sold or bought illegal drugs.

Jim Conrey, speaking on behalf of the school district, defended the move, explaining, “That’s perfectly within our rights within the school.  If schools have credible evidence that cell phones are being used in some kind of trafficking … we have every right to take the phones.” School officials looked specifically at records of text messages on the phones.  At this point, parents have not been officially notified of any details related to the ongoing investigation.

Possible misuse of phones in schools is not limited to such extreme cases as this one.  Teachers have long lamented that students like to spend class time texting one another and that phones can be used to cheat on tests, with students looking up answers on the Internet.  As phones have become smaller, these uses of them have been ever harder for school officials to spot.

Some parents have reached the point where they do not want their teens to have a phone.  In these cases, they can recycle cell phones in order to recoup some of the cost of the units.  This practice also helps the environment by preventing pollution.

Image Courtesy of Apple

One of the best things about getting a new cell phone is the chance to try out the latest features. For some cell phone users, however, one of those recent improvements to cell phone functionality is coming at a significant cost. The iPhone 4S features a program known as Siri, which operates rather like a jack-of-all-trades. It does allow users to enjoy their phones hands-free, giving voice commands instead of tactile ones, but it also lets them ask Siri nearly anything under the sun from “What is the capital of Oregon?” to “How tall is Barack Obama?”.

Siri can answer those questions and more, but to do so, the program must access data streams on the internet. The process causes bandwidth consumption, so much so that the typical iPhone 4S consumes double the data that the Siri-less iPhone 4 needs and triple the data used by the 3G model of the phone. All of that data adds up to a heftier cell phone bill, which may make some users start to question if playing with Siri is worth the eventual expense.

Cell phones users who decide that they would rather have a simpler phone that consumes less data should be aware that the iPhone 4S may be worth quite a bit on the recycled market. So if you do decide to make a switch, do not just shove your iPhone 4S in a drawer. Go to Google and type in “How do I recycle cell phones?” to find out how to make the 4S provide you with money instead of the other way around.

This week, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in favor of privacy rights.  That case involved the secret attachment of a GPS tracking device onto a vehicle.  Such procedures would allow police forces to keep track of a suspect’s movements without the need to secure a warrant, which requires the demonstration of probable cause.  The court held that such a procedure is equivalent to a search and does indeed require a warrant.

This may sound like good news to cell phone users leery of being tracked through their handsets, but it is not clear at all that the ruling would extend that far.  The Obama Administration believes that no warrant is required to ask for tracking information from your cell phone provider, and as of yet, no appeals court has ruled on the legality or constitutionality of such a procedure.  The lack of a ruling is quite deliberate as government lawyers frequently fail to appeal the issue when they lose in district courts, precisely because they do not want a definitive ruling that could make them stop the practice.

Nor is the practice rare at all.  “This is a commonly used technique,” commented Catherine Crump, an attorney for the A.C.L.U.  “If this doesn’t happen tens of thousands of times a year, I’d be shocked.”

Cell phone users must wait for another day, or perhaps another decade, before a court is likely to step in to protect their privacy rights in the digital age.

Arizona legislators have decided to ban cell phone use only for a single group of drivers: those who cannot yet vote. The state’s Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services this week voted restrictions that would apply only to teenagers driving under a learner’s permit. The ban makes it illegal for such drivers to use a cell phone for voice calls, texting, data access, or most other purposes while driving. The sole exception is in cases of emergency, when cell phone use would be permitted.

The restrictions go beyond the learner’s permit stage; teenagers will have to comply with them for the first half-year they have their full license. In an interesting twist, however, if new drivers are already 18, which of course makes them able to vote, then the restrictions fall away. As they say, the ‘devil is in the details’, and the details here make it clear that Arizona lawmakers are willing to restrict cell phone use only for those individuals who have no power to cast votes against them to register their displeasure.

The ban on new drivers might make sense, were it not for the ‘over 18’ exception. It is probably true that brand new drivers need to be able to concentrate 100 percent on road conditions, with nothing to distract them. However, logically, that should be true for brand new drivers aged 18 as well.

Penalties for violating the new law are set to be fines that gradually increase extensions of the time the driver will be under restrictions, and eventually license suspensions.

According to early indications, the European Union is planning to enact tougher laws on those who would track your physical movements by using signals emitted by your cell phone. This has come as welcome news to Europeans, who are eagerly anticipating that in the future, malls and other shopping venues will have to do more than think twice before they install such tracking systems. Indeed, the new regulations may require informed consent from the consumers to be tracked, and on an individual basis. This requirement might make it very difficult for tracking data to be collected and used at all.

U.S. lawmakers have, to date, shown no similar concern about the privacy of cell phone users here. This is a shame because Americans share the concerns of Europeans when it comes to cell phone tracking. Most Americans feel that how long they spend in a particular store is not an appropriate topic for data collections. Nor is the route they take as they meander through a mall, or how long they spend in the food court eating their lunch. Malls feel that the information could be useful to improve the layout and possibly marketing campaigns as it gives data that is more accurate than any that would be self-reported.

Tracking may not be the right thing, but being responsible with your own device certainly is. Whenever you buy a new phone, be sure to look for a cell phone recycle program so you can discard your old one without causing harm to the environment.

Cell phones are helping people both young and old to lead more fulfilling and productive lives by assisting them to stay in closer contact with friends and loved ones.  Cell phones also allow people to make use of a wide range of apps that can help them to streamline their time by giving them up to the minute access to news and information from the Internet.  In a new twist, however, cell phones may soon also be able to help people lose weight.

How can a cell phone possibly help with weight loss? The answer lies with researchers working with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UCSD, the University of California at San Diego.  These researchers will soon commence a study in which text messages are transmitted to participants several times each day.  These text messages will remind target users to keep their nutritional goals in mind.  Some of the messages will be tailored to the personal circumstances of participants.

The study, known as ConTXT is an “innovative, yet straightforward approach to getting people to monitor their diet and physical activity,” according to Kevin Patrick, who serves as a professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.  “We are trying to make this as pain free as possible.  People won’t stick to something that’s too difficult and they’re all multi-tasking anyway.  We’re doing this study to increase what we know about using the cell phone to get messages to busy people on the go.”